We are planning to replace our existing Veeam Backup solution with Microsoft Azure Backup.

Hello Monamgiri, it sounds like you’re kicking off a pilot to replace Veeam with Azure Backup for your on-prem ESXi host. Here’s a high-level run-through you can use to get started:

• Pick the right tool:
  • For VMware workloads on-prem, Microsoft Azure Backup Server (MABS) is the recommended solution.
  • The MARS agent (Azure Backup agent) is great for files/folders on Windows servers but won’t do image-level VM backups.
• Prepare your MABS server:
  • Stand up a Windows Server VM (2016/2019/2022) with at least 4 vCPU, 16 GB RAM, and local disks for caching + short-term storage.
  • Ensure it has network visibility to your ESXi host (or vCenter) and outbound HTTPS to Azure.
  • On the server, mount or carve out a dedicated volume for MABS’s protection storage.
• Install and register MABS:
  • In the Azure portal, grab the Azure Backup Server install bits and vault registration details from your Recovery Services vault.
  • Run the installer on your Windows VM, point it at your vault, and complete registration.
• Enable VMware protection:
  • In the MABS console, install the VMware plugin and point it at your ESXi host (or vCenter) using appropriate credentials.
  • MABS will discover your VMs and expose their disks for protection.
• Create protection groups and policies:
  • Define a protection group, select the two pilot VMs, and choose the disks to back up.
  • Set your schedule (e.g., daily increments, weekly fulls) and retention (for example 30 days of daily, 12 weeks of weekly).
  • MABS V3 UR1 can run up to 8 parallel VM backup jobs by default, speeding things up.
• Monitor and test restores:
  • Trigger a backup job manually, watch it in the MABS console and in the vault’s job history.
  • Test a file-level restore and a full VM-level restore to validate your runbooks.
• Plan for future Azure migrations:
  • Once you’ve tested your backup/restore, you can look at Azure Migrate to lift and shift those VMs into Azure.
  • You’ll already have copies of your data in the vault, so you can fall back on them if needed.

A few best-practices and pointers:

• Use Geo-Redundant Storage (GRS) on your vault for higher durability.
• Safeguard your passphrase—the only way to decrypt your backups.
• Keep your MABS server patched and monitor job health via alerts in the vault.
• If you have more intensive retention or archive needs down the road, look at Azure Backup’s long-term retention tiers.

Reference docs:

• Setup Azure Backup Server

• Protect VMware with MABS

• What’s new in MABS V3 UR1

• Azure Backup overview & storage options

Hope this Helps! Let me know if you need more details on any of these steps or have specific question. Thanks

Hi Monamgiri Mahender

Yes, Microsoft Azure Backup Server (MABS) v4 is the recommended solution for protecting standalone VMware ESXi hosts with Azure Backup. Here is a full deployment guide based on your environment.

Your setup will consist of three components: the standalone ESXi host running your 2 VMs, a Windows Server VM (on-premises or in Azure) running MABS v4, and your existing Recovery Services Vault (RSV-LADC-AZUREBACKUP01) in Azure. MABS connects to ESXi directly over the network, takes application-consistent backups, stores a short-term local copy on its disk storage, and then transfers the backup data to your Recovery Services Vault.

Prerequisites

Check the full support matrix here before proceeding: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/backup/backup-mabs-protection-matrix

1. Install MABS v4 Download MABS v4 from the Microsoft Download Center: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=105164 Full installation and vault registration guide: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/backup/backup-azure-microsoft-azure-backup
2. Add the ESXi Host in MABS Open the MABS Administrator Console. Go to Management > Production Servers > Add. Select VMware Servers and enter your ESXi host IP or FQDN. Provide credentials for a service account on ESXi that has read-only or backup role permissions. MABS will inventory the VMs on that host automatically. Full step-by-step guide for backing up VMware VMs with MABS: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/backup/backup-azure-backup-server-vmware
3. Create a Protection Group Go to Protection > New Protection Group. Select VMware VMs and choose your 2 pilot VMs. Set the short-term disk retention (recommended: 5 to 7 days on local MABS storage). Enable online protection to the Recovery Services Vault and set your long-term retention policy. For a pilot, a simple policy works well: daily recovery points retained for 30 days, weekly retained for 3 months.
4. Validate Restore Full restore guide for VMware VMs from MABS: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/backup/restore-azure-backup-server-vmware

Important Limitations

MABS does not support VMs with pass-through disks or physical raw device mappings (pRDM). Incremental backups use VMware CBT (Changed Block Tracking), which MABS enables automatically. If CBT gets corrupted on a VM, MABS will fall back to a full backup for that cycle. MABS v4 does not support the DataSets feature for VMware 8.0.

See the full list of known limitations here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/backup/backup-azure-backup-server-vmware#limitations

Future Migration Path

When you are ready to migrate the VMware VMs to Azure, use Azure Migrate: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/migrate/start-here-vmware

Hope this helps and good luck with the migration!