Why Your Transaction Log Is Full: LOG_BACKUP

Jen McCown explains why you might get the error message “The transaction log for database ‘<your database>’ is full due to ‘LOG_BACKUP'”:

Your transaction log is full. Both Microsoft, and about 100 articles and blogs have covered this topic, but let’s take a quick look anyway. Because, you know, it comes up all the time.

Summary:

1. This error message points to a lack of log backups.

2. Make sure using sys.databases.

3. Start backing up the log.

4. You can shrink the log if necessary.

5. A note on SIMPLE mode, and why it’s often a terrible idea.

This is a good summary of the problem and various solutions.