Azure Recovery Service Vault | Move Sql Database

Hi Andrea Longhitano,
You’re correct,there isn’t a supported way to move SQL backup data from one Recovery Services vault to another. The approach here is more of a transition rather than a migration.

What you can do is stop backup in the old vault using “retain data.” This simply stops future backups but keeps all existing recovery points intact. Those backups will remain available for restore and will age out naturally based on the retention policy configured earlier.

Soft delete doesn’t come into play in this case, since you’re not deleting the backup data—only stopping protection. It would only apply if you chose to delete the backup data explicitly.

This behavior is the same as what you see with VM backups. For SQL databases running on Azure VMs, once you retain data, the existing recovery points stay in the vault until they expire as per policy.

After that, you can go ahead and configure backups in the new vault. New recovery points will start getting created there, while the old ones continue to exist in the original vault until their retention period completes.

Let me know if your setup is SQL in Azure VM or Azure SQL Database, just to make sure we’re aligned on the scenario.

Hello Sai,

could you explain why in the frontend there is this message? I think it's misleading.

In order to do backup in another RSV it's necessary to "unregister" the server.

Thanks,

Andrea

Hi
You’re absolutely right to call this out,I understand why that message feels misleading, especially when you’re trying to follow the correct steps to move to another vault.

The warning shown in the portal is a generic safeguard. It’s designed to highlight the worst-case scenario where unregistering a server could lead to deletion of backup items and recovery points. However, it doesn’t clearly distinguish safer workflows like the one you’re following, which is why it can be confusing.

In your situation, the key factor is what was done before unregistering. If backup was stopped using the “Retain data” option, the existing recovery points are preserved in the vault and remain available for restore until they expire as per the retention policy. Unregistering the server after that step does not delete those retained backups.

So while the message is technically valid in certain cases, it doesn’t fully reflect this nuance, and I completely understand why it raises concern.

You’re on the right track,unregistering is required to register the server with a new vault, and your existing backups in the old vault will remain intact as long as they were retained.

If you’d like, I can quickly validate your exact steps to make sure everything is aligned before you proceed.

Hi Andrea Longhitano,
I hope you had a chance to review the information shared earlier, and I hope this information has been helpful! If you still have questions, please let us know what is needed in the comments so the question can be answered.