One of the most popular uses of cloud computing is to provide a backup and disaster recovery (DR) solution. Finding solutions that create consistent backups for workloads without creating excessive downtime can be complicated. For VMware users, a new option is to backup to the Microsoft Azure cloud.

Microsoft’s Azure Backup Server (ABS) now supports backup of VMware’s virtual machines (VMs) to Azure storage in addition to its existing Microsoft Hyper-V virtual machine backup capability. If there is a disaster, the backed-up VMs can easily be run using Azure’s compute facilities.

Easily Automated Backups to the Cloud

Using ABS to backup VMs is straightforward. There isn’t any need to install agents on VMs, and the software can discover VMs via the vCenter API. In addition, the backup and restore procedures can be automated. As a result of these features, there’s minimal administration effort required.

After the initial backup, only incremental changes are backed up, minimizing network traffic. The backups will be application-consistent or file-consistent, depending on the platform. You can define your backup retention policy to be as long as 99 years. You can also backup to local disk, which enables recovery at faster network speeds.

Affordable VM Backups to the Cloud

Many businesses will find this an affordable approach to disaster recovery; there are low costs to store the backed-up VM file on Azure but there are no compute costs unless the backed up VM is running in Azure. All data backed up to Azure is compressed and encrypted, minimizing the storage required and providing security for private data. Companies that use both VMware and Hyper-V virtual machines can use the same process for backups, simplifying the business’s DR process.

Getting Started with VM Backups to Azure Cloud

The process for setting up Azure VM backups is fairly simple. It requires establishing an SSL connection between the VMware server and Azure Backup Server, creating a user with appropriate VM privileges, adding VMWare Server to the Azure Backup Server, and creating an Azure Backup Server protection group for the VMs.

Prescient Solutions is a Microsoft Partner with full understanding of Azure, and our team includes certified VMware professionals. Our experts can help make sure your Azure VMware backup is set up and working correctly.

Even more important, our team can help you make sure your backup and disaster recovery strategy is appropriate. Because backups and disaster recovery help keep your business running during a crisis, it’s important to make sure your process is comprehensive and efficient. Our assessment can help you understand your backup and DR needs and implement an effective DR solution that meets your business needs.

Contact us to learn more about Azure Backup Solution for VMware and other approaches to disaster recovery that will keep your business running.

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