Merge pull request #304168 from AbhishekMallick-MS/Aug-13-2025-Freshness

Stacyrch140 · web-flow · commit b92b20ef2e5f · 2025-08-13T11:56:35.000-04:00
Optimization for AI - About Az VM restore
diff --git a/articles/backup/about-azure-vm-restore.md b/articles/backup/about-azure-vm-restore.md
@@ -2,27 +2,29 @@
 title: About the Azure Virtual Machine restore process
 description: Learn how the Azure Backup service restores Azure virtual machines
 ms.topic: overview
-ms.date: 09/09/2024
+ms.date: 08/13/2025
 author: AbhishekMallick-MS
 ms.author: v-mallicka
 ms.custom: engagement-fy24
 # Customer intent: As an IT admin, I want to understand the Azure VM restore process and its options, so that I can efficiently recover virtual machines based on different scenarios and ensure business continuity.
 ---
 
-# About Azure VM restore
+# About Azure Virtual Machine restore
 
-This article describes how the [Azure Backup service](./backup-overview.md) restores Azure virtual machines (VMs). There are a number of restore options. We'll discuss the various scenarios they support.
+This article describes how the [Azure Backup service](./backup-overview.md) restores Azure virtual machines (VMs). There are many restore options. Let's discuss the various scenarios they support.
 
-## Concepts
+## Key concepts for Azure VM restore
+
+To understand the Azure VM restore process, review the following key concepts:
 
 - **Recovery Point** (also known as **Restore Point**): A recovery point is a copy of the original data that's being backed up.
 
 - **Tier (snapshot vs. vault)**:  Azure VM backup happens in two phases:
 
-  - In phase 1, the snapshot taken is stored along with the disk. This is referred to as **snapshot tier**. Snapshot tier restores are faster (than restore from vault) because they eliminate the wait time for snapshots to copy to the vault before triggering the restore. So restore from the snapshot tier is also referred as [Instant Restore](./backup-instant-restore-capability.md).
-  - In phase 2, the snapshot is transferred and stored in the vault managed by the Azure Backup service. This is referred to as **vault tier**.
+  - In phase 1, the snapshot taken is stored along with the disk. This process is called **snapshot tier**. Snapshot tier restores are faster (than restore from vault) because they eliminate the wait time for snapshots to copy to the vault before triggering the restore. So restore from the snapshot tier is also referred as [Instant Restore](./backup-instant-restore-capability.md).
+  - In phase 2, the snapshot is transferred and stored in the vault managed by the Azure Backup service. This process is called **vault tier**.
 
-- **Original Location Recovery (OLR)**: A recovery done from the restore point to the source Azure VM from where the backups were taken, replacing it with the state stored in the recovery point. This replaces the OS disk and the data disk(s) of the source VM.
+- **Original Location Recovery (OLR)**: A recovery done from the restore point to the source Azure VM from where the backups were taken, replacing it with the state stored in the recovery point. This process replaces the OS disk and the data disks of the source VM.
 
 - **Alternate-Location Recovery (ALR)**: A recovery done from the recovery point to a server other than the original server where the backups were taken.
 
@@ -33,15 +35,17 @@ This article describes how the [Azure Backup service](./backup-overview.md) rest
   - [Geo-redundant storage (GRS)](../storage/common/storage-redundancy.md#geo-redundant-storage) is the default and recommended replication option. GRS replicates your data to a secondary region (hundreds of miles away from the primary location of the source data). GRS costs more than LRS, but GRS provides a higher level of durability for your data, even if there's a regional outage.
   - [Zone-redundant storage (ZRS)](../storage/common/storage-redundancy.md#zone-redundant-storage) replicates your data in [availability zones](../reliability/availability-zones-overview.md), guaranteeing data residency and resiliency in the same region. ZRS has no downtime. So your critical workloads that require [data residency](https://azure.microsoft.com/resources/achieving-compliant-data-residency-and-security-with-azure/), and must have no downtime, can be backed up in ZRS.
 
-- **Cross-Region Restore (CRR)**: As one of the [restore options](./backup-azure-arm-restore-vms.md#restore-options), Cross Region Restore (CRR) allows you to restore Azure VMs in a secondary region, which is an [Azure paired region](../reliability/cross-region-replication-azure.md) You can restore your data in the secondary region at anytime,  during partial or full outages, or any other time you choose. 
+- **Cross-Region Restore (CRR)**: As one of the [restore options](./backup-azure-arm-restore-vms.md#restore-options), Cross Region Restore (CRR) allows you to restore Azure VMs in a secondary region, which is an [Azure paired region](../reliability/cross-region-replication-azure.md). You can restore your data in the secondary region at any time,  during partial or full outages, or any other time you choose. 
+
+## Restore scenarios for Azure VMs
 
-## Restore scenarios
+:::image type="content" source="./media/about-azure-vm-restore/recovery-scenarios.png" alt-text="Diagram shows the restore flow for Azure VMs.":::
 
