Spotlight on ApexSQL Log : SQL Server Audit & Recovery Tool

To emphasize this point once again, this whitepaper discusses a typical OLTP environment. I am not talking about OLAP systems, which certainly do have their own set of recommendations and guidelines, but are beyond the scope of this paper. Here are some interesting knowledgebase articles on this topic

How to: Create a Transaction Log Backup (Transact-SQL)
How to: Restore to the Point of Failure (Transact-SQL)
How to: Restore to a Point in Time (Transact-SQL)

Brief introduction into the overall use of ApexSQL Log

Given the above environment, let's explore how to use the software to get familiar with it. After installation and activation, you will see a typical Windows GUI when you start ApexSQL Log:

First thing you must do now, is to add the databases, respectively their logs, which you want to monitor. To add a database, you use the „New Log“ button from the toolbar or select this from the context menu of the Server Explorer.

The then activated wizard guides you safely through the rest of the process

The above screen is self-explaining and you should already be very familiar with it. It's the typical login dialog.

As you can see from the above picture, ApexSQL Log is able to deal with these types of logs:

• Online logs
• Backup logs
• Offline logs