File indexing is the process of searching full, incremental, or synthetic full backups in order to create a file (called an index), which contains all of the metadata (such as file name and date) that Commvault needs to be able to locate and perform operations on the data that it backs up (for example, restore data). This file indexing (for example, on VM-level data) results in faster file-level browse operations.
You can index guest files and folders of Windows and Linux virtual machines on the following hypervisors:
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Alibaba Cloud streaming backup
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Amazon Web Services streaming and IntelliSnap snap copy
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Azure Resource Manager streaming and IntelliSnap backup copy
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Azure Stack HCI streaming backup
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Google Cloud Platform streaming backup
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Hyper-V, as follows:
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Linux virtual machines: streaming only
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Windows virtual machines: streaming and IntelliSnap backup copy
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Oracle Cloud Infrastructure streaming backup
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vCloud Director streaming backup
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VMware streaming and IntelliSnap backup copy
Once file indexing is configured and enabled, the system file indexes all subsequent backup jobs. Browse operations only apply to the most recent backup.
Note
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This feature is only supported for disk and cloud backups. You cannot search for or restore files from a streaming or backup copy that resides on tape.
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This feature is only supported for primary backups.
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The following folders on the default drive (for example, C:) are excluded from search results. If the folders are located on a non-default drive (for example, E:), then they will be included in search results.
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Program Files
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Program Files (x86)
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Windows
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ProgramData
Note
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To force the system to index program files and other system files during VSA file indexing, see Indexing Program Files and Other System Files During VSA File Indexing.
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To define additional customer filters that will be used when indexing backed up VMs, see Defining Additional Filters to Be Used When Indexing Backed Up VMs.
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Key Features
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Automatically index metadata for files and folders.
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Search virtual machine files and folders by file name or file extension.
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Filter search of VM files and folders by file type.
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Download and restore from search results.