MABS (Azure Backup Server) V4 (and later) protection matrix
This article lists the various servers and workloads that you can protect with Azure Backup Server. The following matrix lists what can be protected with Azure Backup Server.
The following table lists the support matrix for MABS v4 (and later):
| Scenario | Description |
|---|---|
| Workloads | The workload type of technology. |
| Version | Supported MABS version for the workloads. |
| MABS installation | The computer/location where you wish to install MABS. |
| Protection and recovery | List the detailed information about the workloads such as supported storage container or supported deployment. |
Note
Support for the 32-bit protection agent isn't supported with MABS v4 (and later). See 32-Bit protection agent deprecation.
Protection support matrix
The following sections details the protection support matrix for MABS:
Applications Backup
| Workload | Version | Azure Backup Server installation | Azure Backup Server | Protection and recovery |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Client computers (64-bit) | Windows 11, Windows 10 | Physical server Hyper-V virtual machine VMware virtual machine |
V4 | Volume, share, folder, files, deduped volumes Protected volumes must be NTFS. FAT and FAT32 aren't supported. Volumes must be at least 1 GB. Azure Backup Server uses Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) to take the data snapshot and the snapshot only works if the volume is at least 1 GB. |
| Servers (64-bit) | Windows Server 2022, 2019, 2016, 2012, 2012 R2 (Including Windows Server Core edition) |
Azure virtual machine (when workload is running as Azure virtual machine) Physical server Hyper-V virtual machine VMware virtual machine Azure Stack |
V4 | Volume, share, folder, file Deduped volumes (NTFS only) System state and bare metal (Not supported when workload is running as Azure virtual machine). To protect Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2, install Visual C++ 2015 on the protected server. |
| SQL Server | SQL Server 2022, 2019, 2017, 2016 and supported SPs, 2014 and supported SPs | Physical server Hyper-V virtual machine VMware virtual machine Azure virtual machine (when workload is running as Azure virtual machine) Azure Stack |
V4 | All deployment scenarios: database SQL database, stored on the Cluster Shared Volume and ReFS volumes. MABS doesn't support SQL Server databases hosted on Scale-Out File Servers (SOFS). MABS can't protect SQL server Distributed Availability Group (DAG) or Availability Group (AG), where the role name on the failover cluster is different than the named AG on SQL. |
| Exchange | Exchange 2019, 2016 | Physical server Hyper-V virtual machine VMware virtual machine Azure Stack Azure virtual machine (when workload is running as Azure virtual machine) |
V4 | Protect (all deployment scenarios): Standalone Exchange server, database under a database availability group (DAG) Recover (all deployment scenarios): Mailbox, mailbox databases under a DAG Backup of Exchange over ReFS is supported with MABS v3 UR1 |
| SharePoint | SharePoint 2019, 2016 with latest SPs | Physical server Hyper-V virtual machine VMware virtual machine Azure virtual machine (when workload is running as Azure virtual machine) Azure Stack |
V4 | Protect (all deployment scenarios): Farm, frontend web server content Recover (all deployment scenarios): Farm, database, web application, file, or list item, SharePoint search, frontend web server Protecting a SharePoint farm that's using the SQL Server 2012 Always On feature for the content databases isn't supported. |
VM Backup
| Workload | Version | Azure Backup Server installation | Supported Azure Backup Server | Protection and recovery |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hyper-V host - MABS protection agent on Hyper-V host server, cluster, or VM | Windows Server 2022, 2019, 2016, 2012 R2, 2012 | Physical server Hyper-V virtual machine VMware virtual machine |
V4 | Protect: Virtual machines, cluster shared volumes (CSVs) Recover: Virtual machine, Item-level recovery of files and folders available only for Windows, volumes, virtual hard drives |
| Azure Stack HCI | V1, 20H2, 21H2, 22H2, and 23H2 | Physical server Hyper-V / Azure Stack HCI virtual machine VMware virtual machine |
V4 | Protect: Virtual machines, cluster shared volumes (CSVs) Recover: Virtual machine, Item-level recovery of files and folders available only for Windows, volumes, virtual hard drives Recovery of Arc VMs is supported in a limited capacity in Azure Stack HCI, version 23H2. Learn more. |
| VMware VMs | VMware server 6.5, 6.7, 7.0, 8.0 (Licensed Version) | Hyper-V virtual machine VMware virtual machine |
V4 | Protect: VMware VMs on cluster-shared volumes (CSVs), NFS, and SAN storage Recover: Virtual machine, Item-level recovery of files and folders available only for Windows, volumes, virtual hard drives VMware vApps aren't supported. vSphere 8.0 DataSets feature isn't supported for backup. |
Note
MABS doesn't support backup of virtual machines with pass-through disks or those that use a remote VHD. We recommend that in these scenarios you use guest-level backup using MABS, and install an agent on the virtual machine to back up the data.
