SQL Azure backup and restore strategy. Things to keep in mind.

With SQL Azure you have a SQL Server database in the cloud. This can be very useful, however there are some differences between the on premise SQL Server databases and the cloud SQL Server databases. One of the differences is the Backup and Restore Strategy. In general, the purpose of creating backups is to enable you to recover from:

• Hardware failures
• Application errors
• User errors.

The SQL Azure environment is designed to maintain the server available along with data integrity of your data in case of hardware failure. In other words, your backup and restore strategy doesn’t have to plan for hardware failure of your SQL Azure databases. For application or user errors, you still need a backup and restore strategy. SQL Azure requires its own backup and restore strategy because of the environment and tools available. In many ways the risks have been mediated by the database being in the Microsoft data centers. The tools that are available as of today cover the other risk factors, however better tools are coming to make the job much easier. Please read SQL Azure Backup and Restore strategy for more details about the available tools and commands.