-![Restore scenarios ](./media/about-azure-vm-restore/recovery-scenarios.png)
+The following table describes the various restore scenarios for Azure VMs, what is done in each scenario, and when to use them:
 
 | **Scenario**                                                 | **What is done**                                             | **When to use**                                              |
 | ------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------ |
-| [Restore to create a new virtual machine](./backup-azure-arm-restore-vms.md) | Restores the entire VM to OLR (if the source VM still exists) or ALR | <ul><li> If the source VM is lost or  corrupt, then you can restore entire VM  <li> You can create a copy of the  VM  <li> You can perform a restore  drill for audit or compliance  <li> If license for Marketplace Azure VM has expired, [create VM restore](./backup-azure-arm-restore-vms.md#create-a-vm) option can't be used.</ul> |
+| [Restore to create a new virtual machine](./backup-azure-arm-restore-vms.md) | Restores the entire VM to Original Location Recovery (OLR) (if the source VM still exists) or Alternate Location Recovery(ALR) | <ul><li> If the source VM is lost or  corrupt, then you can restore entire VM  <li> You can create a copy of the  VM  <li> You can perform a restore  drill for audit or compliance  <li> If license for Marketplace Azure VM has expired, [create VM restore](./backup-azure-arm-restore-vms.md#create-a-vm) option can't be used.</ul> |
 | [Restore disks of the VM](./backup-azure-arm-restore-vms.md#restore-disks) | Restore disks attached to the VM                             |  All disks: This option creates the template and restores the disk. You can edit this template  with special configurations (for example, availability sets) to meet your requirements  and then use both the template and restore the disk to recreate the VM. |
 | [Restore specific files within the VM](./backup-azure-restore-files-from-vm.md) | Choose restore point, browse, select files, and restore them to the  same (or compatible) OS as the backed-up VM. |  If you know which specific  files to restore, then use this option instead of restoring the entire VM. |
 | [Restore an encrypted VM](./backup-azure-vms-encryption.md) | From the portal, restore the disks and then use PowerShell to create the VM | <ul><li> [Encrypted VM with Microsoft Entra ID](/azure/virtual-machines/windows/disk-encryption-windows-aad) <li> [Encrypted VM without Microsoft Entra ID](/azure/virtual-machines/windows/disk-encryption-windows) <li> [Encrypted VM *with Microsoft Entra ID* migrated to *without Microsoft Entra ID*](/azure/virtual-machines/windows/disk-encryption-faq#can-i-migrate-vms-that-were-encrypted-with-a-microsoft-entra-app-to-encryption-without-a-microsoft-entra-app-)</ul> |
diff --git a/articles/backup/backup-azure-arm-restore-vms.md b/articles/backup/backup-azure-arm-restore-vms.md
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ title: Restore VMs by using the Azure portal using Azure Backup
 description: Restore an Azure virtual machine from a recovery point by using the Azure portal, including the Cross Region Restore feature.
 ms.reviewer: nikhilsarode
 ms.topic: how-to
-ms.date: 07/29/2025
+ms.date: 08/13/2025
 ms.service: azure-backup
 author: AbhishekMallick-MS
 ms.author: v-mallicka
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ Azure Backup provides several ways to restore a VM.
 **Create a new VM** | Quickly creates and gets a basic VM up and running from a restore point.<br/><br/> You can specify a name for the VM and select the resource group and virtual network (VNet) in which it will be placed. The new VM must be created in the same region as the source VM.<br><br>If a VM restore fails because an Azure VM SKU wasn't available in the specified region of Azure, or because of any other issues, Azure Backup still restores the disks in the specified resource group.
 **Restore disk** | Restores a VM disk, which can then be used to create a new VM.<br/><br/> Azure Backup provides a template to help you customize and create a VM. <br/><br> The restore job generates a template that you can download and use to specify custom VM settings, and create a VM.<br/><br/> The disks are copied to the Resource Group you specify.<br/><br/> Alternatively, you can attach the disk to an existing VM, or create a new VM using PowerShell.<br/><br/> This option is useful if you want to customize the VM, add configuration settings that weren't there at the time of backup, or add settings that must be configured using the template or PowerShell.
 **Replace existing** | You can restore a disk, and use it to replace a disk on the existing VM.<br/><br/> The current VM must exist. If it's been deleted, this option can't be used.<br/><br/> Azure Backup takes a snapshot of the existing VM before replacing the disk. The snapshot is copied to the vault and retained in accordance with the retention policy.　<br/><br/> When you choose a Vault-Standard recovery point, a VHD file with the content of the chosen recovery point is also created in the staging location you specify. Existing disks connected to the VM are replaced with the selected restore point. <br/><br/> After the disk replacement operation is complete, the original disk is retained in the resource group. You can choose to manually delete the original disks if they aren't needed. <br/><br/>Replace existing is supported for unencrypted managed VMs, including VMs [created using custom images](/azure/virtual-machines/windows/tutorial-custom-images). It's unsupported for classic VMs, unmanaged VMs, and [generalized VMs](/azure/virtual-machines/windows/upload-generalized-managed).