Long-term backup retention refers to the storage of your database backups for an extended period, usually over 30 days. These backups are stored securely in the Azure Backup Service, permitting accessibility and recovery from any point in time during the retention period. This is particularly useful for meeting long-term compliance and business requirements.
II. Setting Up Long-Term Backup Retention
1. Creating a Long-Term Retention Policy
Before anything else, you must define a retention policy. A retention policy outlines how long backups should be stored. Here’s how you can create one:
- Go to the Azure portal and navigate to SQL server.
- Select ‘Manage Backups’.
- Choose your desired database and hit ‘Configure Retention’.
- Set your preferred values for ‘Weekly Backup Retention’, ‘Monthly Backup Retention’, and ‘Yearly Backup Retention’.
Remember that retention is cumulative. For instance, if you choose to retain weekly backups for 12 weeks, and monthly backups for 12 months, a backup on the first day of the year could be stored as a weekly backup for 12 weeks then as a monthly backup for the rest of the year.
2. Initiating a Backup
After setting your policy, the scheduled backups will automatically occur once a week, month or year, as per your settings. However, you can manually initiate a backup if needed.
Do note that all backups, regardless of whether they’re automated or manually initiated, follow the defined retention policy. The backup operation itself does not incur extra costs, but standard storage rates apply for storing the backups.
III. Managing Backups
Azure provides an intuitive interface for managing your backups. You can easily recover a database from a backup, or delete old backups that are no longer needed.
To restore a database from a backup:
- Go to the SQL server page in the Azure portal.
- Select ‘Manage Backups’.
- Choose the database you want to restore.
- Click ‘Restore’ and select the desired backup from the list.
To delete a backup:
- Navigate to the ‘Manage Backups’ page.
- Choose the database and select the backup.
- Click ‘Delete’.
Keep in mind that you can only delete backups that have exceeded your retention policy’s time limit.
To summarize, configuring long-term backup retention in Azure SQL servers allows you to store and manage backups of your databases effectively. It helps you to safeguard your data over an extended period, which can be especially crucial in adhering to compliance regulations and ensuring business continuity. Additionally, the easy-to-use Azure interface makes managing these backups a simple task. Whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned developer, you’ll find long-term backup retention in Azure quite straightforward to implement.
Remember: Taking time to plan your retention policy strategically will pay off in the long term. If you’re studying for the DP-300: Administering Microsoft Azure SQL Solutions exam or managing databases on Azure, being adept at using this feature could prove invaluable.
Practice Test
True/False: Azure Backup allows you to keep your SQL Server data for up to 120 days.
- True
- False
Answer: False.
Explanation: Azure Backup supports storing SQL Server backups for up to 10 years, meeting long-term retention requirements.
True/False: Long-term backup retention is configured at the server level, not the database level.
- True
- False
Answer: True.
Explanation: Long-term backup retention in Azure is configured at the server level, and all databases inherit the server level policy.
Multiple select: Which of the following options are true about Azure SQL database long-term backup retention?
- a) Can retain backups for up to 35 days
- b) You can recover to any point in time for 35 days
- c) Can retain backups for up to 10 years
- d) Requires Azure Active Directory for configuration
Answer: b, c.
Explanation: Azure can retain backups for up to 10 years and allows recovery to any point in time for the first 35 days.
Single select: Which of the following backup types is not suitable for long-term retention?
- a) Full backup
- b) Differential backup
- c) Log backup
- d) Incremental backup
Answer: b. Differential backup
Explanation: Differential backups are not suitable for long-term retention as they only capture the data changes since the last full backup.
True/False: In Azure, you can set different backup retention periods for individual databases.
- True
- False
Answer: False.
Explanation: The backup retention period in Azure is set at the server level and not at the individual database level.
Single select: What is the minimum retention period for long-term backup in Azure?
- a) 7 days
- b) 1 day
- c) 30 days
- d) 15 days
Answer: a. 7 days
Explanation: The minimum retention period for Azure’s long term backups is 7 days.
Multiple select: What are requirements for configuring long-term retention backups in Azure?
- a) An Azure Storage account
- b) Azure SQL Database or SQL Managed Instance
- c) An Azure Recovery Services Vault
- d) Azure Active Directory
Answer: b, c.
Explanation: Configuring Azure SQL Database or SQL Managed Instance and an Azure Recovery Services Vault are necessary steps for configuring long-term retention backups.
True/False: You can use the Azure portal, PowerShell or Azure CLI to configure long-term backup retention in Azure.
- True
- False
Answer: True.
Explanation: Azure provides multiple interfaces such as the Azure portal, PowerShell, and Azure CLI for configuring long-term backup retention.
Single Select: Up to how many weekly backups can you keep with Azure’s long-term backup retention?
- a) 5
- b) 100
- c) 520
- d) 120
Answer: c. 520
Explanation: Azure’s long-term retention policy allows you to keep up to 520 weekly backups.
True/False: Azure automatically performs backups of your databases and stores them in a geographically separate location from the database.
- True
- False
Answer: True.
Explanation: In Azure, backups are automatically taken and stored in a different location to safeguard against regional disasters.
Interview Questions
How can you configure long-term backup retention in Azure SQL Database?
Long-term backup retention can be configured in Azure SQL Database by using the Backup Retention option in the portal. These backup files are stored in the Recovery Services vault.
What kind of backup does the long-term retention (LTR) policy in Azure SQL Database create?
The LTR policy in Azure SQL Database creates full database backups.
What are the benefits of configuring long-term backup retention?
Configuring long-term backup retention allows you to restore data from a backup that is up to 10 years old. It also provides a cost-effective option for storing backups and compliant with many regulatory requirements.
What SQL versions support Azure’s long-term backup retention feature?
All versions of SQL databases in Azure support long-term backup retention.
How often does Azure SQL Database take long term backup?
Azure SQL Database can take long term backups on a weekly basis.
Where do long-term backups for Azure SQL get stored?
Long-term backups for Azure SQL get stored in a Recovery Services Vault.
What is the longest retention period that can be set with Azure SQL Database long-term backup retention?
The longest retention period that can be set with Azure SQL Database long-term backup retention is 10 years.
Can you extend the Azure SQL Database retention period beyond 35 days without configuring long-term backup retention?
No, if you need to extend the retention period beyond 35 days, you need to configure long-term backup retention.
Can you configure different retention periods for long-term backups in Azure SQL Database?
Yes, you can configure different retention periods for long-term backups to meet different compliance requirements.
Can you restore a database from a long-term backup in Azure SQL Database?
Yes, you can restore a database from a long-term backup in Azure SQL Database.
Can you confirm the successful configuration of long-term backup retention in Azure SQL Database?
Yes, you can confirm successful configuration by checking the retention period or performing a test restore of a backup.
Is it possible to delete a backup from Azure SQL Database long-term backup retention?
Yes, but a delete operation can only be performed on backups that have passed the retention period.
How can you configure long-term backup retention for Managed Instance databases?
For Managed Instance databases, you can configure long-term backup retention through PowerShell or the Azure portal, similar to single databases.
How is the cost for long-term backup retention determined in Azure SQL Database?
The cost is determined based on the storage size of the backups and the duration of the retention period.
Can the long-term backup in Azure SQL Database be encrypted?
Yes, backups are encrypted using Azure’s Storage Service Encryption.
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