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Protecting OnPrem VMWare VMs using Azure Backup - MABS Server

Anandha Chandrasekaran 40 Reputation points
2026-06-08T10:15:13.1+00:00

Hi,

As part of our Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR) strategy, we have decided to replicate our on-premises VMware virtual machines to Azure using Azure Site Recovery (ASR).

Since ASR retention is limited to a maximum of 15 days and does not provide long-term backup capabilities, we are evaluating additional backup options to protect against scenarios such as ransomware attacks and accidental data deletion.

We are considering using Azure Backup with Microsoft Azure Backup Server (MABS) and would appreciate clarification on the following points:

  1. VMware VM Backup and Recovery
    • Can Azure Backup (via MABS) be used to back up on-premises VMware VMs directly to Azure?
      • If a recovery is required, can the backed-up VMware VMs be restored and brought online directly as Azure virtual machines?
        • Or does the recovery process require a VMware environment (such as VMware Cloud or Azure VMware Solution) in Azure to restore and run the VMs?
        1. SQL Server Workloads
          • Most of the workloads running on these VMs are SQL Server databases.
            • Would it be a better approach to use Azure-native SQL Server backup solutions (for example, SQL backups to Azure Blob Storage or Azure Backup for SQL Server) instead of relying solely on VM-level backups?
              • What would be the recommended approach for ransomware protection, long-term retention, and recovery in Azure for SQL Server workloads?

We would appreciate any guidance on the recommended architecture and best practices for combining ASR and backup solutions in this scenario.

Azure Backup
Azure Backup

An Azure backup service that provides built-in management at scale.

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  1. AI answer

    2026-06-08T10:15:43.9166667+00:00

    Azure Backup Server (MABS) can be used to protect on-premises VMware VMs to Azure, but it does not convert them directly into native Azure IaaS VMs on restore.

    1. VMware VM backup and recovery with MABS
    • MABS supports agentless backup of VMware vCenter/ESXi workloads and sends backups to disk and then to an Azure Recovery Services vault (cloud-integrated backup).
    • Supported VMware versions include vCenter/ESXi 6.5, 6.7, 7.0, and 8.0 (licensed versions). MABS protects VMs stored on local disk, NFS, or cluster storage and supports folder-level auto-protection and vCenter-managed environments.
    • Protection workflow for VMware VMs with MABS:
      1. Set up a secure channel over HTTPS between MABS and vCenter/ESXi.
      2. Configure a VMware account and add its credentials to MABS.
      3. Add the vCenter/ESXi server to MABS.
      4. Create protection groups, select VMware VMs or folders, and configure disk and online (Azure) backup schedules and retention.
    • Recovery capabilities:
      • MABS recovers VMware VMs as VMware VMs (back to vCenter/ESXi) and supports item-level recovery of files/folders from Windows VMs.
      • It does not provide a direct “restore VMware backup as native Azure VM” path. Restores are designed to target VMware infrastructure (on-premises or VMware-based environments such as Azure VMware Solution) rather than converting to Azure IaaS.
      • For Azure VMware Solution, guidance explicitly assumes restore back into AVS vSAN datastore and notes that cross-region restore is not supported.

    Given this, to run restored workloads in Azure as VMs, a VMware-capable target (for example, Azure VMware Solution) is required when using MABS for VMware VM-level backup. MABS is not a VM-conversion tool to Azure IaaS.

    1. SQL Server workloads on VMware VMs

    MABS can protect the entire VMware VM and supports item-level file/folder recovery for Windows VMs, but for SQL Server workloads, application-aware backup is typically preferred.

    • MABS supports application-level backup via the DPM protection agent installed inside VMs for workloads such as SQL Server. In Azure VMware Solution scenarios, guidance includes:
      • Installing the DPM protection agent on VMs for application backup (for example, SQL).
      • Ensuring antivirus exclusions and NSG rules to allow agent communication with MABS.

    This pattern (guest-level, application-aware backup) is more suitable for SQL Server than relying solely on VM-level snapshots when:

    • Granular database-level recovery is required.
    • Consistent backups are needed under load (VSS-based application-consistent backups).
    • Ransomware and long-term retention scenarios require many recovery points and fine-grained restore options.

    For ransomware protection, long-term retention, and recovery in Azure for SQL workloads, recommended practices from the provided guidance include:

    • Use MABS with:
      • Disk-based short-term protection and online protection to Azure for long-term retention.
      • Protection groups with appropriate retention and backup schedules (disk retention range, Express Full frequency, online backup schedule, and online retention policy up to 9,999 recovery points per protected instance).
    • For Azure VMware Solution or similar VMware-in-Azure scenarios:
      • Use the Azure Backup Server capacity planner to size MABS and storage.
      • Use storage pools and tiered storage on MABS for performance and IOPS.
      • Plan parallel backup jobs and validate that backup/restore times meet RPO/RTO.
      • Ensure AVS vSAN datastore has capacity for restores.
      • Configure NSGs and antivirus exclusions correctly for DPM agents.

    Combining ASR and backup

    From the available guidance, a combined pattern is:

    • Use Azure Site Recovery for near-continuous replication and short retention (up to 15 days) to meet low RPO/RTO for disaster recovery and failover.
    • Use MABS for:
      • Long-term retention of VMware VMs (VM-level protection) to Azure.
      • Application-aware backups of SQL Server workloads via DPM agents, with disk + cloud protection and long-term retention in the Recovery Services vault.

    This combination provides:

    • ASR for fast DR failover and short-term history.
    • MABS for long-term, ransomware-resilient backups with many recovery points and application-level restores.

    References:

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