Linux
| Workload | Version | Azure Backup Server installation | Supported Azure Backup Server | Protection and recovery |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux running as Hyper-V or VMware or Stack guest | Physical server, On-premises Hyper-V VM, Stack VM or VMware VM running Windows Server. | V4 | Hyper-V must be running on Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2019, or Windows Server 2022. Protect: Entire virtual machine Recover: Entire virtual machine Only file-consistent snapshots are supported. For a complete list of supported Linux distributions and versions, see the article, Linux on distributions endorsed by Azure. |
Operating systems and applications at end of support
Support for the following operating systems and applications in MABS are deprecated. We recommended you to upgrade them to continue protecting your data.
If the existing commitments prevent upgrading Windows Server or SQL Server, migrate them to Azure and use Azure Backup to protect the servers. For more information, see migration of Windows Server, apps and workloads.
For on-premises or hosted environments that you can't upgrade or migrate to Azure, activate Extended Security Updates for the machines for protection and support. Note that only limited editions are eligible for Extended Security Updates. For more information, see Frequently asked questions.
| Workload | Version | Azure Backup Server installation | Azure Backup Server | Protection and recovery |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Servers (64-bit) | Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, Windows Server 2008 SP2 (You need to install Windows Management Framework), Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2. | Physical server Hyper-V virtual machine VMware virtual machine |
Volume, share, folder, file, system state/bare metal |
Cluster support
Azure Backup Server can protect data in the following clustered applications:
File servers
SQL Server
Hyper-V - If you protect a Hyper-V cluster using scaled-out MABS protection agent, you can't add secondary protection for the protected Hyper-V workloads.
Exchange Server - Azure Backup Server can protect non-shared disk clusters for supported Exchange Server versions (cluster-continuous replication), and can also protect Exchange Server configured for local continuous replication.
SQL Server - Azure Backup Server doesn't support backing up SQL Server databases hosted on cluster-shared volumes (CSVs).
Note
MABS V4 supports the protection of Hyper-V virtual machines and SQL Server Failover Cluster Instance (FCI) on Cluster Shared Volumes (CSVs). Protection of other workloads hosted on CSVs isn't supported.
Azure Backup Server can protect cluster workloads that are located in the same domain as the MABS server, and in a child or trusted domain. If you want to protect data sources in untrusted domains or workgroups, use NTLM or certificate authentication for a single server, or certificate authentication only for a cluster.
Data protection issues
MABS can't back up VMs using shared drives (which are potentially attached to other VMs) as the Hyper-V VSS writer can't back up volumes that are backed up by shared VHDs.
When you protect a shared folder, the path to the shared folder includes the logical path on the volume. If you move the shared folder, protection will fail. If you must move a protected shared folder, remove it from its protection group and then add it to protection after the move. Also, if you change the path of a protected data source on a volume that uses the Encrypting File System (EFS) and the new file path exceeds 5120 characters, data protection will fail.
You can't change the domain of a protected computer and continue protection without disruption. Also, you can't change the domain of a protected computer and associate the existing replicas and recovery points with the computer when it's reprotected. If you must change the domain of a protected computer, then first remove the data sources on the computer from protection. Then protect the data source on the computer after it has a new domain.
You can't change the name of a protected computer and continue protection without disruption. Also, you can't change the name of a protected computer and associate the existing replicas and recovery points with the computer when it's reprotected. If you must change the name of a protected computer, then first remove the data sources on the computer from protection. Then protect the data source on the computer after it has a new name.
MABS automatically identifies the time zone of a protected computer during installation of the protection agent. If a protected computer is moved to a different time zone after protection is configured, ensure that you change the computer time in Control Panel. Then update the time zone in the MABS database.
MABS can protect workloads in the same domain as the MABS server, or in child and trusted domains. You can also protect the following workloads in workgroups and untrusted domains using NTLM or certificate authentication:
- SQL Server
- File Server
- Hyper-V
These workloads can be running on a single server or in a cluster configuration. To protect a workload that isn't in a trusted domain, see Prepare computers in workgroups and untrusted domains for exact details of what's supported and what authentication is required.
Unsupported data types
MABS doesn't support protecting the following data types:
Hard links
Reparse points, including DFS links and junction points
Mount point metadata - A protection group can contain data with mount points. In this case DPM protects the mounted volume that is the target of the mount point, but it doesn't protect the mount point metadata. When you recover data containing mount points, you'll need to manually recreate your mount point hierarchy.
Data in mounted volumes within mounted volumes
Recycle Bin
Paging files
System Volume Information folder. To protect system information for a computer, you'll need to select the computer's system state as the protect group member.
Non-NTFS volumes
Files containing hard links or symbolic links from Windows Vista.
Data on file shares hosting UPDs (User Profile Disks)
Files with any of the following combinations of attributes:
Encryption and reparse
Encryption and Single Instance Storage (SIS)
Encryption and case-sensitivity
Encryption and sparse
Case-sensitivity and SIS
Compression and SIS