Merge pull request #267378 from AbhishekMallick-MS/Feb-27-2024-Freshness

Freshness - Back up SQL server on Azure Stack

Author: prmerger-automator[bot]

articles/backup/backup-mabs-sql-azure-stack.md

@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 ---
-title: Back up SQL Server workloads on Azure Stack
+title: Back up SQL Server workloads on Azure Stack by using Azure Backup
 description: In this article, learn how to configure Microsoft Azure Backup Server (MABS) to protect SQL Server databases on Azure Stack.
 ms.topic: how-to
-ms.date: 01/18/2023
+ms.date: 02/27/2024
 author: AbhishekMallick-MS
 ms.author: v-abhmallick
 ms.service: backup
-ms.custom: engagement-fy23
+ms.custom: engagement-fy24
 ---
 
 # Back up SQL Server on Azure Stack
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ This article describes how to configure Microsoft Azure Backup Server (MABS) to
 
 ## SQL Server databases protection workflow
 
-The management of SQL Server database backup to Azure and recovery from Azure involves:
+Management of the SQL Server database backup to Azure and recovery from Azure involves:
 
 1. Create a backup policy to protect SQL Server databases
 2. Create on-demand backup copies
@@ -35,16 +35,16 @@ The management of SQL Server database backup to Azure and recovery from Azure in
   * MABS supports multi-site cluster configurations for an instance of SQL Server.
 * When you protect databases that use the Always On feature, MABS has the following limitations:
   * MABS will honor the backup policy for availability groups that's set in SQL Server based on the backup preferences, as follows:
-    * Prefer secondary - Backups should occur on a secondary replica except when the primary replica is the only replica online. If there are multiple secondary replicas available, then the node with the highest backup priority will be selected for backup. IF only the primary replica is available, then the backup should occur on the primary replica.
+    * Prefer secondary - Backups should occur on a secondary replica except when the primary replica is the only replica online. If there are multiple secondary replicas available, then the node with the highest backup priority will be selected for backup. If only the primary replica is available, then the backup should occur on the primary replica.
     * Secondary only - Backup shouldn't be performed on the primary replica. If the primary replica is the only one online, the backup shouldn't occur.
     * Primary - Backups should always occur on the primary replica.
     * Any Replica - Backups can happen on any of the availability replicas in the availability group. The node to be backed up from will be based on the backup priorities for each of the nodes.
-  * Note the following:
-    * Backups can happen from any readable replica -  that is, primary, synchronous secondary, asynchronous secondary.
-    * If any replica is excluded from backup, for example **Exclude Replica** is enabled or is marked as not readable, then that replica won't be selected for backup under any of the options.
-    * If multiple replicas are available and readable, then the node with the highest backup priority will be selected for backup.
-    * If the backup fails on the selected node, then the backup operation fails.
-    * Recovery to the original location isn't supported.
+  * >[!Note]
+    >- Backups can happen from any readable replica -  that is, primary, synchronous secondary, asynchronous secondary.
+    >- If any replica is excluded from backup, for example **Exclude Replica** is enabled or is marked as not readable, then that replica won't be selected for backup under any of the options.
+    >- If multiple replicas are available and readable, then the node with the highest backup priority will be selected for backup.
+    >- If the backup fails on the selected node, then the backup operation fails.
+    >- Recovery to the original location isn't supported.
 * SQL Server 2014 or above backup issues:
   * SQL server 2014 added a new feature to create a [database for on-premises SQL Server on Microsoft Azure Blob storage](/sql/relational-databases/databases/sql-server-data-files-in-microsoft-azure). MABS can't be used to protect this configuration.
   * There are some known issues with "Prefer secondary" backup preference for the SQL Always On option. MABS always takes a backup from secondary. If no secondary can be found, then the backup fails.
@@ -57,29 +57,29 @@ The management of SQL Server database backup to Azure and recovery from Azure in
 
 To create a backup policy to protect SQL Server databases to Azure, follow these steps:
 
-1. On the Azure Backup Server UI, select the **Protection** workspace.
+1. On the **Azure Backup Server**, select the **Protection** workspace.
 
-2. On the tool ribbon, select **New** to create a new protection group.
+2. On the tool menu, select **New** to create a new protection group.
 
     ![Screenshot shows how to initiate creating Protection Group.](./media/backup-azure-backup-sql/protection-group.png)
 
     Azure Backup Server starts the Protection Group wizard, which leads you through creating a **Protection Group**. Select **Next**.
 
-3. On the **Select Protection Group Type** screen, select **Servers**.
+3. On the **Select Protection Group Type** blade, select **Servers**.
 
