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Restore Azure Blobs using Azure CLI

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This article describes how to restore blobs using Azure Backup.

You can restore Azure Blobs to point-in-time using operational backups and vaulted backups (preview) for Azure Blobs via Azure CLI. Here, let's use an existing Backup vault TestBkpVault, under the resource group testBkpVaultRG in the examples.

Important

Before you restore Azure Blobs using Azure Backup, see important points.

Fetch details to restore a blob backup

To restore a blob backup, you need to *fetch the valid time range for operational backup and fetch the list of recovery points for vaulted backup (preview).

Choose a backup tier:

As the operational backup for blobs is continuous, there are no distinct points to restore from. Instead, we need to fetch the valid time-range under which blobs can be restored to any point-in-time. In this example, let's check for valid time-ranges to restore within the last 30 days.

First, we need to fetch the relevant backup instance ID. List all backup instances within a vault using the az dataprotection backup-instance list command, and then fetch the relevant instance using az dataprotection backup-instance show command. Alternatively, for at-scale scenarios, you can list backup instances across vaults and subscriptions using the az dataprotection backup-instance list-from-resourcegraph command.

az dataprotection backup-instance list-from-resourcegraph --datasource-type AzureBlob --datasource-id "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx/resourcegroups/blobrg/providers/Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/CLITestSA"

[
  {
    "datasourceId": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx/resourcegroups/blobrg/providers/Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/CLITestSA",
    "extendedLocation": null,
    "id": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/testBkpVaultRG/providers/Microsoft.DataProtection/backupVaults/TestBkpVault/backupInstances/CLITestSA-CLITestSA-c3a2a98c-def8-44db-bd1d-ff6bc86ed036",
    "identity": null,
    "kind": "",
    "location": "",
    "managedBy": "",
    "name": "CLITestSA-CLITestSA-c3a2a98c-def8-44db-bd1d-ff6bc86ed036",
    "plan": null,
    "properties": {
      "currentProtectionState": "ProtectionConfigured",
      "dataSourceInfo": {
        "baseUri": null,
        "datasourceType": "Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/blobServices",
        "objectType": "Datasource",
        "resourceID": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx/resourcegroups/blobrg/providers/Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/CLITestSA",
        "resourceLocation": "southeastasia",
        "resourceName": "CLITestSA",
        "resourceType": "Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts",
        "resourceUri": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx/resourcegroups/blobrg/providers/Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/CLITestSA"
      },
      "dataSourceProperties": null,
      "dataSourceSetInfo": null,
      "datasourceAuthCredentials": null,
      "friendlyName": "CLITestSA",
      "objectType": "BackupInstance",
      "policyInfo": {
        "policyId": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/testBkpVaultRG/providers/Microsoft.DataProtection/backupVaults/TestBkpVault/backupPolicies/BlobBackup-Policy",
        "policyParameters": {
          "dataStoreParametersList": [
            {
              "dataStoreType": "OperationalStore",
              "objectType": "AzureOperationalStoreParameters",
              "resourceGroupId": ""
            }
          ]
        },
        "policyVersion": ""
      },
      "protectionErrorDetails": null,
      "protectionStatus": {
        "errorDetails": null,
        "status": "ProtectionConfigured"
      },
      "provisioningState": "Succeeded"
    },
    "protectionState": "ProtectionConfigured",
    "resourceGroup": "rg-bv",
    "sku": null,
    "subscriptionId": "xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxx",
    "tags": null,
    "tenantId": "xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxx",
    "type": "microsoft.dataprotection/backupvaults/backupinstances",
    "vaultName": "TestBkpVault",
    "zones": null
  }
]

Once the instance is identified, fetch the relevant recovery range using the az dataprotection restorable-time-range find command.

az dataprotection restorable-time-range find --start-time 2021-05-30T00:00:00 --end-time 2021-05-31T00:00:00 --source-data-store-type OperationalStore -g testBkpVaultRG --vault-name TestBkpVault --backup-instances CLITestSA-CLITestSA-c3a2a98c-def8-44db-bd1d-ff6bc86ed036

