TechNet Magazine: October SQL Q&A column


It’s been almost two weeks since my last post as we’ve been offline in Scotland (another photo post to follow – I owe you two now…) but now we’re back for the crazy Fall conference and teaching season.


The latest installment of my regular Q&A column in TechNet Magazine is available at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc895648.aspx. This month I cover the following topics:



  • How backups and restores work and why the times for each may differ
  • The difference between log shipping and database mirroring around BULK_LOGGED operations
  • How other factors apart from log backups can contribute to excessively large transaction logs
  • Why database repair exists and why it shouldn’t be used
  • Tracking index usage with sys.dm_db_index_usage_stats

Enjoy!

6 thoughts on “TechNet Magazine: October SQL Q&A column

  1. I am trying to find some good information of TUF file and what it really stores inside the file. Is there any good whitepaper or blogs.

    I tried few but it hasn’t been explained much in detail

  2. TUF stands for Transaction Undo File. It is the file extension used by convention when MS code creates standby files when restoring to Read Only/Standby mode, i.e. RESTORE …. WITH STANDBY = dbname_yyyymmddhhmmss.tuf

    see http://technet.microsoft.com/en-au/library/cc966495.aspx

    "Transaction undo file
    File containing information regarding any modifications that were made as part of incomplete transactions at the time the backup was performed. A transaction undo file is required if a database is loaded in read-only state. In this state, further transaction log backups may be applied."

  3. Never heard it called that before – it’s usually just called the undo file (and that’s what we used to call it in the SQL team too :-)

    1. can you please tell me where TUF file will located(stored) in log shipping [which server(primary\secondary) and exact path]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Other articles

Imagine feeling confident enough to handle whatever your database throws at you.

With training and consulting from SQLskills, you’ll be able to solve big problems, elevate your team’s capacity, and take control of your data career.