partial backup/restore

 http://www.sqlmag.com/blogs/sql-server-questions-answered/sql-server-questions-answered/tabid/1977/entryid/12771/Using-Partial-Database-Availability-for-Targeted-Restores.aspx

Listing 1: Code to Create a Database with Multiple File Groups

CREATE   DATABASE  ExampleDB;
GO  

ALTER   DATABASE  ExampleDB  ADD  FILEGROUP TestFileGroup1;
ALTER   DATABASE  ExampleDB  ADD  FILEGROUP TestFileGroup2;
GO  

ALTER   DATABASE  ExampleDB  ADD   FILE  (
      NAME  =  TestFile1,
      FILENAME  =   ' C:\SQLskills\TestFile1.ndf ' ,
      SIZE  =  5MB)
TO  FILEGROUP TestFileGroup1;
ALTER   DATABASE  ExampleDB  ADD   FILE  (
      NAME  =  TestFile2,
      FILENAME  =   ' C:\SQLskills\TestFile2.ndf ' ,
      SIZE  =  5MB)
TO  FILEGROUP TestFileGroup2;
GO  

CREATE   TABLE  ExampleDB..t1 (c1  INT )  ON  TestFileGroup1;
CREATE   TABLE  ExampleDB..t2 (c1  INT )  ON  TestFileGroup2;
GO

INSERT   INTO  ExampleDB..t1  VALUES  ( 1 );
INSERT   INTO  ExampleDB..t2  VALUES  ( 2 );
GO  

BACKUP   DATABASE  ExampleDB  TO   DISK   =   ' c:\SQLskills\ExampleDB.bck ' ;

--BACKUP DATABASE Sales FILEGROUP = 'primary'  TO DISK = 'C:\SQLskills\ExampleDBPrimaryFG.bck'-- you can only backup the primary filegroup which contains all the definiton of objects,users...
GO

 

Now on a different system you can restore just the primary file group and the first file group. The key is to restore the primary file group first using WITH PARTIAL to let SQL Server know you aren’t restoring the entire database, as shown in Listing 2.
Listing 2: Restoring the Primary File Group Using WITH PARTIAL

 

RESTORE   DATABASE  ExampleDB
    FILEGROUP  =   ' primary '
FROM   DISK   =   ' c:\SQLskills\ExampleDB.bck '
WITH  PARTIAL, NORECOVERY;
GO

RESTORE   DATABASE  ExampleDB
    FILEGROUP  =   ' TestFileGroup1 '
FROM   DISK   =   ' c:\SQLskills\ExampleDB.bck '
WITH  NORECOVERY;
GO

 

Next, you can restore any differential and/or transaction log backups to get the restored file groups to the desired point in time, and then bring the database online using the following code:
RESTORE DATABASE ExampleDB WITH RECOVERY;
If I query the database using the code in Listing 3, it will show me what’s online.

Listing 3: Code Used to Determine Which File Groups Are Online

SELECT [name], [state_desc] FROM ExampleDB.sys.database_files;
 GO
 name             state_desc
 ---------------- -----------------
 ExampleDB        ONLINE
 ExampleDB_log    ONLINE
 TestFile1        ONLINE
 TestFile2        RECOVERY_PENDING 
      

Now, of course, I can only use the portions of the database that I’ve restored. If I try to access anything in an offline file group, I’ll get an error similar to the following:

SELECT * FROM ExampleDB..t2;
 GO
 Msg 8653, Level 16, State 1, Line 1
 The query processor is unable to produce a plan for the table or view 't2' because the table resides in a filegroup which is not online.
   
     

 

 http://www.sqlmag.com/blogs/sql-server-questions-answered/sql-server-questions-answered/tabid/1977/entryid/12771/Using-Partial-Database-Availability-for-Targeted-Restores.aspx