Is there a tried and true methodology that provides for a copy/mirror/replicant of a dB on a seperate server that enables the backup process to be performed there rather than on the Primary?
Ideally I am looking for a solution that can be performed in different locations, or at least on different servers, without requiring a complete reinitialization of the database each time. For instance, with Log Shipping I can restore the secondary and perform the backup. The drawback is that I then have to grab a new base backup of the Primary and start Log Shipping up again. This defeats the purpose of off-loading the backup.
To aide Steve's answer. There are two issues I am trying to resolve. 1) Drve I/O contention during backups on the Primary. 2) Creating ad-hoc, up to date, Clones of the Production dB in a geographically removed environment for development purposes where the bandwidth is not sufficient to copy full dB backups.