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Feature Request for next Version of SQL Backup

Occasionally I have the need to look at the data in a table from an archived backup of a database. I would really appreciate the ability to restore just a single table with a new name to an existing database or with the existing name to a new database from a SQL Backup backup file.

Right now, I have to restore the entire database to a "test" database and then pull out the table that I need to interrogate and then drop the "test" database.
abuttery
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  • Robert C
    Hi,

    You might like to have a look at SQL Compare and SQL Data Compare, if you're trying to pull individual objects out of a backup.

    SQL Data Compare 6 and later ("Pro" edition) can ready data directly from a backup file, and synchronise it into a live database, so if you've already got a way of recreating an empty table into which you can pull the data, that should do the trick. You can also chose the data to import on a row-by-row basis, or compare a backup to a live database, if you're just looking at the changes made over a period of time.

    In SQL Compare 7 Pro, which should be coming out fairly soon now, you'll also be able to do the same for the schema, so even if you don't have the schema available, you can pull that out from the backup.

    Hope that helps,
    Robert
    Robert C
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  • abuttery
    Thanks. I have the toolbelt which includes those products so I'll take a look at them. I'd still prefer to have the object level restore capability in SQL Backup but having it available in another tool will suffice for now.
    abuttery
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  • petey
    Just be aware of what table level recovery actually does, and why its most reliable only when used on a backup that was created when no active transactions were taking place.
    petey
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  • abuttery
    In my environment that is not a problem. The tables that I'm concerned with are in a data warehouse that is updated each morning by a defined process. The backups occur each evening after business hours. The users only have read-only access (db_datareader) to the database as a whole. Only the DBA staff and the nightly processing jobs have the appropriate permissions to update the data in the Warehouse.
    abuttery
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  • HJoyce
    Thought you might be interested in this post:

    http://www.simple-talk.com/community/blogs/brian_donahue/archive/2008/08/16/68713.aspx
    HJoyce
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  • abuttery
    Thank you for referring me to this. I will check it out as soon as I get some time and let you know how it goes.
    abuttery
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