A SQL Server database recovery model that logs all transactions fully, enabling point-in-time recovery to any moment before a failure, at the cost of continuous transaction log growth requiring regular log backups.
- The Full recovery model is required for point-in-time recovery: It allows a database to be restored to a specific moment rather than only to the last full or differential backup.
- Transaction log files grow continuously in the Full recovery model: Log space is only truncated (reused) after a transaction log backup is taken.
- Failure to take regular log backups in the Full recovery model causes unbounded transaction log growth: This is one of the most common DBA support issues.
- The Full recovery model is mandatory for databases that require: Log Shipping, Always On Availability Groups, or Transactional Replication.
- SQL Server supports three recovery models: Full (all transactions logged with point-in-time recovery), Bulk-Logged (minimal logging for bulk operations), and Simple (no log backups and no point-in-time recovery).
- Best practice: Production databases with low Recovery Point Objective (RPO) requirements should use the Full recovery model with scheduled log backups every 5–60 minutes, depending on transaction volume.
- Related terms: Transaction Log, Log Shipping, Backup, Differential Backup, RPO.
