Azure, Microsoft’s cloud computing platform, provides built-in backup capabilities that allow system administrators to backup and restore data. As a part of these backup capabilities, Azure also provides comprehensive backup reports. These reports help administrators to review backup status, understand backup coverage, identify unprotected resources, and troubleshoot issues. In this post, we will discuss how to configure and review these backup reports in Azure.
Configuring Backup Reports
Azure provides built-in capabilities for configuring backup reports in Azure Backup. The process involves several steps: enabling diagnostic settings, configuring Log Analytics workspace, and finally configuring Azure Backup reports.
Step 1: Enabling Diagnostic Settings
First, you need to enable diagnostic settings for your Recovery Services vault. Here is how you can do it:
- Navigate to the Recovery Services vault for which you want to enable diagnostics.
- In the Settings section, click on “Diagnostics settings”.
- Then click on “+ Add diagnostic setting”.
- In the “Diagnostic setting” page, fill in the details like the name for the diagnostic setting, and tick the checkboxes for “Send to Log Analytics”, “Archive to a storage account”, and “Send to Event Hubs” based on your requirements.
- Finally, click “Save” to save the changes.
Step 2: Configuring Log Analytics workspace
The next step is to send the diagnostics data to your Log Analytics workspace. Here are the required steps:
- Open the “Diagnostics settings” page as above and click on “Add” against the Log Analytics workspace.
- In the “Select Log Analytics workspace” section, select an existing workspace or create a new one.
- Finally, click “OK” to save the changes.
Step 3: Configuring Azure Backup Reports
Once your Log Analytics workspace is receiving the diagnostics data, you can finally configure Azure Backup reports. Here is how:
- In the Azure portal, navigate to the ‘Azure Monitor’ service.
- In the Azure Monitor, click on “Insights” and then “Backup Reports”.
- Follow the on-screen wizard to customize your backup reports.
Reviewing Backup Reports
Reviewing backup reports in Azure involves interacting with the data sent to Log Analytics. The backup reports include information about protection status, job status, backup item status, and cloud usage reports.
You can query this data using the inbuilt Kusto Query Language (KQL) in Log Analytics workspace.
Here is an example of how to review a backup report that provides the protection status of a specific backup job:
- In the Azure portal, navigate to your Log Analytics workspace.
- Click on “Logs” in the left-hand-side menu.
- In the query pane, enter the following KQL query:
AzureDiagnostics
| where Category == “AzureBackupReport”
| where details_s contains “Protection Status”
| project TimeGenerated, details_s
Run the query. The results pane will show the protection status data.
To review a backup job status report, you may use another KQL query, like this:
AzureDiagnostics
| where Category == “AzureBackupReport”
| where details_s contains “Job Status”
| project TimeGenerated, details_s
Remember to replace the <JobId> placeholder with the actual jobId.
These queries can be further refined to filter and sort data based on various parameters including date-time, job status, protection state, and others.
Managing backup is a critical task for any Azure Administrator. With inbuilt Azure Backup reports, Microsoft has made this task a lot easier. By extending tooling and providing data insights, Azure Backup provides a powerful and insightful way to manage backups in Azure. Happy Azure Administration!
Practice Test
True or False: In Azure, you can configure backup reports to receive daily notifications on the status of your backups.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: You can enable daily reports to be emailed to you so you can review the status of your backups in Azure.
Which of the following Azure services can be used to help manage and review backup reports?
- A. Azure Data Factory
- B. Azure Log Analytics
- C. Azure Media Services
- D. Azure App Configuration
Answer: B. Azure Log Analytics
Explanation: Azure Log Analytics is designed for collecting, analyzing, and acting on log data, which includes backup reports.
What should you configure in the Azure Backup service to receive backup reports?
- A. Backup management server
- B. Recovery Services vault
- C. Backup Recovery Plan
- D. Storage Account
Answer: B. Recovery Services vault
Explanation: In Azure backup, reports are configured in the Recovery Services vault.
True or False: Backup reports cover only resource-specific information in Azure.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Azure Backup reports cover the backup status across all backed up resources, not just resource- specific information.
