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--- title: Manage and monitor Azure VM backups description: Learn how to manage and monitor Azure VM backups by using the Azure Backup service. ms.topic: how-to ms.date: 01/27/2026 ms.service: azure-backup author: AbhishekMallick-MS ms.author: v-mallicka # Customer intent: "As an IT administrator managing virtual machines, I want to efficiently manage and monitor Azure VM backups through the backup service, so that I can ensure data protection and streamline recovery processes." --- # Manage Azure VM backups with Azure Backup service This article describes how to manage Azure virtual machines (VMs) that are backed up with the [Azure Backup service](backup-overview.md). The article also summarizes the backup information you can find on the vault dashboard. In the Azure portal, the Recovery Services vault dashboard provides access to vault information, including: * The latest backup, which is also the latest restore point. * The backup policy. * The total size of all backup snapshots. * The number of VMs that are enabled for backups. You can manage backups by using the dashboard and by drilling down to individual VMs. To begin machine backups, open the vault on the dashboard: :::image type="content" source="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/bottom-slider-inline.png" alt-text="Screenshot showing the full dashboard view with slider." lightbox="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/bottom-slider-expanded.png"::: [!INCLUDE [resiliency.md](../../includes/resiliency.md)] ## View VMs on the dashboard To view VMs on the vault dashboard: 1. Sign in to the [Azure portal](https://portal.azure.com/). 1. On the left menu, select **All services**. :::image type="content" source="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/select-all-services.png" alt-text="Screenshot showing to select All services."::: 1. In the **All services** dialog box, enter *Recovery Services*. The list of resources filters according to your input. In the list of resources, select **Recovery Services vaults**. :::image type="content" source="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/all-services.png" alt-text="Screenshot showing to enter and choose Recovery Services vaults."::: The list of Recovery Services vaults in the subscription appears. 1. For ease of use, select the pin icon next to your vault name and select **Pin to dashboard**. 1. Open the vault dashboard. :::image type="content" source="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/full-view-rs-vault-inline.png" alt-text="Screenshot showing to open the vault dashboard and Settings pane." lightbox="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/full-view-rs-vault-expanded.png"::: 1. On the **Backup Items** tile, select **Azure Virtual Machine**. :::image type="content" source="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/azure-virtual-machine-inline.png" alt-text="Screenshot showing to open the Backup Items tile." lightbox="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/azure-virtual-machine-expanded.png"::: 1. On the **Backup Items** pane, you can view the list of protected VMs. In this example, the vault protects one virtual machine: *myVMR1*. :::image type="content" source="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/backup-items-blade-select-item-inline.png" alt-text="Screenshot showing to view the Backup Items pane." lightbox="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/backup-items-blade-select-item-expanded.png"::: 1. From the vault item's dashboard, you can modify backup policies, run an on-demand backup, stop or resume protection of VMs, delete backup data, view restore points, and run a restore. :::image type="content" source="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/item-dashboard-settings-inline.png" alt-text="Screenshot showing the Backup Items dashboard and the Settings pane." lightbox="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/item-dashboard-settings-expanded.png"::: ## Manage backup policy for a VM ### Modify backup policy To modify an existing backup policy: 1. Sign in to the [Azure portal](https://portal.azure.com/). Open the vault dashboard. 2. From **Manage > Backup policies**, select the backup policy for the type **Azure Virtual Machine**. 3. Select **Modify** and change the settings. ### Switch backup policy To manage a backup policy: 1. Sign in to the [Azure portal](https://portal.azure.com/). Open the vault dashboard. 