Periodic Backup

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Category: Maintenance & Security

Summary: Original backup mode; scheduled snapshots, typically restored via a support request.

Overview

Periodic backup is Azure Cosmos DB's original backup mode, which automatically takes backups of the account at a configurable interval (default every 4 hours) and retains a configurable number of backups, allowing restoration of an entire account to a previous backup point — typically requiring a support request to restore, and offering less granularity than continuous backup.

Exam shortcut: "Where are Periodic Backup backups stored by default?" → In the write region and geo-replicated to the Azure paired region (GRS).

• Periodic Backup → Contact Microsoft/Azure Support ✅
• Continuous Backup → Use self-service restore (RBAC permissions required) ✅

| Backup type | CosmosRestoreOperator needed? |
| ----------- | ----------------------------- |
| Periodic    | **No**                        |
| Continuous  | **Yes**                       |

More Info & Links

• Microsoft Learn: Periodic backup mode

DP-420 Style Practice Questions

Q1. How does periodic backup mode restore data?

• A. By restoring from the most recent scheduled backup snapshot, typically via a support request
• B. Automatically, to any exact second within the retention window, without support involvement
• C. Only by exporting a manual snapshot triggered by the developer
• D. By replaying the change feed from the beginning

Q2. What is a key limitation of periodic backup compared to continuous backup?

• A. Restores are limited to the granularity of the scheduled backup interval, not an exact point in time
• B. Periodic backup cannot be configured with any retention period
• C. Periodic backup only works with the MongoDB API
• D. Periodic backup requires multi-region writes to be enabled

Answer Key

Answers are listed at the very end so you can attempt the questions first.

• Q1 (Periodic Backup): A. By restoring from the most recent scheduled backup snapshot, typically via a support request — Periodic backup restores from scheduled backup snapshots and traditionally requires contacting support to initiate.
• Q2 (Periodic Backup): A. Restores are limited to the granularity of the scheduled backup interval, not an exact point in time — Periodic backup only allows restoring to backup snapshot points, unlike continuous backup's fine-grained point-in-time restore.

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DP-420: Designing and Implementing Cloud-Native Applications Using Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB — term detail page