Azure VM Backup - please help

Question

In order to cut costs on azure VM backup my company is asking me to figure out ways with which we could store the VM data disk in SharePoint so that we can make use of the back up solution such as spanning backup for office 365 and back up SharePoint. The main reason I think this would not work is that say for example if the OS disk is corrupted, we can't do anything and we need to configure a new VM from scratch if we don't opt for Azure backup solution.
For me there are 3 main reasons this wont work out:

1. Restoration would not be simpler and time consuming.
2. Pushing the data from Azure VM to SharePoint also takes a huge amount of effort.
3. If OS disk is corrupted, then the configuration is not backed up and need to configure from scratch.

Please let me know your thoughts.

Answer 1

@Krishnamurthy KA Even if it were supported to use the approach that you are proposing, it is not a good idea.

I don’t think that you are accounting for the many benefits of Azure Backup, and the increased complexity and risk attempting that approach brings.

Think about this…
Azure Backup takes a snapshot of a VM, which in itself provides the ability for Instant Restore. You don’t get that with SharePoint.

Next, the Recovery Services Vault (RSV) and/or Backup Vault, at a minimum, retains 3 copies of that backed up data (by using LRS storage, though GRS is the default configuration). You don’t get that with SharePoint.

Azure Backup provides a long list of security protections, including:
• Role-based access control (Azure RBAC) which enables fine-grained access management and segregation of duties
• Built-in roles to control backup management operations
• Security controls to prevent, detect, and respond to security vulnerabilities
• Storage accounts used by Recovery Services vaults are isolated and can't be accessed by users for any malicious purposes
• Encryption of data in transit and at rest
• Support for Azure VMs that have their OS/data disks encrypted with Azure Disk Encryption (ADE)
• Security features to help protect backup data even after deletion

You don’t get that with SharePoint.

Not to mention the operational overhead that you will need to manage by trying to use SharePoint as the data store for backups. That means you would have to take a snapshot of each and every disk, for each and every VM. Then, somehow export each and every snapshot (perhaps requiring a restore of the disk to another location first), copy each and every VHD file to SharePoint (ensuring that the right snapshots are kept together for the same VM, since the names will have GUIDS in them), and then that SharePoint won’t accidently corrupt them (since it is a document management engine, and tries to index everything)!

Are you saying, you truly believe that for the difference of $14 USD/month, that the cost “savings” is greater than the amount of time and effort required to accomplish that (assuming that only a single individual would have to complete these steps)?!

At the end of it all… SharePoint is NOT a backup solution! And a SharePoint-based backup “solution” is not the right decision.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Answer 2

Hi,
You are correct - SharePoint is not meant to be used for these kinds of things. I am strongly advising you to not go through this route.

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