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Applies to: 
SQL Server
Stores one record for the primary database in a log shipping configuration. This table is stored in the msdb database.
| Column name | Data type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| primary_id | uniqueidentifier | The ID of the primary database for the log shipping configuration. |
| primary_database | sysname | The name of the primary database in the log shipping configuration. |
| backup_directory | nvarchar(500) | The directory where transaction log backup files from the primary server are stored. |
| backup_share | nvarchar(500) | The network or UNC path to the backup directory. |
| backup_retention_period | int | The length of time, in minutes, that a log backup file is retained in the backup directory before being deleted. |
| backup_job_id | uniqueidentifier | The Microsoft SQL Server Agent job ID associated with the backup job on the primary server. |
| monitor_server | sysname | The name of the instance of the Microsoft SQL Server Database Engine being used as a monitor server in the log shipping configuration. |
| monitor_server_security_mode | bit | The security mode used to connect to the monitor server. 1 = Windows Authentication. 0 = SQL Server Authentication. |
| last_backup_file | nvarchar(500) | The absolute path of the most recent transaction log backup. |
| last_backup_date | datetime | The time and date of the last log backup operation. |
| user_specified_monitor | bit | Identified for informational purposes only. Not supported. Future compatibility is not guaranteed. sp_help_log_shipping_primary_database and sp_help_log_shipping_secondary_primary use this column to control the display of monitor settings in SQL Server Management Studio. 0 = When invoking either of these two stored procedures, the user did not specify an explicit value for the @monitor_server parameter. 1 = An explicit value was specified by the user. |
| backup_compression | tinyint | Indicates whether the log shipping configuration overrides the server-level backup compression behavior. 0 = Disabled. Log backups are never compressed, regardless of the server-configured backup compression settings. 1 = Enabled. Log backups are always compressed, regardless of the server-configured backup compression settings. 2 = Uses the server configuration for the View or Configure the backup compression default Server Configuration Option server-configuration option. This is the default value. Backup compression is supported only in the Enterprise edition of SQL Server. |
| primary_connection_options | nvarchar(4000) | Additional connection options for the connection made between the log shipping executable and the primary replica instance. Available starting with SQL Server 2025 (17.x) Preview and later versions. |
| monitor_connection_options | nvarchar(4000) | Additional connection options for the connection made between the primary replica instance and the remote monitor. Available starting with SQL Server 2025 (17.x) Preview and later versions. |
See Also
About Log Shipping (SQL Server)
sp_add_log_shipping_primary_database (Transact-SQL)
sp_delete_log_shipping_primary_database (Transact-SQL)
sp_help_log_shipping_primary_database (Transact-SQL)
System Tables (Transact-SQL)