Azure Backup and Site Recovery (Business Continuity Center)

Question 1

I want to back up the on-prem VM (Windows) to Azure; how can I achieve this?

Answer 1

You can install the MARS agent that when configured will backup to Azure Backup Vault?

Question 2

I want to backup Azure VM (Windows) to Azure , how can i achieve this?

Answer 2

In the Azure Portal on the VM there is a option to enable backups

Question 3

Can you move vaults between subscriptions?

Answer 3

Yes

Question 4

What is the redundancy model for Azure Backup and Recovery?

Answer 4

You chose at vault creation if you want you data in a single zone, multiple zones or in a geo-replicated.

Question 5

What is Business Backup center?

Question 6

What is a backup policy?

Answer 6

An Azure Backup Policy is a set of rules that define how and when backups are taken for Azure resources such as virtual machines, SQL databases, and file shares. It helps automate the backup process and manage data retention and recovery. Here are the key components of an Azure Backup Policy:

Backup Schedule: Defines when backups are taken (e.g., daily or weekly) and the frequency of backups (e.g., once a day, twice a day).

Retention Policy: Determines how long each backup is kept. Azure supports retention based on days, weeks, months, or years, allowing for long-term or short-term retention as needed.

Backup Type: Specifies the type of backup, such as full backups, incremental backups, or differential backups, depending on the resource being backed up.

Recovery Points: The policy specifies how many recovery points (snapshots or restore points) to keep and how they are maintained over time.

Instant Restore: For certain services like Azure VMs, the policy can include an option for instant restore, which allows rapid recovery from a snapshot.

Geo-Redundancy: You can choose the type of redundancy (local, geo-redundant) for storing backups, ensuring that they are available across regions if needed for disaster recovery.

Question 7

When backing up an AKS cluster, what data is been backed up?

Answer 7

1. Cluster Metadata: This includes the AKS cluster configuration, such as resource settings, identity settings, network configuration, and other metadata related to the AKS control plane. The metadata allows for recreating or restoring the cluster configuration.
2. Persistent Volumes: Azure Backup focuses on backing up data stored in persistent volumes that are attached to the AKS cluster. These persistent volumes store the stateful data used by the applications running within the Kubernetes cluster. Azure Disks (used as persistent storage) are a key component here.
3. Application Workloads: While Azure Backup doesn’t directly back up application containers or pods, it ensures that the stateful workloads (i.e., applications with data stored in persistent volumes) can be restored.

Question 8

When backing up an AKS custer are you backing up, the container images?

Answer 8

No, images are not able to be backup container images.

Question 9

Can you use Azure Backup to backup Azure Storage Blobs?

Answer 9

Yes, you can use Azure Backup to backup Azure Storage Blobs.

Question 10

Can you use Azure Backup to backup Azure Storage Tables?

Answer 10

No, you can not use Azure Backup to backup Azure Storage Tables.

Question 11

Can you use Azure Backup to backup Azure Storage Files?

Answer 11

Yes, you can use Azure Backup to backup Azure Storage Files.

Question 12

Can you use Azure Backup to backup Azure Postgres DB?

Answer 12

Yes, you can use Azure Backup to backup Azure Postgres DB.

Question 13

What are the supported backup redundancy tiers for storing data?

Answer 13

1. LRS
2. ZRS
3. GRS

Question 14

Do you need to provision storage when using Azure Backup?

Answer 14

No, you just create a vault and Azure takes care of provisioning the storage you need.

Question 15

When would you use LRS with Azure Backup?

Answer 15

To protect agenized server rack or drive failures, data is replicated with in a single zone three times.

Question 16

When would you use ZRS with Azure Backup?

Answer 16

To protect agenized a regional wide outage.

Question 17

When would you use GRS with Azure Backup?

Question 18

I have 3 Hyper-V clusters; what is the minimum number of Azure Site Recovery agents I need?

Answer 18

Three, one for each cluster

Question 19

Can Windows server backup be used on its own without other agents, services, and software to backup to Azure?

