Merge pull request #36260 from WilliamDAssafMSFT/20260115-sql-mi-backups

20260115 secondary replicas, add limitation

Author: v-shils

azure-sql/database/recovery-using-backups.md

@@ -2,10 +2,10 @@
 title: Restore a Database from a Backup
 titleSuffix: Azure SQL Database
 description: Learn about point-in-time restore, which enables you to roll back a database in Azure SQL Database up to 35 days.
-author: dnethi
-ms.author: dinethi
-ms.reviewer: wiassaf, mathoma, danil
-ms.date: 05/14/2025
+author: WilliamDAssafMSFT
+ms.author: wiassaf
+ms.reviewer: dinethi, mathoma, danil
+ms.date: 01/26/2026
 ms.service: azure-sql-database
 ms.subservice: backup-restore
 ms.topic: how-to
@@ -88,13 +88,6 @@ When the restore is complete, it creates a new database on the same server as th
 
 You generally restore a database to an earlier point for recovery purposes. You can treat the restored database as a replacement for the original database or use it as a data source to update the original database.
 
-> [!IMPORTANT]  
-> - You can perform a point-in-time restore of a database to the same server. Cross-server, cross-subscription, and cross-geo point-in-time restore is not currently supported. To restore a database to a different region using geo-replicated backups see [Geo-restore](#geo-restore).
-> - You can't perform a point-in-time restore on a geo-secondary database. You can do so only on a primary database.
-> - The `BackupFrequency` parameter isn't supported for Hyperscale databases.  
-> - Database restore operations are resource-intensive and might require a service tier of S3 or greater for the restoring (target) database. Once restore completes, the database or elastic pool might be scaled down, if required.
-> - If you created any [In-Memory OLTP](in-memory-oltp-overview.md#in-memory-oltp) objects in a database in the Business Critical or Premium service tiers, then you must use the Business Critical or Premium service tiers for the restored database. For more information, see [Restore a database with In-Memory OLTP objects](in-memory-oltp-overview.md#restore-a-database-with-in-memory-oltp-objects).
-
 - **Database replacement**
 
   If you want the restored database to be a replacement for the original database, you should specify the original database's compute size and service tier. You can then rename the original database and give the restored database the original name by using the [ALTER DATABASE](/sql/t-sql/statements/alter-database-azure-sql-database) command in T-SQL.
@@ -144,6 +137,15 @@ To recover a database from a PITR backup by using the REST API:
 
 ---
 
+### Point-in-time restore considerations
+
+- You can perform a point-in-time restore of a database to the same server. Cross-server, cross-subscription, and cross-geo point-in-time restore is not currently supported. To restore a database to a different region using geo-replicated backups, see [Geo-restore](#geo-restore).
+- You can't perform a point-in-time restore on a geo-secondary database. You can do so only on a primary database.
+- The `BackupFrequency` parameter isn't supported for Hyperscale databases.  
+- Database restore operations are resource-intensive and might require a service tier of S3 or greater for the restoring (target) database. Once restore completes, the database or elastic pool might be scaled down, if required.
+- If you created any [In-Memory OLTP](in-memory-oltp-overview.md#in-memory-oltp) objects in a database in the Business Critical or Premium service tiers, then you must use the Business Critical or Premium service tiers for the restored database. For more information, see [Restore a database with In-Memory OLTP objects](in-memory-oltp-overview.md#restore-a-database-with-in-memory-oltp-objects).
+- When you do a point-in-time restore on a database that has change data capture (CDC) enabled, ensure the source database has enough allocated space.
+
 ## Long-term backup restore
 
 To perform a restore operation on a long-term backup, you can use the Azure portal, the Azure CLI, Azure PowerShell, or the REST API. For more information, see [Restore a long-term backup](long-term-backup-retention-configure.md#view-backups-and-restore-from-a-backup).

