Azure SQL Backup and Recovery Solutions Explained

Azure SQL backup and recovery solutions are designed to ensure the reliability and availability of your database.

With Azure SQL Database, you can automate backups to Azure Blob Storage, which is a secure and durable storage solution.

Automated backups can be configured to run at regular intervals, such as daily or weekly, to minimize data loss in case of a disaster.

You can also use Azure SQL Database's point-in-time restore feature to recover your database to a specific point in time, which can be a huge time-saver in case of data corruption or accidental deletion.

When it comes to backing up your SQL Server data on Azure VMs, you have several options to choose from. SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 R2 are out of extended support and no longer available from the Azure Marketplace.

Automated Backup is a great option, especially if you're running SQL Server 2014 or later. It allows you to schedule regular backups for all databases on a SQL Server VM, and they're stored in Azure storage for up to 90 days.

Azure Backup for SQL VMs is another powerful option, available for SQL Server 2012 and later. It provides an Enterprise class backup capability, allowing you to centrally manage backups for multiple servers and thousands of databases.

Manual backup is also an option, but it requires more effort and responsibility on your part. Depending on your version of SQL Server, there are various techniques to manually backup and restore SQL Server on Azure VM.

Here are the key differences between Automated Backup and Azure Backup for SQL VMs:

Using attached disks for backup storage is another option, but it has its limitations. There's a limit to the number of disks you can attach to an Azure virtual machine, based on the size of the virtual machine, and there's also the overhead of disk management to consider.

Azure SQL backup frequency is determined by the type of backup. Full backups are taken every week, while differential backups are taken every 12 hours. Transaction log backups are taken approximately every 10 minutes.

The frequency of transaction log backups can vary depending on the compute size and the amount of database activity. This means that the actual time between log backups may be shorter or longer than 10 minutes.

Here's a breakdown of the different backup frequencies:

Automatic full backups are initiated once a week based on a schedule determined by Microsoft. This means that you don't have to worry about manually scheduling full backups, but you can still initiate them yourself if needed.

Backup costs can be a bit tricky to understand, but let's break it down. Backup storage costs vary depending on your purchasing model, chosen backup storage redundancy option, and region.

The price for backup storage is charged based on gigabytes consumed per month, at the same rate for all backups.

Backup storage redundancy affects backup costs in a predictable way: locally redundant price = published price, zone-redundant price = published price x 1.25, and geo-redundant price = published price x 2.

To monitor backup costs, head to the Azure portal and navigate to Cost Management + Billing. Select Cost Management, and then Cost analysis, and filter for the time period and service you're interested in.

Add a filter for Service name and select sql database for a single database or an elastic database pool. Then, add another filter for Meter subcategory and select single/elastic pool pitr backup storage for PITR backup costs or ltr backup storage for LTR backup costs.

Meters show up only if backup storage consumption exists, and you won't see Storage and compute subcategories, which aren't associated with backup storage costs.

For vCore databases, storage that each type of backup consumes is reported on the database monitoring pane as a separate metric.

Backup Security is a top priority for any database, and Azure SQL has got you covered. All new databases in Azure SQL are configured with Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) enabled by default, which automatically encrypts backups at rest, including Long-Term Retention (LTR) backups.

Automatic backups stored in Azure-managed storage accounts are also encrypted by Azure storage, providing an additional layer of security. This means your data is protected from unauthorized access, even in the event of a security breach.

If your database is encrypted with TDE, Microsoft is fully responsible for keeping and rotating keys for databases with service-managed keys (SMK), making it easier to restore backups taken from instances with TDE and SMK enabled.

Encrypted backups are a must-have for any serious data protection plan. All new databases in Azure SQL are configured with Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) enabled by default.

With TDE, backups are automatically encrypted at rest, including Long-Term Retention (LTR) backups. This means your sensitive data is protected from unauthorized access, even in the unlikely event of a data breach.

