Unable to delete Recovery Service Vault in Azure

Question

Unable to delete Recovery Service Vault in Azure

Answer 1

To delete a Recovery Services vault in Azure, ensure that all dependencies are removed first. Here are the steps you can follow:

1. Check for Backup Items: Go to the vault dashboard and verify that there are no backup items, backup management servers, or replicated items listed in the Essentials pane.
2. Stop Protection and Delete Backup Data: If there are backup items, you need to stop protection and delete the backup data. This can be done through the Azure portal by navigating to Backup items, selecting the relevant items, and stopping the backup.
3. Unregister Storage Accounts: Ensure that all registered storage accounts are unregistered. You can find this under Backup Infrastructure > Storage Accounts in the vault dashboard.
4. Remove Private Endpoints: Check for any Private endpoints created for the vault and remove them if they exist. This can be found under Settings > Networking in the vault dashboard.
5. Delete the Vault: Once all dependencies are cleared, you can proceed to delete the vault by selecting Delete on the vault dashboard and confirming the action.

If you encounter any errors during the deletion process, ensure that all the above steps have been followed correctly. If the vault still cannot be deleted, consider using the Azure Resource Manager client to force the deletion.

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References:

• Delete an Azure Backup Recovery Services vault

Answer 2

Hello Chakrapani P,

We understand that you're running into an issue with deleting your Recovery Services Vault in Azure because it's reporting a "ContainerAlreadyInDeferUnregisterState" error. This usually means that there are still items in the vault that prevent deletion, typically due to active or soft-deleted backups or registered storage accounts.

Make sure there are no backup items or protected data sources left in the vault. You can do this by navigating to your Recovery Services Vault in the Azure portal and checking the Backup items section.

This error typically appears when a backup container (the thing that holds a protected item) is in a deferred/unregister state often due to soft‑delete or pending protection disablement so the vault won’t delete until those items are fully purged or unregistered.

 Verify Soft Delete is enabled:

• Go to your recovery vault > Go to the Properties.
• Under Security Settings, disable the Soft Delete feature if it’s currently enabled. Here’s a link on how to do that: 

Secure by Default with soft delete for Azure Backup - Azure Backup | Microsoft Learn

 Delete Soft Deleted Items:

Navigate to the Backup items section again and delete any items that may be in a soft-deleted state. You'll find detailed guidance.

Secure by Default with soft delete for Azure Backup - Azure Backup | Microsoft Learn

 

If you still encounter an issue, could you please clarification below details:

• Are the items in this vault Azure VM backups (IaaS), MARS Agent (files/folders/System State), or DPM(Data Protection Manager)/MABS(Microsoft Azure Backup Server)?
• Do you have Soft Delete enabled on the vault?

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/backup/backup-azure-delete-vault?tabs=portal#delete-a-recovery-services-vault

 Hope this helps! Thanks.