Public preview: Backup support for SQL Server 2008 and 2008 R2 for Azure Virtual Machines
Published date: 20 June, 2019
With SQL Server 2008 and 2008 R2 approaching end of support, many customers are moving to Azure. They see this milestone as an opportunity to re-imagine and transform their infrastructure with the power of cloud computing. Moreover, Azure’s offer of free extended security updates for three years provides a new lease of life for these servers while giving organisations time to upgrade.
Of the available migration options, if you choose to lift and shift your on-premises SQL Server to an Azure virtual machine as-is, you will still need to manage backups. Although you’ve moved your SQL Server to Azure, you don’t have to move your legacy backup application, which is likely to be infrastructure heavy and difficult to scale in the cloud. Instead, Azure Backup is an enterprise-scale, zero-infrastructure solution that protects SQL Server VM in Azure without the need to deploy and manage any backup infrastructure. This offering is already generally available for more recent SQL Server versions, and today we are excited to announce Azure Backup support for EOS SQL 2008 and 2008 R2 in public preview.
Azure Backup is generally available to use with SQL Server 2012 or later. Azure Backup is now public preview for use with SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 R2 running on Windows 2008 R2 SP1. During public preview, the solution can be used free of charge. For SQL 2008 and 2008 R2 running on OS versions higher than Windows 2008 R2 SP1, the regular price will be applicable.