In this Azure tutorial, we will discuss the Azure virtual machine backup. Apart from this, we will also discuss a few other related topics:
Table of Contents
Azure VM backup step by step
As we all know, the Backup of a virtual machine is an important factor. Let’s discuss how we can back up a virtual machine in the Azure portal.
Follow the below steps to take the Azure virtual machine backup.
1. Login to https://portal.azure.com.
2. Search for Virtual machines there.
3. You will see the list of VM created in your Azure subscription. It will show the VM name, Type, Status, ResourceGroup, Location, etc.
4. Now click on the VM name. “MyNewVM” in my case. You can see the details of your virtual machine like Public IP address, status, Computer name, Operating system, Size, etc.
5. From the left side menu, select the Backup option under Operations.
6. In the Recovery Services vault, Fill the below details
- Recovery Services vault: You can create a new one or select the existing one.
- Vault938 is the default name populated for me, But you can also specify a different name.
- 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.
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 example, Sunday, 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 the OK button.
Now, in step 6, You can choose WeeklyPolicy instead of DailyPolicy. I am selecting the DailyPolicy for the time being.
8. After filling in all the above details, Click the “Enable Backup” button. You can track the progress using the notification option of the Azure portal.
9. Now to cross-check we have configured the Backup Scheduled 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 the Azure portal. Follow the below steps.
1. Select the Backup option under Operations from the left side menu.
2. Click on the Backup Now button to perform the backup immediately.
3. Select a date for the Retain backup till option and click 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.
1. From the left side menu, select the Backup option under Operations.
2. Now click on the Stop backup button.
3. You can select the Retain Backup Data option, Select a reason, Add comments, and then click the “Stop backup” option.
Resume VM Backup
Once you stop the backup, you can again Resume the VM backup by following the below steps.
1. Select the Backup option under Operations from the left side menu.
2. Now click on the Resume backup button.
Delete backup data
You can also delete the backup data by following the below steps
1. Select the Backup option under Operations from the left side menu.
2. Now click on the Delete backup data button.
Check: Azure VM Backup Policy
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 an Azure VM snapshot (Follow steps 1 to 6)
- Create Azure VM snapshot using PowerShell
Finally, You can check out how to restore Azure VM from backup.
You may like the following Azure tutorials:
Conclusion
In this Azure tutorial, We discussed Azure VM backup step by step. I hope you enjoyed this article !!!
I am Bijay, a Microsoft MVP (10 times) having more than 17 years of experience in the software industry. During my IT career, I got a chance to share my expertise in SharePoint and Microsoft Azure, like Azure VM, Azure Active Directory, Azure PowerShell, etc. I hope you will learn from these Azure tutorials. Read more