Database Backup and Recovery for System Administrators Training Course

Course overview

Database failures are rarely caused by a missing backup alone. System administrators must be able to prove that backups are complete, protected, retained correctly and recoverable within an agreed recovery time objective (RTO). This course addresses the operational risks behind failed restores: incomplete transaction-log chains, inconsistent snapshots, untested replication failover, weak backup permissions, expired retention copies and recovery runbooks that do not match the production environment. Participants learn to make defensible recovery decisions during incidents rather than relying on assumptions or vendor defaults.

Across five days, participants examine database backup architectures for Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL and Oracle environments. They configure full, differential, incremental and transaction-log backups; apply point-in-time recovery; manage backup retention and off-site copies; validate backup integrity; and restore databases to replacement hosts. The course also covers recovery objectives, backup monitoring, encryption, access control, cloud and object-storage considerations, disaster-recovery testing and incident documentation. Participants practise selecting a recovery method based on data-loss tolerance, service priority and available infrastructure.

Delivery combines instructor-led technical sessions with guided lab work, recovery scenarios and peer review of operating procedures. Participants work through simulated corruption, accidental deletion, storage loss and ransomware-style recovery cases using database-native tools and documented recovery plans. Each participant leaves with a tailored Backup and Recovery Operations Pack: an asset inventory template, backup policy, retention matrix, restore test checklist, recovery runbook and 90-day improvement plan that can be adapted for their own estate.

The course is designed for system administrators responsible for database platforms, backups, storage or operational resilience. It is especially valuable where administrators support several database products, inherited undocumented environments or services with formal availability and data-protection commitments.

Course objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Define recovery point and recovery time objectives for named database services using a service criticality matrix
• Configure full, differential, incremental and transaction-log backup schedules using database-native tooling
• Perform point-in-time recovery by restoring database backups and replaying transaction or write-ahead logs
• Validate backup integrity with checksums, restore verification and documented test evidence
• Build a retention and off-site copy policy using the 3-2-1 backup principle and retention tiers
• Recover a database to an alternate host using a step-by-step recovery runbook
• Monitor backup jobs, capacity trends and failure alerts through operational dashboards and escalation rules
• Produce a tested Backup and Recovery Operations Pack for a selected database service

Benefits of attending

Target competencies

Who should attend

• System Administrators — who operate database hosts and need reliable restore procedures during service incidents
• Database Administrators — who configure database-native backups and must demonstrate recoverability
• Infrastructure Engineers — who provide storage, virtualisation and recovery infrastructure for database platforms
• IT Operations Engineers — who monitor scheduled backup jobs and coordinate first-line incident response
• Cloud Operations Engineers — who manage database backups across cloud storage, regions and retention controls
• Technical Service Managers — who own availability commitments and need evidence that recovery targets are achievable

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should be comfortable administering Windows Server or Linux, using a command line, navigating filesystems and interpreting basic service logs. They should understand relational database fundamentals, including databases, tables, transactions, users and client connections, and have some exposure to at least one platform such as Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL or Oracle. Experience creating backups is helpful but not essential. Participants do not need to be database developers, storage specialists or experienced DBAs, and no prior disaster-recovery certification is required. Complete beginners should expect to spend additional time before the course reviewing SQL basics and operating-system file permissions.

Training methodology

The instructor introduces each recovery concept using production-style diagrams, command examples and failure evidence, then participants apply it in guided database labs. Exercises use Microsoft SQL Server backup and restore features, PostgreSQL tooling, Oracle RMAN and MySQL backup workflows to compare operational choices. Small groups assess incident cases involving corruption, deleted records and unavailable primary storage, selecting recovery paths against stated RPO and RTO targets. The final session is a runbook workshop in which participants assemble and review a recovery plan for a representative service.

Course outline

Day 1: Recovery objectives and backup architecture

• Database failure modes: corruption, deletion, hardware loss and ransomware
• Recovery point objective and recovery time objective calculation
• Service criticality classification and recovery dependency mapping
• Full, differential, incremental and transaction-log backup models
• Consistency, quiescing and transactionally consistent backup concepts
• The 3-2-1 principle, immutable copies and off-site storage
• Backup policy structure, ownership and evidence requirements

Workshop: Participants build a service criticality matrix and draft RPO, RTO and backup-policy requirements for a six-service database estate.

Day 2: Database-native backup configuration

• Microsoft SQL Server full, differential and log backup chains
• PostgreSQL base backups, WAL archiving and restore prerequisites
• Oracle RMAN backup sets, control files and recovery catalog concepts
• MySQL physical and logical backup approaches
• Backup compression, encryption and key-management considerations
• Scheduling backup jobs and handling maintenance windows
• Backup storage sizing, throughput and capacity forecasting

Workshop: Participants configure a backup schedule for a selected lab platform and produce a storage estimate and job schedule.

Day 3: Restore operations and point-in-time recovery

• Restore sequence planning and backup-chain dependency checks
• Point-in-time recovery using transaction logs and write-ahead logs
• Restoring to alternate hosts and isolated recovery environments
• Database naming, file relocation and permission remediation after restore
• Integrity checks, checksum validation and application smoke testing
• Recovering from accidental table deletion and logical data loss
• Measuring actual recovery time against service targets

Workshop: Participants recover a deliberately damaged database to a specified timestamp and produce a timed restore-validation record.

Day 4: Resilience, security and operational control

• Backup monitoring metrics, alert thresholds and failure triage
• Retention schedules, legal holds and secure disposal of backup media
• Least-privilege access for backup operators and service accounts
• Encryption at rest, encryption in transit and key recovery risks
• Snapshots, replication and backups: selecting the correct protection method
• Cloud object storage tiers, replication and egress considerations
• Ransomware recovery sequencing and clean-room restore practices

Workshop: Participants investigate a simulated failed backup and ransomware scenario, then create an escalation path and clean recovery sequence.

Day 5: Recovery testing and operational readiness

• Restore-test scope, frequency and success criteria
• Tabletop exercises versus technical disaster-recovery tests
• Recovery runbook structure, command capture and decision points
• Roles, communications and approval gates during recovery incidents
• Recording restore evidence for audits and post-incident reviews
• Gap analysis against RPO, RTO and backup-policy commitments
• Ninety-day backup and recovery improvement planning

Workshop: Participants complete and peer-review a Backup and Recovery Operations Pack containing a runbook, test checklist, retention matrix and improvement plan.

Tools & standards covered

Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL pgBackRest, Oracle Recovery Manager (RMAN), MySQL Enterprise Backup

A typical training day

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in the East Africa Time zone, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

How you can take this course

Certification

Participants who complete the full five days receive the Skillset Development Certificate of Completion, stating the course title, course code, dates and delivery format — suitable for professional-development records and employer reimbursement.

Frequently asked questions