Recommend a solution for tenant backups

Azure Backup Service

Azure Backup service offers a simple, secure, and cost-effective solution to backup your data and recover it from the Microsoft Azure cloud. Azure Backup provides independent and isolated backups to guard against accidental destruction of original data. It also has considerable capabilities for handling backup data including:

• Creating a backup vault in Azure,
• Backing up and restoring virtual machines, SQL workloads, and on-premises VMware machines,
• Managing and monitoring backup jobs.

This service offers scalability, eliminates the need for on-premises infrastructure, and protects from ransomware attacks.

Azure Stack Hub Infrastructure Backup Service

This built-in service provides a mechanism to back up and restore the system’s internal state. The Backup Service ensures the reliability of the Azure Stack Hub, captures the state of Azure Resource Manager, and back up to an external location. Note that this backup only covers the system configuration and tenant metadata, not tenant workloads or their configuration data.

Hybrid backups using System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM)

This is a robust enterprise backup solution from Microsoft that can handle complex environments, including hybrid setups. It can back up an array of data types across varied locations, including Azure VMs, SQL Server databases, and Exchange emails, among others.

DPM can be integrated with Azure Backup to have a more comprehensive solution. It can also provide short-term backups on local disk and longer-term storage in Azure, providing high speed recovery from disk and longer-term archiving in the cloud.

Additional third-party solutions

Third-party solutions like Veeam, Commvault, Veritas, etc. provide a strong back-up solution, each with their unique features and capabilities. They can provide additional backups for Azure Stack Hub tenant resources. For instance, Veeam with Azure provides a scalable solution, adapting to your business needs.

To make the best choice out of these options, understanding the following factors would be beneficial:

• The size of the overall data and the specific data that needs backup,
• The frequency of changing data,
• How long the backups are needed or how frequently they should be updated,
• The recovery point objective (RPO) and Recovery Time Objective (RTO),
• Regulatory, compliance, or business continuance requirements,
• The budget allotted for backup infrastructure.

Remember that a single solution might not always satisfy all requirements, thus considering a mix of Azure backup services with third-party backup solutions, keeping in mind the workloads and resources, can provide a more comprehensive and successful backup strategy in a hybrid cloud environment.

In conclusion, Azure Stack Hub provides various standard and comprehensive solutions for tenant backups, nevertheless, third-party solutions can be a good addition based on specific requirements. Leveraging these tools and strategies can ensure efficient backup solutions, providing robustness and reliability for your hybrid cloud deployments.

Practice Test

True or False: Azure Stack Hub offers automatic backup solutions for tenant workloads.

• True
• False

Answer: False.

Explanation: Azure Stack Hub does not automate the backup of tenant workloads but it does allow integration with Azure Backup or any third-party backup solutions.

Which of the following are popular backup solutions in Azure Stack Hub? (Multiple Select)

• A. Azure Backup
• B. Windows Server Backup
• C. Veeam Backup & Replication
• D. VMware vSphere

Answer: A, B, C

Explanation: Azure Backup, Windows Server Backup, and Veeam Backup & Replication all support Azure Stack Hub.

True or False: Azure Resource Manager is used in Azure Stack Hub for tenant backups.

• True
• False

Answer: True

Explanation: Azure Resource Manager is utilized by Azure Stack Hub to protect tenant secrets by maintaining separate istances for each tenant.

In Azure Stack Hub, which of the following backup methodologies is used for tenant backups?

• A. Agent-based backups
• B. Image-based backups
• C. Device-based backups
• D. Gesture-based backups

Answer: A

Explanation: Agent-based backups are primarily used in Azure Stack Hub as it provides granular control over backup and restore operations.

True or False: Tenant data is automatically backed up as part of Azure Stack’s infrastructure backup.

• True
• False

Answer: False.

Explanation: Tenant data isn’t included in Azure Stack’s infrastructure backup. It’s the responsibility of tenants to back up their own data.

Which of the following does not define scope for a tenant in Azure Stack Hub?

