1. Backups for Azure SQL Databases and SQL Server instances running on Azure Virtual Machines
Session on backup to Azure feature (manual and managed) in SQL Server 2014 to provide a cost effective DR and best practices around the same
Chandra Mohan Situmalli

2. Sponsors
Main Sponsor
Gold Sponsors

3. Agenda Cloud backup benefits Pre-requisites
Backup to Windows Azure tool
SQL Server Backup to URL
SQL Server Managed Backup
Azure SQL Database backup
Copy/Export
Geo-replication

4. Azure blob service backup benefits
Flexible, reliable, and limitless off-site storage
Better alternative to the often used tape option to archive backups
No overhead of hardware management
Bypass the 16 disk limit on Windows Azure Virtual Machine
Backups become available to on-prem and other Azure VMs
Cost Benefits: Pay only for the service that is used
Remote Accessibility

5. Pre-requisites Create a storage account Create a blob container
A container provides a grouping of a set of blobs
Create a credential
A container provides a grouping of a set of blobs

6. Backup to Windows Azure Tool

7. Backup to Windows Azure Tool
Features:
Three step wizard
Redirect the backups
Can backup from Azure VM and/or on-premises databases
Benefits:
Support for backups to Windows Azure Storage for older SQL Server versions
Encryption support for older SQL Server versions
Compression support for older SQL Server versions
Supported platforms and pre-reqs:
SQL Server 2005 and later on Windows 2008/ Windows 7 or later
A Windows Azure Blob Storage Container

8. Demo: Backup to Windows Azure Tool

9. Backup to Windows Azure Tool – Remember..
It does not run the backups
Does not provide for scheduling, error tracking or logging of the backups
No retry logic built into the tool
Turn off SQL Backup compression on the databases that you want to compress with the tool
New backup will create a new backup file
Creates .bak, .enc (if encrypted), .gz files (if compressed and not encrypted), .data files (if no options are selected)

10. BACKUP TO URL

11. Backup to URL Available in SQL Server 2012 SP1 CU2 (T-SQL) or later
Backup database to Azure Blob Storage service
The maximum backup size supported is 1 TB
You can issue backup or restore statements by using TSQL, SMO, or PowerShell cmdlets, and SSMS (SQL 2014)
Appending to existing backup blobs is not supported
Backup to multiple blobs in a single backup is not supported

12. Backup to URL – Demo

13. Best Practices Use unique file names
Set container access level to private
Location of storage account and VMs
Housekeeping
Enable backup compression especially for large DBs
Backup/restore times are proportional to network bandwidth/latency – especially for large DBs

14. MANAGED BACKUPs

15. Managed Backups Available in SQL Server 2014 or later
SQL Server Manages backups to Windows Azure
Can be configured at the database or at instance level
Supports SQL Server on-premises or Windows Azure virtual machine

16. Managed Backups - Benefits
No elaborate backup planning required. Just need the storage location and the retention period
Setting at instance level will apply to all the databases created thereafter
Can be overridden at the database level too
Backups can be encrypted
Built-in intelligence
And the advantages of Azure backups..

17. How it works? Stores the metadata in the msdb database
Uses system jobs to write full, transaction log backups (Agent should be running..)
System stored procedures and system function for enabling, configuring, and monitoring retrieving existing configuration settings, parameter values, and backup file information
Extended events are used to surface errors and warnings
Alert mechanisms are enabled through SQL Agent jobs and SQL Server Policy Based Management
Containers are created in machinename-instance name format
Workload of the database determines frequency of backups

18. Limitations.. Supports Full and Log Backups only
Operations are currently supported using Transact-SQL
System Databases are not supported
Windows Azure Blob Storage service is the only supported backup storage option
Maximum file size allowed for a Page Blob in is 1 TB
Only databases set to Full or Bulk-logged model are supported

19. Managed Backup – Demo

20. Azure SQL Database BACKUP

21. Azure SQL Database Backup
Available on Basic, Standard, and Premium service tiers
Automatic Backup schedule:
1 full backup / week
1 differential backup / day
1 log backup / 5 minutes
Most recent Full and differential backups are copied to blob storage and these blobs are geo redundant

22. Restore Options Service Tier Geo-Restore
Self-Service Point in Time Restore
Backup Retention Period
Restore a Deleted Database
Web
Not supported
n/a
Business
Basic
Supported
7 days √
Standard
14 days
Premium
35 days

23. Point in Time Restore
Recover a database to a specific point in time (to the same server)
Make sure you have available quota on the logical server to create another database
Deleted databases can be restored to the point in time at which it was deleted

24. Point in Time Restore Restoring creates a new database
To the same service tier that was in use at the chosen restore point
To the lowest performance level supported by that tier
On 1st Dec 2014 – database was premium with P2 performance
On 2nd Dec 2014 – database downgraded to Standard
On 3rd Dec 2014 – database restored to 1st Dec 2014
Restored database will be Premium with P1 performance level
Time to restore depends on the size of the database and the length of the log chain
sys.dm_operation_status - Returns information about operations performed on databases in a Azure SQL Database server

25. Demo: Point in time restore

26. COPY And export

27. Copy and Export Database Copy Export
Creates a copy of the database in a asynchronous operation
Transactionally consistent with the source
Monitor the copy process with the sys.dm_database_copies, sys.databases views, sys.dm_operations_status
Copied database created with the same service tier and performance level
Performs an individual bulk copy of the data from each table in the database
Transactional consistency not guaranteed
The .bacpac files in the storage account can be used for importing to create new databases
Automated export: First creates a copy of the database and then exports to .bacpac files

28. Demo: Copy, Export, Automated Export

29. GEO replication

30. Geo-Restore Geo-restore is similar to point-in-time restore
Automatically available with basic, standard, and premium databases
Uses the most recent daily backup of your databases in a different geographical location
Useful, if the application can tolerate up to 24 hours downtime and data loss

31. Standard Geo-replication
Available for standard and premium databases
For applications with aggressive recovery intervals than Geo-restore
Standard geo-replication doesn’t support
ability to select the location of the secondary,
to have read access to secondaries
to have full control of when and where you failover

32. Active geo-replication
Available for premium databases
For applications with most aggressive recovery requirements
Support online application upgrade or relocation scenarios
Supports load balancing for read-only workloads
Provides the failover and location control

33. Demo: Geo-Replication

34. Questions