On SuperUser.com, a question came up about how to do a proper Linux backup, including the applications installed, and associated configurations. In light of a previous post I wrote about backups and run books, I thought this would be useful information to share.
I answered with a link to the original run book I have used, from Microsoft’s own TechNet site. Though it deals specifically with SQL Server 2000 and high availability, the content of the article is more than enough for anyone to create their own run book:
A run book should contain all of the information you and your staff need to perform day-to-day operations and to respond to emergency situations. This information should include the following:
- Resource information about the data center and its hardware and software
- Process information, including step-by-step procedures for operational and emergency processes
The run book should contain all necessary information to enable a staff member to perform any process, from performing a backup to failing over to a remote site.
Following on from this post, two updates:
- Jes Borland (blog | Twitter) wrote a great post about documentation, including a sample Excel workbook, as a basis for a run book. The post also goes into detail about how to fill it in.
- With Azure Data Studio you can now use SQL notebooks (interactive documentation) to build a Transact-SQL-based run book for your organization. Rob Sewell (blog | Twitter) has a brief overview.
Check it out.
Photo by Jan Kahánek on Unsplash.