Azure Native Backup

Question

Can we have Native backup taken in Azure for VMX having Linux Operating system and that too when the VM instance is running.

Answer 1

Hello @VishalKulkarni-0961

Thanks for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A

Yes, you can take a fully native Azure Backup of a Linux virtual machine while it is running. There is no need to shut the VM down.

Azure Backup uses the VMSnapshotLinux extension (installed automatically on the first backup) to create a snapshot-based backup of the live VM. By default you get a file-system consistent recovery point. If you need application consistency (for databases or other stateful workloads), you simply add lightweight pre- and post-scripts; Azure Backup will then mark the recovery point as application-consistent.

Steps:

1. Create (or select) a Recovery Services vault in the same region as the VM.
2. Enable backup on the Linux VM and assign a backup policy.
3. (Optional) Configure the pre/post scripts if application consistency is required.
4. Run an on-demand backup or wait for the scheduled job the VM stays online the whole time.

Official Microsoft documentation that covers exactly this scenario:

• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/backup/backup-azure-vms-introduction
• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/backup/backup-azure-linux-app-consistent
• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/backup/backup-support-matrix

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Answer 2

Dear @VishalKulkarni-0961

Yes. You can use Azure Backup to back up a Linux Azure VM while the VM is running. You don't need to stop or deallocate the VM before taking the backup. Azure Backup supports both file-consistent and application-consistent backups for supported Linux VMs. For application-consistent backups, you can use pre-scripts and post-scripts to prepare the application before and after the snapshot.For a native backup of a running Linux VM, you can use a Recovery Services vault, configure Azure VM Backup, and enable backup for the VM.

You can find the supported Linux distributions and other requirements here:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/backup/backup-support-matrix-iaas#support-for-linux-backup

For application-consistent backups:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/backup/backup-azure-linux-app-consistent

Best regards,
Bence

Answer 3

Yes. Azure supports native backup for Linux VMs while the VM is running.

• Azure Backup supports Azure VMs running Linux by using either the VM extension or agentless crash-consistent backup.
• For Linux VMs, agent-based backup supports file-consistent backup by default.
• Application-consistent backup is also supported for Linux VMs by using custom pre-scripts and post-scripts.
• Agentless crash-consistent backups are also available and are operating system agnostic.
• During restore, Azure Backup can restore by creating a new VM, restoring a disk to create a VM, replacing a disk on an existing VM, and it also supports file-level recovery.

Important Linux-specific support notes:

• Supported Linux distributions are the Azure-endorsed Linux distributions.
• CoreOS Linux and 32-bit operating systems aren't supported for agent-based VM backup.
• Backup requires /var and /var/lib on Linux not to be mounted with the noexec flag, because backup operations run helper scripts from /var/lib.
• Azure Backup doesn't support backing up NFS-mounted files; it backs up only locally attached disks.
• Backup of Linux Azure VMs with MARS, DPM, or MABS is not supported for this scenario.

If the requirement is simply to back up a running Linux VM natively in Azure, Azure Backup is the supported option.

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• Support matrix for Azure VM backups
• Support matrix for Azure VM backups
• Support matrix for Azure Backup
• Configure application-consistent backup for Azure Linux VMs by using Azure Backup
• Backup and restore options for virtual machines in Azure