Log Shipping
Log Shipping is a high-availability and disaster recovery technique used in database management systems, primarily for SQL Server, to automatically copy and restore transaction log backups from a primary database server to one or more secondary servers. It involves periodically backing up transaction logs on the primary server, transferring them to secondary servers, and restoring them to keep the secondary databases synchronized. This process ensures data redundancy and enables quick failover in case of primary server failure.
Developers should learn Log Shipping when building or maintaining mission-critical applications that require robust data protection and minimal downtime, such as financial systems, e-commerce platforms, or healthcare databases. It is particularly useful for scenarios where real-time synchronization is not mandatory but near-real-time data availability is needed for disaster recovery, as it provides a cost-effective alternative to more complex solutions like database mirroring or Always On Availability Groups.