I have a SQL server that has a test pp I have written. This thing is gaining traction and I am worried about losing data (and the time it took users to enter the data) if the SQL server gets corrupted or someone does something dumb.
I am thinking of what options I have that would do a nightly backup as a maintenance plan, and what I can do as far as replicate the DB to another SQL server box.
What are the pros and cons? What’s the best practice here?
If you only need to preserve the structure and contents of the database, then the database backup is best.
If you have a need to work with a replica of the database, then consider replication. Replication takes more work to maintain, and doesn’t provide an easy recovery capability if it’s there only for backup reasons.