Azure Backup Transfer Data to Vault for Secure Storage

Azure Backup allows you to transfer data to a Recovery Services vault for secure storage. This is a key feature that ensures your data is protected and easily recoverable in case of a disaster.

Data is transferred to the vault in a secure and encrypted manner, using the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 256-bit encryption algorithm. This ensures that your data remains confidential and protected from unauthorized access.

The Recovery Services vault provides a centralized location for storing and managing backups, making it easier to manage and recover your data. You can also use the vault to store backups for multiple resources, such as virtual machines and databases.

Azure Backup supports the transfer of data to a Recovery Services vault in various formats, including Azure Blob Storage and Azure File Storage. This flexibility allows you to choose the storage format that best suits your needs.

Before you can start setting up Azure Backup for SQL Server, there are some prerequisites to meet. You'll need to ensure that your VM has network connectivity to Azure services like Azure Backup, Azure storage, and Azure Active Directory.

To achieve this, you can use the "AzureBackup" service tag and Azure datacenter FQDN/IPs to allow access, especially if your VMs are protected by NSGs or Azure Firewall.

Databases with leading spaces, trailing spaces, exclamation marks, or special characters like enclosing square brackets ([]), forward slashes ‘/’, and semicolons (;) cannot be configured for Azure Backup.

You'll also need to disable other DB-level backup solutions for the machine, unless you're using Azure VM-level backup.

A virtual service account named SERVICE\AzureWLBackupPluginSvc is created automatically in the SQL VM while enabling the backup, and it should have SQL sysadmin rights.

For VMs not created from the Azure marketplace, you'll need to manually give the SQL sysadmin rights in the DB for the machine to the SERVICE\AzureWLBackupPluginSvc account.

Additionally, the NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM account should have a public login on the SQL instance as this account is used for the DB discovery/inquiry by the Azure Backup service.

Here's a summary of the prerequisites:

To set up Azure Backup, you need to meet the prerequisites, which include networking connectivity to Azure services, a specific SQL DB naming convention, and disabling other backup solutions.

The SQL DB naming convention requires that databases don't have leading or trailing spaces, exclamation marks, or special characters.

You'll also need to create a virtual service account named SERVICE\AzureWLBackupPluginSvc with SQL sysadmin rights, and the NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM account should have a public login on the SQL instance.

To create a backup vault, you'll need to add any required tags and review the details before clicking "Create" to provision the vault.

Before you can start configuring backup for SQL Server on Azure, there are some prerequisites to meet. You'll need to ensure that the VM hosting your SQL databases has network connectivity to Azure services like Azure Backup, Azure storage, and Azure Active Directory.

If your VMs are protected by NSGs or Azure Firewall, you'll need to allow access using the "AzureBackup" service tag and Azure datacenter FQDN/IPs.

You'll also need to check your SQL DB naming convention, as Azure Backup can't be configured for databases with leading spaces, trailing spaces, exclamation marks, or special characters like enclosing square brackets ([]), forward slashes ‘/’, and semicolons (;).

Other backup solutions need to be disabled for the machine, unless you're using Azure VM-level backup.

A virtual service account named SERVICE\AzureWLBackupPluginSvc is created automatically in the SQL VM while enabling the backup, and this account should have SQL sysadmin rights.

Additionally, the NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM account should have a public login on the SQL instance, as this account is used for DB discovery/inquiry by the Azure Backup service.

Here are the specific requirements for the NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM account:

To configure a disk, you need to assign the Disk Backup Reader role to the Backup vault's managed identity on the source disk. This step is crucial for enabling backups.

First, go to the source disk and navigate to the Role tab. Search for the Disk Backup Reader role and select it. Then, select Review + assign to complete the assignment.

You'll also need to assign the Disk Snapshot Contributor role to the Backup vault's managed identity on the snapshot resource group. To do this, go to the target snapshot resource group and select access control (IAM) and Add role assignment. Search for the Disk Snapshot Contributor role and select it.

Here's a summary of the roles to assign:

By completing these steps, you'll be able to configure a disk for backup and ensure that your data is safely stored.

