disable log during migration? We have an older SQL Server Database that is about 1TB.
We now have a new database that has a slightly different schema.  We are going to migrate the 1TB of data to the new db using the export tool in SSMS.
However to make it go faster, I am thinking maybe there is a way to disable unnecessary logging and backup during the migration?
We won't need to recover to a specific time state during the migration anyway and we have the original database.
Could I set the log size to something like 100MB initially, do the migration and then change it back to unlimited again?  Would it be viable to use SIMPLE recovery during the migration and then afterwards change it to FULL? I'm not sure what this tool uses to migrate data internally, probably bulk inserts.
Just for clarity, in SSMS, we will right click the database &gt; Tasks &gt; Export Data.  This allows you to map columns from the source database to the target database.  So, this is not a &quot;restore&quot; in that sense.  We need to copy from one db to another. The problem is that the new db has other column names and in some cases other datatypes. However this tool converts and truncates correctly.
IMO, this type of work should be testable and repetable. I.e., scripted. I would go for backup/restore and then have a script that does your DDL changes (ALTER TABLE, ...). You script everything and test, re-test etc to know everything is fine.
Backup/restore time can be minimized by utilizing log backups.
As for the DDL changes, you will find out how long time they take. Depending on what you need to do, simple recovery model might be useful - but again, that depends on your DDL/DML in the end.