{
  "id": "CLITestSA-CLITestSA-c3a2a98c-def8-44db-bd1d-ff6bc86ed036",
  "name": null,
  "properties": {
    "objectType": "AzureBackupFindRestorableTimeRangesResponse",
    "restorableTimeRanges": [
      {
        "endTime": "2021-05-31T00:00:00.0000000Z",
        "objectType": "RestorableTimeRange",
        "startTime": "2021-06-13T18:53:44.4465407Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "systemData": null,
  "type": "Microsoft.DataProtection/backupVaults/backupInstances/findRestorableTimeRanges"
}

Prepare the restore request

Choose a backup tier:

Once you fix the point-in-time to restore, there are multiple options to restore.

Restore all the blobs to a point-in-time

You can restore all block blobs in the storage account by rolling them back to the selected point in time. Storage accounts containing large amounts of data or witnessing a high churn may take longer times to restore. To restore all block blobs, use the az dataprotection backup-instance restore initialize-for-data-recovery command. The restore location and the target resource ID will be the same as the protected storage account.

az dataprotection backup-instance restore initialize-for-data-recovery --datasource-type AzureBlob --restore-location southeastasia --source-datastore OperationalStore --target-resource-id "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx/resourcegroups/blobrg/providers/Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/CLITestSA" --point-in-time 2021-06-02T18:53:44.4465407Z

{
  "object_type": "AzureBackupRecoveryTimeBasedRestoreRequest",
  "recovery_point_time": "2021-06-02T18:53:44.4465407Z.0000000Z",
  "restore_target_info": {
    "datasource_info": {
      "datasource_type": "Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/blobServices",
      "object_type": "Datasource",
      "resource_id": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx/resourcegroups/blobrg/providers/Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/CLITestSA",
      "resource_location": "southeastasia",
      "resource_name": "CLITestSA",
      "resource_type": "Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts",
      "resource_uri": ""
    },
    "object_type": "RestoreTargetInfo",
    "recovery_option": "FailIfExists",
    "restore_location": "southeastasia"
  },
  "source_data_store_type": "OperationalStore"
}

az dataprotection backup-instance restore initialize-for-data-recovery --datasource-type AzureBlob --restore-location southeastasia --source-datastore OperationalStore --target-resource-id "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx/resourcegroups/blobrg/providers/Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/CLITestSA" --point-in-time 2021-06-02T18:53:44.4465407Z > restore.json

Restore selected containers

You can browse and select up to 10 containers to restore. To restore selected containers, use the az dataprotection backup-instance restore initialize-for-item-recovery command.

az dataprotection backup-instance restore initialize-for-item-recovery --datasource-type AzureBlob --restore-location southeastasia --source-datastore OperationalStore --backup-instance-id "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/testBkpVaultRG/providers/Microsoft.DataProtection/backupVaults/TestBkpVault/backupInstances/CLITestSA-CLITestSA-c3a2a98c-def8-44db-bd1d-ff6bc86ed036" --point-in-time 2021-06-02T18:53:44.4465407Z --container-list container1 container2

{
  "object_type": "AzureBackupRecoveryTimeBasedRestoreRequest",
  "recovery_point_time": "2021-06-02T18:53:44.4465407Z.0000000Z",
  "restore_target_info": {
    "datasource_info": {
      "datasource_type": "Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/blobServices",
      "object_type": "Datasource",
      "resource_id": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx/resourcegroups/blobrg/providers/Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/CLITestSA",
      "resource_location": "southeastasia",
      "resource_name": "CLITestSA",
      "resource_type": "Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts",
      "resource_uri": ""
    },
    "object_type": "ItemLevelRestoreTargetInfo",
    "recovery_option": "FailIfExists",
    "restore_criteria": [
      {
        "max_matching_value": "container1-0",
        "min_matching_value": "container1",
        "object_type": "RangeBasedItemLevelRestoreCriteria"
      },
      {
        "max_matching_value": "container2-0",
        "min_matching_value": "container2",
        "object_type": "RangeBasedItemLevelRestoreCriteria"
      }
    ],
    "restore_location": "southeastasia"
  },
  "source_data_store_type": "OperationalStore"
}

az dataprotection backup-instance restore initialize-for-item-recovery --datasource-type AzureBlob --restore-location southeastasia --source-datastore OperationalStore --backup-instance-id "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/testBkpVaultRG/providers/Microsoft.DataProtection/backupVaults/TestBkpVault/backupInstances/CLITestSA-CLITestSA-c3a2a98c-def8-44db-bd1d-ff6bc86ed036" --point-in-time 2021-06-02T18:53:44.4465407Z --container-list container1 container2 > restore.json

