Data protection is only as effective as the ability to restore data quickly and reliably. When running Microsoft SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines, having a robust backup strategy is essential—but understanding the restore process is equally critical for ensuring business continuity and meeting recovery objectives.

This article focuses on how to restore MSSQL Server databases on Azure Virtual Machines using Azure Backup. It covers the available restore scenarios, key considerations, and practical steps required to recover databases efficiently in the event of data loss, corruption, or operational errors. The goal is to provide a clear, technically grounded reference for administrators and engineers who need to confidently execute restore operations in production Azure environments.

From the Azure portal, select the service shown in the figure.

Then select the vault containing the BCKs you want to restore.

Select the item shown in the figure. “Backup Item”

We need to restore an mssql database, so select the item shown in the figure. “SQL in VM”

In the filter, search for the db name and instance.

Right button and then restore.

Before starting the restore, there are three forms to fill in. In the first one, you indicate which server you want to restore to, with what name, and whether you want to overwrite an existing database. se.
I add ‘_restore’ to the database name.

In the second form, we indicate whether to perform a restore point in time (if the database is in Full recovery model), or whether to restore from a specific backup set.