Summary
This article describes an important update to Azure Backup for Microsoft Azure Recovery Services (MARS) Agent version to 2.0.9254.0, that is used both by Microsoft Azure Backup and the Microsoft Azure Site Recovery service to transport data to Azure.
Important improvements
This update includes two new preview features to improve the resiliency of the Recovery Services Agent.
Save MARS agent passphrase securely to Azure Key Vault (Preview)
MARS Agent from Azure Backup requires a passphrase provided by the user to encrypt the backups sent to and stored on Azure Recovery Services Vault. This passphrase is not shared with Microsoft and needs to be saved in a secure location to ensure that the backups can be retrieved if the server backed up with MARS goes down.
You can now save the MARS passphrase securely to Azure Key Vault from the console during a new registration or a change passphrase operation. Learn more.
Support Cross Region Restore for MARS agent backups (Preview)
You can now restore data from the secondary region for MARS Agent backups using the Cross Region Restore feature on Recovery Services Vaults with GRS replication.
You can leverage this capability to perform recovery drills from the secondary region for audit or compliance. In case of disasters leading to partial or complete unavailability of the primary region, you can directly access backup data from the secondary region. Learn more.
Note: These preview features are not yet enabled for System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM) & Microsoft Azure Backup Server (MABS).
Apart from the new features mentioned above, this update includes the following changes:
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Ability to select specific volumes during on-demand backup instead of backing up all volumes.
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Add RecoveryJobDestination for MARS to Log Analytics for ad-hoc queries.
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Improve error codes for immutable recovery services vault scenarios.
Update information
Download information
To apply this update, download and install the Microsoft Azure Recovery Services agent from the Microsoft Download Center.
Note The version for this update of Microsoft Azure Recovery Services agent is 2.0.9254.0.
For more information about how to download Microsoft support files, see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:
119591 How to obtain Microsoft support files from online services
Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.
Applying the update to multiple servers
Perform the following steps to update multiple servers from the Azure portal
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Download the installer for the update from the link in this section.
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Navigate to the Recovery Services Vault where your servers are registered.
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On the left-side Settings blade, select Backup Infrastructure in the Manage section.
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Select Protected Servers under Management Servers, and then select Azure Backup Agent as the Backup Management Type.
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On the blade that appears, select a server for which the agent version is earlier than 2.0.9250.0.
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On the server detail blade, select Connect. This will download a Remote Desktop Connection file that you can use to connect to the server, copy the downloaded agent to the server, and then update it.
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After you finish updating, you can select other servers that have agent versions that are earlier than 2.0.9254.0, and update the agents on those servers.
Restart information
If you are using Windows Server 2008 (SP2 and R2 SP1, any SKU), you have to restart the computer after you apply this update. Users that have installed MARS Agent on other Windows Server versions don’t have to restart the computer after they apply this update.
Prerequisites
If you use System Center Data Protection Manager (SC DPM) or Microsoft Azure Backup Server (MABS) ensure that you are on the latest Update Rollup for the product.
Note
Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 are at end of support. Please plan to update these servers to newer operating systems to ensure backup support with the upcoming versions of MARS.
