Advanced Restore - Linux File System

Performing an Out-of-Place Restore

You can restore the data to following locations:

  • Different folder on the same computer from which the data was backed up

  • Different computer

Keep in mind that the destination computer must reside in the same CommCell as the client whose data was backed up.

Restoring to a Different Folder on the Same Client

Follow the steps given below to restore data to a different folder on the same client from which data is backed up:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers > client > File System backupset.

  2. Right-click the Subclient in the right pane and then click Browse and Restore.

  3. Click View Content.

  4. Select the data that you want to restore and click Recover All Selected.

  5. Clear the Restore to same folder check box and click Browse.

  6. Click OK.

  7. Use the options in the Preserve Source Paths area to exclude folders (and its contents) from the source path.

    For Example: If the selected data is /Documents/Memos/Sales, and you want to restore data only from the Sales folder, set the Preserve <n> level from end of source path option to 1.

    If the selected data is /Documents/Memos/Sales, and you want to restore the data from Memos and Sales folders, set the Remove <n> level from beginning of source path option to 2.

  8. Click OK.

Restoring Data to a Different Client
Procedure
  1. From the CommCell Browser, expand to Client Computers > client > File System > backupset.

  2. In the right pane, right-click a subclient, and click Browse and Restore.

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

  4. Select the data that you want to restore, and click Recover All Selected.

  5. On the Restore Options - General tab:

    1. In the Destination Client list, select a client in the same CommCell as the client from which the data was backed up.

    2. Clear the Restore to same folder check box.

    3. In the Specify Destination Path box, enter the path on the destination client. Optionally, click Browse and in the Browsing for destination folder on client dialog box, select the destination folder and click OK.

      Important: Enter the path in Specify Destination Path box even if you are restoring to the same folder on the destination client.

  6. When you are satisfied with your selections, click OK.

Result

Once the restore is complete, the data is restored to the destination folder you specified in the Restore Options dialog box. If the folder you specified does not exist, a folder with the same name is created and the data is restored to that folder.

Performing a Cross-Platform Restore

You can perform the following cross-platform restores :

  • Restores across all the supported versions of Unix.

  • Restores from Unix to all the supported versions of Windows.

Follow the steps given below to perform a cross-platform restore:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers > client > File System backupset.

  2. Right-click the Subclient in the right pane and then click Browse and Restore.

  3. Click View Content.

  4. Select the data that you want to restore and click Recover All Selected.

  5. Clear the Restore to same folder check box.

  6. In the Destination Client list, select the client. You can select any client that is in the same CommCell as that of the client from which the data was backed up.

  7. Click Browse to select the destination folder and click OK.

  8. Click OK.

Ignoring Errors When Restoring From or To an NFS Mount

During restore operations, errors are reported by the chown system call especially when the source or destination is an NFS mount and because changing file ownership as a root user is not allowed by the NFS server.

By default, such errors must be ignored manually to continue with the restore operation. However, you can choose to ignore such errors using the following steps:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers.

  2. Right-click the <Client> in which you wish to perform the restore, and then click Properties.

  3. Click Advanced and then click Additional Settings tab.

  4. Click Add.

  5. In the Name field, type ignoreChownErrors.

    The Category and Type fields are populated automatically.

  6. In the Value field, type:

    1 - to ignore EINVAL error

    2 - to ignore any error reported by chown

  7. Click OK.

ignore_chown_reg_key

Using Multiple Streams to Restore Data with the Linux File System Agent

By default, restore operation uses a single stream. For faster restore operations, you can configure the restore operation to use multiple streams, and you can define alternate data paths. For more information, see GridStor® (Alternate Data Paths) - Overview.

Notes: You cannot use multiple streams for restore operations on clients with only File System Core package installed (Laptop Backup clients).

Before You Begin

  • Verify that you have v11 Service Pack 6 or later installed on the source client computers and on the destination client computers.

  • Verify that the client computer whose data you want to restore was backed up using Indexing Version 2. For more information about Indexing Version 2, see Indexing Version 2: Overview.

  • For more information about general restore options, see Restore/Recover Options (General).

  • For more information about the Advanced Options, see Advanced Restore Options.

