eG Monitoring
 

Measures reported by MsSqlJobBackUpTest

To prevent the data loss that may occur due to the sudden failure of a SQL database, administrators are often advised to schedule the automatic backup of the databases on the Microsoft SQL server. It is recommended that these backup jobs are scheduled to occur frequently (say, once a day), so that the backup is always in sync with the data backed up. Failed or unusually fast backup jobs should also be detected quickly and marked for closer scrutiny, as this can cause data non-sync and increase the risk of data loss when disaster strikes. This is why, administrators will find the MsSqlJobBackUpTest test very helpful !

This test monitors the backup jobs configured for every SQL database. In the process, the test reports the type of backup that is configured, when the last backup job ran, and how long it took. This way, administrators can quickly identify databases that are not backed up as frequently as they would like them to be, rapidly detect backup jobs that may have failed to run as per schedule, and can pinpoint those databases where the last backup was suspiciously fast. With the help of these inferences, administrators can fine-tune backup schedules and can troubleshoot backup failures.

The measures made by this test are as follows:

Measurement Description Measurement Unit Interpretation
Backup_type Indicates the type of backup that is configured for this database.   The values that this measure can report and their corresponding numeric values are listed below:

Measure Value Numeric Value
Full 1
Diff-Database 2
T-Log 3
File-File Group 4
Diff-File 5
Partial 6
Diff-Partial 7

Note:

By default, this measure will report one of the Measure Values listed in the table above to indicate the backup type of a database. However, in the graph of this measure, the same is represented using the numeric equivalents only.
Backup_duration Indicates the time it took for the last backup operation on this database to complete. Mins If the value of this measure is very low for a database, it warrants a probe, as it could be owing to the failure of the backup job.
Interval_last_backup Indicates the number of days that have elapsed since this database was last backed up. Minutes If the value of this measure is over 1 day, it could imply one of the following:

  • The database is not been backed up regularly, or;

  • The last backup job on the database failed

Either way, further investigation may be required to determine the real reasons.