Microsoft is fully responsible for keeping and rotating keys for databases with service-managed keys (SMK), which includes backups taken from instances with TDE and SMK enabled. This takes a huge weight off your shoulders.

Automatic backups stored in Azure-managed storage accounts are automatically encrypted by Azure storage. This adds an extra layer of security to your backups, ensuring your data is protected both in transit and at rest.

Data loss can happen in many ways, including data corruption, hardware failure, and accidental or malicious deletion.

Backup workflows are a crucial step in preventing data loss, allowing you to quickly recover data that was lost or corrupted.

Data corruption can occur due to various reasons, including software bugs, hardware issues, or human error, which can lead to data loss.

Backup workflows set up to run regularly can help mitigate these risks and ensure business continuity.

Data loss can have significant consequences, including financial losses, damaged reputation, and regulatory fines.

Regular backups can help you quickly recover from data loss and minimize downtime, ensuring that your business stays up and running.

Azure Policy can be used to enforce backup storage redundancy, ensuring that all backups are stored in a single Azure region. This is particularly useful for meeting data residency requirements.

You can assign policies to a subscription using the Azure portal or Azure PowerShell, and Azure Policy helps keep resources compliant with corporate standards and service-level agreements. To do this, you'll need to review the policy reference for built-in policy definitions for SQL Database.

To specify data residency when creating a database via T-SQL, use LOCAL or ZONE as input to the BACKUP_STORAGE_REDUNDANCY parameter in the CREATE DATABASE statement. This will prevent databases from being created with globally redundant storage.

Long-term retention is a crucial aspect of your backup policy. You can configure full long-term retention (LTR) backups for up to 10 years in Azure Blob Storage. This allows you to store full backups for an extended period, meeting various compliance requirements.

To configure LTR, you can select different retention periods for weekly, monthly, and/or yearly full backups. For example, setting W=0, M=1 would create an LTR copy monthly. You can use the LTR pricing calculator to estimate the cost of LTR storage.

Storage consumption depends on the selected frequency and retention periods of LTR backups. New backups are replicated based on the configured backup storage redundancy. Existing LTR backups for the database continue to reside in the existing storage blob.

You can enable long-term retention for Hyperscale databases created or migrated from other service tiers. However, if you attempt to enable LTR for a Hyperscale database where it isn't yet supported, you'll receive an error message. In this case, reach out to Microsoft support and create a support ticket to resolve.

Here are some key points to keep in mind when configuring LTR:

To configure a policy, you can use Azure Policy to enforce data residency requirements. Azure Policy is a service that helps you keep your Azure resources compliant with your corporate standards and service-level agreements.

You can assign policies to a subscription by using the Azure portal or Azure PowerShell. This is useful for enforcing data residency requirements at an organizational level. For example, you can assign the policy "SQL Managed Instances should avoid using GRS backup redundancy" to prevent users from creating managed instances with geo-redundant backup storage.

Azure policies are not enforced when creating a database via T-SQL. To enforce data residency when creating a database by using T-SQL, use LOCAL or ZONE as input to the BACKUP_STORAGE_REDUNDANCY parameter in the CREATE DATABASE statement.

Here are some built-in policy definitions for SQL Database and SQL Managed Instance:

By configuring policies, you can ensure that your Azure resources meet your data residency requirements and are compliant with your corporate standards.

Azure SQL Database supports several data backup strategies, including automated backups, user-initiated backups, and continuous backups.

Automated backups are a key feature of Azure SQL Database, ensuring that your data is protected in the event of unexpected changes or data loss.

User-initiated backups allow you to create backups on demand, giving you more control over your data backup process.

Continuous backups, also known as transaction log backups, record every change made to your database, enabling you to recover to any point in time.

You can use Azure SQL Database backups to restore an existing database to a point in time in the past within the retention period. This operation creates a new database on either the same instance as the original database or a different instance in the same subscription and region.

One of the key benefits of Azure SQL Database backups is the ability to restore a deleted database to a point in time within the retention period, including the time of deletion.

