Microsoft SQL Server Requirements for Application-Aware Backups

For Microsoft SQL Server, you can use the database agent to restore a database.

You can perform application-aware backups for standalone deployments of Microsoft SQL Server, or for the primary replica in an AlwaysOn Availability Group as configured in SQL Management Studio. For more information, see Best Practices for Application-Aware Backups for Microsoft SQL Server.

Application-aware backups using the Virtual Server Agent are supported for the versions of SQL Server that are listed in Microsoft SQL Server, except for Windows Server 2003.

You cannot perform application-aware backups for a 32-bit SQL server application on a 64-bit operating system.

License Requirements

An Application Class 1 license is required for the initial installation and configuration of application plug-ins. After the initial configuration is complete, application-aware backups release the Application Class 1 license and consume Application Class Virtual licenses instead.

Application Credentials

To perform backups and restores for SQL Server databases, SQL sysadmin rights are required.

Subclient Configuration

Include virtual machines running Microsoft SQL Server in a separate subclient under a Virtual Server instance.

Note

Perform full or incremental backups for VM groups (subclients) that are configured for application-aware backups. Synthetic full backups are not supported. For hypervisors that use Indexing Version 1, scheduled synthetic full backups are converted automatically to full backups for VM groups and subclients that are configured for application-aware backups.

Log Truncation

For Microsoft SQL Server, an automatic log backup schedule is created automatically after you run an application-aware backup successfully for the first time.

For application-aware backups, different storage policies for data and for transaction logs are not supported. When application-aware backup jobs run, the log storage policy is set to be the same as the data storage policy.

For a video about VSA App-Aware backup, see How to protect Microsoft SQL using VSA App-Aware backup.