Log shipping in SQL Server 2008 R2

SQL Server Administration
1

We are using 2008 R2 in our production environment.I would like implement log shipping in the following way.

  1. Disconnect all users and take cold backup.
  2. Starts the primary server after backup and restores the backup files in the secondary server.
  3. It may take 3 to 4 hours.
  4. Restores the log backups created in the primary server after backup completion to secondary server.

Then schedule log shipping.

Whether any issue in the above plan.

2

Should work but 1 is unnecessary.
The log backups are independent of the initial full backup or differentials.
There are a series of log backups and fulls/differentials. You pick a full + differential to restore then apply all the following logs.
If you are planning to leave the system offline while this is set up there is no need - depending on how you install it (I tend to code it manually rather than use any inbuilt tools but I think the 2008 version will copy the full backup and logs for you).
If you want to do a cold backup then I would take a full and restore that then close the system and take a diffential and restore that - depending on your system it might mean a lot less down time / critical admin work.

Try it on a small test system to make sure your architecture works.
You might have problems scheduling the log shipping on top of a manual restore of a backup depending on how you do it. I can remember having to play around with some flags to tell the system it was synchronised in older versions.

3

Hi,

I agree with Nigel with just the added note, you will need to ensure you do not have any of your scheduled maintenance jobs take log backups of the database in question if you are using the log shipping method of backing up and restoring the logs.

On more than one occasion I have seen the two sets of log files clashing or not restoring properly because there were effectively two sets of log backups on the go.