Azure MySQL Backup with PowerShell

This guide demonstrates how to automate the backup of your Azure Database for MySQL flexible server instances using PowerShell. Backups are crucial for data protection, disaster recovery, and compliance.

• An active Azure subscription.
• An Azure Database for MySQL flexible server instance.
• Azure PowerShell module installed and configured. You can install it via PowerShell: Install-Module -Name Az -AllowClobber -Scope CurrentUser
• Permissions to manage Azure resources (e.g., Contributor role or custom role with necessary permissions).

Azure Database for MySQL automatically takes backups of your server. These backups are stored in Azure storage. You can perform manual backups as well, which are point-in-time backups that can be restored to a new server. This script focuses on performing manual full backups.

The following PowerShell script will create a manual full backup of your specified Azure Database for MySQL flexible server.

param(
    [string]$ResourceGroupName,
    [string]$ServerName,
    [string]$BackupName,
    [string]$StorageAccountName,
    [string]$StorageContainerName,
    [string]$StorageBlobName = "$BackupName.bak"
)

# Connect to Azure (if not already connected)
if (-not (Get-AzContext)) {
    Connect-AzAccount
}

# Set the context to your Azure subscription (optional if you have only one)
# Set-AzContext -SubscriptionId "your-subscription-id"

# Get the MySQL server object
$mysqlServer = Get-AzMySqlFlexibleServer -ResourceGroupName $ResourceGroupName -Name $ServerName

if (-not $mysqlServer) {
    Write-Error "Azure MySQL Flexible Server '$ServerName' not found in resource group '$ResourceGroupName'."
    exit 1
}

# Get the storage account object
$storageAccount = Get-AzStorageAccount -ResourceGroupName $ResourceGroupName -Name $StorageAccountName

if (-not $storageAccount) {
    Write-Error "Storage account '$StorageAccountName' not found in resource group '$ResourceGroupName'."
    exit 1
}

# Get the storage container object
$storageContainer = Get-AzStorageContainer -Context $storageAccount.Context -Name $StorageContainerName -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

if (-not $storageContainer) {
    Write-Warning "Storage container '$StorageContainerName' not found. Creating it..."
    New-AzStorageContainer -Context $storageAccount.Context -Name $StorageContainerName -PublicAccess Off
    $storageContainer = Get-AzStorageContainer -Context $storageAccount.Context -Name $StorageContainerName
}

# Create the backup parameters
$backupParams = @{
    ResourceGroupName = $ResourceGroupName
    ServerName = $ServerName
    StorageAccountName = $StorageAccountName
    StorageContainerName = $StorageContainerName
    StorageBlobName = $StorageBlobName
}

# Perform the backup
Write-Host "Starting backup of server '$ServerName' to blob '$StorageBlobName'..."
$backupResult = Invoke-AzMySqlFlexibleServerBackup @backupParams

if ($backupResult) {
    Write-Host "Backup operation initiated successfully."
    Write-Host "Backup Name: $($backupResult.BackupName)"
    Write-Host "Operation Status: $($backupResult.Status)"
    Write-Host "Backup will be stored in Azure Blob Storage container: '$StorageContainerName' with blob name: '$StorageBlobName'"
} else {
    Write-Error "Failed to initiate backup operation."
}

# To monitor backup status, you can use:
# Get-AzMySqlFlexibleServerBackupOperation -ResourceGroupName $ResourceGroupName -ServerName $ServerName -OperationId $backupResult.OperationId
            

• $ResourceGroupName: The name of the resource group containing your MySQL server and storage account.
• $ServerName: The name of your Azure Database for MySQL flexible server instance.
• $BackupName: A descriptive name for your backup. This will be used to construct the blob name.
• $StorageAccountName: The name of the Azure Storage Account where the backup will be stored.
• $StorageContainerName: The name of the blob container within the storage account. The script will create it if it doesn't exist.
• $StorageBlobName: The full name of the blob file where the backup will be saved. Defaults to $BackupName.bak.

1. Save the script above as a .ps1 file (e.g., Backup-AzureMySql.ps1).
2. Open Azure PowerShell.
3. Execute the script, providing the necessary parameters:

   .\Backup-AzureMySql.ps1 -ResourceGroupName "myResourceGroup" -ServerName "myAzureMySqlServer" -BackupName "daily-backup-$(Get-Date -Format 'yyyyMMdd')" -StorageAccountName "mybackupstorage" -StorageContainerName "mysql-backups"

• Automation: Schedule this script to run regularly using Azure Automation or Task Scheduler to ensure consistent backups.
• Security: Store sensitive information like storage account keys securely. Using Managed Identities or Azure Key Vault is recommended for production environments.
• Retention Policy: Implement a retention policy for your backups in Azure Blob Storage to manage costs and comply with data retention requirements.
• Restore Process: Familiarize yourself with the process of restoring from these manual backups. Typically, you would download the blob and use MySQL tools to import it.
• Permissions: The identity running the script needs sufficient permissions on both the MySQL server and the storage account.

By implementing a robust backup strategy with PowerShell, you can ensure the availability and recoverability of your Azure Database for MySQL instances.