Answer 19

No.

Windows Server Backup is a feature built into Windows Server that provides a solution for backing up and restoring data. It allows you to create backups of your entire server, individual volumes, files, system state, and applications, which can be used for recovery in case of data loss, corruption, or hardware failure.

Here are the key components and features of Windows Server Backup:

1. Backup Options:
   Full Server Backup: Captures the entire server, including all volumes, applications, system state, and files. It is useful for disaster recovery, allowing you to restore the server completely.
   System State Backup: Focuses on backing up critical system files, including the registry, boot files, Active Directory (on domain controllers), and other essential system components.
   Volume Backup: Allows you to back up specific volumes (partitions) on your server, which can be useful when only part of the data needs to be restored.
   File and Folder Backup: Targets specific files or folders for backup. This can be used to back up important data without needing to back up entire volumes.
2. Backup Destinations:
   Local Disk: Backups can be saved to another local disk or partition on the server.
   External Disk: Backups can be saved to external USB or eSATA drives, providing portability and physical separation for disaster recovery.
   Network Share: Backups can be saved to a network location, such as another server or NAS device.
   Virtual Hard Disk (VHD): Backups can also be saved as a VHD file, which can be mounted and accessed later.
3. Backup Scheduling:
   Windows Server Backup allows you to schedule backups to run automatically at specific times. You can set up daily or weekly backups depending on your needs.
4. Incremental Backups:
   Windows Server Backup supports incremental backups. After the first full backup, subsequent backups will only capture the changes made since the last backup, reducing the time and storage space needed for backups.
5. Recovery Options:
   Bare Metal Recovery: You can restore an entire server to a new or existing machine, including system state and all data, from a bare metal backup.
   System State Recovery: Allows you to restore just the system files without affecting the application data or user files.
   File and Folder Recovery: Enables the restoration of specific files or folders from a backup.
   Application Recovery: If you have application-aware backups (e.g., using Volume Shadow Copy Service), you can restore application data such as Exchange or SQL databases.
6. VSS (Volume Shadow Copy Service) Integration:
   Windows Server Backup integrates with VSS, which allows it to take snapshots of applications and system files that are open or in use during the backup process, ensuring data consistency.
7. Command-Line and PowerShell Support:
   Wbadmin Tool: Windows Server Backup includes the wbadmin command-line tool, which can be used for advanced backup and restore operations. It allows for automation and scripting of backup jobs.
   PowerShell: You can also use PowerShell cmdlets for more granular control over your backup and recovery processes.
8. Limitations:
   It doesn’t support tape backups natively (you would need a third-party tool for that).
   Limited flexibility in handling more complex backup scenarios, like incremental and differential backups across multiple servers.
   Common Use Cases:
   Disaster Recovery: Ensures your server and its critical data can be restored in case of hardware failure or data corruption.
   Data Protection: Protects specific files, folders, or applications against accidental deletion or data loss.
   System State Protection: Critical for protecting Active Directory Domain Controllers, allowing for recovery in case of system corruption.
   Windows Server Backup is a simple yet effective tool that is useful for small to medium-sized businesses that need basic backup and recovery solutions.

Question 20

Using Azure backup, how would you define a daily schedule to back up a VM?

Answer 20

Create a backup policy.

Question 21

What is the purpose of disaster recovery?

Answer 21

To ensure the availability of applications, services, and data during a planned or unplanned outage.

Question 22

How can I configure Azure Backup for differential backup?

Answer 22

It depends on if the backup has been performed on a VM or SQL Server:

VM: differential is not supported

SQL: differential is supported but limited to once per day.

Question 23

Does Azure Backup support full Azure Backup?

Answer 23

Yes, 100%. Full backups are implemented differently for Azure VM and SQL Server backup types:

VM: backup is just prefrom on initial backup and then incrementail

SQL: backup is performed at most ones per day.

Question 24

Explain how an Azure Bacup - Full backup works.

Answer 24

A full database backup backs up the entire database. It contains all the data in a specific database or in a set of filegroups or files, and it also contains enough logs to recover that data.