     ![Screenshot shows how to select Protection Group Type - Servers.](./media/backup-azure-backup-sql/pg-servers.png)
 
-4. On the **Select Group Members** screen, the Available members list displays the various data sources. Select **+** to expand a folder and reveal the subfolders. Select the checkbox to select an item.
+4. On the **Select Group Members** blade, the Available members list displays the various data sources. Select **+** to expand a folder and reveal the subfolders. Select the checkbox to select an item.
 
     ![Screenshot shows how to select a SQL database.](./media/backup-azure-backup-sql/pg-databases.png)
 
     All selected items appear in the Selected members list. After selecting the servers or databases you want to protect, select **Next**.
 
-5. On the **Select Data Protection Method** screen, provide a name for the protection group and select the **I want online Protection** checkbox.
+5. On the **Select Data Protection Method** blade, provide a name for the protection group and select the **I want online Protection** checkbox.
 
     ![Screenshot shows the Data Protection Method - short-term disk & Online Azure.](./media/backup-azure-backup-sql/pg-name.png)
 
-6. On the **Specify Short-Term Goals** screen, include the necessary inputs to create backup points to disk, and select **Next**.
+6. On the **Specify Short-Term Goals** blade, include the necessary inputs to create backup points to disk, and select **Next**.
 
     In the example, **Retention range** is **5 days**, **Synchronization frequency** is once every **15 minutes**, which is the backup frequency. **Express Full Backup** is set to **8:00 P.M**.
 
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ To create a backup policy to protect SQL Server databases to Azure, follow these
    > [!NOTE]
    > In the example shown, at 8:00 PM every day a backup point is created by transferring the modified data from the previous day’s 8:00 PM backup point. This process is called **Express Full Backup**. Transaction logs are synchronized every 15 minutes. If you need to recover the database at 9:00 PM, the point is created from the logs from the last express full backup point (8PM in this case).
 
-7. On the **Review disk allocation** screen, verify the overall storage space available, and the potential disk space. Select **Next**.
+7. On the **Review disk allocation** blade, verify the overall storage space available, and the potential disk space. Select **Next**.
 
 8. On the **Choose Replica Creation Method**, choose how to create your first recovery point. You can transfer the initial backup manually (off network) to avoid bandwidth congestion or over the network. If you choose to wait to transfer the first backup, you can specify the time for the initial transfer. Select **Next**.
 
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ To create a backup policy to protect SQL Server databases to Azure, follow these
 
     ![Screenshot shows hot to backup schedule and retention.](./media/backup-azure-backup-sql/pg-schedule.png)
 
-    In this example, backups are taken once a day at 12:00 PM and 8 PM (bottom part of the screen)
+    In this example, backups are taken once a day at 12:00 PM and 8 PM.
 
     > [!NOTE]
     > It’s a good practice to have a few short-term recovery points on disk, for quick recovery. These recovery points are used for operational recovery. Azure serves as a good offsite location with higher SLAs and guaranteed availability.
@@ -126,13 +126,13 @@ To create a backup policy to protect SQL Server databases to Azure, follow these
 
     In this example:
 
-    * Backups are taken once a day at 12:00 PM and 8 PM (bottom part of the screen) and are retained for 180 days.
+    * Backups are taken once a day at 12:00 PM and 8 PM and are retained for 180 days.
     * The backup on Saturday at 12:00 P.M. is retained for 104 weeks
     * The backup on Last Saturday at 12:00 P.M. is retained for 60 months
     * The backup on Last Saturday of March at 12:00 P.M. is retained for 10 years
 13. Select **Next** and select the appropriate option for transferring the initial backup copy to Azure. You can choose **Automatically over the network**
 
-14. Once you review the policy details in the **Summary** screen, select **Create group** to complete the workflow. You can select **Close** and monitor the job progress in Monitoring workspace.
+14. Once you review the policy details in the **Summary** blade, select **Create group** to complete the workflow. You can select **Close** and monitor the job progress in Monitoring workspace.
 
     ![Screenshot shows the in-progress job state of the Protection Group creation.](./media/backup-azure-backup-sql/pg-summary.png)
 
@@ -171,9 +171,9 @@ To recover a protected entity (SQL Server database) from Azure, follow these ste
 
     In this example, MABS recovers the database to another SQL Server instance, or to a standalone network folder.
 
-4. On the **Specify Recovery options** screen, you can select the recovery options like Network bandwidth usage throttling to throttle the bandwidth used by recovery. Select **Next**.
+4. On the **Specify Recovery options** blade, you can select the recovery options like Network bandwidth usage throttling to throttle the bandwidth used by recovery. Select **Next**.
 
-5. On the **Summary** screen, you see all the recovery configurations provided so far. Select **Recover**.
+5. On the **Summary** blade, you see all the recovery configurations provided so far. Select **Recover**.
 
     The Recovery status shows the database being recovered. You can select **Close** to close the wizard and view the progress in the **Monitoring** workspace.