Backing up Linux / Ubunutu VMs running on Microsoft Hyper-V

The following instructions pertain to Ubuntu 16.04 LTS. If you have a different version, please visit docs.microsoft.com for more info.

Enable Online Backup for Ubuntu 16.04 LTS running in Hyper-V

1. Make sure you at least have “Backup” enabled in the Integration Services tab for your VM in Hyper-V.
2. Using Terminal or Putty, SSH into your VM and run the following commands
3. Install the virtual HWE kernel on 16.04, run the following commands as root (or sudo):

   [code]apt-get update
   apt-get install linux-virtual-lts-xenial[/code]

4. Install these Hyper-V daemons on 16.04, run the following commands as root (or sudo):

   [code]apt-get install linux-tools-virtual-lts-xenial linux-cloud-tools-virtual-lts-xenial[/code]

5. Reboot the Ubuntu 16.04 virtual machine:

   [code]sudo reboot[/code]

That’s it, now you should be able to backup your Ubuntu 16.04 VM with Windows Server Backup while it’s running in Hyper-V.