Microsoft Azure documentation
Microsoft has substantial documentation on using Azure available in its documentation center.
For information on creating an Azure subscription or user account, selecting Azure resources for VMs you create on Azure, adding a storage account to your VMs, and more, see the Microsoft documentation at https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation.
For example, for information on provisioning or managing Windows VMs, see https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/services/virtual-machines/windows/.
For online videos about using Azure, see http://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/get-started/.
Relevant Microsoft links
Some relevant articles on Microsoft websites are listed below:
- Azure login page (US)
- Microsoft Azure home page
- Microsoft documentation center
- Windows virtual machines documentation
- Subscriptions, licenses, accounts, and tenants for Microsoft's cloud offerings
- Videos: Get started with Azure
- Azure Virtual machines pricing
- Azure services by region
- About Azure storage accounts
- Creating a storage account on Azure
- How to attach a data disk to a Windows VM in the Azure portal
- Use the Microsoft Azure Import/Export Service to Transfer Data to Blob Storage
- Import/Export Pricing
- Storage: Import/Export Hard Disk Drives to Windows Azure (blog post)
- Overview of Availability Zones in Azure
Third-party related links
- Azure VM comparison. This third-party website offers comparisons on Azure VM costs. If using PowerShell or Command Line commands to perform Azure tasks at the command line, you can obtain the VM name parameter from the first column in the this table.
Exporting and deploying VMs for Azure
Unlike virtual export for other platforms, virtual export for Azure is divided between two processes: exporting, and deploying.
Be advised that Microsoft Azure customers are responsible for their own fees. Some aspects of our integration with Azure are designed with this fee structure in mind. For example, Microsoft charges fees when you deploy a VM on Azure, and when data is transmitted from Azure to another source.
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NOTE: Since Microsoft can change prerequisites, requirements, costs, and so on, always verify such information with Azure. For more information, see the Azure website or contact an Azure representative. |
To avoid incurring unnecessary charges, virtual export to Azure consists of two separate processes.
The process of exporting extracts the necessary set of files from Rapid Recovery, validates them, and uploads them to the specified container in Azure. These files include:
- One virtual hard disk (VHD) file for each volume in the recovery point.
- One XML file, which contains metadata information about each disk (a list of files present on each disk and a flag indicating if a volume is a system disk).
- One VHD file containing the backup snapshot.
Other than costs for the required storage, exporting by itself does not incur any Azure fees.
The deployment process combines these files into a bootable virtual machine. Deployment directly uses Azure cloud REST APIs. The original set of files placed on Azure during the export process is read-only in Azure, and consumes space but does not otherwise incur Azure charges. When you deploy these files, a duplicate copy of them is created, stored in a separate container you define, and combined into a working virtual machine. From an Azure account perspective, after you deploy, you are then charged fees for the VM on its servers. Since the deployed VM is a copy of the exported files, the deployment process also doubles the amount of storage space used in Azure for that virtual export.
For a one-time virtual export, there is no mechanism for deploying as a separate process. Thus, for the export to be useful, you should deploy to Azure when you create the virtual machine on demand. As a result, one-time exports to Azure have an immediate cost associated with the VM you deploy.
When establishing virtual standby for a protected machine on Azure, to avoid use of extra storage space and VM charges, you can simply define the export process. The result is an initial virtual export to Azure which is continually updated. Each time a snapshot is captured on the Core, the exported files are refreshed in your Azure account with updated information. Before the virtual export can be used as a bootable VM, you must deploy it, which triggers VM costs on Azure. If you do not need to convert the exported files for a protected machine to a bootable VM, no VM costs are incurred in your Azure account.
For information about performing a one-time export to Azure, including deployment, see the topic Performing a one-time Azure export.
For information about setting up continual export to Azure, excluding deployment, see the topic Setting up continual export to Azure.
For information about deploying the most recent exported files to create a bootable virtual standby VM in Azure, see the topic Deploying a virtual machine in Azure.
Performing a one-time Azure export
For prerequisites, see Before virtual export to Azure.
Before you can perform a one-time Azure export, you need the following:
- You must have a protected machine with at least one recovery point in a Rapid Recovery Core that you want to export to Azure.
- Remote access must be enabled on the protected machine for the deployed VM to boot successfully.
- You must have administrative access to an account on Azure.
- Optionally, before exporting, you can create an appropriate container within your Azure storage account into which the exported data is stored. For more information, see the topic Creating a container in an Azure storage account.
