How to Backup Windows Azure Virtual Machine

Backing up your Microsoft Windows Azure Virtual Machine (VM) ensures your data remains secure and recoverable in unforeseen circumstances.

A backup is a copy of your data source stored in a safe location and can be used to restore data to its previous state. This article will look at how you can back up your Azure VMs and the steps involved.

Azure Backup Center

One of the easiest ways to back up your Azure VM is by using the Azure Backup Center. The Azure Backup Center is a central location where you can manage and monitor all your backups across different subscriptions and regions. Here’s how to back up your VM using the Azure Backup Center:

1. Go to the Azure portal and select your VM.
2. Click on the Backup button and then on “Backup now.”
3. Choose the backup policy you want to use or create a new one.
4. Select the data source you want to back up and the retention policy.
5. Click on “Enable Backup.”

Once you have enabled backup for your VM, it will start backing up your data source according to your selected policy.

You can view the backup status and schedule from the Azure Backup Center.

Azure Portal

You can also back up your Azure VM using the Azure portal. Here’s how:

1. Go to the Azure portal and select your VM.
2. Click on the “Backup” option under the “Operations” section.
3. Select the data source you want to back up and click “Backup now.”
4. Choose the backup policy you want to use or create a new one.
5. Select the retention policy and click on “Enable Backup.”

Azure VM Backup using PowerShell

PowerShell is a command-line interface that can be used to automate Azure VM backups. Here’s how to back up your Azure VM using PowerShell:

1. Open the Azure PowerShell command prompt.
2. Connect to your Azure account by running the command “Connect-AzAccount.”
3. Set your subscription context by running the “Set-AzContext -SubscriptionID <subscription-id>.”
4. Create a backup policy by running the command “New-AzBackupPolicy.”
5. Create a backup job by running the command “New-AzBackup -ResourceGroupName <resource-group-name> -Name <vm-name> -BackupPolicyId <backup-policy-id> -EnableEncryption $true -StorageAccountName <storage-account-name>.”

Note that you must have the Azure PowerShell module installed and configured before using PowerShell to back up your Azure VMs.

Azure VM Backup using Third-Party Tools

Apart from the native backup options offered by Microsoft, there are third-party tools that you can use to back up your Azure VMs. Some of the popular third-party tools include:

1. Ubackup – Ubackup is an enterprise backup solution that offers backup and recovery for Azure VMs, physical servers, and other cloud environments.
2. Techsnips by ATA Learning – Techsnips is a video-based learning platform offering Azure VM backup and recovery courses.
3. MyCloudIT – MyCloudIT is a cloud management platform that offers backup and disaster recovery services for Azure VMs.
4. RebelAdmin – RebelAdmin is a blog that offers tutorials and guides on Azure VM backup and recovery.

Regardless of the third-party tool you choose, it’s essential to ensure that it is compatible with Azure VMs and meets your backup and recovery needs.

Conclusion

Backing up your Windows Azure Virtual Machine is essential in ensuring your data is secure and recoverable. The Azure Backup Center, Azure portal, PowerShell, and third-party tools are some of the ways you can back up your Azure VMs. Whichever method you choose, it’s essential to have a

backup policy and to test your backups regularly to ensure they can be restored successfully. In addition, you should guard against the unintended destruction of backups by storing them in a secure location separate from your primary data source.

Daily backups are recommended, but you can adjust the frequency based on your needs and data retention policies. Retained backups should also be stored for a period that is long enough to meet your compliance requirements and business needs.

When using the Azure Backup Center, you can set up a backup policy to automatically backup your Azure VMs weekly or daily. You can also use the calendar control to select the days and times you want your backups to run. This gives you greater control over your backups and ensures that they are scheduled at a convenient time.

Finally, knowing how to restore your backups during data loss is essential. You can restore your Azure VM backups using the Backup and Restore feature in the Azure portal or PowerShell. You can also restore individual files from your backups if you only need to recover specific data.

In conclusion, backing up your Windows Azure Virtual Machine is critical in protecting your data from unforeseen events such as hardware failure, data corruption, or cyber-attacks. Following the steps outlined in this article, you can create a backup policy that meets your needs and ensure your data is always safe and recoverable.

How to Backup Windows Azure Virtual Machine-FAQ