Backup and Restore
We can collect backups and restore databases using SSMS or by submitting XMLA commands. If you are programmatically inclined, you can also use Analysis Management Objects (AMO) code to collect backups, restore databases, and perform any other administrative function. With MSAS 2005, backups were scalable for databases of approximately 20GB; backing up databases that were larger than 20GB could take much longer, and backup file compression rates left much to be desired. MSAS 2008 offers dramatic improvements with both backup speed and file compression rate, even for very large databases. Both versions allow encrypting database backups and specifying partition storage location while restoring databasesthe latter functionality is particularly helpful with large databases whose partitions may have to be spread over multiple disk volumes.
One feature MSAS DBAs still sorely lack is the ability to verify backup reliability. The only way to confirm that the backup is valid is to actually restore the database. Sadly, you may sometimes find that the backup command succeeds but you aren’t able to restore the database from the backup file.