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Requirements for protecting SQL

The requirements for protecting your SQL databases vary based on the configuration of your SQL servers and the SQL Server features used in your environment. The agent and system requirements described below apply to all SQL protection. If you are protecting SQL clusters or data on SMB 3.0 shares, additional requirements apply. See the following topics for details:

ClosedAgent prerequisites for Microsoft SQL

The Unitrends Windows agent is needed to protect hosted SQL databases. Before you install the agent, the following must be installed on the SQL server:

• The SQL Server VSS Writer, SQL Server Browser, and BP Agent services must be installed and running to perform backup and restore operations. If the SQL Server VSS Writer or SQL Server Browser services are not started when you install the Windows agent, the agent cannot detect the SQL instance.
– The SQL Server VSS Writer must be started and set to automatic startup.
– The SQL Server Browser must be started and set to automatic startup.
– The BP Agent service is installed when the Windows agent is installed on the SQL server.
• The Volume Shadow Copy service must be installed and can be set to manual or automatic startup.
• The NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM account must be configured as sysadmin. This account is used to perform SQL backup and recovery jobs.

Note:  Beginning in SQL Server 2012, SQL does not grant NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM sysadmin privileges by default. For SQL Server 2012 and later versions, you must manually add NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM as a system administrator. For details, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base.

It is best practice to run the latest Unitrends appliance and agent software versions to protect your SQL environment. Older versions do not support all current Unitrends features:

• To protect SQL Server 2016, the appliance and Windows agent must be running release 9.0.0-13 or later.

Note:  SQL 2016 can be protected for the same functionality as SQL 2014. New features introduced in SQL 2016 are not supported. (Note that the current UI supports protection of SQL 2016 Always Encrypted and Stretch databases. Consider moving to the new UI to protect these SQL 2016 databases.)

• To protect SQL Server 2014, the appliance and Windows agent must be running release 8.0.0-4 or later.
• Additional agent version requirements apply to specific SQL features. For details, see the feature requirements sections.
ClosedSQL system requirements

In addition to the agent requirements:

• The SQL application must be a supported version listed in the Unitrends Compatibility and Interoperability Matrix.
• The SQL server must be running a supported Windows operating system listed in the Unitrends Compatibility and Interoperability Matrix.
• The SQL application and server must be set up in a supported Microsoft deployment configuration.
ClosedAdditional system requirements for SQL clusters and SMB 3.0

In addition to the agent and system requirements, the following are required to protect SQL clusters or data residing on SMB 3.0 shares:

• The Unitrends appliance must be running release 8.1 or higher.
• For clusters, all nodes in the SQL cluster must be running Windows agent release 8.1 or higher.
• For the applicable clustered or SMB 3.0 setup, SQL and Windows versions must also meet the requirements in the following table:

Configuration

SQL

Windows

Cluster Volume

2005

2003 SP1, 2008, 2008 R2, 2012, 2012 R2, 2016

 

2008

2008, 2008 R2, 2012, 2012 R2, 2016

 

2012

2012, 2012 R2, 2016

 

2014

2012, 2012 R2, 2016

 

2016

2012, 2012 R2, 2016

Clustered Shared Volume

2012

2012, 2012 R2, 2016

 

2014

2012, 2012 R2, 2016

 

2016

2012, 2012 R2, 2016

AlwaysOn Clusters

2012

2012, 2012 R2, 2016

 

2014

2012, 2012 R2, 2016

 

2016

2012, 2012 R2, 2016

SMB 3.0

2012

2012, 2012 R2, 2016

 

2014

2012, 2012 R2, 2016

 

2016

2012, 2012 R2, 2016

SQL Failover Clusters

2014

2012, 2012 R2, 2016

 

2016

2012, 2012 R2, 2016