What is tail log backup?
A tail-log backup captures any log records that have not yet been backed up (the tail of the log) to prevent work loss and to keep the log chain intact. Before you can recover a SQL Server database to its latest point in time, you must back up the tail of its transaction log.
Why do we take log backup?
Transaction log backups are mightily useful for point-in-time recovery. Normal database backups only allow you to recover data up to the point of the backup. As you use your database, all the data in between the backup periods at risk and are not backed up until the next backup.
What does a tail log backup do in SQL Server?
Tail-Log Backup and Restore in SQL Server. A tail-log backup is a special type of transaction log backup. In this type of backup, the log records that have not been backed up are captured. This prevents data loss and maintains the log chain sequence. The following are the Tail-log backup scenarios.
What does norecovery do on a tail log backup?
NORECOVERY takes the database into the restoring state. This guarantees that the database does not change after the tail-log backup. The log will be truncated unless the NO_TRUNCATE option or COPY_ONLY option is also specified. Important: Avoid using NO_TRUNCATE, except when the database is damaged.
What to do if tail log backup has incomplete metadata?
If a tail-log backup has incomplete metadata, in the backupset table, has_incomplete_metadata is set to 1. Also, in the output of RESTORE HEADERONLY, HasIncompleteMetadata is set to 1.
What to do when SQL Server Backup is not backed up?
Try to uncheck the option and restore. TailLog backup contains the transaction log that was generated after the last log backup.so this is necessary if you want to restore to latest point in time.When we try to restore the database which is online and whose tail log has not been backed up ,SQL Server will throw the error you are getting