<br/><br/> If the restore point has more or less disks than the current VM, then the number of disks in the restore point will only reflect the VM configuration.<br><br> Replace existing is also supported for VMs with linked resources, like [user-assigned managed-identity](../active-directory/managed-identities-azure-resources/overview.md) or [Key Vault](/azure/key-vault/general/overview).
-**Cross Region (secondary region)** | Cross Region restore can be used to restore Azure VMs in the secondary region, which is an [Azure paired region](../availability-zones/cross-region-replication-azure.md).<br><br> You can restore all the Azure VMs for the selected recovery point if the backup is done in the secondary region.<br><br> During the backup, snapshots aren't replicated to the secondary region. Only the data stored in the vault is replicated. So secondary region restores are only [vault tier](about-azure-vm-restore.md#concepts) restores. The restore time for the secondary region will be almost the same as the vault tier restore time for the primary region.  <br><br> This feature is available for the options below:<br><br> - [Create a VM](#create-a-vm) <br> - [Restore Disks](#restore-disks) <br><br> If the source machine has more than 16 disks, VHDs won't be created in Cross Region Restore. <br><br> We don't currently support the [Replace existing disks](#replace-existing-disks) option.<br><br> Permissions<br> The restore operation on secondary region can be performed by Backup Admins and App admins.
+**Cross Region (secondary region)** | Cross Region restore can be used to restore Azure VMs in the secondary region, which is an [Azure paired region](../availability-zones/cross-region-replication-azure.md).<br><br> You can restore all the Azure VMs for the selected recovery point if the backup is done in the secondary region.<br><br> During the backup, snapshots aren't replicated to the secondary region. Only the data stored in the vault is replicated. So secondary region restores are only [vault tier](about-azure-vm-restore.md#key-concepts-for-azure-vm-restore) restores. The restore time for the secondary region will be almost the same as the vault tier restore time for the primary region.  <br><br> This feature is available for the options below:<br><br> - [Create a VM](#create-a-vm) <br> - [Restore Disks](#restore-disks) <br><br> If the source machine has more than 16 disks, VHDs won't be created in Cross Region Restore. <br><br> We don't currently support the [Replace existing disks](#replace-existing-disks) option.<br><br> Permissions<br> The restore operation on secondary region can be performed by Backup Admins and App admins.
 **Cross Subscription Restore** | Allows you to restore Azure Virtual Machines or disks to a different subscription within the same tenant as the source subscription (as per the Azure RBAC capabilities) from restore points.  <br><br> Allowed only if the [Cross Subscription Restore property](backup-azure-arm-restore-vms.md#cross-subscription-restore-for-azure-vm) is enabled for your Recovery Services vault.  <br><br>  Works with [Cross Region Restore](backup-azure-arm-restore-vms.md#cross-region-restore) and [Cross Zonal Restore](backup-azure-arm-restore-vms.md#create-a-vm).   <br><br>   You can trigger Cross Subscription Restore for managed virtual machines only. <br><br> Cross Subscription Restore is supported for [Restore with Managed System Identities (MSI)](backup-azure-arm-restore-vms.md#restore-vms-with-managed-identities). <br><br> It's unsupported for [snapshots tier](backup-azure-vms-introduction.md#snapshot-creation) recovery points. <br><br>  It's unsupported for [unmanaged VMs](#restoring-unmanaged-vms-and-disks-as-managed) and [ADE encrypted VMs](backup-azure-vms-encryption.md#encryption-support-using-ade).
 **Cross Zonal Restore** |	Allows you to restore Azure Virtual Machines or disks pinned to any zone to different available zones (as per the Azure RBAC capabilities) from restore points. Note that when you select a zone to restore, it selects the [logical zone](../reliability/availability-zones-overview.md#zonal-and-zone-redundant-services) (and not the physical zone) as per the Azure subscription you will use to restore to.           <br><br> You can trigger Cross Zonal Restore for managed virtual machines only. <br><br> Cross Zonal Restore is supported for [Restore with Managed System Identities (MSI)](#restore-vms-with-managed-identities). <br><br> Cross Zonal Restore supports restore of an Azure zone pinned/non-zone pinned VM from a vault with Zonal-redundant storage (ZRS) enabled. Learn [how to set Storage Redundancy](backup-create-rs-vault.md#set-storage-redundancy). <br><br> It's supported to restore an Azure zone pinned VM only from a [vault with Cross Region Restore (CRR)](backup-create-rs-vault.md#set-storage-redundancy) (if the secondary region supports zones) or Zone Redundant Storage (ZRS) enabled. <br><br> Cross Zonal Restore is supported from [secondary regions](#restore-in-secondary-region). <br><br> It's unsupported from [snapshots](backup-azure-vms-introduction.md#snapshot-creation) restore point. <br><br> It's unsupported for [Encrypted Azure VMs](backup-azure-vms-introduction.md#encryption-of-azure-vm-backups).
 