2. On the **Backup Items** tile, select **Azure Virtual Machine**. :::image type="content" source="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/azure-virtual-machine-inline.png" alt-text="Screenshot showing to open the Backup Items tile." lightbox="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/azure-virtual-machine-expanded.png"::: 3. On the **Backup Items** pane, you can view the list of protected VMs and last backup status with latest restore points time. :::image type="content" source="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/backup-items-blade-select-item-inline.png" alt-text="Screenshot showing to view the Backup Items pane." lightbox="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/backup-items-blade-select-item-expanded.png"::: 4. From the vault item's dashboard, you can select a backup policy. To switch policies, select a different policy and then select **Save**. The new policy is immediately applied to the vault. :::image type="content" source="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/backup-policy-create-new-inline.png" alt-text="Screenshot showing to choose a backup policy." lightbox="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/backup-policy-create-new-expanded.png"::: ### Default backup policies in Recovery Services vaults When you create a Recovery Services vault, Azure Backup automatically creates a small set of system‑managed default backup policies. These policies ensure that baseline backup functionality is always available in any vault. Examples include policies such as HourlyBackup, DefaultPolicy, or Enhanced. These default policies are system‑managed, can be deleted temporarily but are recreated automatically and act as fallback policies when no custom policy is defined. You can safely ignore these default policies if your organization uses its own standards for policy naming, scheduling, or retention. Create custom backup policies that match your requirements and assign your protected items to those custom policies. The default policies will continue to exist in the vault but will not be used unless explicitly selected. ## Run an on-demand backup You can run an on-demand backup of a VM after you set up its protection. Keep these details in mind: * If the initial backup is pending, on-demand backup creates a full copy of the VM in the Recovery Services vault. * If the initial backup is complete, an on-demand backup will only send changes from the previous snapshot to the Recovery Services vault. That is, later backups are always incremental. * The retention range for an on-demand backup is the retention value that you specify when you trigger the backup. > [!NOTE] > Azure Backup recommends four backups per day, for a VM - one scheduled backup as per the Backup policy, and three on-demand backups. However, to allow user retries in case of failed attempts, hard limit for on-demand backups is set to nine attempts. To trigger an on-demand backup: 1. On the [vault item dashboard](#view-vms-on-the-dashboard), under **Protected Item**, select **Backup Item**. :::image type="content" source="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/backup-now-button.png" alt-text="Screenshot showing the Backup now option."::: 2. From **Backup Management Type**, select **Azure Virtual Machine**. The **Backup Item (Azure Virtual Machine)** pane appears. 3. Select a VM and select **Backup Now** to create an on-demand backup. The **Backup Now** pane appears. 4. In the **Retain Backup Till** field, specify a date for the backup to be retained. :::image type="content" source="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/backup-now-check.png" alt-text="Screenshot showing the Backup Now calendar."::: 5. Select **OK** to run the backup job. To track the job's progress, on the vault dashboard, select the **Backup Jobs** tile. ## Stop protecting a VM There are two ways to stop protecting a VM: * **Stop protection and retain backup data**. This option will stop all future backup jobs from protecting your VM. However, Azure Backup service will retain the recovery points that have been backed up. You'll need to pay to keep the recovery points in the vault (see [Azure Backup pricing](https://azure.microsoft.com/pricing/details/backup/) for details). You'll be able to restore the VM if needed. If you decide to resume VM protection, then you can use *Resume backup* option. * **Stop protection and delete backup data**. This option will stop all future backup jobs from protecting your VM and delete all the recovery points. You won't be able to restore the VM nor use *Resume backup* option. >[!NOTE] >If you delete a data source without stopping backups, new backups will fail. Old recovery points will expire according to the policy, but the most recent recovery point will always be kept until you stop the backups and delete the data. > ### Stop protection and retain backup data To stop protection and retain data of a VM: 1. On the [vault item's dashboard](#view-vms-on-the-dashboard), select **Stop backup**. 