Question 25

How often can you prefrom an Azure Full backup for virtual machines?

Answer 25

A full backup is not scheduled but happens on the initial backup.

Question 26

What is transaction log backup?

Answer 26

This is for SQL and is supported by backing up the transaction log; this is limited to every 15 minutes.

Question 27

Can you back up the SQL server transaction log every five minutes?

Answer 27

No, the SQL server transaction log is limited to being backed up every 15 min at best.

Question 28

Can you use Azure Backup to backup on-prem or data center VM?

Answer 28

Yes, 100%; you can back up on-premises Windows machines directly to Azure by using the Azure Backup Microsoft Azure Recovery Services (MARS) agent. Linux machines aren’t supported.

Question 29

Can I back up Linux machines to Azure?

Answer 29

No, directly, the MARS agent does not support Linux.

Question 30

What is MARS agent?

Answer 30

The Azure Backup MARS (Microsoft Azure Recovery Services) agent is a software tool that:

1. Allows users to back up files, folders, and system state from on-premises Windows machines and Azure VMs directly to a Recovery Services vault in Azure[
2. Can be installed directly on Windows machines, Azure VMs, or on Microsoft Azure Backup Server (MABS) and System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM) servers[
3. Provides features like scheduled backups, data compression, and encryption to ensure secure and efficient backup of critical data to the cloud[

Question 31

I have a VM with Trusted Launch, can is use Azure Site Recovery?

Answer 31

No, Azure Sitew Recovery is not supported by a VM using Trusted Launch

Question 32

When using a backup vault, can it be in a separate region form the virtual machines?

Answer 32

No, it must be in the same region, unless one dis an odd not recommended to install agent and use the agent to backup the VM.

Question 33

Does Azure backup provide application-consistent backups for Windows and Linux?

Answer 33

Yes, Azure Backup provides application-consistent backups for both Windows and Linux virtual machines (VMs).

Windows VMs: Azure Backup integrates with the Windows Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) to capture application-consistent snapshots. By default, it performs full VSS backups, ensuring that applications are in a consistent state during the backup process. If an application-consistent snapshot isn’t possible, Azure Backup defaults to a file-consistent snapshot.

Linux VMs: For Linux VMs, Azure Backup utilizes a pre-script and post-script framework to achieve application consistency. Administrators can configure custom scripts that quiesce applications before taking a snapshot and resume operations afterward. This approach ensures that applications are in a consistent state during backups.

Question 34

What services can be backed up with a Backup Vault

Answer 34

Azure Disks
Azure Storage Blobs
Azure Database for Postgress
Azure Database for Postgress Flexible
Azure Kubernetes Services
Azure Database for MySQL Flexible

Question 35

What services can be backed up with a Recovery Service Vault

Answer 35

Azure Virtual Machines (VMs):

Full VM backup (Windows and Linux)
Encrypted VMs (supports Azure Disk Encryption)
On-Premises Servers:

Windows and Linux machines using Microsoft Azure Backup Server (MABS) or the MARS agent
Azure File Shares:

Backup of Azure Files in Storage Accounts with integration in the Recovery Services Vault
SQL Server in Azure Virtual Machines:

Automated backup of databases hosted on SQL Server in Azure VMs
Azure Database for PostgreSQL Servers:

Backup for Azure Database for PostgreSQL single server (within supported limits)
Azure Managed Disks (limited scenarios):

Incremental snapshots to restore Managed Disks
SAP HANA Databases in Azure VMs:

Backup of SAP HANA databases within Azure VMs, specifically optimized for SAP workloads
Blob Storage (via integration with Azure Backup):

Backup of specific blobs with soft delete and versioning (primarily for data protection)
System State and Files/Folders for Windows:

Files and folders on Windows machines using the MARS agent
System state backup for recovery of critical system files and configurations
Microsoft 365 Data (using third-party solutions integrated with Azure):

Emails, files, and other data from Microsoft 365 (via third-party services)