If you use Windows Azure as platform for your Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 R2, it is expected that your backup is also located on Windows Azure. Now, we need to know, is possible to use Windows Azure for backup keeping.
Yes, the answer is positively, but you need to understand backup and restore model using Windows Azure Blob storage service.
Storage and Containers
On Windows Azure Management Portal, you need to find your already created storage account or you need to create a new one. On your storage account, you need to run MANAGE KEYS and need to copy the Storage Account Name, and the Primary and Secondary Access Keys. Now, you need to create a blob container, because all blobs must be in containers. To create new container, you have to mark your storage account, go to the CONTAINERS tab, click ADD, fill requirement fields and finally the new container should appear in containers list.
SQL Server Credentials
You have to create a SQL Server Credential, because a SQL Server backup and restore processes will use this credential to authenticate to the Windows Azure Blob storage service. You need to go on your virtual server using RDC and open SQL Server Management Studio.
Now, expand the Security folder, right click on the Credentials folder and select to create a New Credential. Now, you have to use the name of your already created container, as your Credential name. As Identify, you have to use your storage account name. Storage Primary Access Key you already copied before will be used as the Password for this credential, and on the end, you need to press OK.
Full NAV Database Backup to the Windows Azure Blob Storage Service
On the standard menu bar in Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio, you need to open Query window, and you have to write backups script here, as following.
BACKUP DATABASE <MyDatabase>
TO URL = 'https://mystorageaccount.blob.core.windows.net/mycontainer/backupname.bak'
WITH CREDENTIAL = <MyCredential>;
GO
In this script, you need to change following parameters and run Execute after that:
- <MyDatabase>: Database name
- <MyCredential>: Name of the credential you already created
- mystorageaccount (from URL): Storage Account name
- mycontainer (from URL): Container name
- backupname.bak (from URL): Arbitrarily name of your backup
Once the backup has finished, you can check your container on the storage account in Windows Azure Management Portal, to verify the backup is stored in the container. Go to your ciontainer tab and click on container. You will get information about your backup, when backup was created and size of your backup file.
You can download this backup file, as well.