Automated Backups for WordPress (Project NAMI) in Azure
Now that your WordPress Multisite install is up and running in Azure using Project Nami, it’s time to set up daily backups.
WordPress Files
For your files (code, uploads, and other multimedia), it’s easy. Under your Web App settings, choose “Backup” and create a schedule. In my case, I went with daily backups (retained for 30 days), backed up in the same resource group in the same region. With about 1 GB of files, backups complete in under 10 minutes.
WordPress Database
Now what about the database? Normally, I’d just set up a linked resource so the database would get backed up along with the website. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be working in my subscription (and there are more than a dozen threads complaining about the same issue on TechNet). When I select a database to be backed up with my WordPress site, it fails instantly with a vague error in the operations log, leaving me with a 0 MB backup.
As a backup, I figured I’d just set up a scheduled database backup that would be saved on the filesystem, which would be part of the files backup. Well, it turns out that most of the mature WordPress backup plugins (e.g., WP-DB-Backup, BackWPup, BackUpWordPress) don’t support multi-sites and/or don’t support Project Nami. So that option’s out.
Fortunately, Azure databases on the basic, standard, or premium tiers are automatically backed up hourly and provide 7, 14, or 35 days of retention. Using an S1 instance, I’m more than comfortable with a 14 day database backup window.