'Backup Completed' is NOT an Error Message

If you're like me, you like for things to be semantically reliable.  Huh?  

Said another way, I like for things to mean what they say and say what they mean. Here are a few examples of I get annoyed by failed sematics - when a footpath is used almost entirely by cyclists, when an escalator is merely stairs, or when a restroom has a huge crowd and long lines. (No rest to be had in that room).

So you can bet that I get a little prickly when the "Error Log" is used to post messages that something completed successfully. Really? I came here to this error log looking for, wait for it, ... errors! My biggest annoyance here in the SQL Server sphere is that SQL Server has been posting messages in the error log every time a backup completes successfully for, like, 300 years or something. I can remember that at least five years ago Microsoft storage PM Kevin Farlee blogged about it. And Kevin has been working on SQL Server for, like, 300 years. too.

I recommend that you set your SQL Server to use the startup traceflag DBCC TRACEON (3226) to disable backup success message. Read all about it on Microsoft's webpage describing this and many other trace flags for SQL Server.

In addition, be sure to look at Benjamin Nevarez's post on cool, undocumented trace flags. He still hasn't told me the secret trace flag that sends a sock to the Microsoft developer whenever the feature s/he developed causes an end-user to scream in frustration.

And don't overlook golden-oldies posts, like Andrew Kelly's blog chalked full of example T-SQL programs to demonstrate this scenario. I think this blog post was also written, like, 300 years ago - way before computers were invented. Very prescient of Andy!

Enjoy,

-Kev

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