Is there any downtime or services interruption if changing database from SIMPLE to FULL recovery mode?

Question

I have two databases with around 100GB of size for each db, I am about to change the recovery mode from SIMPLE to FULL for always on availability group setup purposes. As there are users who still using this db, may I know if I just change the mode will it causes any downtime or interruption to the db? How long would it take to complete the changes?

Answer 1

Hi MarcusWong-9726,

Changing database from SIMPLE to FULL recovery model will not cause any downtime or interruption. And it will complete the changes immediately.
In addition, after switching from SIMPLE to FULL recovery model, please remember to take database full backup to start the log chain and perform transaction log backup regularly. Please refer to this doc for more details.

Best Regards,
Amelia

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Answer 2

No, Changing the recovery mode from SIMPLE to FULL never breaks anything or causes downtime. As mentioned by AmeliaGu, it's recommended to take full backup of database just after changing recovery model from SIMPLE to FULL otherwise consecutive transaction log backup will start failing.