In this azure tutorial, we will discuss the Azure virtual machine back up. Apart from this, we will also discuss on the below topics:
- Run a backup immediately
- Stop VM Backup
- Resume VM Backup
- Delete backup data
- Azure VM Backup Pricing
- Azure VM Backup Options
- Azure VM Snapshot Backup
- Azure VM Backup Restore
- Azure VM Snapshot VS Backup
- Azure VM Backup Policy
- How to apply a backup policy to Azure VM
Table of Contents
Azure virtual machine back up
As we all know that Backup of a virtual machine is an important factor. Let’s discuss how we can back up a virtual machine in Azure portal.
- How to access Azure VM (Virtual Machine)
- Azure virtual machine DNS (FQDN)
- Azure Virtual Machine Tutorial
Follow the below steps to take the Azure virtual machine backup.
Step-1: Login to https://portal.azure.com.
Step- 2: Search for Virtual machines there.
Step- 3: You will see the list of VM created in your Azure subscription. It will show the VM name, Type, Status, ResourceGroup, Location, etc.
Step- 4: Now click on the VM name. “MyNewVM” in my case. You can able to see the details of your virtual machine like Public IP address, status, Computer name, Operating system, Size etc.
Step- 5: From the left side menu select Backup option under Operations.
Step- 6: In the Recovery Services vault, Fill the below details
- Recovery Services vault: You can create a new or select the existing one.
- Vault938 is the default name that was populated for me But you can specify a different name also.
- Resource group: This option will populate based on which resource group your virtual machine belongs to. For me it is newresgroup . You can also create a new one if you want.
- Choose backup policy: By default it is DailyPolicy. You can change it if you want.
Step- 7: If you want to create a new backup policy, click on Create a new policy.
- Policy Name: Mention the name of the policy you want to create for me I have given the name as WeeklyPolicy.
- Backup Schedule: Frequency as Weekly, Days meaning which day of the week you want to take backup for exampleSunday, Time, for example, 2:00 PM, Timezone select the timezone that you belong to.
- Retain instant recovery snapshots for: For weekly it is 5 days so mention 5 there.
- Retention Range: You can tick the Retention of monthly backup point or Retention of yearly backup point if you want.
Now click on Ok button.
Now in step- 6, You can choose WeeklyPolicy instead of DailyPolicy. I am selecting the DailyPolicy for the time being.
Step- 8: Now after filling in all the above details You need to click on the “Enable Backup” button. You can track the progress on the notification option of the Azure portal.
Step- 9:
Now to cross-check we have configured the Backup Scheduled the Backup option properly, We can click on the Backup link in the Left Menu. See all the details that have been configured successfully.
Run a backup immediately
You can also run a backup immediately from Azure portal. Follow the below steps.
Step- 1: From the left side menu select Backup option under Operations.
Step- 2: Click on Backup now button to perform the backup immediately.
Step- 3: Select a date for the Retain backup till option and then click on the OK button.
Stop VM Backup
If you want to stop the backup option for the virtual machine then you need to follow the below steps.
Step- 1: From the left side menu select Backup option under Operations.
Step- 2: Now click on the Stop backup button.
Step- 3: You can select the Retain Backup Data option, Select a reason, Add comments and then click on the “stop backup” option.
Resume VM Backup
Once you stopped the backup, you can again Resume the VM backup by following the below steps.
Step- 1: From the left side menu select Backup option under Operations.
Step- 2: Now click on the Resume backup button.
Delete backup data
You can also delete the backup data by following the below steps
Step- 1: From the left side menu select Backup option under Operations.
Step- 2:
Now click on the Delete backup data button.
Azure VM Backup Policy
Azure VM backup policy is the policy that you define for your Azure Virtual machine on the frequency of the Backup.
As per the the default backup policy, it backs your VM once per day.
You can also set your own custom back up policy for your Azure Virtual Machine.
How to apply a backup policy to Azure VM
You can follow the below steps to apply the backup policy to your Azure Virtual Machine.
- Log in to the Azure Portal and search for “Backup center”.
- Click on the + Backup button.
3. Select the Datasource type as “Azure Virtual machines”. Click on the Select link to select a Vault. Click on the Continue button.
4. Select the backup policy as DefaultPolicy or you can create your own custom policy by clicking on the Create a new policy link.
9. Click on the Add button that is present under Virtual machines and selects the VM that you want to take backup applying this policy. Click on the Ok button.
Note: Make sure to select the VM that belongs to the same region as the Vault that you have selected.
10. Finally, select the Enable backup button.
Azure VM Backup Options
There are some key options available to take the back up of your Azure VM. Those are as below.
- Azure Backup
- Managed snapshots
- Azure Site Recovery
Azure Backup
You can use Azure Backup to take a backup of your Azure Virtual machine that is running on Prod.
You can use the Azure Backup option both for Windows and Linux Virtual machines.
This option is suitable for the Azure Virtual Machine that is running on production.
