Log shipping is the process of automating the backup of database and transaction log files on a production SQL server and then restoring them onto a standby server. In log shipping, the transactional log file from one server is automatically updated into the backup database on the other server.

If one server fails, the other server will have the same DB and can be used as the Disaster Recovery plan. The key feature of log shipping is that it will automatically backup transaction logs throughout the day and automatically restore them on the standby server at defined intervals.