As described in the topic Exporting and deploying VMs for Azure, virtual export to Azure consists of two processes: exporting and deploying.
The process of exporting extracts the necessary set of files from Rapid Recovery, validates them, and uploads them to the specified container in Azure. These files include:
- One virtual hard disk (VHD) file for each volume in the recovery point
- One XML file, which contains metadata information about each disk (a list of files present on each disk and a flag indicating if a volume is a system disk)
- One VHD file containing the backup snapshot
The deployment process combines these files into a bootable virtual machine. Deployment uses direct Azure cloud REST APIs. The original set of files placed on Azure during the export process is read-only in Azure, and consumes space but does not invoke additional Azure charges. When you deploy these files, a duplicate copy of them is created, stored in a separate container you define, and combined into a working virtual machine. From an Azure account perspective, after you deploy you are then charged fees for the VM on its servers. The deployment process also doubles the amount of storage space used in Azure for that virtual export.
For a one-time virtual export, there is no mechanism for deploying as a separate process; thus, for the export to be useful, you should deploy when you create the virtual machine on demand.
When establishing virtual standby for a protected machine on Azure, to avoid use of extra storage space and VM charges, you can export, and continually update the recovery point automatically, without the need to deploy. You can then deploy in Azure only when and if you need to use the VM. For information about deploying a virtual standby in Azure to a functioning VM, see the topic Deploying a virtual machine in Azure.
Complete the steps in this procedure to perform a one-time export to Azure on demand, including deploying to a VM.
- In the Rapid Recovery Core Console, in the button bar, click the
Restore
drop-down menu, and then click
VM Export.
The Virtual Machine Export Wizard appears. - In the wizard, from the Select VM Export Type page, select One-time export and then select Next.
- On the Machines page, click the row in the Machines grid representing the protected machine that you want to export, and then click Next.
- On the Recovery Points page, scroll through the list of recovery points if necessary, and click to select the recovery point that you want to use for the export. Then click Next.
- On the Destination page, in the Export a virtual machine to drop-down menu, select Azure.
- Enter the parameters for accessing the virtual machine as described in the following table, and then click Next.
Table 125: Azure credentials Options Description Cloud account name
Entering this parameter is optional.
Each time you successfully connect to a cloud account, Rapid Recovery Core caches your credentials so you can use them again.
Do one of the following:
- If you previously connected this Core with the Azure account you want to export to, then optionally, from the Cloud account name drop-down menu, select the appropriate Azure subscription name, and then click Next. Skip to step 5.
- If no value appears in the drop-down menu, or if you want to export to a different cloud account, provide the credential information requested for your Azure account, starting with Region.
Region
Each Azure portal is associated with a geographic region. Choose the region your portal is accessed from. Options include:
- Azure Global Cloud
- Azure China Cloud
- Azure German Cloud
- Azure US Government Cloud
Application ID
Provide the application ID or client ID associated with your Azure Active Directory (AD) web application.
NOTE: If you do not have an Azure AD web application to serve as a connection between your Rapid Recovery Core and your Azure subscription, create one using the steps described in Creating an Azure Active Directory web application. Step 7 describes how to obtain the application ID. Step 10 describes how to create a secret key. Step 11 describes how to obtain the tenant ID or directory ID. Ensure you perform step 12 to provide this application with the Owner role.
If you already have an AD web application to use for the Core and you need the application ID, see Obtaining the application ID for an Azure web application.
Secret key
Each web application must have one or more secret keys that you can use to authenticate using Azure APIs. Provide the secret key (or authentication key) associated with your web application.
NOTE: Immediately after creating your secret key in Azure, be sure to copy the key value and store it in a secure location. Once that page is closed, you will no longer be able to view or obtain the secret key. You can, however, create a new secret key.
For information about creating a secret key, see Obtaining a secret key for your Azure web application.
Tenant ID
Provide the tenant ID, also known as the directory ID.
For information about obtaining this ID, see Obtaining the directory ID for your Azure web application.
Subscription ID
This is the ID associated with your Azure subscription.
For information about obtaining this ID, see Obtaining Azure subscription information.
- On the Storage page, from the Storage account name drop-down menu, select the existing Azure storage account name in which you want to store your exported Azure VM.
- Optionally, if you want to specify the container and folder names for exporting or deploying, select Show advanced options, and proceed to the next step. Otherwise, skip to step 11.
