Category Archives: Azure Backup

Azure Backup Tips & Tricks – Part 4

This is the fourth post of this series, you can check the other parts also:

Let’s continue with Azure Backup Tips & Tricks.

Tip #17

Do not worry if you noticed that the backup data is less in size than the real one, because it gets compressed before even getting transferred to the vault.

Tip #18

Before the data is transferred to the vault, it gets encrypted using AES256 then it is send via a secure HTTPS link.

Tip #19

On-demand backup does not has the same retention as scheduled backup. It can only retains the data for 30  days.

Tip #20

If you converted your Azure VMs un-managed disks to managed disks, you do not have to reconfigure the backup plans.

Trick #3

It’s known that you cannot cancel a backup job if it is transferring data. However, to work this around you need to do it in the “Taking snapshot” stage, before the transfer starts.

Azure Backup Tips & Tricks – Part 3

This is the third post of this series, you can check the other parts also:

Let’s continue with Azure Backup Tips & Tricks.

Tip #12

Although Azure Backup is supported for Azure Stack, you cannot use System Center Data Protection Manager (SCDPM) to backup any of it is apps, because it is not supported until the time of this writing.

Tip #13

If you cancelled a backup job while it is running, the vault will store all the backup data before cancellation.

Tip #14

Backup data cannot be migrated across different vaults.

Tip #15

Different vaults cannot be migrated across different subscriptions.

Tip #16

You cannot delete a specific file/folder from the backup data.

Trick #2

Although you cannot delete a specific file/folder from the backup data, but you can select not to restore it, if you were backing up files and folders. Also, you can specify not to back it up next time.

Azure Backup Tips & Tricks – Part 2

This is the second post of this series, you can check the other parts also:

Let’s continue with Azure Backup Tips & Tricks.

Tip #6

Azure recovery services vault still supporting Azure classic VMs till the time of this writing.

Tip #7

You cannot backup an Azure VM with more than 16 data disks associated with it.

Tip #8

If you want to backup a linux VM ensure that Linux Unified Key Setup (LUKS) encryption is not used. Otherwise, you cannot backup this VM.

Tip #9

You cannot restore an Azure VM that already exists. It shall be no longer existed to be able to restore it.

Tip #10

It is recommended not to backup a VM that either contains a clustered shared volume (CSV) or a Scale-out File Server (SOFS) configuration.

Tip #11

If you have backed up a multi-dc VMs and want to restore one of the domain DCs, you need to do it via PowerShell. Otherwise, it will not work as expected.

Azure Backup Tips & Tricks – Part 1

Azure Backup is an Azure service that is used to provide data protection either on-premises or on Azure for files, folders, VMs, applications, and so on  by providing a seamless way to backup and restore it. In this series, I’ll be writing about some of the tips and tricks that you need to consider while working with Azure Backup.

You can check the other posts from the following links:

Tip #1

Azure backup cannot backup files and folders from drives and volumes with the following cases:

  • Not a fixed source -> Removable disks.
  • Volume shadow copy service (VSS) is not functioning properly -> Read-only volumes and offline volumes.
  • The file system is not NTFS.
  • The volumes are protected by Bit-locker.
  • The volume is shared not a local one.

Tip #2

Although Azure provides a VM-level backup, you will be able to backup files and folder using Azure backup agent.

Tip #3

Azure Backup Agent is compatible with Windows Server deduplication as it can  covert the dedpulicated data to a normal data for the sake of backup.

Tip #4

The cache folder is not supported to be stored in a network share, removable disk, and offline volume.

Tip #5

When you rename the backup server, you will need to re-register it to the vault with the new name. Otherwise, all the backups will be stopped.

Trick #1

If you want to backup files and folders from your VM and you are running out of space and there is no available space for Azure backup agent installation, you can use the temporary volume in the VM as the installation path for Azure Backup Agent and once you are done with backup, you can remove the unneeded files and folders to avail a space for the agent. Then, you can uninstall and reinstall it in the new path.