Have you ever faced a situation where you needed to restore a database to a specific point in time? Point-in-time recovery is a crucial feature in SQL Server that allows you to restore a database to a specific moment in time, rather than just restoring to the most recent backup. In this article, we will explore the concept of point-in-time recovery and provide a working script that you can use in such scenarios.

Step 1: Set up Script and Backup Database

The first step in performing a point-in-time recovery is to set up the necessary environment and take a full backup of the database. This ensures that you have a starting point from which you can restore the database to a specific point in time. Here is a simple script that demonstrates this:

-- Creating environment
-- Create Database
CREATE DATABASE SQLAuthority;

-- Make sure database is in full recovery
ALTER DATABASE SQLAuthority SET RECOVERY FULL;

USE SQLAuthority;

-- Create Table
CREATE TABLE TestTable (ID INT);

-- Taking full backup
BACKUP DATABASE [SQLAuthority] TO DISK = N'D:\SQLAuthority.bak';

-- Inserting data into TestTable
INSERT INTO TestTable (ID) VALUES (1);

-- Taking log backup
BACKUP LOG [SQLAuthority] TO DISK = N'D:\SQLAuthority1.trn';

-- Inserting more data into TestTable
INSERT INTO TestTable (ID) VALUES (2);

-- Taking another log backup
BACKUP LOG [SQLAuthority] TO DISK = N'D:\SQLAuthority2.trn';

-- Inserting more data into TestTable
INSERT INTO TestTable (ID) VALUES (3);
INSERT INTO TestTable (ID) VALUES (4);

-- Taking one more log backup
BACKUP LOG [SQLAuthority] TO DISK = N'D:\SQLAuthority3.trn';

-- Inserting more data into TestTable
INSERT INTO TestTable (ID) VALUES (5);
INSERT INTO TestTable (ID) VALUES (6);
INSERT INTO TestTable (ID) VALUES (7);
INSERT INTO TestTable (ID) VALUES (8);

-- Truncating the TestTable
TRUNCATE TABLE TestTable;

-- Inserting more data into TestTable
INSERT INTO TestTable (ID) VALUES (9);

-- Taking one final log backup
BACKUP LOG [SQLAuthority] TO DISK = N'D:\SQLAuthority4.trn';

Step 2: Restore the Database in Point-in-Time

Once you have set up the environment and taken the necessary backups, you can proceed with restoring the database to a specific point in time. This involves restoring the full backup and subsequent transaction log backups up to the desired point in time. Here is a script that demonstrates this:

USE [master];

-- Taking a tail log backup
BACKUP LOG [SQLAuthority] TO DISK = N'D:\SQLAuthority5.trn' WITH NORECOVERY;

-- Restoring the full backup
RESTORE DATABASE [SQLAuthority] FROM DISK = N'D:\SQLAuthority.bak' WITH STANDBY = N'D:\SQLAuthority11.bak';

-- Restoring the transaction log backups
RESTORE LOG [SQLAuthority] FROM DISK = N'D:\SQLAuthority1.trn' WITH STANDBY = N'D:\SQLAuthority11.trn';
RESTORE LOG [SQLAuthority] FROM DISK = N'D:\SQLAuthority2.trn' WITH STANDBY = N'D:\SQLAuthority21.trn';
RESTORE LOG [SQLAuthority] FROM DISK = N'D:\SQLAuthority3.trn' WITH STOPAT = '2011-12-21 11:12:18.797', STANDBY = N'D:\SQLAuthority33.trn';

-- Rolling the database forward
RESTORE LOG [SQLAuthority] WITH RECOVERY;

Step 3: Clean up the Database

After performing the point-in-time recovery, it is important to clean up the database and make it operational again. This involves setting the database to single-user mode and then dropping the database if needed. Here is a script that demonstrates this:

USE [master];

-- Setting the database to single-user mode
ALTER DATABASE [SQLAuthority] SET SINGLE_USER WITH ROLLBACK IMMEDIATE;

-- Dropping the database
DROP DATABASE [SQLAuthority];

Point-in-time recovery is a powerful feature in SQL Server that allows you to restore a database to a specific moment in time. By following the steps outlined in this article and using the provided script, you can easily perform point-in-time recovery in your SQL Server environment. If you have any suggestions or enhancements for this script, feel free to let us know in the comments.