How do I find the FamilyGUID of an exsting database

When executing a RESTORE command, I understand that SQL Server ensures that an existing database is not being overwritten by a different database. This check can be bypassed using REPLACE.

I understand that SQL Server uses the backup file's FamilyGUID to determine whether the database being restored is the same as the database being overwritten. Is this correct?

I understand that the FamilyGUID of the backup file can be determined using

RESTORE headeronly FROM DISK = N'Q:\MyBackup.bak'

But how can I find the FamilyGUID of the database that is being overwritten?

You can use the catalog view - sys.database_recovery_status

SELECT DB_NAME(database_id) as DatabaseName, database_guid, family_guid
FROM master.sys.database_recovery_status

You can make your restore process more sophisticated by comparing the family_guid of the backup file and the database to be restored.

Just dump the info of RESTORE headeronly into a temp table and use above query to compare. If they are different then there is a problem.

StackExchange Database Administrators Q#244130, answer score: 9