Recovery model mismatched to the real RPO
Simple recovery on critical databases, or Full recovery without log backups — both break the recovery story the business thinks it bought.
Recovery model is a business decision disguised as a database option.
Two failure modes
- Simple recovery on a system where leadership believes point-in-time restore exists
- Full recovery without a log backup cadence that matches RPO
Both appear regularly in first-pass reviews.
How to align
- Capture true RPO/RTO with the business (not only IT)
- Choose recovery model that can meet it
- Fund the backup jobs and storage that make it true
- Test restores that match the promise
Why consultants push this early
Fancy performance work does not help if yesterday’s orders cannot be restored. Recovery alignment is foundation-level health — and a core part of our free SQL Server health check.
Need hands-on SQL Server help?
Allay Data Solutions offers maintenance, tuning, and assessments from Port Elizabeth, South Africa.