Here’s what you need to know about Azure Backup Explorer which has been released in public preview as of 5th Feb 2020.

What is Azure Backup Explorer?

• It’s currently available for use with Azure Virtual Machines
• A single pane of glass for monitoring backups of your Azure Virtual Machines
• Removes complexity and manpower associated with monitoring backups using Azure Log Analytics Workspaces

How do I access it?

TLDR = Azure Portal > any RSV > Overview > Backup Explorer

1. Login to https://portal.azure.com
2. Open any Recovery Services Vault in your Subscription
3. From the Overview page select the Backup Explorer link

What I like about it

• It’s integrated into the Azure Portal which is perfect for most managed services teams to utilise.
• It contains built-in Search and Query functionality.
• The Summary dashboard allows you to quickly identify issues such as Virtual Machines not backed up.
• Backup Explorer contains portal links to Recovery Services Vaults and Virtual Machines for seamless changes so you don’t need to open new browser windows.
• You have the ability to Export to Excel

What can you do?

The Summary page gives you a quick overview of the status of backups across all RSVs and all Subscriptions. You can also filter by;

• Subscriptions
• Vault Location
• Vault
• Time Range

The Backup Items page shows your Virtual Machine protection status and you can search/filter by;

• Backup Item or Resource Group
• Vault
• Protection State - Actively Protected, Protection Stopped, Initial Backup Pending
• Resource State - VM Active, VM Not Found
• Health Check Status - Passed, ActionRequired, ActionSuggested

The Jobs page shows the status of backup jobs for Virtual Machines added to your RSVs and you can search/filter by;

• Backup Item or Resource Group
• Operation - Backup, Restore, ConfigureBackup, DeleteBackupData
• Status - Completed, CompletedWithWarnings, Failed, Cancelled, InProgress
• Error

The Alerts page shows alerts for Virtual Machines added to your RSVs and you can search/filter by;

• Backup Item or Resource Group
• Alert Type - Backup Failure, Restore Failure, Delete Backup Data
• Status
• Severity - Critical, Warning, Info

The Policies page shows an overview of RSV policies and you can search/filter by;

• Vault or Policy
• Has Protected Items? - Yes, No
• Schedule Frequency - Daily, Weekly
• Retention Type - Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Yearly
• Snapshot Retention - 0-5

The Backup Not Enabled page shows a list of Virtual Machines with no backup configured and you can search by;

• Machine Name
• Tags

Improvements I’d like to see

• Add a new page for “Backup Storage” showing GB usage across Recovery Services Vaults.
• Integration with Azure PowerBI for;
  • Reporting templates such as:
    • Successful/Failed Backups for Week/Month/Year
    • Latest Recovery Point per VM
  • Ability to subscribe to Critical Alerts & Events

Closing Remarks

Azure Backup Explorer makes it easier to monitor backups across multiple Azure Subscriptions from the Azure Portal and quickly identify gaps/issues.

Cheers, Jesse