Creating a backup vault is a crucial step in setting up your Azure backup system. To create a backup vault, go to the Backup center service in the Azure portal.

You'll need to select the subscription and resource group for the vault to be created. Under INSTANCE DETAILS, type in the Backup vault name and select the region of the backup vault and backup storage redundancy.

Once you've completed these steps, select Review and create, and then select Create. The Backup vault will be created. This process typically takes a few minutes.

To view the status of the backup vault, go to Backup vault, and then navigate to Backup jobs. This will display the status of the backup.

You can also create a backup vault by searching for "Backup vaults" in the Azure portal and selecting the "Add" button. This will take you through the process of creating a new backup vault, including selecting the subscription, resource group, and storage redundancy.

Here are the steps to create a backup vault in more detail:

1. Search for "Backup vaults" in the Azure portal and select the "Add" button.

2. Select the subscription and resource group for the vault to be created.

3. Type in the Backup vault name and select the region of the backup vault and backup storage redundancy.

4. Select Review + create, and then select Create.

Creating a backup policy is also an essential step in setting up your Azure backup system. To create a backup policy, go to the Start: Create Policy page and select Datasource type as Azure Disks and Vault type as Backup vault.

In the Basics tab, type in the policy name to be created, select Datasource type as Azure Disk, and select Vault as the Backup vault that was just created. Click on Next: Schedule and Retention to proceed.

Here are the steps to create a backup policy in more detail:

1. Go to the Start: Create Policy page and select Datasource type as Azure Disks and Vault type as Backup vault.

2. In the Basics tab, type in the policy name to be created, select Datasource type as Azure Disk, and select Vault as the Backup vault that was just created.

3. Under Backup schedule, select the backup schedule frequency and specify the time when backup must happen.

4. Specify the number of days backup should be retained under Retention settings.

5. After validation, select Create. The Backup policy is created.

Note that you'll also need to assign access to the Managed identity and select members as the Backup vault in the Members tab.

To move a Backup vault to a different resource group via the Azure portal, you'll need to follow these steps. Sign in to the Azure portal and open the list of Backup vaults, selecting the vault you want to move.

The vault dashboard will display the vault details, and you'll need to click Move in the vault Overview menu and then select Move to another resource group. Only the admin subscription has the required permissions to move a vault.

You'll then need to select an existing resource group or create a new one, making sure to select the subscription that remains the same. The resource path changes after moving the vault, so be sure to update your tools and scripts with the new resource path.

The move operation will undergo validation, which may take a few minutes. Wait until the validation is complete before proceeding.

Here's a quick checklist to ensure you don't miss any steps:

Remember, any operations performed on the Backup vault will fail if performed while the move is in progress. Wait until the process is complete before continuing with other operations on the vault.

Data Protection is a top priority for any organization, and Azure Backup has got you covered. Cloud Volumes ONTAP is an enterprise-class data management solution available in Azure that delivers storage services over hybrid and cloud-native environments.

Cloud Volumes ONTAP provides end-to-end data protection for your SQL Server deployments in Azure, ensuring that your data is safe and secure. With its unique data management features, you can manage your storage systems across multiple environments through a unified interface.

SnapMirror data replication is a key feature of Cloud Volumes ONTAP, allowing you to seamlessly transfer data to an Azure-based Cloud Volumes ONTAP instance. This makes it an ideal solution for SQL migrations.

Cloud Volumes ONTAP also offers FlexClone data cloning technology, which creates space-efficient clones of DB volumes on-demand that are independent, writable clones of the data. This is perfect for testing and development purposes, with zero performance impact on production workloads.

Azure stores backup data in a vault for recovery services, which is an online storage system used to store data in Azure. A vault can store up to 500 backed-up objects, Azure VMs, and on-premise machines.

Azure Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) enables you to manage vault access, ensuring that only authorized personnel can access your backed-up data. You can also replicate data redundantly in the vault using either LRS (Locally Redundant Storage) or GRS (Geo-Redundant Storage).