You could see that the Database Backup LSN has not changed when you had used the COPY_ONLY option while taking the special database backup in between your scheduled backup plan. As the LSN value was intact you were able to perform the database restore successfully. You can see from the above snippet that the value for LSN from records number 10 – 16 is same and it is highlighted within the Green Box. It is advised to use the COPY_ONLY option while performing the special database backups. In SQL Server 2005 you can only perform COPY_ONLY database backups using TSQL code. However in SQL Server 2008 you can perform COPY_ONLY database backups even using SQL Server Management Studio by selecting the Copy Only Backup option as shown in the below snippet.
Conclusion
The COPY_ONLY database backup option is a great option for a database administrator to use, especially in scenarios when a development or test team requires a full copy of a production database to be made available for them to work on. This option can also be used while performing periodic database refreshes in beta, test or development environments.
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