To configure Backup schedules for your Azure Account, under the Cloud Workloads main menu, navigate to Backup->Configure Backup -> Azure.
Below are the steps to configure Azure Backups;
Step 1: Basic Job Details
Enter the following details;
Backup Job Name
Enter a name with which you want to identify this particular backup job.
Backup Option
Only Azure Snapshot Backup : By choosing this option you can backup your data only as Azure Snapshots.
Azure Snapshot backup with a backup copy to another location : Choosing this option will backup your data as Azure Snapshot and also have BDRSuite create a copy of backup and store it in another location which is the BDRSuite Backup Repository.
Backup Repository Type
Choose either the Block Storage Repository or the Object Storage Repository as per requirement
Backup Repository
Based on the previous selection, list of Backup Repositories will be listed and the required one can be selected.
Repository Name
Choose from the listed Backup Repository
Immutable Backups (Only for Object Storage)
You have the option to enable this feature by checking the box, which will secure your backups as immutable for a specific duration. The duration can be specified and you do it for up to 999 day(s). The duration set will be applied to this backup job, which you’ll configure in subsequent steps. When configuring other backup jobs, ensure to adjust the duration according to your needs.
Immutable backup in the BDRSuite Backup Server is a backup strategy or system you can use where once the data is backed up, it cannot be edited, deleted, or tampered with until a predefined time period expires that can be set up as shown below in the image representation. This approach adds an extra layer of protection to the backup data, making it resistant to ransomware attacks, accidental or malicious changes.
Step 2: VM Selection
Choose the Azure Account, Subscription, Resource Group and click on the ‘List VMs’ button. Then, select the VMs for backup to proceed to the next step.
You can also enable Application-Aware settings and Pre/Post Scripts settings for the individual VMs as per requirement.
Application-Aware
The Application-Aware settings can be enabled to ensure transaction consistent backups of applications. To perform the same, please make sure to follow the prerequisites and install the BDRSuite Guest Tools. If you want to exclude any volume from the Application-Aware processing then make sure to enter the volume in the given space.
Note: The Application-Aware settings is applicable only for the VMs running Microsoft Windows 2012 & Above.
Pre/Post Scripts
This option can be enabled if you want to run custom scripts before/after backup job. To perform the same, please make sure to follow the prerequisites and install the BDRSuite Guest Tools to run scripts successfully. Also, make sure the pre/post scripts are copied manually to the correct folder in your VM.
Step 3: Scheduling
Backup Schedule
Set up the frequency of your backups by scheduling them at the required time. You can configure backup schedules in the following manner:
Run Hourly – You can run backups on an hourly basis on specific days. By default, all the days in the week will be selected. If you don’t want to run the backup on all days, manually select the required days.
Run Daily – Run backups every day at the specified time.
Run Weekly – Run backups weekly on the required days at the specified time.
Select the Time Zone in which you want to run the backups. By default, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) will be selected.
Advanced Settings
When a backup job fails, BDRSuite Backup for AWS will automatically retry the backup job. You can configure the retry settings by using the below options:
Retry attempt on backup failure: Number of times BDRSuite Backup for AWS will retry the backup job.
Wait time before every retry attempt: Number of minutes BDRSuite Backup for AWS will wait before retrying the backup job.
Step 4: Backup Job Settings
Retention for Snapshots
During backup, BDRSuite Backup for Azure takes a snapshot of the target Azure VM at the scheduled time. The snapshots are stored in the same Azure Account.
- Each time a snapshot is taken, it corresponds to a restore point (i.e.) a point-in-time from which the backed-up VM can be recovered. With BDRSuite Backup for Azure, you can retain up to 100 snapshots of each VM that you backup.
- If you set a retention limit of 5 snapshots, then if the backup job is running for the 6th time in its schedule, the oldest snapshot will be deleted to retain only 5 latest snapshots of the target instance.
Step 5: Review
Review all the selections made for the Azure backup configuration and if you want to run the backup job immediately, select the checkbox and proceed to click on Save.