Network Management

Database recovery model - Change recovery model to Simple in SQL Server

To view or change the recovery model of a database: Open SQL Studio Manager. If SQL Studio Manager is not installed, download the installer from Microsoft® SQL Server® Management Studio Express.

First published date

11/29/2018 10:48 PM

Last published date

5/28/2026 11:45 PM

Overview

This article describes information on changing the recovery model of your database to simple. This is the recovery model that is recommended by SolarWinds Support. 

Product section

Orion Platform

Resolution

To view or change the recovery model of a database:

SQL Mgt Studio - LDF - Database Recovery mode when setup for DR - FULL vs SIMPLE


Open SQL Studio Manager. If SQL Studio Manager is not installed, download the installer from Microsoft.

  1. Edit the properties of the database.
  2. In the Select a Page pane, click Options, and choose Simple as the Recovery Model.


SolarWinds recommends that you use the Simple recovery model unless you have a SQL cluster. If you have a SQL cluster set up for high availability (HA), you must use the Full recovery model. 

 

For example, Microsoft's Always On Availability requires a Full recovery model as seen in the article below.

Overview of Always On Availability Groups (SQL Server) 

 

If using Full Recovery mode the DB should be backed up every 30 minutes in order to stop the log growing to a problematic size. Large transactional logs can result in delays to alerts being displayed (alerts displayed after the trigger date) - With the SWIS Error: 'SolarWinds' is full due to 'LOG_BACKUP'