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If want to ensure the integrity of a backup, would it be a necessity to use a checksum on all of my backups and not just the 'verify backup' option?

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Based on this it appears as though 'verify backup' ensures that the set is restore-able whereas the checksum indicates more about the data within the backup. – swasheck Sep 14 '12 at 17:01
That's perfect, much appreciated, swascheck. – Balance and Composure Sep 14 '12 at 18:56

1 Answer

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From MSDN

CHECKSUM Specifies that the backup operation will verify each page for checksum and torn page, if enabled and available, and generate a checksum for the entire backup. This is the default behavior for a compressed backup.

All the verify backup option does is confirm that the header of your backup is readable, nothing else.

Neither of these options will tell you that you have a good backup! The only way to confirm that your backup is good is to restore it on another system

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