Backup workaround for IaaS v2 Virtual Machines on Azure?

There are a number of ways of backing up an Azure VM. If the VM is a Classic Mode VM, the most unintrusive method is using the Azure Cloud Backup This can take a live backup of the underlying VM image (by instructing the OS to pause disk activity - a VSS snapshot) Unfortunately this is not yet rolled out to V2 VMs. When this does work it will allow you to deploy a point in time restoration of the entire machine by redeploying it as a new VM.

The only way to use Azure Backup on V2 machines is by configuring a client inside the machine, and taking a file backup. Akin to how you would backup physical machines.

You could create a script on the Windows Server to initiate a VSS snapshot, fire an Azure snapshot, and then release the VSS snapshot. This would give you a consistent backup.

However I am not aware of a similar technology for Linux (VSS snapshot is not LVM snapshot) Personally I would probably configure an old fashioned tar backup onto distributed blob storage.

(Actually, personally I'm an automation nut! I like to randomly nuke servers to make sure our rebuild processes work as they're meant to - So I don't tend to back up VMs at all)

Not sure what you mean by backup, but if it's the raw virtual machine vhd itself, you can simply take a snapshot of the blob that houses your vm's vhd, which resides in blob storage, in whatever storage account you specified. There should be a vhd (or vhds) container, and your vhd should be located there.

Note: It's safest to stop your vm first before taking the snapshot.