Microsoft’s Azure provides many services via a single cloud, which lets them offer one solution for multiple corporate infrastructures. Development teams often use Azure because they value the opportunity to run SQL databases in the cloud and complete simple operations via the Azure portal.
But you’ll need to have a way to back up your data, as it’s crucial to ensuring the functionality of the production site and the stability of everyday workflows. So creating Azure SQL backups can help you and your team avoid data loss emergencies and have the shortest possible downtime while maintaining control over the infrastructure.
Another reason to have a current Azure database backup is Microsoft’s policy. Microsoft uses the shared responsibility model, which makes the user responsible for data integrity and recovery while Microsoft only ensures the availability of its services. Microsoft directly recommends using third-party solutions to create database backups.
In case you run a local SQL Server, you’ll need to prepare for the possibility of hardware failures that may result in data loss and downtime. An SQL database on Azure helps mitigate that risk, although it’s still prone to human errors or cloud-specific threats like malware.
These and other threats make enabling Azure SQL database backups necessary for any organization using Microsoft’s service to manage and process data.
In this tutorial, you’ll learn about backing up Azure databases and restoring your data on demand with native instruments provided by Microsoft, including methods like:
- Built-in Azure database backup functionality
- Cloud archiving
- Secondary database and table management
- Linked server
- Stretch Database
Why Backup Your SQL Azure Database?
Although I covered this briefly in the intro, there are many reasons to back up your SQL Azure database data.
Disaster Recovery
Data centers can be damaged or destroyed by planned cyberattacks, random malware infiltration (check out this article to discover more on ransomware protection), and natural disasters like floods or hurricanes, among others. Backups can be used to swiftly recover data and restore operations after various disaster cases.
Data Loss Prevention
Data corruption, hardware failure, and accidental or malicious deletion lead to data loss and can threaten an organization. Backup workflows set up to run regularly mean you can quickly recover the data that was lost or corrupted.
Compliance and Regulations
Compliance requirements and legislative regulations can be severe regardless of your organization’s industry. Mostly, laws require you to keep up with security and perform regular backups for compliance.
Testing and Development
You can use backups to create Azure database copies for development, troubleshooting, or testing. Thus, you can fix, develop, or improve your organization’s workflows without involving the production environment.
How to Back Up Your Azure SQL Database
Backing up your Azure SQL database can be challenging if you go through the process without preparation. So that’s why I wrote this guide – to help you be prepared. Here’s what we’ll cover in the following sections:
- Requirements for SQL Azure database backup
- How to configure database backups in Azure with native tools
- Cloud archiving
- Backup verification and data restoration
SQL Azure Database Backup Requirements
Before backing up your SQL Azure databases, you need to create and configure Azure storage. Before you do that, you’ll need to go through the following steps:
First, open the Azure management portal and find Create a Resource.
Then, go to Storage > Storage account. Provide the information, including the location and names of a storage account and resource group according to your preferences. After you enter the information, hit Next.
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