Validating Backups & Restore Verification

Validating Backup includes checking/validating if the backup taken can be successfully restored without any issues.(Pre-Restore Operation)

Restore Verification includes verifying if the restore operation conducted is successful or not without any issues.(Post-Restore Operation)

Validating Backups :
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restore verifyonly
from disk='C:\backups\sample.bak'

Result is :
The backup set on file 1 is valid.

Similarly just remember these as well : restore headeronly,restore labelonly,restore filelistonly.

However the successful validation would include restoring the backuped up db onto a development environment.:-)

Restore Verification :
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select
rh.destination_database_name,
rf.restore_history_id,
rf.destination_phys_drive,
rf.destination_phys_name,

rh.restore_date,
rh.destination_database_name,
rh.user_name as "Restore performed by",
rh.backup_set_id,
rh.restore_type,
(case rh.restore_type
when 'D' then 'Database'
when 'F' then 'File'
when 'G' then 'Filegroup'
when 'I' then 'Differential'
when 'L' then 'Log'
when 'V' then 'VerifyOnly'
when 'R' then 'Revert'
else
'NULL' end) as "Restore Type Desc",
rh.replace,
rh.recovery,
rh.restart,
rh.stop_at,
rh.stop_at_mark_name,
rh.stop_before
from restorefile rf
join restorehistory rh
on rf.restore_history_id=rh.restore_history_id

From the resultset watch out for these 2 columns
destination_database_name and restore_date.
With this verification can be completed.