Support matrix for Azure files backup

This article summarizes the supported settings and limitations when backing up Azure files by using Azure Backup.

You can use the Azure Backup service to back up Azure files. This article summarizes support settings when you back up Azure files with Azure Backup.

Note

Azure Backup currently doesn't support Network File Shares(NFS).

Supported regions

Choose a backup tier:

Snapshot tier

Azure files backup is available in all regions, except for Germany Central (Sovereign), Germany Northeast (Sovereign), China East, China North, France South, and US Gov Iowa.

Vault-standard tier

Vaulted backup for Azure Files is available in the following regions: UK South, UK West, Southeast Asia, East Asia, West Central US, Central US, Central India, North Europe, Australia East, West US, East US, South India, France Central, Canada Central, North Central US, East US 2, Australia Southeast, Germany North, France South, West US 2, Brazil South, Japan West, Germany West Central, Canada East, Korea South, Jio India West, Korea Central, South Africa West, Japan East, Norway East, Switzerland West, Norway West, South Africa North, UAE North, West Europe, Sweden Central, Switzerland North.

Cross Region Restore is currently supported in the following regions: Australia East, West US, North Central US, East US, East US2, West US2, South India, Australia Southeast, Brazil South, Canada East, Korea Central, Norway East, South Africa North, Switzerland North, France Central, Germany North, Japan West, Korea South, South Africa West, Switzerland West, Canada Central, France South, Germany West Central, Japan East, Norway West, West Europe. This feature isn't supported in Sweden Central, UAE North, Jio India West.

Migration of File Shares protected with snapshot backup to vaulted backup is supported in the following regions: UK South, UK West, Southeast Asia, East Asia, West Central US, and India Central.

Supported regions for Cross Subscription Backup (preview)

Cross Subscription Backup (CSB) for Azure Files (preview) is currently available in the following regions: East Asia, Southeast Asia, UK South, UK West, Central India.

Supported storage accounts

Choose a backup tier:

Snapshot tier

Storage account details	Support
Account Kind	Azure Backup supports Azure files present in general-purpose v1, general-purpose v2, and file storage type storage accounts
Performance	Azure Backup supports File Shares in both standard and Premium Storage accounts
Replication	Azure files in storage accounts with any replication type are supported
Firewall enabled	Azure files in storage accounts with Firewall rules that allow Microsoft Azure Services to access storage account are supported

Vault-standard tier

Storage account details	Support
Account Kind	Azure Backup supports Azure files present in general-purpose v2, and file storage type storage accounts. Storage accounts configured with private endpoints are supported. However, a private endpoint on the vault doesn't apply to Azure Files backup scenarios.

Important

The source Storage Account must have the Allow storage account key access setting enabled for successful Azure Files backup and restore.

Note

Storage accounts with restricted network access aren't supported.

Supported File Shares

Choose a backup tier:

Snapshot tier

File share type	Support
Standard (with large File Shares enabled)	Supported
Large	Supported
Premium	Supported
File Shares connected with Azure File Sync service	Supported

Vault-standard tier

File Share type	Support
Standard	Supported
Large	Supported
Premium	Supported (in preview)
File Shares connected with Azure File Sync service	Supported

Protection limits

Setting	Limit
Maximum number of File Shares that can be protected per vault per day	200
Maximum number of storage accounts that can be registered per vault per day	50
Maximum number of File Shares that can be protected per vault	2000
Maximum number of storage accounts that can be registered per vault	200

Backup limits

Setting	Limit
Maximum number of discoveries of containers that can be backed up to Recovery Services Vault per day	50
Maximum number of inquiries for protectable items under the given container per day	25
Maximum number of Configure backup per day	200
Maximum number of on-demand backups per day	10

Choose a backup tier:

Snapshot tier

Setting	Limit
Maximum number of scheduled backups per day	6

Vault-standard tier

Setting	Limit
Maximum size of File Share	10 TB
Maximum number of files in a File Share	10 million

Note

If you have multiple backups scheduled per day, only the last scheduled snapshot of the day is transferred to the vault.

Restore limits

Setting	Limit
Maximum number of restore per day	20

Choose a backup tier:

Snapshot tier

Setting	Limit
Maximum size of a file (if the destination account is in a Vnet)	1 TB
Maximum number of individual files or folders per restore, if ILR (Item level recovery)	99
Maximum recommended restore size per restore for large File Shares	15 TiB
Maximum duration of a restore job	15 days

Vault-standard tier

Setting	Limit
Maximum size of a file	4 TB

Retention limits

Choose a backup tier:

Snapshot tier

Setting	Limit
Maximum total recovery points per File Share at any point in time	200
Maximum retention of recovery point created by on-demand backup	10 years
Maximum retention of daily recovery points (snapshots) per File Share, if daily frequency	200 days
Maximum retention of daily recovery points (snapshots) per File Share, if hourly frequency	Floor (200/number of snapshots according to the schedule)-1
Maximum retention of weekly recovery points (snapshots) per File Share	200 weeks
Maximum retention of monthly recovery points (snapshots) per File Share	120 months
Maximum retention of yearly recovery points (snapshots) per File Share	10 years

Vault-standard tier

Setting	Limit
Maximum retention of snapshot	30 days
Maximum retention of recovery point created by on-demand backup	99 years
Maximum retention of daily recovery points	9,999 days
Maximum retention of weekly recovery points	5,163 weeks
Maximum retention of monthly recovery points	1,188 months
Maximum retention of yearly recovery points	99 years

Supported restore methods

Choose a backup tier:

Snapshot tier

Restore method	Details
Full Share Restore	You can restore the complete file share to the original or an alternate location
Item Level Restore	You can restore individual files and folders to the original or an alternate location

Vault-standard tier

Restore method	Description
Full Share Restore	You can restore the complete File Share to an alternate location

Note

Original location restores (OLR) and file-level recovery aren't supported. You can perform restore to an empty folder with the Overwrite option only.

Daylight savings

Azure Backup doesn't support automatic clock adjustment for daylight saving time for Azure Virtual Machine (VM) backups. It doesn't shift the hour of the backup forward or backwards. To ensure the backup runs at the desired time, modify the backup policies manually as required.

Support for customer-managed failover

This section describes how your backups and restores are affected after customer-managed failovers.

The following table lists the behavior of backups due to customer-initiated failovers:

Failover type	Backups	Restore	Enabling protection (reprotection) of failed over account in secondary region
Customer-managed planned failover	Supported	Supported	Not supported
Customer-managed unplanned failover	Not supported	Only cross-region restore from the vault is supported.	Not supported

Next steps

• Back up Azure Files using Azure portal.
• Restore Azure Files using Azure portal.
• Manage Azure Files backups using Azure portal.