NOTE: When you complete the one-time VM export, the necessary files are exported to an export folder within an export container in the specified storage account. These files are then copied into a deployment folder within a deployment container, and the VM is then deployed from this second location.
- On the Storage page, with advanced storage options displayed, enter information as described in the following table:
Table 126: Continual export to Azure advanced storage options Option Description Export container
Do one of the following:
- When using Rapid Recovery for virtual export, each Azure storage account has a default export container named export. If you want to use the default export container, leave that name in this text box.
- If you want to specify a different container to hold the exported VM, in the Export container text box, type a new name following Azure's required naming conventions.
NOTE: The container name must be between 3 and 63 characters, starting with a letter or number, and must consist of lower-case letters, numbers, and single hyphens only.
Export folder name
Do one of the following:
- By default, the export folder is named after the protected machine from which this recovery point was captured. If you want to use the default export folder name, leave that name in this text box.
- If you want to specify a different folder name to hold exported VM components, in the Export folder name text box, type a new name.
NOTE: The export folder name does not have the same naming or character restrictions. Nonetheless, best practice is to name the folder with upper and lower-case letters, numbers, hyphens or underscores. Quest recommends that you avoid using prohibited characters or prohibited phrases.
When the VM is deployed, a copy of the export folder becomes the deployment folder, containing the same name.
Deployment container
Do one of the following:
- When your VM is deployed, Rapid Recovery provides a default deployment container named deploy. If you want to use the default deploy container, leave that name in this text box.
- If you want to specify a different container to hold the deployed VM, in the Deployment container text box, type a new name following Azure's required naming conventions.
NOTE: The container name must be between 3 and 63 characters, starting with a letter or number, and must consist of lower-case letters, numbers, and single hyphens only.
Resource group
Select an Azure resource group created using Azure Resource Manager.
NOTE: If you only have older resource groups created using Azure Service Manager, stop here and create a new resource group in Azure, since Microsoft no longer supports ASM objects. Then return to this step of the procedure and continue.
- When satisfied with your advanced storage options, click Next.
NOTE: If any custom field values do not pass validation, place your cursor over each highlighted text box to see the restrictions. Change the custom values to comply with those rules and then click Next.
- On the Virtual Machine Options page, enter the information described in the following table.
Table 127: Virtual machine options Option Description Virtual machine name
Enter a name for the virtual machine.
NOTE: Type a name between 3 and 15 characters, using only lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens.
Virtual machine size
From the drop-down menu, select an appropriate VM size.
NOTE: For more information on Azure configurations and pricing, see the virtual machines pricing page on the Azure website. For links to other useful references on Microsoft websites, see Microsoft Azure documentation.
Virtual network Select a virtual network created in Azure.
You can associate a container created in Azure with a virtual network, as described in the topic Creating an Azure storage account.
NOTE: If you do not yet have a virtual network, stop here and create a new virtual network in Azure. Then return to this step of the procedure and continue.
- Click Next.
- On the Volumes page, select the volumes to export (for example, the system reserved volume and C:\), and then click Finish to close the wizard and start the export.
NOTE: You can monitor the status and progress of the export by viewing the export queue on the Virtual Standby page, or on the Events page.
Setting up continual export to Azure
For prerequisites, see Before virtual export to Azure.
Complete the steps in this procedure to perform a continual virtual export of the selected machine to a specified container in an Azure cloud account using Rapid Recovery. This process is also known as setting up virtual standby.
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NOTE: This process does not include deploying the exported files to create a bootable VM. For steps on deploying, see Deploying a virtual machine in Azure. |
- In the Rapid Recovery Core Console, do one of the following:
- From the Core Console, in the button bar, click the
Restore
The Virtual Machine Export Wizard appears.
- In the wizard, select Continual export (virtual standby).
- Click Next.
- From the Core Console, in the icon bar, click
(Virtual Standby).
- On the Virtual Standby page, click + Add to launch the Virtual Machine Export Wizard.
- From the Core Console, in the button bar, click the
- On the Machines page of the wizard, select the protected machine that you want to export, and then click Next.
- On the Destination page, from the Export a virtual machine to drop-down menu, select Azure.
- Enter the parameters for accessing the virtual machine as described in the following table, and then click Next.
Table 128: Azure credentials Options Description Cloud account name
Entering this parameter is optional.
