SQL Server Performance Forum – Threads Archive

Compression

I am in need of compressing a backup file (*.bak) that is 90GB. I have only 35GB free space on the drive it lives on and 25GB free space on the hard drive. I am told that WinZip has a threshold limit that would not come near 90GB. I am sure there are compression tools out there that can take on 90GB plus files, but it seems like the compression tools I have worked with require some kind of "working folder", and with only 35GB free space and a 90GB file needing compressed, is there a work around, or a tool that is capable of working within these space limiting parameters? Thanks

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You have a couple of tools for that:
SQLZIP
LiteSpeed
and Red Gate, in B right now. See details in articles, they are ours sponsors Luis Martin
Moderator
SQL-Server-Performance.com One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important
Bertrand Russell
All postings are provided “AS IS” with no warranties for accuracy.

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Thanks, but what I really need to know is having to compress 95GB, with 35GB free space, and not knowing if any of the tools you suggested are going to fill that space up using a working folder and crash the system. I need to move forward with confidence before making the investment.

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Those tools, compress up to 90% depends on kind of data. So I think 90 Gby, may compress said 15 Gby and 20 Gby is sufficient to work space. Anyway, you can download and try, because is free to try with full capabilities. Luis Martin
Moderator
SQL-Server-Performance.com One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important
Bertrand Russell
All postings are provided “AS IS” with no warranties for accuracy.

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Also, none of the tools mentioned use a "working folder". They tie directly into the API for SQL Server and compress the backups as they are being created. This means the full size never hits the disk system. It’s one of the major reasons they’re so much faster. They should easily compress your database to 35gb, unless you have TONS of images and binary data. Images and binary data don’t compress and can actually take slightly longer to run then a standard backup would because of the compressions algorithms.
MeanOldDBA
[email protected] When life gives you a lemon, fire the DBA.

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As another fyi, Idera also has a product called SQLSafe that does the same thing. MeanOldDBA
[email protected] When life gives you a lemon, fire the DBA.

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I have tested both Idera and Litespeed and in my results, Litespeed is much better than Idera in all respects. As far as cost is concerned, Idera is a winner but we ended up buying LiteSpeed because Idera had many bugs in it. HTH
-Rajeev Lahoty

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We bought LiteSpeed also. I didn’t see that much of a difference in speed or compression. I was more impressed with the stability and integration of LiteSpeed though. Also, the cost and time of changing our scripts over to LiteSpeed was minimal compared to Idera. Having said that, Idera is still in a first version and the cost difference is fairly significant if you only have one instance you want to cover. MeanOldDBA
[email protected] When life gives you a lemon, fire the DBA.

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