Geo-restore allows you to recover from a geographic disaster when you can't access your database or backups in the primary region. It creates a new database on any existing managed instance in any Azure region.

You can also use backups to restore a database to another geographic region. This is especially useful in the event of a disaster that affects your primary region.

Here are some specific backup use cases for Azure SQL Database:

To configure a backup retention policy for your Azure SQL database, navigate to the Azure portal, select the logical server, and choose Backups under Data management. Move the Point-in-time-restore slider bar to 28 days and click Apply to confirm the selection.

You can also fine-tune backup storage consumption by reducing the backup retention period to the minimum for your needs, avoiding large write operations, and using clustered columnstore indexes. Additionally, consider using locally redundant backup storage whenever possible.

Here are some tuning techniques to reduce backup storage consumption:

To configure backups for your Azure SQL Database, start by creating a logical server. This is the foundation of your backup configuration. Next, navigate to the Azure portal and select the "All resources" section to find your logical server.

In the Azure portal, you can configure a backup retention policy for your database. This involves selecting the "Data management" option, choosing "Backups", and then clicking on the "Retention policies" tab. From there, you can move the "Point-in-time-restore" slider bar to 28 days, apply the changes, and confirm the selection.

Automated backups are also an option for SQL Server Standard and Enterprise editions running on a Windows VM in Azure. This service is provided by the SQL Server IaaS Agent Extension, which is automatically installed on SQL Server Windows virtual machine images in the Azure portal. All databases are backed up to an Azure storage account that you configure.

Here are the key features of Automated Backup:

To restore a database, you must locate the required backup file(s) in the storage account and perform a restore on your SQL VM using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) or Transact-SQL commands.

Backup storage consumption up to the maximum data size for a database isn't charged. Excess backup storage consumption depends on the workload and maximum size of the individual databases.

You can reduce your backup storage consumption by adjusting your backup retention period. The minimum retention period is 1 day for regular databases, but you can set it to 0 days for deleted databases.

Avoid doing large write operations, like index rebuilds, more frequently than you need to. This can help reduce the amount of data that needs to be backed up.

Using clustered columnstore indexes and following related best practices can also help reduce backup storage consumption for large data load operations.

If you have high excess backup storage costs, consider increasing data storage in the General Purpose service tier. This can be less expensive than the price of the backup storage.

Here are some specific tuning techniques to reduce backup storage consumption:

You can manage backups for free with N2WS, only paying for Azure storage and bandwidth costs.

N2WS enables data lifecycle management from AWS to an Azure repository, allowing users to archive snapshots from AWS instances and volumes to a storage account in Azure.

This cross-cloud archiving reduces storage costs and meets various compliance requirements.

N2WS supports multi-factor authentication (MFA), adding an extra layer of protection to user accounts by requiring a temporary code sent via email or generated by an authenticator app.

Agentless SQL backups using worker instances improve performance and scalability, ensuring production databases are regularly backed up and can be swiftly restored.

The enhanced VPC Capture & Clone capabilities now support IPv6, providing improved scalability for complex environments.

N2WS also allows users to make backups immutable, adding a layer of security by preventing data changes during the retention period.

Data centers can be damaged or destroyed by planned cyberattacks, random malware infiltration, and natural disasters like floods or hurricanes. This highlights the importance of having a solid backup and disaster recovery plan in place.

Backups can be used to swiftly recover data and restore operations after various disaster cases. This is especially crucial for businesses that rely heavily on data to operate.

Data loss due to disasters can be devastating, leading to significant downtime and financial losses. It's essential to have a plan to minimize data loss and get back up and running as soon as possible.

Regular backups can help ensure that data is safe and can be recovered quickly in case of a disaster. This includes backing up data to a secure location, such as the cloud or an external hard drive.

You can change the PITR retention period if the default retention doesn't meet your compliance requirements.

Compliance requirements and legislative regulations can be severe regardless of your organization's industry. Mostly, laws require you to keep up with security and perform regular backups for compliance.