Restore containers using a prefix match

You can restore a subset of blobs using a prefix match. You can specify up to 10 lexicographical ranges of blobs within a single container or across multiple containers to return those blobs to their previous state at a given point-in-time. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

  • You can use a forward slash (/) to delineate the container name from the blob prefix.
  • The start of the range specified is inclusive, however the specified range is exclusive.

Learn more about using prefixes to restore blob ranges.

To restore selected containers, use the az dataprotection backup-instance restore initialize-for-item-recovery command.

az dataprotection backup-instance restore initialize-for-item-recovery --datasource-type AzureBlob --restore-location southeastasia --source-datastore OperationalStore --backup-instance-id "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/testBkpVaultRG/providers/Microsoft.DataProtection/backupVaults/TestBkpVault/backupInstances/CLITestSA-CLITestSA-c3a2a98c-def8-44db-bd1d-ff6bc86ed036" --point-in-time 2021-06-02T18:53:44.4465407Z --from-prefix-pattern container1/text1 container2/text4 --to-prefix-pattern container1/text4 container2/text41

{
  "object_type": "AzureBackupRecoveryTimeBasedRestoreRequest",
  "recovery_point_time": "2021-06-02T18:53:44.4465407Z.0000000Z",
  "restore_target_info": {
    "datasource_info": {
      "datasource_type": "Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/blobServices",
      "object_type": "Datasource",
      "resource_id": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx/resourcegroups/blobrg/providers/Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/CLITestSA",
      "resource_location": "southeastasia",
      "resource_name": "CLITestSA",
      "resource_type": "Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts",
      "resource_uri": ""
    },
    "object_type": "ItemLevelRestoreTargetInfo",
    "recovery_option": "FailIfExists",
    "restore_criteria": [
       {
        "max_matching_value": "container1/text4",
        "min_matching_value": "container1/text1",
        "object_type": "RangeBasedItemLevelRestoreCriteria"
      },
      {
        "max_matching_value": "container2/text41",
        "min_matching_value": "container2/text4",
        "object_type": "RangeBasedItemLevelRestoreCriteria"
      }
    ],
    "restore_location": "southeastasia"
  },
  "source_data_store_type": "OperationalStore"
}

az dataprotection backup-instance restore initialize-for-item-recovery --datasource-type AzureBlob --restore-location southeastasia --source-datastore OperationalStore --backup-instance-id "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/testBkpVaultRG/providers/Microsoft.DataProtection/backupVaults/TestBkpVault/backupInstances/CLITestSA-CLITestSA-c3a2a98c-def8-44db-bd1d-ff6bc86ed036" --point-in-time 2021-06-02T18:53:44.4465407Z --from-prefix-pattern container1/text1 container2/text4 --to-prefix-pattern container1/text4 container2/text41 > restore.json

Trigger the restore

Use the az dataprotection backup-instance restore trigger command to trigger the restore with the request prepared above.

az dataprotection backup-instance restore trigger -g testBkpVaultRG --vault-name TestBkpVault --backup-instance-name CLITestSA-CLITestSA-c3a2a98c-def8-44db-bd1d-ff6bc86ed036 --restore-request-object restore.json

Track a job

You can track all the jobs using the az dataprotection job list command. You can list all jobs and fetch a particular job detail.

You can also use Az.ResourceGraph to track all jobs across all Backup vaults. Use the az dataprotection job list-from-resourcegraph command to get the relevant job which can be across any Backup vault.

az dataprotection job list-from-resourcegraph --datasource-type AzureBlob --operation Restore

Next steps

Support matrix for Azure Blobs backup