File / filegroup restore vs database / log restore in SQL Server

everyone

I have been doing some reading about database backup and restore.

While I have some understanding about full / differential database backup and restore + subsequent log backup and restore, I can not comprehend the usefulness of DATA /FILEGROUPS backup and restore.

I am not asking about the syntax, but rather its usefulness and situations under which regular full database backup + differential database backup + log backup + tail-log backup would not be sufficient or inappropriate.

Thanks

Well, here is a simple example. You have a large database, but most of the data is history. You go ahead and partition out the historical data onto read only filegroups. This information is used on a regular basis for reporting but not for the actual application. It is, lets say, 90% of your database.

If there is a problem you can restore the read/write portion much more quickly to get the application up and running. Then once your application is functioning you can restore the read/only portion (which of course will take much longer).

StackExchange Database Administrators Q#145782, answer score: 4