PostgreSQL vs. SQL Server: Backup and Restore Strategy Differences

The December Ohio North Database Training user group meeting will be held on December 1st, 2026 at 5:00PM. This will be a HYBRID event and we will be joined online by Taiob Ali.

You're welcome to come meet in-person at our meeting location, the offices of Improving at

6000 Freedom Square Dr,
Unit 110,
Independence, OH 44131

Teams Link if anyone needs it after RSVP-ing for in person.

If you would like to subscribe to our email list outside of Meetup, we have changed platforms recently and you will need to register here in Kit instead to receive emails.

Agenda:

5:00 PM EST: Online and in-person meeting begins with a social hour. This is an unstructured hour where you can join us to catch up and meet other group members before the session starts. There will be food brought in for in-person attendees.

6:00 PM EST: Elections, announcements, followed by our feature presentation. See below for presentation details.

7:30 PM EST: Optionally after the main presentations, the in-person crowd may go out for snacks and drinks at a local establishment.

We hope to see you there!

Session Abstract
PostgreSQL vs. SQL Server: Backup and Restore Strategy Differences
Reliable backup and restore strategies are critical for ensuring high availability and disaster recovery in database environments. For SQL Server experts exploring PostgreSQL, understanding the fundamental differences in how these systems handle backups is essential. This session will compare the backup and restore mechanisms of SQL Server and PostgreSQL, focusing on full, differential, and transaction log backups, as well as point-in-time recovery workflows. Aimed at database administrators and developers, the presentation will highlight how each system approaches backup granularity, recovery models, and tooling to support resilient operations.

For example, did you know that:

-SQL Server supports per-database full, differential, and transaction log backups, while PostgreSQL’s native physical backups operate at the cluster level.
-SQL Server’s differential backups track changes since the last full backup, whereas PostgreSQL relies on continuous Write-Ahead Log (WAL) archiving for incremental recovery.
-SQL Server provides integrated backup and restore commands, while PostgreSQL depends on external utilities like pg_dump and pg_basebackup, as well as third-party tools such as pgBackRest for advanced backup strategies.

Understanding these distinctions will empower you to design robust backup and recovery plans in either environment, ensuring minimal downtime and data loss in the face of unexpected failures.

Session Goals:

Develop a strong understanding of PostgreSQL’s backup architecture, including base backups and WAL archiving.
Compare SQL Server’s backup types and restore workflows with PostgreSQL’s to strengthen high availability and disaster recovery strategies.

Session Prerequisites:

Basic Understanding of SQL Server Backup and Restore Concepts.
Fundamental PostgreSQL Knowledge (Optional but Helpful).
General Database Administration & Disaster Recovery Awareness.

*Please note, that we will be using Microsoft Teams for the online portion of this meeting. You may want to join a few minutes early to ensure you do not have any issues. If you are attending in person, there are large TVs at the office, and you do not need to bring a laptop or use Teams.