Announcing native backup for SQL Server 2008 end of support in Azure
Update: Azure Backup support for SQL Server 2008 and 2008 R2 end of support is now generally available.
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 reimagine and transform their infrastructure with the power of cloud computing. Azure’s offer of free extended security updates for three years provides a new lease on life to these servers while giving organizations 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 moved your SQL Server to Azure, you don’t have to move your legacy backup application that’s likely infrastructure-heavy and difficult to scale in the cloud. Instead, Azure Backup is an enterprise-scale, zero-infrastructure solution that protects SQL Server on Virtual Machines (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’re excited to announce Azure Backup support for SQL Server 2008 and 2008 R2 end of support in preview.
Built-into Azure, the solution is designed to automatically scale protection to thousands of databases with terabytes of data, so you get the peace of mind that your continuously growing environment stays protected. With self-service backups and restores, SQL Server admin is empowered to do operational recoveries to a point-in-time in one click, getting freedom from long drawn out restore procedures. While centrally managed backup policies and long-term retention help organizations stay compliant, features like encryption at rest and geo-redundancy ensure the safety and security of data at all costs.
Get started
Watch this short video to learn how simple it is to protect your SQL databases in Azure:
This preview support is for SQL Server 2008 and 2008 R2 running on Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 and is free of cost. Learn more about the SQL Server 2008 end of support feature considerations.
Additional resources
- Check out the Azure Backup for SQL Server in Azure Virtual Machines general availability announcement on the Azure blog.
- Want more details about this feature? Review the Azure Backup for SQL Server documentation.
- Get the Azure Backup pricing details for this feature.
- If you are new to Azure Backup, sign up for a free Azure trial subscription.
