Run Transaction Log backups only during Work hours?

Currently we have a number of databases that are in full recovery model. This is a conscious decision.

We also run the transaction log backups every 15 minutes.

But we run the transaction log backups only during the hour when people work with the databases, that is between 7 in the morning until 8 in the evening.

My question is:

• On a technical level, is this a good practice or not?

On a technical level: is this a good practice or not?

I would say not. If the database is experiencing no activity at all during the business off hours, then taking the backups is very low overhead. On the other hand, if the database is experiencing any activity during business off hours then not taking the backups is a serious problem.

My stance is that taking the backup has advantages:

• is "future proof": if someone adds an off-hours job, your backups will 'just-work'

• less complex, is easier to explain/understand/operate: no special hours for log backups. No special recovery procedure for 'off hours' vs. 'on hours'

• it does no damage

StackExchange Database Administrators Q#126503, answer score: 11