What's changed: Created AZ-120 Chapter 3 (Domain 3: high availability (SLA, availability set vs availability zones, Azure Load Balancer, HANA/SCS clustering, Pacemaker and STONITH, Azure fence agent vs SBD, HANA System Replication, restart config); disaster recovery (Azure Site Recovery, region DR, DR networking, RPO/RTO backup strategy, Azure Backup/Recovery Services vault, HANA snapshots/DB-consistent backup, DR testing)).
3.2Disaster recovery (DR)
Understand Azure Site Recovery strategy, region-aware DR design, DR networking, backup strategy meeting RPO/RTO, snapshots, backup/restore, and DR testing.
While HA handles component failures, disaster recovery (DR) prepares for region-scale outages. SAP DR is designed backward from RPO (how much data loss is acceptable) and RTO (how fast to recover).
3.2.1Azure Site Recovery and region DR
Azure Site Recovery (ASR) continuously replicates VMs to another region (or datacenter) and fails over on a regional outage (configure network mapping, recovery plans, replication policies). For SAP, the DB is usually protected not by ASR but by DB-native replication (HANA System Replication, etc.) asynchronously to another region, combined with ASR protecting the app/SCS tiers. Pre-configure the DR-side network (subnets/IPs/name resolution).
3.2.2Backup strategy and DR testing
A backup strategy sets frequency, retention, and granularity from RPO/RTO and SLA. Azure Backup (Recovery Services vault, policies) protects files/VMs; HANA is protected with snapshots (app-consistent) or Azure Backup for SAP HANA (DB-consistent), and configurations are validated. Finally, run DR tests (test failover) to verify you can actually switch over and meet the RTO. Distinguish "backup = point-in-time restore" from "ASR = continuity during a regional outage," and have both.
Cues: "fail over to another region on a regional outage" = Azure Site Recovery (app/SCS); the DB uses DB-native replication (HANA System Replication). "point-in-time/SLA-aligned protection" = Azure Backup (Recovery Services vault). HANA uses DB-consistent backup/snapshots. Validate RTO with a DR test. Requirements are defined by RPO/RTO.
Watch the mix-ups: (1) ASR (continuity during a regional outage) vs Azure Backup (point-in-time)—both needed. (2) HANA DB is usually protected by DB-native replication, not ASR. (3) RPO (data loss) vs RTO (recovery time). (4) Without DR testing, real failover may fail.
3.2.3Section summary
- Design DR from RPO/RTO—app/SCS via Azure Site Recovery, DB via DB-native replication (HANA System Replication)
- Azure Backup (Recovery Services vault) for point-in-time; HANA via DB-consistent backup/snapshots
- Validate switchover and RTO with DR tests (test failover)
Sign in to track progress — Log in.
Quick check
(just a quick review)Q1. To prepare for a regional outage, you want continuous replication and failover of SAP app/SCS VMs to another region. Best?
Q2. You want DR protection of the SAP HANA DB to another region. Generally best?
Q3. Which metric expresses "how much data can be lost" in SAP DR requirements?
Q4. You want point-in-time restore of files/VMs with managed retention policies. Best?
Q5. Which activity verifies the DR plan actually works and meets the RTO?