Restoring Guest Files and Folders for Hyper-V

You can restore files and folders from a Hyper-V virtual machine backup to the source VM, to another VM, or to a guest agent.

Commvault indexes guest files and folders of Windows and Linux virtual machines on Hyper-V streaming, and of Windows virtual machines on Hyper-V IntelliSnap backup copies.

Before You Begin

• If a passkey is configured for restores, you must have the passkey.

• For virtual machines that are hosted on an SMB share, a Microsoft limitation prevents restore operations from reading file and folder information from a snap backup. To enable restores of guest files and folders from Hyper-V backups using a server plan, enable the Collect file details option on the VM group before performing the backup.

• To restore virtual machine files and folders when the total restore size is larger than 10 GB or has more than 10,000 files, use a restore-only file system agent installed in the destination client or virtual machine.

• To restore to a VM, ensure that the following requirements are met:

  • The proxy for the restore must be Hyper-V Server 2012 R2 or later.

  • The guest operating system for the destination VM must be Windows 2008 R2 SP1 or later.

  • The destination VM must have the latest integration services installed.

• If you want to restore data using a specific MediaAgent and/or copy, review the information in MediaAgent and Copy Precedence Considerations for Virtualization Restores.

Procedure

1. From the navigation pane, go to Protect > Virtualization.

   The Virtual machines page appears.

2. On the Hypervisors tab, click the hypervisor.

   The hypervisor page appears. The VM groups area displays summary information for any existing VM groups.

3. On the VM groups tab, in the row for the VM group, click the action button , and then click Restore.

   The Select restore type page appears.

4. Select Guest files to restore files or folders to the source virtual machine, to another virtual machine, or to a guest agent.

   The Restore page appears.

5. To choose a different MediaAgent or source copy for the restore, do the following:

   1. In the upper-right corner of the page, click Settings.

      The Settings dialog box appears.

   2. For MediaAgent, decide whether to have the Commvault software automatically select the MediaAgent or to specify a MediaAgent:

      • Automatic: By default, the Commvault software selects the MediaAgent for the restore operation based on availability and environment.

      • To restore data using a specific MediaAgent, from the list, select a MediaAgent.

   3. For Source, decide whether to have the Commvault software automatically select the copy of backup data or to specify the copy:

      • Automatic: By default, the restore operation searches for the requested data in the primary copy and selects a different copy if the data is not found in the primary copy.

      • To restore from a specific copy of backup data, from the list, select a backup copy.

   4. Click Save.

6. Expand the tree on the left and select the objects to be restored on the right. Select an item or click on an entry in the Name column to browse within an item. For hierarchical data such as files, folders, and disks, you can click an entry in the path listing above the right pane to return to a higher level of the hierarchy.

   In the top right corner of the page, a "Showing" message indicates what backup data is being displayed. You can click the down arrow beside this message and select any of the following options:

   • Show latest backups: Only display data for the most recent backups.

   • Show backups as of a specific date: Only display data up to the date you specify.

   • Show backups for a date range: Only display data within the data range you specify.

7. Click Restore.

8. In the Restore options dialog box, provide the requested information:

   By default, files are restored to the source VM, using the same VSA proxy as the backup.

   1. To restore in place:

      1. Select the Select client tab (the default option).

      2. Ensure that the source VM is selected in the Destination client box (the default option).

      3. Optional: To use a different VSA proxy, change the value in the Access node box.

         For Hyper-V, all Hyper-V nodes are displayed.

   2. To restore to a different VM:

      1. Select the Other VM tab.

         By default, the same VSA proxy that was used for the backup performs the restore.

      2. Optional: To use a different VSA proxy, change the value in the Access node box.

         The proxy must be Hyper-V Server 2012 R2 or later.

      3. If the destination VM resides on another hypervisor, select the host name of the hypervisor from the Destination hypervisor list, and then browse to select the destination VM.

         The guest operating system for the destination VM must be Hyper-V 2008 R2 SP1 or later, and the destination VM must have the latest integration services installed.

      4. In the Virtual machine login area, type the username and password for the destination VM.

   3. To restore to a guest agent:

      1. Select the Select client tab (the default option).

      2. Select the guest agent from the Destination list.

         By default, the Local System account on the destination client is used to perform the restore operation; but you can use the Impersonate user option to provide credentials for another user account.

      3. Optional: To use the Impersonate user option, type the host name and credentials for the new destination hypervisor.

         The user must have permissions to create files in the specified location on the destination.

9. For the Destination path box, type a full path or click Browse to select a destination folder.

10. To delete an existing file and replace it with the restored file, select Unconditionally overwrite if it already exists.

11. Click Submit.

Related Topics

File Indexing for Virtual Machines