Backing up databases to a URL

Starting with SQL Server 2012 with Service Pack 1 CU 2, you can back up your SQL Server database to an Azure Storage account, also known as Backup to URL. Since SQL Server 2016, you can even back up your database to a URL simultaneously with a regular on-premises backup. This allows you to have both a local and secure offsite backup of your databases from one backup command.

Note

Backup to URL can be executed from the SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) backup wizard, T-SQL, SQL Server Management Objects (SMO), and PowerShell cmdlets, including third-party PowerShell modules. For more about this feature, visit Microsoft Docs6.

Backup to URL gives you the peace of mind that when disaster strikes, you will be able to access your backups almost immediately. With a solid disaster recovery plan, you can have a standby Azure VM restoring those backups on a regular schedule (see the As a backup-restore target section later in this chapter). You can even...