How do I, in Azure, backup a SQL Server database that is in a shared VM?

Question

I want to backup a SQL server that is running in a shared VM but I can't because no Azure VMs show up.

Is there a way to backup a SQL Server in Azure that does not involve adding a VM to it?

Answer 1

Hi Tawani,**
**
Can you elaborate a bit further on your scenario? What do you mean by a shared VM?
In Azure, if your SQL DB is on an Azure VM, you have 3 SQL native options for backup plus the VM backup itself (besides several other 3rd party products)
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/backup-restore?view=azuresql#backup-and-restore-options

You can also use an Azure SQL managed instance which has its own backup
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/managed-instance/automated-backups-overview?view=azuresql

If your workload is not in Azure, options we have are MABS and DPM
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/backup/backup-azure-sql-mabs

Hope this helps!

RAC

Please Accept the answer if the information helped you. This will help us and others in the community as well.

Answer 2

Hello @Tawani Anyangwe Thank you for posting your question on Microsoft Q&A platform. Happy to help!

I see that you want to back up a SQL server that is running in a shared VM. What I understand by this statement is that you are trying to back up a VM with shared disk. If my understanding is correct, then this is not supported. Document reference - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/backup/backup-support-matrix-iaas#vm-storage-support

Is there a way to back up a SQL Server in Azure that does not involve adding a VM to it?

If this is an Azure SQL Managed Instance, you can follow the instructions from this link - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/managed-instance/long-term-backup-retention-configure?view=azuresql&tabs=portal

Hope this helps. Feel free to reply if you have any further questions, would be glad to help!

---

If the response helped, do "Accept Answer" and up-vote it

Answer 3

Hi @Tawani Anyangwe

What I am understanding is you don't have SQL managed instance but you have Azure SQL Databases (PaaS) and you would like to take the backup of those databases.

Please note, as part of PaaS service, the backup is taken automatically by the Azure service

The first full backup is scheduled immediately after a new database is created or restored

After the first full backup, all further backups are scheduled and managed automatically. The exact timing of all database backups is determined by the SQL Database service as it balances the overall system workload.

Azure SQL Database creates:

• Full backups every week.
• Differential backups every 12 or 24 hours.
• Transaction log backups approximately every 10 minutes.

To test these backup you can perform point in time restore.

However, if you would like to take backup manually, you can export the database schema and data to a BACPAC file. A BACPAC file is a ZIP file with an extension of BACPAC containing the metadata and data from the database. A BACPAC file can be stored in Azure Blob storage or in local storage in an on-premises location

Here are the detailed steps to perform export operation - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/database-export?view=azuresql#the-azure-portal

Using SSMS- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/relational-databases/data-tier-applications/export-a-data-tier-application?view=sql-server-ver16

Let us know if you have any further questions or need additional information.

Thank you!