How Tessell Handles Transaction Log Retention for SQL Server Backups

Tessell's MSSQL Database as a Service (DBaaS) addresses operational challenges by providing automated backup management, including frequent transaction log backups vital for point-in-time recovery, stored on Amazon S3. Initially, transaction logs were deleted after upload to S3, but customer needs, particularly for AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) users, required retention on disk for at least 24 hours. To accommodate this, Tessell implemented a flexible log retention strategy with a scheduled cleanup task running every 30 minutes, guided by configurable thresholds to optimize disk usage and retention time. Customers can adjust retention settings through a custom config file, enabling longer retention for compliance or audit purposes without altering code, and an alert system notifies the SRE team if disk usage exceeds safe limits, ensuring backups remain uninterrupted. This customer-driven enhancement boosts the platform's resilience and adaptability, allowing seamless integration with tools like AWS DMS while maintaining safety and efficiency.