Each time you successfully connect to a cloud account, Rapid Recovery Core caches your credentials so you can use them again.
Do one of the following:
- If you previously connected this Core with the Azure account you want to export to, then optionally, from the Cloud account name drop-down menu, select the appropriate Azure subscription name, and then click Next. Skip to step 5.
- If no value appears in the drop-down menu, or if you want to export to a different cloud account, provide the credential information requested for your Azure account, starting with Region.
Region
Each Azure portal is associated with a geographic region. Choose the region your portal is accessed from. Options include:
- Azure Global Cloud
- Azure China Cloud
- Azure German Cloud
- Azure US Government Cloud
Application ID
Provide the application ID or client ID associated with your Azure Active Directory (AD) web application.
NOTE: If you do not have an Azure AD web application to serve as a connection between your Rapid Recovery Core and your Azure subscription, create one using the steps described in Creating an Azure Active Directory web application. Step 7 of that procedure describes how to obtain the application ID. Step 10 describes how to create a secret key. Step 11 describes how to obtain the tenant ID or directory ID. Ensure you perform step 12 to provide the web application with the Owner role.
If you already have an AD web application to use for the Core and you need the application ID, see Obtaining the application ID for an Azure web application.
Secret key
Each web application must have one or more secret keys that you can use to authenticate using Azure APIs. Provide the secret key (or authentication key) associated with your web application.
NOTE: Immediately after creating your secret key in Azure, be sure to copy the key value and store it in a secure location. Once that page is closed, you will no longer be able to view or obtain the secret key. You can, however, create a new secret key.
For information about creating a secret key, see Obtaining a secret key for your Azure web application.
Tenant ID
Provide the tenant ID, also known as the directory ID.
For information about obtaining this ID, see Obtaining the directory ID for your Azure web application.
Subscription ID
This is the ID associated with your Azure subscription.
For information about obtaining this ID, see Obtaining Azure subscription information.
- On the Storage page, from the Storage account name drop-down menu, select the existing Azure storage account name in which you want to store your exported Azure VM.
- Optionally, if you want to specify the export container or provide an export folder name different than the name of your protected machine, select Show advanced options, and proceed to the next step. Otherwise, skip to step 11.
- On the Storage page, with advanced storage options displayed, enter information as described in the following table:
Table 129: One-time export to Azure advanced storage options Option Description Export container
Do one of the following:
- When using Rapid Recovery for virtual export, each Azure storage account has a default export container named export. If you want to use the default export container, leave that name in this text box.
- If you want to specify a different container to hold the exported VM, in the Export container text box, type a new name following Azure's required naming conventions.
NOTE: The container name must be between 3 and 63 characters, starting with a letter or number, and must consist of lower-case letters, numbers, and single hyphens only.
Export folder name
Do one of the following:
- By default, the export folder is named after the protected machine from which this recovery point was captured. If you want to use the default export folder name, leave that name in this text box.
- If you want to specify a different folder name to hold exported VM components, in the Export folder name text box, type a new name.
NOTE: The export folder name does not have the same naming or character restrictions. Nonetheless, best practice is to name the folder with upper and lower-case letters, numbers, hyphens or underscores. Quest recommends that you avoid using prohibited characters or prohibited phrases.
When the VM is deployed, a copy of the export folder becomes the deployment folder, containing the same name.
- When satisfied with your advanced storage options, click Next.
NOTE: If any custom field values do not pass validation, place your cursor over each highlighted text box to see the restrictions. Change the custom values to comply with those rules, and then click Next.
- If you see an export warning indicating that the export will replace files from the previous export, if this is acceptable, confirm to close the dialog box and continue.
- On the Virtual Machine Options page, if you want to queue the export job immediately, select Perform initial one-time export. Clear this option if you want the Core to wait until the next forced or scheduled backup snapshot.
- When satisfied with your virtual machine options, click Next.
- On the Volumes page, select the volumes to export (for example, the system reserved volume and C:\), and then click Finish to close the wizard and start the export.
NOTE: You can monitor the status and progress of the export by viewing the Virtual Standby or Events pages.
The virtual standby parameters you define in this procedure cause the export of the files necessary to create a VM in your Azure account. After every snapshot (forced or scheduled), these files are updated in Azure with any new backup information. Before you can boot these files as a VM, you must deploy the VM on Azure. For steps on deploying, see Deploying a virtual machine in Azure.