About Configuring Log Shipping
Log shipping is a critical feature for disaster recovery. It allows you to automate backing up a database (the publisher) and restoring its transaction logs on one or more standby databases (the subscribers). The process runs automatically throughout the day at the interval you specify, which creates synchronized databases.
LiteSpeed for SQL Server provides flexible backup options for log shipping and allows you to create and modify LiteSpeed log shipping plans, monitor shipping progress and troubleshoot plan problems.
NOTE: If you decide to manually set up aLiteSpeed log shipping plan with the extended stored procedures, it is recommended that you generate scripts using the Create LiteSpeed Log Shipping Plan wizard.
About Log Shipping Plans
In case you want to have a copy of your database on another server, you can configure a plan that contains only a publisher and one subscriber.
If you require more than one destination database, you can have multiple subscribers. This allows you to distribute your data at different rolling points in time for reporting and to cushion the impact of invalid data entry into the main system.
The publisher server can be a subscriber for other databases. Also, being a subscriber server does not prevent you from log shipping other databases from that server, each one acting as a publisher.
Log Shipping Jobs
The Backup job is created on publisher server. The Copy and Restore jobs are created on subscriber server(s).
Shared Folder
In all cases, the publishing server will backup to the specified shared folder where the subscriber server will copy backups from. Any server involved in the log shipping process can act as a file server. You can also specify the local path on the publisher server
Destination Folder
The subscriber server copies the transaction log backups from the shared folder to the specified destination folder and then restores them. It is recommended that you select a local destination folder on the Subscriber.
Initializing Log Shipping
A log shipping plan will not work unless it is initialized by restoring a full backup of publisher database to the subscriber database. The backup is written to and restored from the shared folder.
LiteSpeed Log Shipping Architecture
The diagram below shows the relationship between the LiteSpeed and SQL Server components involved in log shipping.
Log Shipping Requirements
Requirements
NOTE: This section only focuses on requirements specific to log shipping and implies you have reviewed the general LiteSpeed requirements.
General
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LiteSpeed for SQL Server installed on all SQL Server instances involved in log shipping.
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Microsoft SQL Server version 2005/2008/2012/2014/2016/2017.
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Publisher and subscriber must have the same SQL Server version.
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Publisher and subscriber must have the same LiteSpeed version.
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SQL Server Agent must be running for all SQL server instances involved in log shipping.
NOTE: Backup log shipping is not supported in the Express edition of SQL Server.
Database
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All databases involved in log shipping must use a full or bulk-logged recovery model.
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A database can only have one log shipping publication (LiteSpeed or native).
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A local repository must exist on both the publisher and subscriber.
Permissions
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The account used for registering SQL Server instances involved in log shipping must have System Administrator permissions.
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(On publisher) SQL Server Agent Service Account must have access and read/write permissions to the shared directory to write transaction log backups to. The same permissions are required for SQL Server Service Account used to initialize and reinitialize log shipping. You only need write permissions if you do not specify a local folder for the publisher.
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(On subscriber) SQL Server Agent Service Account must have access and read permissions to the shared directory to copy transaction log backups from. The same permissions are required for SQL Server Service Account used to initialize and reinitialize log shipping.
NOTE: You need to register all SQL Server instances involved in log shipping in the LiteSpeed UI Console to retrieve log shipping data for them.