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Is it ok to switch to "Simple" recovery mode?

Posted: Mon Sep 30, 2013 12:36 pm
by crazyjoe
My AbleCommerce database is set to 'Full' Recovery Mode instead of 'Simple' causing a very large log file. 88GB! Is it ok to switch to "Simple" recovery mode?

Re: Is it ok to switch to "Simple" recovery mode?

Posted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 5:57 am
by jmestep
That depends on how important you think up to the second data recovery is. You would need to Google that and compare the modes in SQL Server to decide.

Re: Is it ok to switch to "Simple" recovery mode?

Posted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 6:20 am
by crazyjoe
Great! Thanks for your help Judy :-)

Re: Is it ok to switch to "Simple" recovery mode?

Posted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 6:30 am
by crazyjoe
I just read another post in the forum and now wonder if it would be better not to switch to Simple mode but to just truncate some of the data in the file that is no longer necessary? Would you suggest running some sql scripts to remove some data? I saw you posted truncate table ac_PageViews, are there any other tables that could be filling me up that I could remove. What is the best way to go about getting this 88GB db log file down. I've never used or viewed this file, as far as I know, can we just delete it and let a new one build up over the next 3 or 5 years (however long I've had that site up).

Re: Is it ok to switch to "Simple" recovery mode?

Posted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 1:32 pm
by jguengerich
You don't "use or view" the log file directly. It is under the control of SQL Server. It is what allows SQL Server to do point-in-time data recovery. Basically, if you are using Full recovery mode, you can have SQL Server create a backup of the log file, then have SQL Server truncate it. I am not an expert, but my understanding is that database and log file backups have to be done in a certain order before the log file can be truncated (shrunk). I don't have enough knowledge on the subject to give you a step-by-step procedure. I would suggest MSDN (msdn.microsoft.com) as a good place to find info on backing up and shrinking SQL Server databases and log files. Or Google, or an SQL Server book.

EDIT: Oops, I should have directed you to TechNet (see Judy's post below) instead of MSDN.

Re: Is it ok to switch to "Simple" recovery mode?

Posted: Wed Oct 02, 2013 5:16 am
by jmestep
Below is one link. It's been a while since I have dealt with this, so I didn't want to give more details without research.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/libr ... 05%29.aspx