Some of
these attributes are confusing because they could be referring to either a native SQL
Server backup or a third-party backup.
THE ALL-IMPORTANT LSN
The LSN, or Log Sequence Number, is the key to a successful restore operation. To have any sort of
point-in-time restore, you must have an unbroken chain of LSNs, either via full, differential, or log backups,
or in some scenarios, the active transaction log. If you lose a single LSN, you may be stuck
restoring up to that point. When running the RESTORE HEADERONLY command, you??™ll see a number of
different LSN entries, including one associated with having multiple restore ???branches.??? The bottom line
is that LSNs, which ultimately get written to the transaction log, are the lifeblood of restore and recovery.
Make sure that your transaction logs are complete, secure, and structurally intact.
Some undocumented commands let you look at log entries and such, but I??™m not going to share
them, because it??™s easy to make things worse than better by using them (I know this from experience
??”trust me). If you ever believe that you have an invalid ???broken chain??? of LSN entries, call PSS
before attempting anything.
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