Using FlashArray Volume Snapshots with Microsoft SQL Server

FlashArray volume snapshots are an amazing tool for any DBA/DBRE managing SQL Server.  

You can use them to:

• Instantly recover from user errors or ransomware attacks
• Create rapid dev/test copies without full restores
• Offload CHECKDB to another host to avoid production performance hits
• Refresh reporting environments on demand
• Seed Always On availability groups faster, without large full backups
• Enable point-in-time recovery when paired with SQL log backups

And the best part? Snapshots on FlashArray are:

• Immutable
• Space-efficient
• Fast to create and restore
• Fully automatable through the REST API or SDK tools!

I worked very closely with our SQL Server field super stars (Anthony Nocentino, Andrew Pruski and Andrew Yun) on a white paper going VERY deep into the architecture and how to. It includes everything  from crash- vs. application-consistent snapshots, to step-by-step restore and cloning procedures, to using SQL Server 2022’s new T-SQL snapshot backup.

Did we miss anything ? Let us know!