> Expert > Data Management > Restore Backup Data > Browse and Restore Data Overview

Browse and Restore Data Advanced

Restore Options

Browse lets you search and restore data by navigating through a tree structure similar to Windows Explorer. It also offers an optional flat view that shows all backed-up files from a point you select, recursively to the bottom of the backup.

You can open the browse and restore window from the backup set or subclient level. The sub-levels displayed depend on where you start the browse operation.

Note

The Time Zone on the Restore Options dialog box defaults to the client's time zone (not the CommServe time zone).

Selecting Objects from the Restore Window for Restore

The restore window displays objects and consists of two parts:

  • The left pane displays the object tree at the selected level.

  • The right pane displays the contents of the selected object.

Note that the window displays only the data that was obtained by a backup. Data that is excluded by a filter, or data which did not exist as of the specified browse time does not appear in the window.

Selections follow these rules:

  • All selections are recursive.

  • Clicking a box again causes the selection to be cleared.

  • If you select an object in the left pane, then all of its contents are selected.

  • You can select a specific object in the right pane.

Selection status is revealed by the selection icons as follows:

not_selected

Indicates that the object is not selected for restoration.

partial_selection

Indicates that a portion of the object is selected for restoration. i.e., only some of the child object(s) within the selected object.

full_selection

Indicates that the entire object, including all of its child objects, are selected for restoration.

Viewing Pie Charts and Size Distribution during Browse

Applies To:

  • Exchange Mailbox (Classic) Agent

  • File System Agent

  • NDMP Agent

  • OnePass-enabled clients

The Show Size Distribution option displays the sizes of files and folders, as both a list and a pie chart. The depiction shows the nine largest single entities (files and folders) sorted by size (largest first), followed by a tenth item showing the sum of the remaining entities. If this option is selected, the browse results are sorted by file and folder size, largest first. If this option is not selected, the results are sorted as for Windows Explorer (folders by name on top, then files by name).

Viewing and Exporting the Distribution Pie Chart

You can view the pie chart and see size distribution, and then export the pie chart.

Procedure

  1. From the CommCell Browser, expand Client Computers > client > agent.

  2. Right-click backup_set, then click All Tasks > Browse and Restore.

  3. In the Browse and Restore Options dialog box, click View Content.

  4. In the upper-right corner of the Client window, click the Browse Pie Chart button browse_pie_chart.

    Tip: You can view any folder's pie chart and size distribution by selecting that folder.

  5. To export the chart as a file, click one of these icons to the left of the chart:

    • PDF

    • MHTML

    • Excel

Sorting Browse Results

By default, Browse present its results in tree view, which resembles the standard view of Windows Explorer. Browse also offers a flat view (see Views that Browse Provides). In flat view, you can sort the results by any of the columns (file name, size, type, modification date, etc.). Click a column title to sort by that column. Click the same column again to invert the sort order.

Note: If you are browsing the backup data in flat view, and sort the results, any selections that you had made will be lost.

Browsing and Restoring Data Based on Backup Time

You can customize your settings to browse and restore data based on backup time.

Browsing and Restoring the Latest Data

Follow the steps given below to view the latest data backed up by a backup set:

  1. In the CommCell Browser, expand Client Computers > client > Agent.

  2. Right-click a backup_set or subclient, then click All Tasks > Browse and Restore.

  3. Click View Content.

The latest data backed up by all the subclients is displayed in the Client Browse tab. However, if the subclient is configured to run an on-demand backup, all data backed up in the previous backup cycles are also displayed.

Browsing and Restoring Data before a Specified Backup Time

Does Not Apply To:

  • SAP Oracle Agent

Follow the steps given below to browse the data backed up before specified time. This will display data from all cycles that fall under the specified time range.

The Time Zone on the Restore Options dialog box defaults to the client's time zone and not the CommServe time zone.

  1. In the CommCell Browser, expand Client Computers > client > Agent.

  2. Right-click a backup_set or subclient, then click All Tasks > Browse and Restore.

  3. Select Time Range.

  4. Under Absolute Time do the following:

    1. Select the Time Zone.

      For Oracle agents the default Time Zone is the client's time zone. For all other agents the default Time Zone is the CommServe time zone.

