backup-azure-vms.md

title	description	services	documentationcenter	author	manager	editor	keywords	ms.assetid	ms.service	ms.workload	ms.tgt_pltfrm	ms.devlang	ms.topic	ms.date	ms.author
Back up classic-deployed Azure virtual machines to a backup vault| Microsoft Docs	Discover, register, and back up your virtual machines with these procedures for Azure virtual machine backup.	backup		markgalioto	carmonm		virtual machine backup; back up virtual machine; backup and disaster recovery; vm backup	c0ab5469-65fd-4af5-ae9b-f5d183f82ce8	backup	storage-backup-recovery	na	na	article	11/09/2017	markgal;trinadhk;

Back up Azure virtual machines (classic portal)

[!div class="op_single_selector"]

• Back up VMs to Recovery Services vault
• Back up VMs to Backup vault

This article provides the procedures for backing up a Classic-deployed Azure virtual machine (VM) to a Backup vault. There are a few tasks you need to take care of before you can back up an Azure virtual machine. If you haven't already done so, complete the prerequisites to prepare your environment for backing up your VMs.

For additional information, see the articles on planning your VM backup infrastructure in Azure and Azure virtual machines.

Note

Azure has two deployment models for creating and working with resources: Resource Manager and Classic. A Backup vault can only protect Classic-deployed VMs. You cannot protect Resource Manager-deployed VMs with a Backup vault. See Back up VMs to Recovery Services vault for details on working with Recovery Services vaults.

Backing up Azure virtual machines involves three key steps:

Note

Backing up virtual machines is a local process. You cannot back up virtual machines in one region to a backup vault in another region. So, you must create a backup vault in each Azure region, where there are VMs that will be backed up.

[!IMPORTANT] Starting March 2017, you can no longer use the classic portal to create Backup vaults. You can now upgrade your Backup vaults to Recovery Services vaults. For details, see the article Upgrade a Backup vault to a Recovery Services vault. Microsoft encourages you to upgrade your Backup vaults to Recovery Services vaults.
After November 30, 2017, you will not be able to use PowerShell to create Backup vaults. By November 30, 2017:

• All remaining Backup vaults will be automatically upgraded to Recovery Services vaults.
• You won't be able to access your backup data in the classic portal. Instead, use the Azure portal to access your backup data in Recovery Services vaults.

Step 1 - Discover Azure virtual machines

To ensure any new virtual machines (VMs) added to the subscription are identified before registering, run the discovery process. The process queries Azure for the list of virtual machines in the subscription, along with additional information like the cloud service name and the region.

1. Sign in to the Classic portal

2. In the list of Azure services, click Recovery Services to open the list of Backup and Site Recovery vaults.

3. In the list of Backup vaults, select the vault to back up a VM.

   If this is a new vault the portal opens to the Quick Start page.

   

   If the vault has previously been configured, the portal opens to the most recently used menu.

4. From the vault menu (at the top of the page), click Registered Items.

   

5. From the Type menu, select Azure Virtual Machine.

   

6. Click DISCOVER at the bottom of the page.

   The discovery process may take a few minutes while the virtual machines are being tabulated. There is a notification at the bottom of the screen that lets you know that the process is running.

   

   The notification changes when the process is complete. If the discovery process did not find the virtual machines, first ensure the VMs exist. If the VMs exist, ensure the VMs are in the same region as the backup vault. If the VMs exist and are in the same region, ensure the VMs are not already registered to a backup vault. If a VM is assigned to a backup vault it is not available to be assigned to other backup vaults.

   

   Once you have discovered the new items, go to Step 2 and register your VMs.

Step 2 - Register Azure virtual machines

You register an Azure virtual machine to associate it with the Azure Backup service. This is typically a one-time activity.

1. Navigate to the backup vault under Recovery Services in the Azure portal, and then click Registered Items.

2. Select Azure Virtual Machine from the drop-down menu.

   

3. Click REGISTER at the bottom of the page.

4. In the Register Items shortcut menu, select the virtual machines that you want to register. If there are two or more virtual machines with the same name, use the cloud service to distinguish between them.

   [!TIP] Multiple virtual machines can be registered at one time.

   A job is created for each virtual machine that you've selected.

5. Click View Job in the notification to go to the Jobs page.

   

   The virtual machine also appears in the list of registered items, along with the status of the registration operation.

   

   When the operation completes, the status changes to reflect the registered state.

   

Step 3 - Protect Azure virtual machines

Now you can set up a backup and retention policy for the virtual machine. Multiple virtual machines can be protected by using a single protect action.

Azure Backup vaults created after May 2015 come with a default policy built into the vault. This default policy comes with a default retention of 30 days and a once-daily backup schedule.

1. Navigate to the backup vault under Recovery Services in the Azure portal, and then click Registered Items.

2. Select Azure Virtual Machine from the drop-down menu.

   

3. Click PROTECT at the bottom of the page.

   The Protect Items wizard appears. The wizard only lists virtual machines that are registered and not protected. Select the virtual machines that you want to protect.

   If there are two or more virtual machines with the same name, use the cloud service to distinguish between the virtual machines.

   [!TIP] You can protect multiple virtual machines at one time.

   

4. Choose a backup schedule to back up the virtual machines that you've selected. You can pick from an existing set of policies or define a new one.

   Each backup policy can have multiple virtual machines associated with it. However, the virtual machine can only be associated with one policy at any given point in time.

   

   [!NOTE] A backup policy includes a retention scheme for the scheduled backups. If you select an existing backup policy, you cannot modify the retention options in the next step.

5. Choose a retention range to associate with the backups.

   

   Retention policy specifies the length of time for storing a backup. You can specify different retention policies based on when the backup is taken. For example, a backup point taken daily (which serves as an operational recovery point) might be preserved for 90 days. In comparison, a backup point taken at the end of each quarter (for audit purposes) may need to be preserved for many months or years.

   

   In this example image:

   • Daily retention policy: Backups taken daily are stored for 30 days.

   • Weekly retention policy: Backups taken every week on Sunday are preserved for 104 weeks.

   • Monthly retention policy: Backups taken on the last Sunday of each month are preserved for 120 months.

   • Yearly retention policy: Backups taken on the first Sunday of every January are preserved for 99 years.

     A job is created to configure the protection policy and associate the virtual machines to that policy for each virtual machine that you've selected.

6. To view the list of Configure Protection jobs, from the vaults menu, click Jobs and select Configure Protection from the Operation filter.

   

Initial backup

Once the virtual machine is protected with a policy, it shows up under the Protected Items tab with the status of Protected - (pending initial backup). By default, the first scheduled backup is the initial backup.

To trigger the initial backup immediately after configuring protection:

1. At the bottom of the Protected Items page, click Backup Now.

   The Azure Backup service creates a backup job for the initial backup operation.

2. Click the Jobs tab to view the list of jobs.

   

Note

During the backup operation, the Azure Backup service issues a command to the backup extension in each virtual machine to flush all write jobs and take a consistent snapshot.

When the initial backup finishes, the status of the virtual machine in the Protected Items tab is Protected.

Viewing backup status and details

Once protected, the virtual machine count also increases in the Dashboard page summary. The Dashboard page also shows the number of jobs from the last 24 hours that were successful, have failed, and are in progress. On the Jobs page, use the Status, Operation, or From and To menus to filter the jobs.

Values in the dashboard are refreshed once every 24 hours.

Troubleshooting errors

If you run into issues while backing up your virtual machine, look at the VM troubleshooting article for help.

Next steps

• Manage and monitor your virtual machines
• Restore virtual machines