Overview
You can restore a virtual machine along with any associated managed disks to the same storage region or across regions.
You can perform one of the following:
Data Restore: Restore Azure disk data, as well as Azure files and folders. For more information, see Restore Individual Disk Data and File Level Restore for Azure VM .
Full VM Restore: Rebuild the entire virtual machine. This option allows you to fully customize the target environment, including:
Core Infrastructure: Select the target Subscription (and associated Entra tenant), Region, Instance Type, and Availability Zone.
Network & Resources: Define the Resource Group, Virtual Network, Subnet, and Network Security Group.
Naming: Assign a new Virtual Machine Name for the recovered instance.
For granular control, you can also access Advanced Settings to configure Network Interface (NIC) names, toggle between Dynamic or Static IP assignments, rename Disks, or choose to restore the VM in a Powered Off state. For more information, see Restore full virtual machine
Azure VM Restore Readiness Prechecks
To ensure a successful recovery, Druva performs automated prechecks before the Azure VM restore is triggered. This validation identifies resource mismatches and configuration gaps, such as regional availability or networking conflicts, allowing administrators to remediate blockers upfront and guarantee a seamless restore process.
Detailed Validation Checks
Validation Check | Description | Recommended Actions |
Azure Virtual Network (Vnet)
| Verifies that the selected Virtual Network exists in the target Subscription and Region. | Select a Vnet that is part of the target Subscription and Region, specified during restore. |
Subnet Consistency
| Confirms the selected Subnet is a valid member of the chosen Virtual Network. | Select a Subnet within the range associated with the chosen Virtual Network. For more information, refer to the Azure documentation. |
Network Security Group (NSG) | Validates that the selected Network Security Group exists within the target Subscription and Region. | Ensure that the Network Security Group (NSG) is in the target Subscription and Region selected during restore. |
Resource Group Availability
| Verifies the target Resource Group exists and is not currently locked or restricted. | Select a Resource Group that exists within the target subscription to which the VM is restored. |
Resource Name Uniqueness | Checks for naming conflicts to ensure the VM Name, Disk Names, and NIC names are unique within the target Resource Group. | Ensure that the following resource names are unique within the target Resource Group:
|
Restore considerations
You can configure the restore parameters such as region, Vnet, subnet, and so on. Tags defined during manual or auto configuration of the backups will be pre-populated by default.
By default Druva will change the VM and the disk name so that the restore does not fail.
A single job is initiated when restoring a VM and any associated disk IDs.
With Azure Disk Encryption (ADE) or Customer-Managed Key (CMK) encryption, you won't be able to perform cross-tenant or cross-subscription restore. Ensure that the restore operation is performed within the same tenant and subscription where the backup was created.
Restore tags
You may define additional tags when restoring a virtual machine or its associated disks. You can also remove an existing Azure tag from your management console. Removing tags added from your management console will only remove these from your Enterprise Workloads console and will not impact your Azure environment.
📝 Note
Backup tags defined at the time of configuring the virtual machine for backup will be automatically inherited by the restored VM.
You can define additional tags but ensure that the key remains distinct. You can choose to overwrite an existing Azure tag, in which case the new additional tag will replace the existing one.
Restore full virtual machine
Log into the management console and select Protect > Azure Virtual Machines.
Navigate to the Protected VMs page, and select the virtual machine you wish to restore.
Select a recovery point and click Restore.
On the VM Setup page, specify the following details:
Subscription: The subscription for which the backups need to be restored.
Region: Select the restore Region. You may choose to restore the entire VM to the original region with pre-defined settings, or to an alternate region with custom restore settings.
Instance Type: Select the Instance Type that the VM corresponds to.
Availability Zone: Select the Availability Zone to which you want to restore the Azure VM to. The Availability Zone options would vary based on the selected Instance Type and the restore Region.
For standard disks, you can select from any of the supported availability zones, or select None (no Infrastructure redundancy required).
For ultra disks, you can select from any of the supported availability zones if zonal support is enabled for the chosen Region.
Virtual Network: Select the Virtual network of the VM you wish to restore. The virtual network establishes connectivity between your Azure resources and helps monitor the security policies within the virtual network.
Resource Group: Select the Resource Group to which the backed up VM is a part of. Resource groups allow for more granular grouping and support specific functions within a subscription.
Subnet: Select the subnet associated with the VM to be restored. Subnets enable you to segment the virtual network into subnetworks, and secure resources within subnets using Network Security Groups
Security Group: Select the Security Group based on the Subnet defined previously.
VM Name: Specify the restored VM Name.
Note: The name specified here must be different from the original VM Name defined previously.Architecture: Select the processor architecture for the VM, for example, x 86 _64.
📝 Note
You can Restore an Azure virtual machine with a system- and/or user-assigned Managed Identity, if this is assigned during the Azure VM backup. Managed identities provide an identity for applications to use when connecting to resources that support Microsoft Entra authentication, and eliminate the need to maintain credentials.
Managed Identities that are user assigned can be associated with multiple VMs, while a system-assigned Managed Identity is unique to a virtual machine. For cross-subscription restore, with a user-assigned Managed Identity assigned at backup, this would not be assigned when initiating the restore. Assigning managed identities is optional, and the VM Restore will still proceed if one is not assigned.
6. On the Advanced Settings tab, specify the following details:
Network Interface Name: You may choose the default Network Interface Name or provide a custom name that complies with Azure naming conventions.
📝 Note
Ensure that the name specified here is unique within the selected Resource Group.
IP Settings: Select Dynamic IP to automatically assign an IP address when restoring the virtual machine.
Alternatively, select Static IP to specify a custom IP address.The primary Private IP address captured at the time of backup is automatically retrieved and displayed by default as the Private IP. The virtual machine may be restored with the same default Private IP address if available for use within the selected Vnet and Subnet range.
📝 Note
To begin using the Static IP options, ensure that you have updated the Azure tenant permissions for the Azure Subscriptions which are registered with us. For more information, see Update Azure Tenant.Currently only IPV4 IP addresses are supported as the Primary IP.
You may choose to specify a different private IP address as required. Use the Check Availability option to verify if the Private IP address is available for use within the Vnet and Subnet range.
[Optional] You may also associate a Public IPaddress with the Network Interface, if the IP is available for use within the selected Resource Group and Region.
Specify the restored Disk Name.
📝 Note
The name specified here must be different from the original disk name.You may choose to Restore the VM in powered-off state. This serves as a Sandbox style approach in the event of a security threat, allowing data restore even when the VMs are not connected to the network.
Click Next.
7. The existing Tags on the VM are pre-populated. You may choose to define additional tags, as appropriate.
8. Click Finish to initiate the full virtual machine restore.
📝 Note
After the virtual machine is restored, it will automatically be in a running state (powered on).
Data restore
Select Data Restore to restore Azure disks, files, and folders.
Restore Individual Disk Data
Use Data Restore to select specific data disks to restore into the virtual machine.
📝 Note
Exclusions will only apply to data disks - OS disks will always be included as part of the restore.
Log into the management console.
Navigate to the Protected VMs page, and select the virtual machine you want to restore.
Select a recovery point and click Restore.
Click Data Restore and then select specific data disks to restore.
Click Restore.
The restored VM will only include the disks selected for restore, and the OS disk.
Restore files and folders
With the File Level Restore functionality, you can restore specific files and folders from Azure disk backups. You can recover files and folders to a custom storage container within your chosen Region and Storage Account. For more information, see File Level Restore for Azure VM.
For more information on restore, see Azure VM restore workflow.