MSDN Documentation

Backup and Restore Analysis Services

This document provides comprehensive guidance on backing up and restoring SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) databases. Proper backup and restore strategies are crucial for data protection, disaster recovery, and managing SSAS environments.

Why Backup and Restore?

• Data Protection: Protect against accidental data loss, corruption, or hardware failures.
• Disaster Recovery: Enable rapid recovery of your SSAS databases in case of a major incident.
• Migration: Facilitate the migration of databases between servers or environments.
• Testing: Create copies of production databases for development and testing purposes.
• Auditing: Maintain historical versions of your databases.

Backup Strategies

Analysis Services supports several backup methods:

• Full Backup: A complete copy of the database.
• Differential Backup: Backs up only the data that has changed since the last full backup.
• Incremental Backup: (Not directly supported in the same way as SQL Server relational databases. SSAS backups are typically full or differential.)

Full Backup

A full backup is the most straightforward method. It copies the entire database. You can perform full backups using:

• SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
• AMO (Analysis Management Objects)
• XMLA (XML for Analysis) scripts

Differential Backup

Differential backups can save time and storage space by backing up only the changes made since the last full backup. This reduces the restore time compared to re-applying all transaction logs.

Restoring Analysis Services Databases

Restoring involves replacing an existing database with a backed-up version or creating a new database from a backup.

Restoring Process

The general steps for restoring an SSAS database are:

1. Connect to the Analysis Services instance using SSMS.
2. Right-click on the Databases folder.
3. Select Restore Database....
4. Choose the backup file (.abf) or backup set.
5. Specify the target database name.
6. Configure options such as overwriting an existing database.
7. Execute the restore operation.

Restoring to a Different Server

To restore a database to a different Analysis Services server, copy the backup file (.abf) to the destination server's accessible location and then follow the standard restore procedure.

Using XMLA for Backup and Restore

You can automate backup and restore operations using XMLA scripts. This is particularly useful for scheduled tasks and integration with other processes.

Example: Full Backup Script (XMLA)

<Backup xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/analysisservices/2003/engine">
    <Object>
        <DatabaseID>YourDatabaseName</DatabaseID>
    </Object>
    <File>C:\Backups\YourDatabaseName_Full_<?xm-replace_string id="1"?>{timestamp}<?xm-replace_string id="1"?>.abf</File>
    <Compression>true</Compression>
</Backup>

Example: Restore Script (XMLA)

<Restore xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/analysisservices/2003/engine">
    <File>C:\Backups\YourDatabaseName_Full_20231027100000.abf</File>
    <DatabaseID>YourDatabaseName_Restored</DatabaseID>
    <Replace>true</Replace>
    <AllowOverwrite>true</AllowOverwrite>
</Restore>

Best Practices

• Schedule Regular Backups: Implement a consistent backup schedule based on your RPO (Recovery Point Objective).
• Store Backups Securely: Keep backup files in a secure location, preferably off-site or in a replicated storage solution.
• Test Your Backups: Periodically perform test restores to ensure the integrity of your backups and the effectiveness of your restore process.
• Monitor Backup Jobs: Use SQL Server Agent or other scheduling tools to monitor backup job success and failures.
• Document Your Strategy: Maintain clear documentation of your backup and restore procedures.
• Consider Backup Compression: Enable compression to reduce backup file size and save storage space.