Azure Backup Setup for Physical & Virtual Servers
This Microsoft Azure implementation protects your physical or virtual servers with Azure Backup, replacing an existing on-premises or off-site backup product with a reliable, encrypted, cloud-based solution. IT Partner defines backup points and retention policy with you, prepares the Recovery Services vault, installs and configures the backup agents on each server, sets schedules, verifies that backup and recovery work, and performs a test data recovery. Workstation and client-PC backup is offered separately as Back up your Windows Workstations using Azure Backup.
What this engagement is
Server backup is the difference between an incident and a disaster. This service replaces your existing on-premises or off-site server backup with Azure Backup: a cloud-based service with encrypted storage, flexible retention, and no backup infrastructure of your own to maintain. The engagement covers physical and virtual servers. Azure virtual machines are protected directly through a Recovery Services vault — including VMs on Managed Disks, Premium storage, and supported Azure Disk Encryption configurations — with application-consistent backups for Windows VMs via VSS and for Linux VMs via pre- and post-snapshot scripts. On-premises Windows servers, physical or virtual, are protected by backing up files and folders to the vault through the Azure Backup agent. A Recovery Services vault stores the backups and recovery points created over time. During policy design you choose between geo-redundant and locally redundant storage replication, balancing resilience against cost. IT Partner defines the backup goal and policy with you, installs and configures the agents, confirms backups run to policy, fixes issues found during verification, and proves recovery with a test restore.
Success criteria
What you receive
How the work unfolds
Confirm the servers in scope, backup goals, and points of contact.
Define what is protected on each server, the schedule, retention, and the storage replication choice.
Create and configure the Azure Recovery Services vault.
Install and configure the appropriate agent on each physical or virtual server and enable VM backup where servers run in Azure.
Verify backups run to policy, perform a test recovery, and fix issues found during verification.
Prerequisites
Who does what
IT Partner
- Define backup points and retention policy with the Client
- Configure the Recovery Services vault and Azure Backup service
- Install agents on the target servers
- Set up schedules and policies
- Verify the correct working of backup and recovery
- Perform test data recovery
Your team
- Coordinate Client resources and staff schedules
- Provide a dedicated point of contact responsible for working with IT Partner
- Coordinate any outside vendor resources and schedules
- Configure all network equipment, such as load balancers, routers, firewalls, and switches
- Review and approve engagement deliverables in a timely manner
What's not included
Limitations & technical notes
Frequently asked questions
What does this Azure Backup server implementation include?
IT Partner defines backup points and retention policy with you, prepares the Recovery Services vault with the agreed replication option, installs and configures the backup agents on the servers in scope, sets schedules and policies, verifies backup and recovery, performs a test data recovery, and provides a project closeout report.
Which servers can this service protect?
Physical and virtual servers. Azure VMs are protected directly through the Recovery Services vault — including VMs on Managed Disks and Premium storage and supported Azure Disk Encryption configurations — with application-consistent backups for Windows via VSS and for Linux via snapshot scripts. On-premises Windows servers are protected by backing up files and folders through the Azure Backup agent.
How is the service priced?
Pricing is per protected server plus a one-time tenant fee — see the price on this page. Azure's own backup storage consumption is billed by Microsoft under your subscription and depends on data volume and the replication option you choose.
Does creating a backup policy mean my data is already backed up?
No. A policy is only an instruction. The backup agent must be installed and healthy on each server, the first backup must complete, and recovery must be proven — which is why verification and a test restore are part of this service's acceptance criteria.
What storage replication options are available?
The Recovery Services vault supports geo-redundant storage, which keeps a copy of your backups in a paired Azure region, and locally redundant storage, which is lower cost. IT Partner helps you choose during policy definition based on your resilience requirements and budget.
Is a test recovery included?
Yes. The engagement is not complete until backups run to policy and a test data recovery has been performed successfully.
Can Azure Backup replace our existing backup product?
For the servers in scope, yes — that is the point of the service. Azure Backup replaces an on-premises or off-site backup product with a cloud-based service, and the replacement is validated against your backup goals, retention needs, and recovery expectations during policy definition.
What about our employees' PCs?
Workstation backup is a separate, similarly structured service: Back up your Windows Workstations using Azure Backup. Splitting the two keeps each engagement priced and scoped to the machines it actually covers.
What happens after implementation?
You receive the closeout report with final status, acceptance criteria matching, and any outstanding issues. Ongoing backup monitoring, expanded documentation, and application-level backup design (such as SQL Server workload backup) are available separately.