    2. Select End Time and enter a date and time to browse and restore data before it.

  5. Click View Content.

Browsing and Restoring Data between Specified Backup Times

Does Not Apply To:

  • Oracle Agent

  • FlexFrame for Oracle

  • SAP Oracle Agent

  • SharePoint Server Agent Document

  • SharePoint Server Agent Farm

  • SharePoint Server Agent Site Collections

Follow the steps given below to browse data between specified time:

  1. In the CommCell Browser, expand Client Computers > client > Agent.

  2. Right-click a backup_set or subclient, then click All Tasks > Browse and Restore.

  3. Select Time Range.

  4. Under Absolute Time do the following:

    • Select Start Time and enter a date and time.

    • Select End Time and enter a date and time.

    Data in between the time specified here will be browsed and restored.

  5. Click View Content.

Browsing and Restoring Data Backed up in the Past n Days

Does Not Apply To:

  • Active Directory Agent

  • FlexFrame for Oracle

  • NDMP Agent

  • Oracle Agent

  • Oracle Archiving

  • SAP Oracle Agent

  • SharePoint Server Agent Document

  • SharePoint Server Agent Farm

  • SharePoint Server Agent Site Collections

  • Sybase Agent

You can specify a relative time for Browsing data for Restores. This provides flexibility in trawling backed up data from a wider time span rather than the need to remember an exact time range in which something was backed up.

Follow the step given below to Browse Data from a relative time:

  1. In the CommCell Browser, expand Client Computers > client > Agent.

  2. Right-click a backup_set or subclient, then click All Tasks > Browse and Restore.

  3. Select Time Range and click Relative Time.

  4. Enter a number in the Last field and select Day, Week, Month or Year to browse and restore data.

  5. Click View Content.

Browsing and Restoring Troubleshooting Folders

Does Not Apply To:

  • Active Directory Agent

  • AIX File System

  • Exchange Mailbox (Classic) Agent

  • Exchange Public Folder Agent

  • Exchange Public Folder Archiver Agent

  • FlexFrame for Oracle

  • FlexFrame for Linux File System

  • FreeBSD File System

  • HP-UX File System

  • Image Level Agent

  • Linux File System

  • Macintosh File System Agent

  • NDMP Agent

  • OnePass-enabled clients

  • OpenVMS File System Agent

  • Oracle Agent

  • Oracle Archiving

  • PostgreSQL Agent

  • SAP Oracle Agent

  • SharePoint Server Agent Document

  • SharePoint Server Agent Farm

  • SharePoint Server Agent Site Collections

  • Solaris File SystemSybase Agent

By default, when a browse operation is requested, information about collect files or job specific metadata files of a file system is not included in the browse results. These files are mainly useful at the time of Troubleshooting.

For Exchange-based agents, troubleshooting folders include backup-state data files for the particular subclient. These files are required to be restored back to the agent if the client machine is rebuilt to allow backups to continue from where they left.

To include these troubleshooting files in your browse results, use the following steps:

  1. In the CommCell Browser, expand Client Computers > client > Agent.

  2. Right-click a backup_set or subclient, then click All Tasks > Browse and Restore.

  3. From the Restore Options dialog box, click the Advanced Options tab.

  4. Select Include Troubleshooting Folders checkbox.

  5. Click View Content.

Browsing and Restoring from Copies

Does Not Apply To:

  • SAP Oracle Agent

By default, when a browse operation is requested, the software attempts to browse from the storage policy copy with the lowest copy precedence. If the data that you want to browse was already pruned from the primary copy, the software searches the other copies of the storage policy, starting from the copy with the lowest copy precedence to a copy with the highest copy precedence.

This feature is useful in the following conditions:

  • The media containing protected data for a particular copy has been removed from the storage library, you can choose to browse from a copy whose media are inside the library.

  • Allows browsing from a copy that accesses faster disk media rather than slower tape media.

  • When media drives used by a particular copy are busy with another operation, this helps in browsing from a different copy to avoid resource conflicts.

  • In the CommCell Browser, expand Client Computers > client > Agent.

  • Right-click a backup_set or subclient, then click All Tasks > Browse and Restore.

  • From the Restore Options dialog box, click the Advanced Options tab.

  • Select Browse from copy precedence checkbox and specify the preference number.

