This article describes new features, improvements, and fixes that apply to Azure Backup in the August 2016 update for Microsoft Azure Recovery Services (MARS) Agent. The MARS Agent is used by both Microsoft Azure Backup and Microsoft Azure Site Recovery (ASR) to transfer data to Azure.
Features and improvements
The following features and improvements are included in this update of Azure Backup.
Offline backup and Initial Seeding
This update includes significant improvements to make the process of Initial Seeding of data to Azure through Azure Import service more efficient and reliable.
Input consolidation
User inputs that are specified during offline backup job configuration (for example, Import Job Name, Storage Account Name, and so on) are combined by the MARS Agent and used automatically when it is required by the underlying Azure Import service. This keeps users from having to specify similar inputs manually at different stages of the offline seeding process.
New Disk Preparation tool
The Azure Disk Preparation tool that is introduced in this update significantly reduces the number of inputs that are required from users when backup data is created, and it creates import jobs automatically on the Azure Management Portal. This tool also provides the flexibility for users to update the shipping information for their disks directly on the import job that is created by the tool on the Azure Management Portal.Online and automatic backup performance
This update of Azure Backup improves the over-the-wire speeds of initial backups (also known as Initial Replication) that are triggered by the MARS Agent. The update makes this improvement by optimizing the available network bandwidth usage. This, in turn, enables faster initial backups.
