Problem Description
When attempting to delete an Azure VM backup policy in the Druva console, the action is blocked or fails. An orphaned VM entry remains visible in the console under that policy, even though the actual virtual machine (VM) has already been deleted within the Azure portal environment.
Cause
This behavior occurs due to Druva's built-in data protection safeguards and structural dependencies:
Rollback Retention Window: Druva enforces a mandatory 7-day rollback retention period after an Azure VM is deleted. This prevents catastrophic data loss resulting from accidental or malicious deletions.
Soft-Deleted State: Even if a VM is deleted from Azure, the Druva console retains the metadata and backups in a "soft-deleted" state until this 7-day window expires.
Policy Blocks: A backup policy cannot be deleted if any VMs, backup sets, or active auto-assignment rules remain linked to it.
š Example: If a VM is deleted on May 29, 2026, its backend destroy timestamp will be set for June 5, 2026. The associated backup policy cannot be removed until the backend cleanup process fully purges the object after that date.
Resolution / Workaround
To successfully remove the backup policy, follow these steps:
Verify VM Status: Ensure that the VM has truly been removed from the Azure portal.
Check Auto-Configuration Rules: Navigate to your Azure management settings in Druva and ensure no active Auto-Configuration Rules are still mapped to this specific policy. If found, delete or reassign the rule.
Wait for the Retention Window: Allow the 7-day rollback retention window to pass. Once the backend cleanup script runs post-expiration, the orphaned VM entries will clear automatically.
Delete the Policy: Once all entities are purged, navigate to Backup Policies, select the policy, and click Delete.
What if immediate deletion is required?
If the policy must be deleted urgently before the 7-day rollback window expires (e.g., due to strict compliance or organization restructuring), please escalate the request to Druva Support to evaluate if a manual backend cleanup can be safely executed.