Compare and synchronize backup files

Last modified: August 8, 2024

Data Compare for SQL Server provides an option of comparing data between backup files or between databases and backup files. This feature can be useful if you want, for example, to retrieve data from a backup file and compare it with your database without restoring or copying the backup from a remote network.

Compatibility issues

Data Compare supports:

• Native SQL Server backups

Note

If you want to set up a comparison using a backup, you should keep in mind that Data Compare for SQL Server does not support:

• Tables that do not have a primary key, unique index, or unique constraint
• Views
• Computed columns, but you can compare persisted computed columns
• String representations of CLR types (only binary representation is supported)
• Custom comparison keys, but you can select an alternative unique index, or unique constraint
• Row filtering using the SQL Filter Editor

With Data Compare, you can:

• Compare a backup file with another backup file or with a database
• Create a synchronization script from a backup
• Update the database from which the backup was created
• Recover individual rows from a backup

Note

Backup files cannot be modified directly. If you set a backup file as the Target, the Data Synchronization wizard creates a script to update the database from which the backup was created.

If you set a backup file as the Source, and a database is the Target, the database can be synchronized with the backup.

Differential backups

dbForge Data Compare can retrieve the data from full or differential backups. However, if you select a differential backup that is part of a series of differential backups, the tool will compare the changes made up to the moment of that particular backup. It will take into account the modifications made in previous backups but will not consider any changes made in subsequent backups.