Windows Azure Backup

Microsoft's Azure backup solution is a good, reasonably priced option for SMBs.

Microsoft has used the release of Windows Server 2012 to introduce new cloud integration features providing off-site backup to their Windows Azure service. While the capability is featured in the Windows Server 2012 Essentials product, it's available for the other versions of Windows Server 2012 as well. The service also works in conjunction with Microsoft's Data Protection Manager (DPM) component, which is part of the System Center 2012 product offering. You'll need SP1 for System Center 2012 to get this feature to work.

The great news about this service is that Microsoft is offering a free preview with up to 300 GB of storage for up to six months. You'll pay roughly $37.50 per month for that same 300GB of storage after the trial period. There's even an online calculator where you can see what specific amounts of storage or other Windows Azure services will cost.

Installation

Microsoft provides two basic installation options for the Windows Azure connector tool. For Windows Server 2012 Essentials there's an OnlineBackupAddin.wssx file which is a Windows Server Solutions Add-In Package installer. For other versions of Windows Server 2012, you will use a normal executable file (OBSinstaller.exe). Step number one is to go through the process of signing up for a Windows Azure Online Backup account.

Windows Server 2012 Essentials has a tab on the home screen of the Dashboard tool labeled "ADD-INS." The first option available is labeled Integrate with Windows Azure Backup (see Figure 1). Selecting this option will display a link labeled "Click to sign up for Windows Azure Online Backup." Clicking on this link will open Internet Explorer to the Windows Azure Web page and take you through the sign-up process.

Figure 1 - Windows 2012 Essentials Server Dashboard

Before you can complete this step you will need to add a few things to Internet Explorer in order to allow access to specific sites. The default security setting for Internet Explorer is the highest possible and will block any site that's not on the trusted sites list. You will need to add the following sites to the trusted list by opening the security tab and clicking on the trusted sites button:

• https://*.windowsazure.com
• https://*.microsoft.com

Once you have an account established you should see a download page (see Figure 2) with options for Windows Server 2012 Standard or Windows Server 2012 Essentials.

Figure 2 - Windows Azure Online Backup Download Screen

Configuration

Before you can get started with backups on a specific server, you must register it with the Windows Azure Online Backup service. This happens from the Windows Azure Online Backup management tool which is actually a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in (see Figure 3). After opening the tool, you should see an option labeled Register Server in the Actions pane. Clicking on this item will take you through the process of logging in to the Windows Azure Online Backup service with the credentials previously established. Once that's complete, you'll have full access to the backup tools from within both the management tool and through the online portal.

Figure 3 - Windows Azure Online Backup Management Tool

We tested the backup features on a Windows Server 2012 Essentials installation to evaluate the integration with the dashboard tool. The typical usage model for Windows Azure Online Backup is to configure the local agent to perform periodic scheduled backups. Defaults here are set to run weekly on Saturday night. You also have the option to choose which directories or volumes you want to protect. This can be done in bulk or by inclusion/exclusion of specific file types. There's also an option to perform an immediate backup, which is useful for establishing a backup immediately after installing the agent.

Operations

Once you have data actually stored on the Windows Azure Online Backup service, you have the option of accessing the data from either the local server or through the online portal. This makes it easy to view backups from multiples sites without the need to actually access the physical server. If you have access to the server, you can use the Recover Data Wizard to browse archives and select either an entire backup set or individual files (see Figure 4).

Figure 4 - Recover Data Wizard

The Windows Azure Online Backup portal is where you go to view files and restore them to a different location. It's important to point out here that the Windows Azure Online Backup service is strictly for files and folders in the current version. System backups must be accomplished using the server backup feature on the physical server. That means you'll need physical access to the machine if you ever need to recover from a hard disk failure.

Bottom Line

Windows Azure Online Backup provides a tightly integrated service that will keep off-site backups of files and folders. It works with any version of Windows Server 2012 and includes an automated agent to accomplish all backup tasks in an unattended fashion. The cost is reasonable and definitely worth checking out for any small or medium-sized business looking for an off-site backup solution.