azure-sql/managed-instance/automated-backups-overview.md

@@ -2,10 +2,10 @@
 title: Automatic, Geo-Redundant Backups
 titleSuffix: Azure SQL Managed Instance
 description: Learn how Azure SQL Managed Instance automatically backs up all databases and provides point-in-time restore capability.
-author: dinethi
-ms.author: dinethi
-ms.reviewer: mathoma, wiassaf, mlandzic, strrodic, danil, randolphwest
-ms.date: 06/26/2025
+author: MashaMSFT
+ms.author: mathoma
+ms.reviewer: dinethi, wiassaf, mlandzic, strrodic, danil, randolphwest
+ms.date: 01/15/2026
 ms.service: azure-sql-managed-instance
 ms.subservice: backup-restore
 ms.topic: concept-article
@@ -107,6 +107,19 @@ You can use these backups to:
    > Geo-restore is available only for databases that are configured with geo-redundant backup storage. If you're not currently using geo-replicated backups for a database, you can change this by [configuring backup storage redundancy](automated-backups-change-settings.md#configure-backup-storage-redundancy).
 - [Restore a database from a long-term backup](../database/long-term-retention-overview.md) of a database, if the database has a configured LTR policy. LTR allows you to [restore an older version of the database](long-term-backup-retention-configure.md) by using the Azure portal, the Azure CLI, or Azure PowerShell to satisfy a compliance request or to run an old version of the application. For more information, see [Long-term retention backups - Azure SQL Database and Azure SQL Managed Instance](../database/long-term-retention-overview.md).
 
+## Automatic backups on secondary replicas
+
+Automatic backups are now taken from a secondary replica in the [Business Critical service tier](service-tiers-managed-instance-vcore.md#business-critical). Since data is replicated between SQL Database Engine processes on each node, the backup service takes the backup from the non-readable secondary replicas. This design ensures the primary replica remains dedicated to your main workload, and the readable secondary replica is dedicated to read-only workloads. Automatic backups in the Business Critical service tier are taken from a secondary replica most of the time. If an automatic backup fails on a secondary replica, then the backup service takes the backup from the primary replica. 
+
+Automatic backups on secondary replicas:
+
+- Are enabled by default.
+- Are included at no additional cost beyond the price of the service tier.
+- Bring improved performance and predictability to the Business Critical service tier.
+
+> [!NOTE]
+> Create an Azure support request to disable this feature for your instance.
+
 ## Restore capabilities and features
 
 This table summarizes the capabilities and features of [point-in-time restore](recovery-using-backups.md#point-in-time-restore) (PITR), [geo-restore](recovery-using-backups.md#geo-restore), and [long-term retention](../database/long-term-retention-overview.md).

azure-sql/managed-instance/recovery-using-backups.md

@@ -2,10 +2,10 @@
 title: Restore a Database from a Backup
 titleSuffix: Azure SQL Managed Instance
 description: Learn about point-in-time restore, which enables you to roll back a database in Azure SQL Managed Instance up to 35 days.
-author: dinethi
-ms.author: dinethi
-ms.reviewer: wiassaf, mathoma, strrodic, mlandzic
-ms.date: 12/05/2025
+author: MashaMSFT
+ms.author: mathoma
+ms.reviewer: dinethi, mathoma, wiassaf, strrodic, mlandzic
+ms.date: 01/15/2026
 ms.service: azure-sql-managed-instance
 ms.subservice: backup-restore
 ms.topic: how-to
@@ -232,6 +232,7 @@ Consider the following limitations when working with backups and Azure SQL Manag
    - Database backups taken from instances configured with the [SQL Server 2022 update policy](update-policy.md#sql-server-2022-update-policy) can be restored to instances configured with either the **SQL Server 2022**, **SQL Server 2025**, or **Always-up-to-date** update policy.  
    - Database backups taken from instances configured with the [SQL Server 2025 update policy](update-policy.md#sql-server-2025-update-policy) can be restored to instances configured with either the **SQL Server 2025**, or **Always-up-to-date** update policy. 
    - Database backups taken from instances configured with the [Always-up-to-date update policy](update-policy.md#always-up-to-date-update-policy) can only be restored to instances also configured with the **Always-up-to-date** update policy.
+- Restoring a backup from an HNS-enabled (ADLS Gen2) account is not supported.
 
 ## Related content