Find the complete steps to setup the Azure Backup option for your VM.
Managed snapshots
You can use the Managed snapshots option to easily backup your Azure Virtual Machine that uses Managed Disks.
It is nothing but a complete copy of a managed disk.
This option is best suits for the Azure Virtual machines in development and test environments.
You can use the snapshots to rebuild a Virtual Machine.
Azure Site Recovery
Azure Site Recovery is another option recover your virtual machine in case of any natural disaster.
You have to create the recovery plans for any critical failure for the applications on different Virtual machines.
Azure VM Snapshot Backup
Azure VM Snapshot is the complete copy of the virtual hard disk or Managed disk which is read-only. In case of any issues, you can even rebuild a new virtual machine using a snapshot.
You can use the below option to create a snapshot.
- Use Azure Portal to create Azure VM snapshot (Follow step-1 to Step-6)
- Create Azure VM snapshot using PowerShell
Azure VM Backup Restore
Well, now the time to restore the backup. Azure backup provides you multiple ways to restore the backup and those are Creating a new VM, Restoring a VM Disk, Replacing a Disk on your existing VM, etc.
The first step is to select a restore point. Follow the below quick steps.
- Log in to the Azure Portal and search for “Backup center”.
- Click on the Restore button on the Backup center window.
3. On the next window, Select the Datasource type as Azure Virtual machines and then select Backup instance as the VM. Click on the Continue button.
4. Click on the Select option to choose a restore point on the Restore Virtual Machine window.
5. Under Restore Configuration, Choose Create new option if you want to create a new Virtual machine or you can also choose, Replace existing option if you want to replace the disk of an existing VM.
6. Here, I have selected the Create new option to create a new virtual machine.
7. Select the Restore type as Create new virtual machine. Now provide the below details.
- Virtual machine name: Provide a unique name for your VM.
- Resource Group: You can select an existing Resource Group or create a new resource group.
- Virtual Network: Select the virtual network where you want to place your virtual machine.
- Staging Location: You need to select the storage account here.
8. Finally, click on the Restore button.
Azure VM Snapshot VS Backup
Well, let’s discuss the key differences between Azure VM Snapshot and Backup
| Azure VM Snapshot | Backup |
| Azure VM Snapshot is nothing but a complete copy of a managed disk. | Azure Backup uses a recovery service volt internally to store the data. |
| In the case of Azure VM Snapshot, direct restoration is not possible. You need to use the snapshot to create the OS Disk and then you need to use the OS Disk to create a new Virtual machine. | If you are using Azure Backup, then you can able to restore the VM directly. |
Azure virtual machine backup pricing
In the case of virtual machines (VM), the size calculation is based on the actual size of VM. This is the sum of all data in the VM, excluding temporary storage.
Azure VM Backup Pricing
Azure Backup provides isolated backups to not to lose any data on your VMs. Backups are stored in a Recovery Services vault.
A Recovery Services vault is used to houses data in Azure.
Azure Backup pricing starts at $5.00 per month. This is the starting price. They do not have a free version.
There are two factors involved on Azure backup pricing model
- Based on the instance
- Based on the Storage
Let’s see the individual case how it works.
Based on the instance
Below are few price models based on the instance
| Instance size | Azure Backup charges per month |
| In case of Instance < or = 50 GB | You need to pay ₹330.4813 + storage consumed |
| In case of Instance is > 50 GB but < or = 500 GB | You need to pay ₹660.9625 + storage consumed |
| In case of Instance > 500 GB | You need to pay ₹660.9625 for each 500 GB increment + storage consumed |
| Instance size | Azure Backup charges per month |
| For Instance under 50GB | You need to pay $5 per month |
| For Instance between 51-500GB | You need to pay $10 per month |
| For Instance over 500GB | You need to pay $10 per month for each 500GB increment |
Based on the Storage
Below are few price models based on the storage
Here in this case we have an option to choose between Locally-redundant storage and Geo-redundant storage
| Storage | LRS (Locally-redundant storage) | GRS (Geo-redundant storage) |
| For First 1 TB | You will have to pay $0.024 per GB | You need to pay 0.048 per GB |
| For Next 49 TB | You will have to pay $0.0236 per GB | You need to pay $0.0472 per GB |
| For Next 450 TB | You need to pay $0.0232 per GB | You need to pay $0.0464 per GB |
This is how the pricing work in case of Azure backup.
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Conclusion
In this Azure tutorial, We discussed
- Azure virtual machine back up
- Run a backup immediately
- Stop VM Backup
- Resume VM Backup
- Delete backup data
- Azure virtual machine backup pricing
- Azure VM Backup Pricing
- Azure VM Backup Options
- Azure VM Snapshot Backup
- Azure VM Backup Restore
- Azure VM Snapshot VS Backup
- Azure VM Backup Policy
- How to apply a backup policy to Azure VM
Hope you enjoyed this article !!!