2. Choose **Retain Backup Data**, and confirm your selection as needed. Add a comment if you want. If you aren't sure of the item's name, hover over the exclamation mark to view the name. :::image type="content" source="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/retain-backup-data.png" alt-text="Screenshot showing to retain Backup data."::: A notification lets you know that the backup jobs have been stopped. ### Stop protection and delete backup data To stop protection and delete data of a VM: >[!Note] >For recovery points in archive that haven't stayed for a duration of 180 days in Archive Tier, deletion of those recovery points lead to early deletion cost. [Learn more](../storage/blobs/access-tiers-overview.md). 1. On the [vault item's dashboard](#view-vms-on-the-dashboard), select **Stop backup**. 2. Choose **Delete Backup Data**, and confirm your selection as needed. Enter the name of the backup item and add a comment if you want. :::image type="content" source="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/delete-backup-data.png" alt-text="Screenshot showing to delete backup data."::: > [!NOTE] > After completing the delete operation the backed-up data will be retained for 14 days in the [soft deleted state](./soft-delete-virtual-machines.md). <br>In addition, you can also [enable or disable soft delete](./backup-azure-security-feature-cloud.md#enable-and-disable-soft-delete). ## Resume protection of a VM If you chose [Stop protection and retain backup data](#stop-protection-and-retain-backup-data) option during stop VM protection, then you can use **Resume backup**. This option isn't available if you choose [Stop protection and delete backup data](#stop-protection-and-delete-backup-data) option or [Delete backup data](#delete-backup-data). To resume protection for a VM: 1. On the [vault item's dashboard](#view-vms-on-the-dashboard), select **Resume backup**. 2. Follow the steps in [Manage backup policies](#manage-backup-policy-for-a-vm) to assign the policy for the VM. You don't need to choose the VM's initial protection policy. 3. After you apply the backup policy to the VM, you see the following message: :::image type="content" source="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/success-message.png" alt-text="Screenshot showing message indicating a successfully protected VM."::: ## Delete backup data There are two ways to delete a VM's backup data: * From the vault item dashboard, select Stop backup and follow the instructions for [Stop protection and delete backup data](#stop-protection-and-delete-backup-data) option. :::image type="content" source="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/stop-backup-button.png" alt-text="Screenshot showing to select Stop backup."::: * From the vault item dashboard, select Delete backup data. This option is enabled if you had chosen to [Stop protection and retain backup data](#stop-protection-and-retain-backup-data) option during stop VM protection. :::image type="content" source="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/delete-backup-button.png" alt-text="Screenshot showing to select Delete backup."::: * On the [vault item dashboard](#view-vms-on-the-dashboard), select **Delete backup data**. * Type the name of the backup item to confirm that you want to delete the recovery points. :::image type="content" source="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/delete-backup-data.png" alt-text="Screenshot showing to delete backup data."::: * To delete the backup data for the item, select **Delete**. A notification message lets you know that the backup data has been deleted. To protect your data, Azure Backup includes the soft delete feature. With soft delete, even after the backup (all the recovery points) of a VM is deleted, the backup data is retained for 14 additional days. For more information, see [the soft delete documentation](./backup-azure-security-feature-cloud.md). > [!NOTE] > When you delete backup data you delete all associated recovery points. You can't choose specific recovery points to delete. ### Backup item where primary data source no longer exists * If Azure VMs configured for Azure Backup are deleted or moved (to another resource group or subscription) without stopping protection, then both scheduled backup jobs and on-demand backup jobs will fail with the error *UserErrorVmNotFoundV2*. The backup pre-check will appear as critical only for failed on-demand backup jobs (failed scheduled jobs doesn't appear). * These backup items remain active in the system adhering to the backup and retention policy set by the user. The backed-up data for these Azure VMs will be retained according to the retention policy. The expired recovery points (the last hardened (vaulted) restore point and the latest restore point) are cleaned according to the retention range set in the backup policy. * To avoid any additional cost, we recommend deleting the backup items where the primary data source no longer exists. This is in a scenario where the backup item/data for the deleted resources is no longer required, since the most recent recovery point is retained forever and