IS SQL Anywhere compatible with AZURE backup platform ?

[former_SQLA_member1695088]

Please, Let'me know if ANYWHERE sql databse is works 100% qith Azure backup agent on CLOUD platform; the main idea is migrate some SAP solutions from datacenter to Azure cloud platform. But We dont know if backup database work well on Azure Agent. Regards Mr J

[VolkerBarth]

Originally as an question to Reg's answer:

Is that also true for SQL Anywhere servers running on Windows platforms and using the SQL Anywhere Volume Shadow Copy Writer (VSS Writer), when the backup software does use the Windows VSS facility? (AFAIK, VM mangement software does use those for backups and snapshots.)

In my understanding, the VSS Writer would exactly solve the mentioned issue by forcing (among others) a checkpoint before the active database files will be backed up. John himself has explained that here.

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Note, I don't claim VSS is a feature of the Azure platform - I simply do not know anything about that.

UPDATE: According to that MS documentation, Azure VM Backup seems to use the VSS facility, so I'm guessing it would be able to create appropriate SQL Anywhere backups when the SQL Anywhere VSS Writer is used. As stated, I'm guessing.

[PCollins]

Interesting, I didn't think SQLA was VSS aware so the likes of Veeam couldn't trigger check points etc like it does on say MSSQL.

But may be worth investigating further to see if things have changed.

[VolkerBarth]

The SQL Anywhere VSS Writer has been around since version 11.0.

[justin_willey]

You have to install and run the VSS service.

[VolkerBarth]

FWIW, our Windows Server 2022 VMs running SQL Anywhere servers do show in their database console logs that VSS snapshots are regularly taken, AFAIK it's via Veeam backup.

What needs to be done on SQL Anywhere is simply to make sure (probably, via a dbsvc configuration using the -rg/-rs flags) that when an SQL Anywhere service is started, it automatically starts the SQL Anywhere VSS Writer service, too.

[regdomaratzki]

SQL Anywhere has >specific support for VSS

https://help.sap.com/docs/SAP_SQL_Anywhere/61ecb3d4d8be4baaa07cc4db0ddb5d0a/3bc7eaa06c5f1014acf58703...

Just FYI, providing that link just exhausted my knowledge on the topic. 🙂

Reg

[johnsmirnios]

Just for clarity, as noted in the article Volker linked to (https://sqlanywhere-forum.sap.com/questions/25998), the dbvss service isn't absolutely required to get valid backups using VSS but it is better. Backups made using VSS while the dbvss service is running are checkpointed and won't need to go through recovery when restored.

The dbvss service also tells the VSS system all files that are in use by the database sever so that all required volumes can be snapshotted at the same time and all required files can be backed up. See, for example, https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/api/vswriter/nf-vswriter-ivsscreatewritermetadata-ad...

[regdomaratzki]

Most third party backup solutions do not work well when running against an active SQL Anywhere database engine. A change made and committed to the database may only be stored in cache (i.e. memory) for the database engine, so a third party backup tool that takes a snapshot of all the files associated with a running SQL Anywhere database may not result in a backup that can be started or recovered from.

Reg