    Note

    If you specify a copy precedence number for a browse operation, the software searches only the storage policy copy with that precedence number in all storage policies used for securing the data. If data does not exist in the specified copy, the browse operation fails even if the data exists in another copy of the same storage policy.

  • Click View Content.

Listing Media

Does Not Apply To:

  • OnePass for Macintosh File System

The List Media option is useful to predict media required to restore the index required to browse data. This is useful when the index is not available in the index cache. This option is also used to list media associated with data protection operations up to the specified date and time range.

The following section describes how to perform this operation.

  1. In the CommCell Browser, expand Client Computers > client > Agent.

  2. Right-click a backup_set or subclient, then click All Tasks > Browse and Restore.

  3. Click List Media.

    You can usethe Latest Data to list media associated with the most recent data protection cycle.

    Or Specify Browse Time to list media associated with data protection operations up to the specified date and time range.

  4. From the List Media dialog box, click List Media for restore within specified time range.

  5. Click OK.

  6. The appropriate media is listed in the Media dialog box.

Image or No-Image Browse and Restore

Does Not Apply To:

  • Exchange Public Folder Archiver Agent

  • FlexFrame for Oracle

  • Image Level Agent

  • NDMP Agent

  • Notes Database Agent

  • Notes Document Agent

  • OnePass for Hitachi NAS (BlueArc) and Isilon

  • OnePass for Network Shares

  • Oracle Agent

  • Oracle Archiving

  • SAP Oracle Agent

  • SharePoint Server Agent Farm

  • Sybase Agent

Image browse displays the structure of the entity as it existed as of some specified time. When you browse data in the image mode, the system by default returns the requested data based on the latest image available. The image browse can only restore the latest version. If the requested version was deleted before the most recent full backup, the default browse will not find the data.

The no-image browse is useful for retrieving data that may have been deleted at some unknown time. It is also useful to retrieve a previous backup version and show deleted files across cycles.

  1. In the CommCell Browser, expand Client Computers > client > Agent.

  2. Right-click a backup_set or subclient, then click All Tasks > Browse and Restore.

  3. From the Restore Options dialog box, click the Advanced Options tab and select one of the following options:

    • Click and select the Show Deleted Items option to perform a no-image browse of the data.

    • Clear the Show Deleted Items option to perform an image browse of the data.

  4. Click View Content.

Browsing and Restoring Multiple Versions of a File

Does Not Apply To:

  • Active Directory Agent

  • Exchange Mailbox (Classic) Agent

  • Exchange Public Folder Agent

  • Exchange Public Folder Archiver Agent

  • FlexFrame for Oracle

  • Image Level Agent

  • Notes Database Agent

  • Notes Document Agent

  • OnePass-enabled clients

  • Oracle Agent

  • PostgreSQL Agent

  • SAP Oracle Agent

  • SharePoint Server Agent Document

  • SharePoint Server Agent Farm

  • SharePoint Server Agent Site Collections

  • Sybase Agent

By default, the system allows you to browse and recover previously backed up versions of data. This feature allows you to restore more than one version of the same file by restoring each version individually.

If a time range browse is performed, versions are shown across cycles.

  1. In the CommCell Browser, expand Client Computers > client > Agent.

  2. Right-click a backup_set or subclient, then click All Tasks > Browse and Restore.

  3. Click View Content.

  4. From the Browse Window, right-click the file with multiple versions and then click View All Versions.

The All Version dialog box displays the available versions for the file.

Setting the Page Size for Browsing

Does Not Apply To:

  • Image Level Agent

  • Notes Database Agent

  • Notes Document Agent

  • OpenVMS File System Agent

  • PostgreSQL Agent

  • SharePoint Server Agent Farm

The Page Size option allows you to specify the number of objects to be displayed in the browse window. You can browse through each page list by selecting the appropriate page number in the Browse window. Once the default is changed, it uses the same page size which was used in previous browse request until changed again.

  1. In the CommCell Browser, expand Client Computers > client > Agent.

  2. Right-click a backup_set or subclient, then click All Tasks > Browse and Restore.

  3. From the Restore Options dialog box, click the Advanced Options tab.

  4. Enter a value for Page Size.

  5. Click View Content.

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