Backups
“Azure SQL Database” includes automatic (compressed) backups. The retention period is 7 days for Basic and 35 days for Standard and Premium. Backups are geo-replicated. The backup schedule is weekly full, hourly diff, and tlog backups every 5 minutes.
All backups support point-in-time recovery with a 12 hour RTO, and 5 minute RPO for in-region backups.
Max backup storage size is twice the tier database size limit (EG: Standard = 500GB of backup space). If exceeded a) request to reduce retention period. b) pay extra at standard read rate.
Long term backup archiving can be done using a) manual export to BACPAC on Azure Blob Storage. b) Long-Term-Retention to Azure Backup Vault for up to 10 years.
Restores
Databases can be restored (if within retention period). Further, all databases and their backups are deleted if you drop a Server.
Local restores can be to a point-in-time, can be renamed, but cannot overwrite an existing database.
Database Consultant 