How Restore to Microsoft Azure Works

Veeam Backup Free Edition lets you restore physical and virtual machines from backups residing in the on-premises environment to Microsoft Azure. The restore process differs for Microsoft Windows and Linux machines.

• Restore of Microsoft Windows machines
• Restore of Linux machines

Restore of Microsoft Windows Machines

To restore a Microsoft Windows machine, Veeam Backup Free Edition performs the following steps:

1. If you use an Azure proxy for restore, Veeam Backup Free Edition powers on the Azure proxy. For more information about the Azure proxy, see Configuring Azure Proxies.
2. Veeam Backup Free Edition converts disks of a backed up machine to the VHD format and uploads converted disks to blob storage in Microsoft Azure.
3. Veeam Backup Free Edition mounts uploaded disks to the backup server.
4. Veeam Backup Free Edition prepares disks for VM restore. As part of this process, it enables Remote Desktop rules, configures firewall rules, prepares disks for Microsoft Azure agent installation and so on.
5. Veeam Backup Free Edition unmounts prepared disks from the backup server.
6. If you use an Azure proxy for restore, Veeam Backup Free Edition powers off the Azure proxy after a timeout.
7. Veeam Backup Free Edition registers a Microsoft Azure VM with the prepared machine disks. After the registration process is complete, the Microsoft Azure VM is powered on immediately, and the Microsoft Azure agent is installed on the machine.

Restore of Linux Machines

For restore of Linux machines, Veeam Backup Free Edition uses a helper appliance. The helper appliance is a small auxiliary Linux-based VM in Microsoft Azure registered by Veeam Backup Free Edition. During the restore process, Veeam Backup Free Edition mounts disks of a backed up machine to the helper appliance to prepare disks for restore.

You can set up a helper appliance when you configure initial settings for restore to Microsoft Azure. If you plan to restore Linux machines to different locations, you must set up several appliances — one appliance in every location.

The helper appliance is persistent. After you set up the appliance, it remains in Microsoft Azure in the powered off state. Veeam Backup Free Edition starts the helper appliance for a short period of time during the restore process and powers the appliance off when the restore process is complete.

To restore a Linux machine, Veeam Backup Free Edition performs the following steps:

1. If you use an Azure proxy for restore, Veeam Backup Free Edition powers on the Azure proxy. For more information about the Azure proxy, see Configuring Azure Proxies.
2. Veeam Backup Free Edition converts disks of a backed up machine to the VHD format and uploads converted disks to blob storage in Microsoft Azure.
3. Veeam Backup Free Edition mounts uploaded disks to the helper appliance that resides in the location to which you restore the Linux machine.
4. Veeam Backup Free Edition starts the helper appliance with mounted disks.
5. Veeam Backup Free Edition prepares disks for VM restore. As part of this process, it enables remote connection rules, configures firewall rules and so on.
6. Veeam Backup Free Edition unmounts prepared disks from the helper appliance and powers off the helper appliance.
7. If you use an Azure proxy for restore, Veeam Backup Free Edition powers off the Azure proxy after a timeout.
8. Veeam Backup Free Edition registers a Microsoft Azure VM with the prepared machine disks. After the registration process is complete, the VM is powered on immediately.