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Using Acronis Backup Advanced to backup SQL Server on Hyper-V?

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I'm a little confused because there seems to be so many options.

What do i need to properly backup an SQL server on a Hyper-v VM, that will give me the ability to backup and restore the SQL databases reliably and effortlessly?

If I buy Acronis Backup 11.5 Advanced will that work, or do i also need to buy Acronis Backup Advanced for Hyper-v and Acronis Backup Advanced for SQL as well (which would put the cost well over $5k)?

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Hello Michael,

You can find a licensing FAQ here that lists your scenario (application running inside VM).

As mentioned in this FAQ, the license Acronis Backup Advanced for Hyper-V includes application protection (as well as protection for all VMs on this host and protection for the host itself).

If you need protection for just this single SQL VM, you can treat it as a physical machine and use a single Acronis Backup Advanced for SQL license.

Thanks Igor, so all i need to buy is one Backup Advanced for Hyper-v to cover my host, it's VM and the SQL server on that VM because the Backup Advanced for Hyper-v is SQL-aware?

That's great value for money then!

Is there a setting i need to use to make Acronis Backup Advanced for Hyper-v SQL aware or is it SQL aware with the default settings?

Thanks for your help.

Hello Michael,

One Backup Advanced for Hyper-V license will be enough, but the technical implementation is a bit more difficult with Acronis Backup 11.5. Let me explain:

There are two different ways of creating a backup of a virtual machine:

1. Agent-less backup on a Hypervisor level.  In the current 11.5 version, the hypervisor level backup is not application aware (although it is fully VSS aware). This means that, using a backup running on your Hyper-V host, your SQL machine can be fully backed-up in a consistent state and restored fully or partially (just specific files for example). However, with this type of backup, the SQL data will not be treated separately and you'll be missing functions like mounting or restoring a specific database directly into an SQL server.

2. Agent-based backup from inside the guest OS. If you use an Agent-based backup method and install the SQL agent, all these functions will be available. However, this method requires installation of an agent inside the guest OS and treating this VM as a "machines with Agents" type of resource. Judging from your description, you will be interested in this second method.

The good news is, one license for One Backup Advanced for Hyper-V allows backup of one host, all VMs running on this host at a hypervisor level, and all agents installed directly inside the guest OS.  So with this one license you will have the ability to use both methods of backup for any or all of your machines on your host.

Please do note that if you have a Hyper-V cluster, you will need to have a license for all hosts in this cluster.