Restore SQL Server databases using T-SQL and Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP Snapshots

This article explains how to restore SQL Server databases using T-SQL commands and Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP snapshots, reducing restore times from 11 hours to under 5 minutes.

• Restore SQL Server databases using FSxN snapshots and T-SQL metadata backups
• Supports full database restore and point-in-time recovery (PITR) scenarios
• Requires prerequisites: SQL Server 2022 on EC2, application-consistent backups, PowerShell 7
• Process involves taking database offline, unmapping LUNs, restoring snapshots, remapping LUNs
• Restore time reduced 132x faster compared to traditional methods (11 hours to under 5 minutes)
• CPU impact reduced 8.8x, network traffic reduced 79-330x, storage throughput reduced 52x
• Supports data corruption recovery, development/testing, migration, compliance, accidental deletion recovery
• Includes step-by-step walkthrough with T-SQL commands and PowerShell scripts
• Automation scripts available for backup and restore operations

This solution significantly improves SQL Server database restore performance on AWS using FSxN snapshots, making it practical for enterprise workloads requiring rapid recovery.