Recover data to another DPM-server from Azure backup vault

Here is a quick guide on how to recover data from an Azure Backup Vault. This scenario can be leveraged when a DPM-server has failed and you need to recover the data it has backed up.

Requirements

• System Center Data Protection Manager 2012 R2 with UR7 or later installed
• The latest Azure Backup Agent (Download link)

Step by Step

1. From the Recovery tab of the DPM management console, click 'Add External DPM' (at the top left of the screen).
2. Download new vault credentials from the vault associated with the DPM server where the data is being recovered, choose the DPM server from the list of DPM servers registered with the backup vault, and provide the encryption passphrase associated with the DPM server whose data is being recovered.
   
   (Note:Only DPM servers associated with the same registration vault can recover each other’s data.)
    
3. Once the External DPM server is successfully added, you can browse the data of external DPM server and local DPM server from the Recovery tab.
4. Browse the available list of production servers protected by the external DPM server and select the appropriate data source.
5. Select the date from the Recovery points drop down and select the Recovery time.
6. A list of files and folders will appear in the bottom pane which can be browsed and recovered to any location.
7. Right click the appropriate item and click Recover.
8. Go thourght the Recovery Wizard and start recovering.

When you are done you can click Clear External DPM on the Recovery tab of the DPM server to remove the view of the external DPM server.

Kind Regards
Markus Eliasson

Azure Backup

As more and more companies are looking into expanding their backup and restore service into the cloud I want to give you a short FAQ with some pros and cons regarding the Azure Backup service.

• What are the requirements to start using Azure Backup with DPM?

For the current release of Azure Backup it requires that you install the Update Roll up 2 for DPM 2012 SP1 before installing the Azure Backup Agent.

• Is there any storage limits within Azure Backup?

No. There is no limit to the amount of data you can back up to an Azure Backup vault. However the size of the data source (VM, volume, SQL database) that you want to back up to a vault cannot exceed 1.65TB.

• What is the maximum retention time?

The maximum retention time is 3360 days. 

(Requires DPM 2012 R2 & Update Rollup 3)

• Which workloads are supported?

At the time of this post there is some workloads limitations.

Supported OS:

§  Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1

§  Windows Server 2012

§  Windows Server 2012 R2

Supported workloads:

§  Virtual machines (VMs)

§  Volumes

§  Files and Folders

Unsupported workloads:

§  Active Directory/System State

§  Exchange

§  SharePoint
§  SQL

Pros

• All backed up data are encrypted.
• Data compression around 25% (Depending on size and data type).
• Support for Windows 2012 servers that uses deduplication.
• Off-site storage
• Encrypted, compressed and sparse files and folders supported.

Cons

• 10-15% storage allocation of the total backed up data for the cache folder.
• Only primary DPM-server can be configured with online backups.
• Some workloads not yet supported.