Create a New Backup Scope for Azure VM

You can create a new backup scope for the Azure VM.

To create a new backup scope, complete the following steps:

1. Click Home on the navigation pane.
2. Click the Configure Backup Scope () button on the upper-right corner of the Azure Virtual Machine tile.
3. All the existing backup scopes are listed in the table. You can use the Search box to search for the backup scopes by name.
   Note: You can click the Refresh () button in the upper-right corner of the page to retrieve the latest data list for Azure VMs. The last refreshed time is displayed next to the Refresh () button.
4. Click the New Backup Scope button and select Azure Virtual Machine.
5. In the Choose a method page, you can choose to manually select the VMs that you want to add to the backup scope, or you can configure a dynamic scope to use attribute-based rules to include the VMs that meet your conditions to the backup.
   • Manually Select– In the Select Virtual Machines step, select the VMs that you want to add to the backup scope that you are about to create. You can use the Search box to search for the VMs by using the keywords in the name.
     The VMs are grouped by tenants. Selecting the checkbox in the column header will select all the VMs on the current page. You can turn to the next page and select more VMs. Your selection will be kept, and the number of your selection will be displayed next to the tenant's name.

     • To view all the available VMs in a tenant that you can add to this backup scope, click the Expand () button next to the container.
     • To filter VMs of a specific subscription, resource group, or region, you can use the corresponding filters.
     • To search for VMs, enter the VM name in the search box and click the Search () button.
   • Dynamic Rules – In the Select Virtual Machines step, define the rule conditions for the VMs that you want to include in this backup scope. You can add multiple rules to filter the Tag Name, Tag Value, Virtual Machine Name, Region, Resource Group, or Subscription Name of the VMs. Click Apply when you complete the rule configuration, and then the VMs that meet your rules will be displayed in the table and included for backup. The dynamic scope will automatically add or remove the VMs according to your rules.
6. Click Next to go to the Configure Storage Based on Region step to configure a storage profile for each region. You can use an existing storage profile or create a new storage profile to store the backup data for the VMs in the same region. For details on configuring storage location, refer to Manage Your Storage. You can only use the storage profiles of the same storage type within one backup scope. Use the storage account in the same region, for the best traffic.
   Note: If you have enabled a firewall for your Azure storage, you need to add the IBM® Storage Protect for Cloud IP addresses to your Azure storage account firewall or configure the firewall to allowIBM Storage Protect for Cloud agent servers running on a dedicated ARM Vnet subnet to access your storage location. For details, refer to Allow IBM Storage Protect for Cloud Agent Servers to Access Your Storage Account.
7. After you finish the storage configuration for each region, click Next to configure the scope information, schedule, and data retention settings. Refer to the following:
   • Scope information – Enter a name and description for the scope you are creating. The description is optional.
   • Which resource group do you want to keep the snapshots? – If the VM to protect in this backup scope are in the same subscription, you can choose to store the snapshots to another resource group.
   • Generate index for file-level data export – Select this option if you want to perform file-level data export using the backup data. Otherwise, keep this option deselected. The backup job will take longer to finish in order to generate an index.
   • Schedule – Click Hour, Day, Week, or Month as the unit of time for the backup interval, enter a number in the text box after Every, and then configure the start time for your first backup job. By default, the VM backup job will run once a day. Backing up VMs at the same time may cause traffic jams. You are recommended to configure backup schedules for different backup scopes at different times of the day and make sure the times do not overlap.
   • Retention Policy – Configure when to prune the snapshots from Azure and the backup data from the storage location. Note that if you are using IBM Storage Protect for Cloud storage, the retention policy for backup data is subject to your agreement and you can configure a retention period up to the retention policy in your subscription.
   • For snapshots in Azure – You can choose the number of the latest snapshots to retain or choose for how long the snapshots will be retained after generation.
   • For backup data in storage – Configure the retention period to keep the backup data in the storage. If you are using IBM Storage Protect for Cloud default storage with unlimited retention period, the Unlimited option is selected automatically in the list. If you want to use a custom retention period, select Custom from the list, enter a number in the text box, and select Weeks, Months, or Years from the drop-down list. The retention period cannot be less than 2 weeks. Note that if you have a retention policy with a fixed year in your subscription, the maximum retention period that you can configure will be displayed under this field.
8. Click Nextto review your settings.
9. Click Save to save this backup scope. The backup for the VMs in this backup scope will roll out as scheduled. For more details about monitoring the backups, refer to Monitor Your Backup.