03 Mar 2014
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How to quickly and easily back-up Windows Server by configuring Azure Backup

In order to backup files and data from your Windows Server to Azure, you must create a backup vault in the geographic region where you want to store the data. This tutorial will walk you through the creation of the vault you will use to store backups, downloading a vault credential, the installation of a backup agent, and an overview of the backup management tasks available through the management portal.

Create a backup vault

  • Sign in to the Management Portal.
  • Click New, then click Data Services, then click Recovery Services, then click Backup Vault, and then click Quick Create.
  • In Name, enter a friendly name to identify the backup vault.
  • In Region, select the geographic region for the backup vault.
  • Click Create Vault.

It can take a while for the backup vault to be created. To check the status, you can monitor the notifications at the bottom of the portal. After the backup vault has been created, a message will tell you the vault has been successfully created and it will be listed in the resources for Recovery Services as Active.

  • If you have multiple subscriptions associated with your organizational account, choose the correct account to associate with the backup vault.

Download a vault credential

Vault credentials replace certificates as the way to register your Azure service with your server. You can still use certificates, however, vault credentials are easier to use because you use the Azure portal to generate and download vault credentials.

  • Sign in to the Management Portal.
  • Click Recovery Services, then select the backup vault that you want to register with a server. The Quick Start page for that backup vault appears.
  • On the Quick Start page, click Download vault credentials to prompt the portal to generate and download the vault credentials you will use to register your server with the backup vault.
  • The portal will generate a vault credential using a combination of the vault name and the current date. Click Save to download the vault credentials to the local account’s downloads folder, or select Save As from the Save menu to specify a location for the vault credentials. You cannot edit the vault credentials so there is no reason to click Open. Once the credentials have been downloaded, you’ll be prompted to Open the folder. Click x to close this menu.

Download and install a backup agent

Once the agent is installed you can use the appropriate local management interface (such as the Microsoft Management Console snap-in, System Center Data Protection Manager Console, or Windows Server Essentials Dashboard) to configure the backup policy for the server.

Manage backup vaults and servers

  • Sign in to the Management Portal.
  • Click Recovery Services, then click the name of backup vault to view the Quick Start page.
  • Click Dashboard to see the usage overview for the server. At the bottom of the Dashboard you can perform the following tasks:
  • Manage certificate. If a certificate was used to register the server, then use this to update the certificate. If you are using vault credentials, do not use Manage certificate.
  • Delete. Deletes the current backup vault. If a backup vault is no longer being used, you can delete it to free up storage space. Delete is only enabled after all registered servers have been deleted from the vault.
  • Vault credentials. Use this Quick Glance menu item to configure your vault credentials.
  • Click Protected Items to view the items that have been backed up from the servers. This list is for information purposes only.
  • Click Servers to view the names of the servers that are register to this vault. From here you can perform the following tasks:
  • Allow Re-registration. When this option is selected for a server you can use the Registration Wizard in the agent to register the server with the backup vault a second time. You might need to re-register due to an error in the certificate or if a server had to be rebuilt. Re-registration is allowed only once per server name.
  • Deletes a server from the backup vault. All of the stored data associated with the server is deleted immediately.

 

 

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