Few things are more frustrating than losing all your data with no backup. We’ve all been there, so it’s time to take your personal information seriously.
A backup strategy is essential for a stable and secure enterprise, regardless of other measures taken to preserve data. Today, data replication can be performed using various tools and services, for example, by resorting to VMware vSphere Backup or Microsoft Azure Backup. Let’s take a closer look at the second option, which is supplied by the popular cloud computing service Microsoft Azure.
Things to Know about Microsoft Azure and Azure Backup
Microsoft Azure is a communication platform that allows you to create, implement, and scale mobile and web applications without losing high functionality. Apps and data are managed using the Azure cloud in an extensive Microsoft data processing center network. Modern programming languages, working software environments, and instruments are used to manage information. What’s more, Microsoft Azure offers users a vast selection of tools, instruments for developing their own software, and other technologies.
The leading advantages of this platform are reliability, world-leading experience in cloud computing, and instant access to the data or applications you need from anywhere in the world. The user-friendly problem-solving environment makes it easy to get started, making Microsoft Azure a reliable assistant for developing and managing applications.
As for Azure Backup, this is a unique backup service characterized by convenient use and reliable data protection. It is integrated into the Microsoft Azure cloud and is provided as a service.
This service offers reliable protection of critical data regardless of the user’s location. All assets are stored in different locations – in the cloud, on servers, and clients. The backup service ensures data protection for applications such as Exchange, SQL Server, and SharePoint. With Microsoft’s Azure Backup, you can protect various files, clients, and Windows servers.
Due to the demands of modern business and compliance requirements, it is necessary to protect your data for several years, and over time, the volume of this data increases exponentially. This is why tape drives are usually used for long-term storage of information. But Azure backup service is a cost-effective alternative to the tape device due to significant cost savings, reduced recovery time, and storage life of up to one century.
Best Data Backup Practices from Microsoft Azure
How does the Azure Backup service work? A Microsoft backup agent is installed on the client’s workstation or server, which is used to backup selected data to the Microsoft cloud. It allows you to restore both the entire system and individual files if necessary. Azure Backup also supports the fragmented recovery of the SQL database from an existing backup.
These four data backup practices are worth your attention if you’d like to secure your data with Azure Backup:
- Simplified pattern and administration. The Microsoft Azure service is combined with the well-known Windows Server Backup tool (in Windows Server) and Data Protection Manager (in System Center) to offer a single backup path to the drive or the cloud.
- Incremental backups. The Azure Backup service supports creating additional backups based on modifications of the files at the block level and duplicates only those blocks that have been altered. Consequently, it reduces traffic and eliminates the need for storage. Various versions of backup copies use the storage space efficiently by recording only the adjustments in the blocks.
- Information compression, data encoding, and throttling. Microsoft Azure provides data encoding and compression for transferring it to the central Azure storage. Due to this, only encrypted backup copies can be kept in the Microsoft cloud. The Azure Backup service cannot reach the encryption code in the cloud, and hereupon, data cannot be decrypted directly in the Microsoft cloud. Besides, users of this backup solution can customize the throttling functionality and settings.
- Data consistency is checked in the cloud. Besides the provision of secure backups, copies are automatically tested for integrity. As a result, any data corruption that might occur during its transmission via the network is automatically detected and corrected.
The Azure Backup service is available to many users from all over the world.