No way to delete backup data for a VM in the Recovery Service Vault

Trying to delete the vault I also get this error:

1 Azure VM backups are still present in the vault. Remove the same for successful vault deletion.

@Oliver Centeno Thank you for reaching out to us and sorry for the inconvenience this may have caused!

It sounds like you've encountered a challenging situation with Azure Backup. Given the constraints and the errors you’re seeing, let’s work through a structured approach to resolve the issue:

Steps to Resolve the Vault Deletion Issue

1. Check for Unregistered Resources:
   • Verify if there are any remaining resources registered in the Recovery Services Vault. Sometimes, even after deletion attempts, references might persist. Use the Azure portal or PowerShell/CLI to check for any remaining backup items or containers.
   # List backup items in the vault Get-AzRecoveryServicesBackupItem -VaultId $vault.Id
2. Verify and Delete Private Endpoints:
   • Ensure that all private endpoints associated with the vault are deleted. Even if the backup items are deleted, private endpoints can prevent deletion. Check in the Azure portal under the "Networking" section of the Recovery Services Vault and remove any associated private endpoints.
   # List private endpoints Get-AzPrivateEndpointConnection -ResourceId $vault.Id
3. Check Backup Policies and Retention:
   • Ensure that the backup policies applied to the vault do not have retention settings that could prevent the deletion of old snapshots. Check if there are any "retain forever" settings or similar configurations that might be causing the issue.
   # List backup policies Get-AzRecoveryServicesBackupProtectionPolicy -VaultId $vault.Id
4. Force Unregister Containers:
   • If the containers seem unregistered but are still reported as registered, attempt to force unregister them. There might be inconsistencies that need to be manually resolved.
   # Force unregister a container Unregister-AzRecoveryServicesBackupContainer -Container $container -VaultId $vault.Id
5. Snapshot Expiry: If you mentioned that snapshots should have expired but still show up, it might indicate a delay or issue in the cleanup process. Confirm the expiry settings and ensure they align with your expected retention periods.
6. Contact Azure Support: Given the complexity and persistence of the issue, contacting Azure Support would likely be the most efficient route if you’ve exhausted the usual methods. They can provide detailed assistance and perform backend operations to resolve issues that might not be directly accessible to you.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for contacting, I tried to be as precise as possible in my post to avoid repeating steps.

#1 is returning the VM containerName

Name                                     ContainerType        ContainerUniqueName                      WorkloadType
----                                     -------------        -------------------                      ------------
VM;iaasvmcontainerv2;xxxxxxxx… AzureVM              iaasvmcontainerv2;xxxxxxx… AzureVM

#2 returns nothing (even fails) but the deleting script removes the endpoints without issues

Get-AzPrivateEndpointConnection: Cannot validate argument on parameter 'ResourceId'. Provided ResourceId isn't in the right format or doesn't refer to the right resource type (/subscriptions/......recovery-vault)

#3 the policy i created it myself, no forever retention

Name                 WorkloadType       BackupManagementType BackupTime (UTC)          Frequency
----                 ------------       -------------------- ----------------          ---------
HourlyLogBackup      MSSQL              AzureWorkload        28/06/2024 01:00:00       Daily
SnapshotRetentionInDays : 2
ProtectedItemsCount     : 0
AzureBackupRGName       :
AzureBackupRGNameSuffix :
PolicySubType           : Standard
TieringPolicy           :
SnapshotConsistencyType :
SchedulePolicy          : scheduleRunType:Daily, ScheduleRunDays:null, ScheduleRunTimes:{28/06/2024 01:00:00},
                          ScheduleRunTimeZone: UTC
RetentionPolicy         : IsDailyScheduleEnabled:True, IsWeeklyScheduleEnabled:False, IsMonthlyScheduleEnabled:False,
                          IsYearlyScheduleEnabled:False DailySchedule: DurationCountInDays: 30, RetentionTimes:
                          {28/06/2024 01:00:00}, WeeklySchedule: NULL, MonthlySchedule:NULL, YearlySchedule:NULL
Name                    : DefaultPolicy
WorkloadType            : AzureVM
Id                      : /subscriptions/...../DefaultPolicy
BackupManagementType    : AzureVM
ProtectedItemsCount  : 0
SchedulePolicy       : scheduleRunType:Daily, ScheduleRunDays:null, ScheduleRunTimes:{30/07/2018 02:00:00},
                       ScheduleRunTimeZone: UTC
RetentionPolicy      : IsDailyScheduleEnabled:True, IsWeeklyScheduleEnabled:False, IsMonthlyScheduleEnabled:False,
                       IsYearlyScheduleEnabled:False DailySchedule: DurationCountInDays: 30, RetentionTimes:
                       {30/07/2018 02:00:00}, WeeklySchedule: NULL, MonthlySchedule:NULL, YearlySchedule:NULL
Name                 : Custom-FileShares
WorkloadType         : AzureFiles
Id                   : /subscriptions/......../FileShares
BackupManagementType : AzureStorage
SnapshotRetentionInDays : 2
ProtectedItemsCount     : 0
AzureBackupRGName       : irp
AzureBackupRGNameSuffix : irp
PolicySubType           : Standard
TieringPolicy           :
SnapshotConsistencyType :
SchedulePolicy          : scheduleRunType:Daily, ScheduleRunDays:null, ScheduleRunTimes:{27/06/2024 02:00:00},
                          ScheduleRunTimeZone: UTC
RetentionPolicy         : IsDailyScheduleEnabled:True, IsWeeklyScheduleEnabled:False, IsMonthlyScheduleEnabled:False,
                          IsYearlyScheduleEnabled:False DailySchedule: DurationCountInDays: 30, RetentionTimes:
                          {27/06/2024 02:00:00}, WeeklySchedule: NULL, MonthlySchedule:NULL, YearlySchedule:NULL
Name                    : Custom-VMs
WorkloadType            : AzureVM
Id                      : /subscriptions/...../VMs
BackupManagementType    : AzureVM
SnapshotRetentionInDays : 2
ProtectedItemsCount     : 0
AzureBackupRGName       :
AzureBackupRGNameSuffix :
PolicySubType           : Enhanced
TieringPolicy           :
SnapshotConsistencyType :
SchedulePolicy          : scheduleRunType:Hourly, ScheduleInterval:4, ScheduleWindowStartTime:28/06/2024 08:00:00,
                          ScheduleWindowDuration:12, ScheduleRunTimeZone: UTC
RetentionPolicy         : IsDailyScheduleEnabled:True, IsWeeklyScheduleEnabled:False, IsMonthlyScheduleEnabled:False,
                          IsYearlyScheduleEnabled:False DailySchedule: DurationCountInDays: 30, RetentionTimes:
                          {28/06/2024 08:00:00}, WeeklySchedule: NULL, MonthlySchedule:NULL, YearlySchedule:NULL
Name                    : EnhancedPolicy
WorkloadType            : AzureVM
Id                      : /subscriptions/....../EnhancedPolicy
BackupManagementType    : AzureVM

#4 the force unregister is only possible for Windows and MAB type of containers and this is AzureVM, but forcing with AZ doesn't do it

az backup container unregister --resource-group resource_group --vault-name recovery-vault --container-name "IaasVMContainer;iaasvmcontainerv2;....." --verbose

#5 is what I'm waiting for

#6 azure support requires upgrading my subscription and that is the last resort

#7 I also tried to move the resources to another resource group but some resources (eg VPN) are not movable...

Hi @SadiqhAhmed-MSFT , yes I face the same issue and I have a support ticket open waiting for escalation to technicians that can, hopefully, delete the vault.

@Oliver Centeno Thanks for the update. Keep us posted.