Restoring Guest Files and Folders

You can restore guest files and folders from virtual machine backups to a physical or virtual machine. If you install a File System Agent on the source virtual machine, you can restore files and folders to the source virtual machine.

Before You Begin

• The destination client must have a file system agent installed that is compatible with the types of files being restored.

• You must have access to a MediaAgent that matches the operating system of the source VM (Windows or Linux).

• The MediaAgent specified for the browse must have the Virtual Server Agent installed.

• The MediaAgent that you use for live browse operations of an ReFS volume must support the version of the ReFS volume on the guest VM. For example, to live browse and restore files from an ReFS volume from a backup of a Windows Server 2016 VM, you must use a MediaAgent running on Windows Server 2016 or later. To browse and restore files from an ReFS volume from a backup of a Windows Server 2019 VM, use a MediaAgent running on Windows Server 2019 or later.

• To restore files from a Linux VM, you must have a Linux access node deployed.

• Restoring data to an NFS-mounted file system (UNIX) is similar to restoring from one computer to another, with the following exceptions:

  • The restored data passes through the VSA proxy to the mapped share or file system.

  • The computer that hosts the share or mounted file system does not need to be another client within the CommCell.

  • All data restored to a shared directory assumes the security attributes (such as permissions) of the parent directory where data is restored.

• To provide UNIX file system support for ext2, ext3, ext4, XFS, JFS, HFS, HFS Plus, and Btrfs file systems:

  • Convert a Linux MediaAgent to a Linux Access Node.

  • Specify the Preferred Node for Guest File Restores for a Virtual Server Instance.

  Notes

  • For Commvault Service Pack 7 and later, MediaAgents that are able to act as Linux access nodes are automatically configured.

  • When you perform a live browse operation on Linux files and folders, the Client tab shows logical volumes as volume groups rather than mount paths.

  • A virtual machine that contains a Linux access node can be included in backups, and the full VM can be restored; but you cannot recover files from the VM.

  • Do not deploy a Linux access node on a virtual machine that was created from the same VM template as VMs being backed up, or that was cloned from the same VM.

Procedure

1. From the CommCell Browser, expand Client Computers > virtualization_client > Virtual Server > instance > backup_set.

2. Initiate the restore from a subclient or backup set:

   • From a subclient: Right-click the subclient and then click Browse and Restore.

   • From a backup set: Right-click the backup set, point to All Tasks, and then click Browse and Restore.

   The Browse and Restore Options dialog box appears with the Virtual Server tab displayed.

3. Click Guest Files and Folders.

4. On the Advanced Options tab, select the following options based on the virtual machine operating systems:

   • When restoring from backups of Windows VMs, select a Windows MediaAgent from the Use MediaAgent list.

     The Windows MediaAgent must also have the Virtual Server Agent installed.

   • When restoring from backups of Linux VMs:

     1. Select a Linux MediaAgent from the Use MediaAgent list.

        The Linux MediaAgent must also have the Virtual Server Agent installed.

     2. From the Preferred node for guest file restores list, select the Linux proxy to mount the files.

5. Click View Content.

6. From the browse results, expand the left pane, select the files or folders to be restored, and then click Recover All Selected.

7. In the Restore Options for All Selected Items dialog box:

   Restore ACLs	Select one of the following options: Restore ACLs Only - Restore permissions from the backup and apply them to the files specified for the restore. Restore Data Only - Restore files and folders with the default permissions for the destination path. Restore Both Data and ACLs - Restore files and folders while preserving source file and folder permissions.
   Unconditional Overwrite	Select this check box to overwrite source files or folders with the same names.
   Restore Destination	Leave the default settings to restore in place, or modify the following values to restore out of place: For Destination client, select the VSA proxy to be used for the restore. For Specify destination path, enter or browse to the location where the file or folder will be restored. A file or folder can be restored to an NFS-mounted file system (Unix). Clients with NFS mounted to another machine can restore to that mount. Click the Browse button to see if the mount is visible.
   Preserve Source Paths	Use the Preserve or Remove options to determine how many levels of parent folders are created for restored files. For example, when restoring a file from the /MEMOS/SALES folder, you can preserve two levels to create both folders, or preserve one level to create only the SALES folder.
   Impersonate User	Select this option to specify a different user for the restore operation, and enter user credentials in the User Name, Password, and Confirm Password boxes.

8. To specify a Preferred node for guest file restores for Linux:

   1. Click Advanced.

   2. Click the Data Path tab.

   3. On the Data Path tab, from the Preferred node for guest file restores, select the Linux proxy to mount the files.

   By default, the restore operation uses the Preferred node for the guest file that is configured for the instance.

9. Click OK to initiate the restore job.