Lab: configure backup, alerting, and recovery
Outcome
Configure protection for a safe training workload, demonstrate a restore/recovery operation, and prove that a backup failure or health signal is visible through monitoring and reporting.
Do
- Choose a supported low-cost training workload and identify whether it requires a Recovery Services vault or an Azure Backup vault. Do not assume either vault supports the other’s workloads.
- Create the required vault. For an Azure Backup vault, record its resource group, region, redundancy/security settings exposed by the current portal, and the supported workload you selected.
- Create a backup policy with documented schedule and retention based on a stated recovery requirement.
- Run an initial backup and perform a safe restore or recovery validation to an isolated location/resource where supported.
- Configure Azure Monitor-based backup alerts and route them to a test action group.
- Send vault diagnostics to Log Analytics where applicable and inspect Backup Reports or a query for job history, protected items, and failures.
Verify
Record the vault type, vault configuration, policy, protected item, successful backup, restore/recovery evidence, alert configuration, and report/query result. Explain why a successful backup job is not complete proof until restore has been tested.
Break and fix
- Temporarily suspend or misconfigure a non-production protection setting in a safe way. Observe the job/alert/report signal, then restore protection.
- Route the alert to an invalid test action; show that the alert condition and notification delivery are separate, then restore the action group.
Scenario practice
- Configure: Given an Azure VM and an Azure-disks workload, choose the appropriate vault and explain the recovery requirement driving the policy.
- Diagnose: A backup job succeeds but the owner cannot demonstrate recovery. Which restore, alert, and report evidence is still missing?
- Distinguish: Contrast a Recovery Services vault, a Backup vault, a backup policy, and an Azure Monitor action group.
Clean up
Stop protection and remove backup data only for the disposable training workload, then delete the vault, action group, diagnostics, reports/workspace data if dedicated, and training resources according to your retention policy.
Sources and re-audit
- Manage Azure Monitor-based alerts for Azure Backup and Azure Backup monitoring and reporting, checked 2026-08-22.
Re-audit when vault workload support, backup-policy controls, restore behavior, or Azure Backup alerting changes.
Related
backup-vault · recovery-services-vault · azure-backup-policy · backup-reports · All labs