Azure to Azure DR

TwickyBrain 45 Reputation points
2026-06-26T03:00:43.5733333+00:00

We have set up DR using ASR. When I go to disaster recovery tab in Azure portal I see there is an update for agent version. Is it fine to update the agent version on the fly or does this impact the replication? Because these VMs belongs to Prod Environment and we do not want to lose connectivity or cannot afford to any downtime.

FYI! We have planned failover in the month of August, so want to make sure everything is intact before we proceed with DR activity.

Hope I have provided enough information to put across my concern. Could you please help me with the answer?

Thanks!

Azure Site Recovery
Azure Site Recovery

An Azure native disaster recovery service. Previously known as Microsoft Azure Hyper-V Recovery Manager.

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Answer accepted by question author

Jose Benjamin Solis Nolasco 9,806 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
2026-06-26T04:14:03.52+00:00

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A

Hello @TwickyBrain I hope you are doing well,

The short answer is no, updating the ASR replication agent will not cause any downtime. It is an entirely online update, meaning your VM will stay running and replication will continue without interruption.

Applying this update now is actually a great move to ensure your environment is healthy, secure, and fully supported ahead of your planned failover in August. If an agent gets too far out of date, it can eventually stop replicating.

Actionable Steps:

To apply the update now: Go to your Recovery Services vault > Replicated Items > select your VM(s) > click Update Agent.

  1. To save time in the future: It is highly recommended to enable Automatic Updates in your Site Recovery extension settings so Azure handles these agent updates for you automatically.

If my answer helped you resolve your issue, please consider marking it as the correct answer. This helps others in the community find solutions more easily. Thanks!

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  1. Bharath Y P 10,355 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-06-26T15:00:20.6866667+00:00

    Hello TwickyBrain,

    We understand that you have configured Azure Site Recovery (ASR) for Azure-to-Azure DR, and you are seeing a Mobility Service (replication agent) update available in the portal.

    Yes, it’s safe to update the Azure Site Recovery Mobility Service on the fly. For Azure‑to‑Azure DR, the update applies to the Mobility Service extension on each replicated VM. Microsoft documents that these updates do not require a reboot and do not impact ongoing replication, so production workloads continue running without downtime.

    You can update via the Recovery Services Vault (Replicated Items → “New update available”) or enable automatic updates using “Allow Site Recovery to manage,” which runs daily and also does not interrupt replication.

    As a best practice, perform the update well ahead of your planned failover and validate with a Test Failover (DR drill). This ensures all components are supported and confirms failover readiness without impacting production.

    Referance:

    https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/site-recovery/azure-to-azure-autoupdate https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/site-recovery/vmware-physical-manage-mobility-service#update-mobility-service-from-azure-portal

    Hope this helps. If the information was useful, please consider accepting the answer and upvoting. Feel free to reach out if you need any further assistance. Thank you.

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  2. AI answer

    2026-06-26T03:01:01.8+00:00

    Updating the Azure Site Recovery (ASR) agent for Azure-to-Azure VM disaster recovery is supported and designed to be done online without impacting ongoing replication.

    For Azure VM disaster recovery to Azure:

    • It is strongly recommended to enable automatic updates for the ASR replication agent so Site Recovery manages updates for you during or after enabling replication.
    • If managing updates manually, the portal will show a notification such as “New Site Recovery replication agent update is available. Click to install” in the vault under Replicated Items. Selecting the VMs and applying the update from there is the supported method.
    • On each VM’s disaster recovery overview page, the Agent status field will show Critical Upgrade if the agent is due to expire; selecting it and following the instructions is the supported manual upgrade path.

    These update mechanisms are part of the normal ASR workflow and are intended to keep agents current without requiring downtime. The documentation does not indicate that replication must be stopped or that failover readiness is impacted when using these supported update paths.

    Given a planned failover in August, keeping the ASR agent up to date (either via automatic updates or the in-portal update flow) is aligned with best practices to ensure the DR setup remains supported and ready.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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