Which type of data is found in a backup report in Azure?
- A. The cost of each backup operation
- B. The time taken for each backup operation
- C. The success or failure status of each backup
- D. All of the above
Answer: D. All of the above
Explanation: Azure Backup reports include details about the cost, time taken, and success or failure of each backup operation.
True or False: Azure Backup allows you to review backup reports in real-time.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Backup reports in Azure are not available in real time. There is a delay because they rely on the Log Analytics workspace.
A backup report in Azure will show you?
- A. Unprotected Azure virtual machines
- B. Backup items reaching their retention limit
- C. Backup items that failed during the backup process
- D. All of the above
Answer: D. All of the above
Explanation: Azure Backup reports provide comprehensive details about backups, including information about unprotected VMs, items reaching retention limits, and failed backups.
True or False: You need an Azure Backup vault to create and review backup reports.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: Azure Backup reports are configured in a Recovery Services vault.
In Azure monitoring, which tool can you use to analyze the operational telemetry?
- A. Log Analytics workspace
- B. Azure Security Center
- C. Azure Advisor
- D. Both A and B
Answer: A. Log Analytics workspace
Explanation: In Azure monitoring, Log Analytics workspace is used to analyze the operational telemetry.
True or False: Azure Backup reports can be used to verify compliance.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: Azure Backup reports provide comprehensive details about backup operations, which can be used to verify compliance with backup and data protection policies.
Interview Questions
What is the purpose of Azure Backup?
Azure Backup is a versatile data protection solution that allows you to backup your data to the Azure cloud platform. This helps protect your critical applications, no matter where they’re run—in the cloud, in your data center, or in hybrid environments.
What can be done with Azure Backup reports?
With Azure Backup reports, you can monitor the state of your backups, gather insights about the utilization of backup storage, assess any protection gaps, identify anomalies in backup behavior and troubleshoot backup failures.
In Azure Backup, how can one configure the backup report settings?
Backup report settings can be configured in Recovery Services vault settings, under Monitoring – Backup Reports. An Azure Storage Account and Event Hub must be set up to connect to Power BI.
Which two services does Azure Backup require for reports to be configured?
Azure Backup requires Azure Storage Account and Azure Event Hub to prepare the data which is then ready to be pulled and represented into diagrams via Power BI.
Can you configure Azure Backup to send reports to an email recipient group?
No, Azure Backup does not provide a native functionality for sending reports over email. However, these can be generated through PowerBI and then distributed accordingly.
What components are used to generate Azure Backup reports?
Azure Backup reports are generated using data from Azure Storage Accounts and Azure Event Hubs, combined with visualizations from Power BI.
Can Azure Backup reports offer information about Failed Backup Jobs?
Yes, Azure Backup reports include detailed information about Failed Backup jobs, helping administrators identify and troubleshoot problems.
What kind of data do Azure Backup reports provide?
Azure Backup reports provide data around the metrics of backup items, backup jobs, cloud storage, protected instances, and other data related to backup operations.
How can you view backup usage patterns with Azure Backup reports?
Azure Backup reports provide data on backup usage patterns, informing administrators about backup storage trends and patterns across different workloads and backup items.
Can you get alerts based on the Azure Backup reports?
While Azure Backups reports do not natively support alerts, you can configure them through Power BI on important metrics.
Can secondary backups be set up on Azure?
Yes, Azure Backup allows the configuration of secondary backups, enhancing the protection against data loss.
Are Azure Backup reports based on real-time data?
No, Azure Backup reports usually have a delay since they are based on the logs stored in Azure Storage Account and parsed via Azure Event Hub.
What view does Azure Backups offer for a more unified report?
Azure Backup provides a Vault Dashboard view for a wider overview on all the metrics across all backup items.
Can Azure Backups reports be exported?
Yes, you can export Azure Backup reports in a variety of formats using Power BI.
Can you monitor Azure Backup operations without using Backup reports?
Yes, the Azure portal provides alerts and notifications that allow for the direct monitoring of Azure Backup operations. However, for a more comprehensive and detailed analysis, Azure Backup reports are required.
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