Question: I hope this is the right place to ask this question.

I have a simple azure website with a linked sql azure DB. I want to be able to back up both the ftp files and the SQL DB. What is the best option for this? I know I can log into the ftp and just copy the files somewhere as well as a db backup.

**QUESTION:** Is there is a built in Azure backup process that I can **restore to a previous point**.  

For example, If I update my code and break my site but don't know what happened, can I restore both files and DB to yesterday or 2 hours ago? Does that make sense? 

I have already read [this page](http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/services/backup/) and it was no help

[This MSDN forum](http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/windowsazure/en-US/8c20d282-8711-4c48-9824-d691f5dcf747/taking-backups-from-azure-websites)  seems to indicate that this "restore point" is not available.

So I am looking for confirmation or other options

Thanks in advance

Answer: 
You can run both mail server and web server in the same VPS, but considering that losing access to mail server these days is quite unacceptable, consider running a HA solution with two VPS so that you have access to email even if one of your servers fail. If you can't use a HA solution, at least run a backup MX server with decent spam filtering, so that you will not lose email when your primary MX is offline.

A common mistake when running webhosting is serving DNS from the same VPS/physical server as the web server, so when that server fails you cannot serve an "service offline" notice to visitors. If you run a secondary server as backup MX, run your secondary DNS server on it for added bonus.
> 
> are there any reasons not to use the same VPS for both?
> 
> 
> 

There are plenty. Security. Reliability. Scalability.

> 
> Are there any security downsides to this arrangement I should be aware
>  of?
> 
> 
> 

Yes. Any vulnerability in one service could impact the security of the other service. For example, if your website allows uploads and you don't keep your CMS updated an attacker might gain access to your server, which includes emails.

> 
> Could this have a negative impact on reliability? The reliability of
>  the mail server is more important, but of course the web server is
>  important too.
> 
> 
> 

Yes. Spikes in one service could impact the other. For example if you run out of memory or storage on your server this would mean that your website and your email would be impacted. Also if the server goes down for any reason, both services are impacted.

> 
> Are there any other issues I should be aware of, or reasons why I
>  would need to do things differently from if I was running two
>  different servers?
> 
> 
> 

You should consider your backup and disaster recovery plan.

Should you do it (email and web on the same server)?
====================================================

It's completely up to you to decide if the cost benefits outweigh the security, reliability & scalability ones.

Outsourcing your email can save you plenty of time (in planning, servers, backups, downtime, keeping up to date on best practice, spam messages, upgrades) and can certainly be done for free or at a very cost effective rate.

IMPORTANT NOTE
==============

If you already have a Google Apps account **you can add multiple domains** to that and continue to enjoy FREE email.

For example if you had an account that previously allowed 50 free users, and you're only using 2 users currently ... you can add a domain and add a few (up to 48) new users for free.