The default PITR retention period is preserved when migrating your database to a vCore-based service tier, ensuring your application's data recovery policy isn't compromised.

The Change automated backup settings article provides steps on how to delete personal data from the device or service, which can be used to support your obligations under the GDPR.

For more information on GDPR, see the GDPR section of the Microsoft Trust Center and the GDPR section of the Service Trust portal.

You can use backups to create Azure database copies for development, troubleshooting, or testing.

This allows you to fix, develop, or improve your organization's workflows without involving the production environment.

To create a backup, check the settings one more time to ensure everything is configured correctly.

Hit Create, and your new storage account is now created.

You can then sign in to Azure, pick the container you created, and provide your credentials.

This will prompt a message asking you to sign in to your Azure subscription, and then you can choose the container and hit OK.

Azure SQL Backup is a crucial aspect of maintaining data integrity and ensuring business continuity. With Azure SQL Database, you can configure backups to meet your specific needs, including short-term and long-term retention options.

Full backups capture the entire database and its associated transaction logs, while differential backups capture only the changes made since the last full backup. Transaction log backups capture all transactions since the last log backup, allowing for fine-grained recovery options.

Azure SQL Database automatically performs full backups on a weekly basis, and you can also configure differential backups every 12 or 24 hours. Transaction log backups occur approximately every 10 minutes, ensuring recent changes are frequently captured and can be restored with minimal data loss.

Here are some key backup options to consider:

By configuring backups to meet your needs, you can ensure data integrity and business continuity in the event of data loss or corruption.

For Azure SQL Server on VMs, you can use native backup and restore techniques using attached disks on the VM for the destination of the backup files. However, there's a limit to the number of disks you can attach based on the size of the virtual machine.

You don't have to manage backup servers or storage locations with Azure Backup for SQL VMs. This solution provides enterprise-class backup capability for SQL Server on Azure VMs.

Azure Backup for SQL VMs has several advantages, especially for enterprises. It allows you to protect many SQL VMs and thousands of databases.

Here are some key features of Azure Backup for SQL VMs:

Full backups in Azure SQL Database are a crucial part of any business continuity and disaster recovery strategy, as they help protect your data from corruption or deletion.

They capture the state of the database at a given point in time, ensuring that all data can be restored in case of data loss or corruption.

Full backups are automatically performed by Azure SQL Database on a weekly basis, providing a foundational layer of data protection and recovery capability.

This process simplifies recovery procedures by providing a single restore point, reducing complexity.

Azure SQL Database stores full backups in geo-redundant storage, ensuring high availability in case of regional outages.

Here are 5 tips that can help effectively manage Azure SQL Database backups:

Azure SQL Database automatically tests the restore of automated database backups, ensuring the integrity of your data.

This process includes a point-in-time restore and a DBCC CHECKDB integrity check, which identifies any issues that may have occurred during the backup process.

All database backups are taken with the CHECKSUM option, providing additional backup integrity.

Automatic testing of automated database backups is currently not available for Azure SQL Managed Instance, so it's essential to schedule test backup restoration and DBCC CHECKDB on your databases.

Although the system doesn't verify the integrity of the backups, there's still built-in protection of your backups that alerts Microsoft if there's an issue with the backup service.

Here are the key points to consider when it comes to backup integrity in Azure SQL:

Restoring a database to another geographic region is a crucial aspect of disaster recovery, and Azure SQL Database has a feature that makes it possible. This feature is known as geo-redundant backup.

You can initiate a geo-restore by selecting the desired backup and target region through Azure's management portal or automation tools. This process creates a new database instance in the target region using the selected backup.

Having a copy of the data available in a secondary region ensures business continuity and data availability across geographic boundaries. This protects against regional failures.

The geo-redundant backup feature stores backups in geo-redundant storage, which is a secure and reliable way to keep your data safe. This means you can restore your database even if the primary region is compromised.

Restoring a database to another geographic region can be done quickly and easily, thanks to Azure SQL Database's automation tools.