What is SQL Server log shipping?

SQL Server log shipping is a technique which involves two or more SQL Server instances and
copying of a transaction log file from one SQL Server instance to another. The process of
transferring the transaction log files and restoring is automated across the SQL Servers. As the
process result there are two copies of the data on two separate locations
A log shipping session involves the following steps:

Backing up the transaction log file on the primary SQL Server instance
Copying the transaction log backup file across the network to one or more secondary
SQL Server instances
Restoring the transaction log backup file on the secondary SQL Server instances

Implementation examples
One of the common log shipping scenarios is the environment with two servers (SQLServer-1
primary and SQLServer-2 secondary), two SQL Server instances (SQLInstance-1 and
SQLInstance-2), and one SQL Server database named SQLDB-1 with log shipping running on it

Another common configuration is the environment with three (or more) servers (SQLServer-1
primary, SQLServer-2 secondary, and SQLServer-3 secondary), three SQL Server
instances (SQLInstance-1, SQLInstance-2, and SQLInstance-3), and one SQL Server database
named SQLDB-1 with log shipping running on it

Operating modes
There are two available modes and they are related to the state in which the secondary, log
shipped, SQL Server database will be:

Standby mode the database is available for querying and users can access it, but in
read-only mode
o The database is not available only while the restore process is running
Users can be forced to disconnect when the restore job commence
The restore job can be delayed until all users disconnect themselves
Restore mode the database is not accessible

Advantages and disadvantages of using SQL Server log

shipping

SQL Server log shipping is primarily used as a disaster recovery solution. Using SQL Server log
shipping has multiple benefits: its reliable and tested in details, its relatively easy to set up and
maintain, there is a possibility for failover between SQL Servers, data can be copied on more
than one location etc.
Log shipping can be combined with other disaster recovery options such as AlwaysOn
Availability Groups, database mirroring, and database replication. Also, SQL Server log
shipping has low cost in human and server resources
The main disadvantages in the SQL Server log shipping technique are: need to manage all the
databases separately, there isnt possibility for an automatic failover, and secondary database
isnt fully readable while the restore process is running

Setting up the database log shipping environment

SQL Server log shipping is based on execution of predefined SQL Server jobs. The SQL Server
log shipping feature is available in all SQL Server editions except the Express edition. All the
databases intended to be used for log shipping must be in the Full or Bulk logged recovery model
Another important prerequisite is running SQL Server Agent on both servers. Security policies
must be defined in order for SQL Server Agent to have permission to read and write in the
backup folder. Note that SQL Server agent on the secondary server must be able to read from the
primary servers backup folder
The database backups can be compressed, but that requires additional CPU time. Most common
configurations use network locations for storing the backups
The database log shipping setup needs to be initiated from the principal server using the SQL
Server Management Studio wizard. The first step defines transaction log backup settings:

A network path to the backup

How long backup files should be kept before deleting
An alert if no backup is taken
The backup job itself
o Schedule of the job
Schedule type
Frequency
Duration

The next step defines secondary databases which involve choosing the secondary SQL Server
instance and secondary database. The full database backup, from the primary database, must be
restored on the secondary server before log shipping commences

After initializing the secondary database you must define the copy folder where the transaction
log backups from the primary server will be stored
The final step involves choosing from two available modes: The No recovery Restore mode
and Standby mode. You can also delay the restoring process and set up an alert if no restore
occurs within the specified time

Once the log shipping is ready for use, it will run in the background, and if the problem occurs
the alert will signalize the problem