Microsoft Azure Recovery Services (MARS) Agent
To back up and recover files, folders, volumes, or system state data from an on- premises computer to Azure, Azure Backup uses the Microsoft Azure Recovery Services (MARS) agent. MARS is also called the Azure Backup agent.
The main approach for backing up Azure VMs is to use an Azure Backup extension on the VM. This extension will back up the entire VM. But if you are looking to only back up certain files and folders on the VM, then install the MARS agent on the VM. You can run the MARS agent:
Directly on on- premises Windows machines. These machines can back up directly to a Recovery Services Vault in Azure.
On Azure VMs that run Windows with the Azure VM backup extension. The agent will back up specific files and folders on the VM.
On a Microsoft Azure Backup Server (MABS) instance or a System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM) server. The machines and workloads will back up to MABS or DPM. Then, MABS or DPM will use the MARS agent to back up to a vault in Azure.
I will cover downloading and installing the MARS agent in greater detail when I discuss creating a Recovery Services Vault in the next section.
Azure Recovery Services Vault
A Recovery Services Vault is basically an Azure storage entity that holds data. It stores recovery points that have been created over a period of time, and provides an interface used to perform backup- related procedures, including performing on- demand backups, restores, and creating backup policies.
You can use Recovery Services Vaults to hold backup data for a number of Azure services such as IaaS VMs (Linux or Windows) and SQL Server in Azure VMs.
Backup Using the Recovery Services Vault
I will be covering these steps in greater detail; however, this is a brief overview on the steps needed to back up items using the Recovery Services Vault:
- From the Azure portal, create a Recovery Services Vault, and from the Backup Goals section, select Files, Folders, and the System State.
- Download the Recovery Services Vault credentials and agent installer to an on-p remises machine.
- Install the agent and use the downloaded vault credentials to register the machine to the Recovery Services Vault.
- From the agent console on the client, configure the backup to specify what you want to back up, schedule the backup, and configure the retention policy (how long the backups should be retained in Azure).
Create a Recovery Services Vault
To create a Recovery Services Vault, perform the following:
- Sign in to the Azure portal at https://portal.azure.com.
- Search for Backup Center, and then go to the Backup Center dashboard.
- On the Overview pane, as shown in Figure 17.8, select + Vault.
FIGURE 17.8 Backup Center Overview page
4. Select the Recovery Services Vault radio button and click the Continue button, as shown in Figure 17.9.
FIGURE 17.9 Start: Create Vault page
5. On the Create Recovery Services Vault – *Basic tab, as shown in Figure 17.10, enter the following values:
Subscription— Select the subscription you want to use. If you are a member of only one subscription, then you’ll see that name. If you are unsure, use the default option.
Resource Group— Use an existing resource group or create a new one. To create a new resource group, click Create New, and then enter the name.
Vault Name— Enter a name to identify the vault. The name must be unique to the Azure subscription. The name must be between 2 to 50 characters, must start with a letter, and consist of only of letters, numbers, and hyphens.
Region— Select the geographic region for the vault. The vault must be in the same region as the data source.
FIGURE 17.10 Create Recovery Services Vault – *Basics Tab
6. After entering the values, click the Review + Create button.
7. Click Create to finish creating the Recovery Services Vault.
It may take a while for the Recovery Services Vault to be created. You can monitor the status notifications in the Notifications area at the upper right. After the vault is created, it will appear in the list of Recovery Services Vaults. If the vault does not appear, click Refresh.
