Unable to Backup DB due to Active Transactions

 If your database is in Simple Recovery Model and you're encountering the error stating that the transaction log is full due to active transactions, here’s what you can do:

Steps to Resolve the Issue:

1. Identify the Active Transaction:

   • You can use the following query to identify the active transaction(s) that might be causing the issue:

   DBCC OPENTRAN('NGProd');
   

   • This will give you details of the oldest active transaction, including the session ID (SPID).

2. Check the Session Details:

   • Once you have the SPID, you can check what the session is doing by using:

   SELECT * 
   FROM sys.dm_exec_requests
   WHERE session_id = <SPID>;
   

   • This will give you insight into what the active session is currently doing.

3. Kill the Active Session (if safe):

   • If you determine that the session is not needed and you want to terminate it, you can use the KILL command:

   KILL <SPID>;
   

   • Be careful when doing this, as killing a session will roll back the transaction, which could take some time depending on the size of the transaction.

4. Attempt to Shrink the Log File:

   • Once the active transaction is cleared, you can attempt to shrink the log file:

   DBCC SHRINKFILE('NGProd_Log', 1);
   

   • This should free up space in the transaction log.

5. Perform a Full Backup:

   • Now, attempt the full backup again:

   BACKUP DATABASE NGProd TO DISK = 'C:\Backups\NGProd_Full.bak';

Additional Considerations:

• Monitoring for Active Transactions: Keep monitoring the transaction log reuse wait using sys.databases:

  SELECT name, log_reuse_wait_desc 
  FROM sys.databases 
  WHERE name = 'NGProd';
  

• Why Transactions Might Be Stuck:

  • It’s important to understand why transactions are being held open. This could be due to long-running queries, open transactions in user sessions, or possibly replication issues if configured.

If the situation persists and you're not able to clear the active transaction, it might be a good idea to investigate further into the queries or applications holding the transactions open.