• A. User
• B. Role
• C. Subscription
• D. Datacentre

Answer: D

Explanation: A scope in Azure Stack is defined by a combination of User, Role, and Subscription.

True or false: Azure Stack Hub does not support backup at the item level for tenants.

• True
• False

Answer: True.

Explanation: Azure Stack Hub only supports backups at the VM level, not at the item level like individual files or folders.

Azure Recovery Services Vault is used for:

• A. Infrastructure Backup
• B. Disaster Recovery
• C. Tenant Backup
• D. All of the above

Answer: D

Explanation: The Azure Recovery Services Vault is a storage entity in Azure that houses data such as backup copies, recovery points and backup policies.

True or False: There are no third-party solutions compatible with Azure Stack Hub for tenant backups.

• True
• False

Answer: False.

Explanation: Azure Stack Hub supports various third-party solutions for tenant backups such as Veeam Backup & Replication.

Which of the following are important considerations while recommending a backup solution for Azure Stack tenants? (Multiple Select)

• A. RTO and RPO
• B. Compatibility with Azure Stack Hub
• C. Cost
• D. VM Size on Azure Stack Hub

Answer: A, B, C

Explanation: Recovery Time Objective (RTO), Recovery Point Objective (RPO), cost, and compatibility with Azure Stack Hub are all important factors to consider while recommending a backup solution for Azure Stack tenants.

Interview Questions

What is the purpose of tenant backups in Azure Stack Hub?

Tenant backups in Azure Stack Hub allow users to create and manage backups of their applications and workloads, which enables data recovery in the event of data loss or a disaster.

How can you configure tenant backups in Azure Stack Hub?

Tenant backups in Azure Stack Hub can be configured using either the Azure portal, Azure CLI, or Azure PowerShell.

Which backup solution can be used to protect tenant workloads within Azure Stack Hub VMs?

Azure Backup can be used to protect tenant workloads within Azure Stack Hub VMs.

What usually triggers a backup operation in Azure Backup?

A backup operation in Azure Backup is usually triggered by a backup policy, defining when and how often the backup should be performed.

What types of workloads can Azure Backup handle?

Azure Backup is capable of handling workloads running in VMs, Azure file shares, and on-premise servers or machines.

How can Azure Backup be enabled for an Azure Stack Hub VM?

To enable Azure Backup for an Azure Stack Hub VM, you go to the VM management blade, click on “Backup”, and then follow the steps in the wizard to enable and configure backup.

What considerations need to be taken into account when designing a backup solution for Azure Stack Hub?

Considerations should include criticality of the data, size of data to be backed up, frequency of the backup (how often the data changes), and how long it needs to be retained.

Is there a limit to the number of recovery points that can be kept with Azure Backup?

Yes, Azure Backup can keep up to 9999 recovery points for each protected instance.

Can Azure Stack Hub backup data to an on-premises location?

Yes, Azure Stack Hub can backup data to an on-premises location if the Azure Stack Hub is configured as a storage target for Azure Site Recovery.

How long does Azure Backup store data?

Azure Backup can retain your data up to 99 years, depending on your organization’s data retention requirements.

How to restore Azure Stack Hub VM from backup?

You can restore Azure Stack Hub VM from backup by navigating to the corresponding recovery point in Azure Backup and clicking on “Restore VM.”

What is the Recovery Services vault in Azure Stack Hub?

The Recovery Services vault is an Azure Storage entity that provides a storage account in the cloud where the backup data is stored.

Can Azure Backup perform a backup of the system state of Azure Stack Hub VMs?

Yes, Azure Backup can perform a system state backup of Azure Stack Hub VMs.

Is encryption provided for Azure Stack Hub tenant backups?

Yes, Azure Stack Hub tenant backups are encrypted at rest and in transit.

What is point-in-time restore for Azure Backup and how can it be utilized?

Point-in-time restore for Azure Backup allows recovering data exactly how it existed at a specific time in the past. It can be utilized by selecting a desired restore point in the Azure portal, Azure CLI, or PowerShell.