you're charged according to the applicable backup pricing. ## Re-install the VMSnapshot backup extension for Azure VM protection VMSnapshot backup extension enables application-consistent snapshots during backup operations. You can uninstall and reinstall the `VMSnapshot` extension on a Windows VM. Since it’s a hidden extension, the process involves manually cleaning up registry entries and plugin folders, followed by restarting the Azure Guest Agent. After the registry is cleaned, the extension automatically reinstalls during the next backup job. To re-install the VMSnapshot extension on Windows operating system for the backup operation, follow these steps: 1. Uninstall the `VMSnapshot` extension by running the following cmdlet: ```azurepowershell-interactive Remove-AzVMExtension -ResourceGroupName "<Azure VM's resource group name>" -<VMName "Azure VM name>" -Name "VMSnapshot" ``` :::image type="content" source="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/uninstall-backup-extension.png" alt-text="Screenshot shows the execution of the extension uninstall command." lightbox="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/uninstall-backup-extension.png"::: 1. Sign in to the Azure VM, right-click the Windows **Start** icon to open the **Run** window, and then enter **services.msc** to open the **Services** window. 1. On the Services window, stop the **Windows Azure Guest Agent** service. :::image type="content" source="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/stop-windows-azure-guest-agent-service.png" alt-text="Screenshot shows the Windows Azure guest agent service is stopped." lightbox="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/stop-windows-azure-guest-agent-service.png"::: 1. Go to the folder `C:\Packages\Plugins`, and then rename the folder `Microsoft.Azure.RecoveryServices.VMSnapshot` to `Microsoft.Azure.RecoveryServices.VMSnapshot_old`. 1. Right-click the Windows **Start** icon, select **Run**, and then enter **regedit** to open the **Registry Editor**. 1. On the **Registry Editor** window, go to *HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WindowsAzure* and export to an alternate location before modifying for the backup operation. :::image type="content" source="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/export-registry-key.png" alt-text="Screenshot shows the registry key for export."::: 1. Go to *HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WindowsAzure\HandlerState*, and delete `Microsoft.Azure.RecoveryServices.VMSnapshot_1.X.XX.X`. >[!Note] >The backup extension version **1.X.XX.X** might change based on your environment. :::image type="content" source="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/delete-registry-key.png" alt-text="Screenshot shows the deletion of backup extension registry key values." lightbox="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/delete-registry-key.png"::: 1. Open the **Command prompt** as **Administrator** and add the required registry entries by running the following commands: ``` REG ADD "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\BcdrAgent" /v IsProviderInstalled /t REG_SZ /d False /f ``` ``` REG ADD "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\BcdrAgentPersistentKeys" /v IsCommonProviderInstalled /t REG_SZ /d False /f ``` :::image type="content" source="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/install-backup-agent.png" alt-text="Screenshot shows the installation of backup agent." lightbox="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/install-backup-agent.png"::: 1. On the **Services** window, start **Windows Azure Guest Agent**. :::image type="content" source="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/start-windows-azure-guest-agent-service.png" alt-text="Screenshot shows the Windows Azure guest agent service is started." lightbox="./media/backup-azure-manage-vms/start-windows-azure-guest-agent-service.png"::: 1. Restart the Azure VM. 1. Run an on-demand backup of Azure VM; this operation installs a new `VMSnapshot` extension. ## Reinstall the VMSnapshot backup extension for Linux Azure VM protection 1. Login to Azure VM and move to the directory using the following cmdlet: ``cd /var/lib/waagent`` ``ls -l | grep Recovery`` "Microsoft.Azure.RecoveryServices.VMSnapshotLinux-1.0.XXXX.X" directory should be displayed. ("XXXX.X" depends on user's environment) 2. Delete "Microsoft.Azure.RecoveryServices.VMSnapshotLinux-1.0.XXXX.X" directory so that VmSnapshotLinux extension is uninstalled. 3. If you want to reinstall the extension, trigger Azure VM Backup so that extension reinstalls on the VM. ## Next steps * Learn how to [back up Azure VMs from the VM's settings](backup-azure-vms-first-look-arm.md). * Learn how to [restore VMs](backup-azure-arm-restore-vms.md). * Learn how to [monitor Azure VM backups](./backup-azure-monitoring-built-in-monitor.md).