You can restore individual files and folders from a virtual machine backup to the source VM, to a physical client, or to a VM with an appropriate agent installed.
Restores are supported for both Windows and Linux clients.
Considerations
To browse a Linux VM, you must use a Linux access node.
Before You Begin
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Restoring data to a UNC path (Windows) or to an NFS-mounted file system (UNIX) is similar to restoring from one computer to another, with the following exceptions:
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The restored data passes through the VSA proxy to the mapped share or file system.
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The computer that hosts the share or mounted file system does not need to be another client within the CommCell.
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All data restored to a shared directory assumes the security attributes (such as permissions) of the parent directory where data is restored.
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You cannot browse or restore data from a UNIX VM with unformatted disks.
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To browse a backup for a Windows 2012 R2 machine that uses the ReFS file system, use a Windows MediaAgent that is running on Windows Server 2012 R2.
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You cannot browse a volume that is contained within another volume.
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To restore files and folders to a Windows client, the client must have one of the following components installed:
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Virtual Server Agent
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Windows File System Agent (full or restore only)
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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.
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To provide UNIX file system support for ext2, ext3, ext4, XFS, JFS, HFS, HFS Plus, and Btrfs file systems:
Notes
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For Commvault Service Pack 7 and later, MediaAgents that are able to act as Linux access nodes are automatically configured.
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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.
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A virtual machine that contains the Linux access node for Linux can be included in backups, and the full VM can be restored; but you cannot recover files from the VM.
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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.
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Procedure
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From the CommCell Browser, expand Client Computers > virtualization_client > Virtual Server > instance > backup_set.
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Initiate the restore from a subclient or backup set:
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From a subclient: Right-click the subclient and then click Browse and Restore.
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From a backup set: Right-click the backup set, point to All Tasks, and then click Browse and Restore.
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In the Browse and Restore Options dialog box, click Guest Files and Folders and then click View Content.
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From the browse results, expand the left pane, select the files or folders to be restored, and then click Recover All Selected.
To select a specific file version, right-click the file, select View All Versions, and then select the version.
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In the Restore Options for All Selected Items dialog box:
Restore ACLs
Select one of the following options:
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Restore ACLs Only - Restore permissions from the backup and apply them to the files specified for the restore.
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Restore Data Only - Restore files and folders with the default permissions for the destination path.
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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:
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For Destination client, select the VSA proxy to be used for the restore.
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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 a UNC path (Windows) or to an NFS-mounted file system (Unix).
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On UNIX computers, clients with NFS mounted to another machine can restore to that mount. Click the Browse button to see if the mount is visible.
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On Windows computers, the UNC path of a shared drive can be specified to restore files directly to the original virtual machine. For example, enter \\servername\sharename. (A drive letter associated with a mapped drive cannot be specified.) The Windows logon information for this shared drive must be added using the Impersonate User option.
The user account specified must have permissions for the UNC path to which the data will be restored. This user must be able to create files in the destination folder of the virtual machine through the destination proxy computer. Without these permissions, the recovery operation will not complete successfully.
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.
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To specify a Preferred node for guest file restores for Linux:
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Click Advanced.
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Click the Data Path tab.
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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.
For more information about advanced options, see Advanced Restore Options.
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Click OK to save advanced options.
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Click OK to initiate the restore job.