Procedure

  1. From the CommCell Console, expand Client Computers > client > File System > backup set.

  2. In the right pane, right-click a subclient, and then click Browse and Restore.

    The Browse and Restore Options dialog box appears.

  3. Click View Content.

  4. Select the data that you want to restore, and then click Recover All Selected.

    The Restore Options dialog box appears.

  5. On the General tab, complete the following steps:

    1. In the Destination Client list, select the destination client computer.

    2. In the Number of Streams box, enter the recommended number of data streams that you want to use for the restore operation.

      Notes:

      • The actual number of streams used depends on the restore data set and the number of streams used to back up data.

      • When you perform a restore by jobs operation, the Number of Streams option is not available because restore by job operations use multiple streams by default.

  6. On the Job Initiation tab, choose how you want to initiate the restore jobs.

    For more information about job initiation options, see Restore Options (Job Initiation).

  7. Click OK.

Result

The restore operation restores the selected data to the destination client computer.

Using Multiple Nodes to Restore Data to NFS-Mounted File System with the Linux File System Agent

By default, restore operation uses a single node when you perform restores to NFS-mounted file systems. For faster restore operations, you can configure the restore operation to use multiple nodes, and you can define alternate data paths. For more information, see GridStor® (Alternate Data Paths) - Overview.

If you want to perform restores to distributed file systems or to network file systems such as NFS-mounted file systems that are mounted across multiple computers, use multiple nodes.

Notes: You cannot use multiple nodes for restore operations on clients with only File System Core package installed (Laptop Backup clients).

Before You Begin
  • Verify that you have v11 Service Pack 7 or later installed on the source client computers and on the destination client computers.

  • Verify that the client computer whose data you want to restore was backed up using Indexing Version 2. For more information about Indexing Version 2, see Indexing Version 2: Overview.

  • For more information about general restore options, see Restore/Recover Options (General).

  • For more information about the Advanced Options, see Advanced Restore Options.

Procedure
  1. From the CommCell Console, expand Client Computers > client > File System > backup set.

  2. In the right pane, right-click a subclient, and then click Browse and Restore.

    The Browse and Restore Options dialog box appears.

  3. Click View Content.

  4. Select the data that you want to restore, and then click Recover All Selected.

    The Restore Options dialog box appears.

  5. On the General tab, complete the following steps:

    1. From the Destination Client list, select the primary node for the restore operation.

    2. In the Number of Streams box, enter the recommended number of data streams that you want to use for the restore operation.

      Notes:

      • The actual number of streams used depends on the restore data set and the number of streams used to back up data.

      • When you perform a restore by jobs operation, the Number of Streams option is not available because restore by job operations use multiple streams by default.

    3. To use multiple nodes for the restore operation, select the Multiple Nodes check box.

    4. Click Advanced.

      The Advanced Restore Options dialog box appears.

    5. On the Data Access Nodes tab, in the Available Data Access Nodes list, select the secondary nodes that will participate in the restore operation, and then click Add.

      Notes:

      • All of the participating restore nodes must be at the same service pack level (v11 Service Pack 7 or later).

      • The destination volume must be shared across all the restore nodes and it must be accessible from all the nodes.

      • The destination volume must be mounted in the same directory on all the nodes.

      • All of the participating restore nodes must be time synced.

    6. Click OK.

    7. In the Specify Destination Path, enter the NFS path.

      For example: /finite/nftest/test

  6. On the Job Initiation tab, choose how you want to initiate the restore jobs.

    For more information about job initiation options, see Restore Options (Job Initiation).

  7. Click OK.

Result

The restore operation restores the selected data to the destination client computer.

Renaming Files on Restore

If you do not want to overwrite the existing files during restores, you can append a suffix to the filenames and restore them as new files. (This suffix is appended to the end of the filename regardless of the extension.)

Follow the steps given below to rename files during the restore:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers > client > File System backupset.

  2. Right-click the Subclient in the right pane and then click Browse and Restore.

  3. Click View Content.

  4. Select the data that you want to restore and click Recover All Selected.

  5. Clear the Restore to same folder check box.

  6. In the Destination Client list, select the client.

  7. Click Advanced.

  8. In the Advanced Restore Options dialog box, select the Map tab.

  9. Enter the desired string that you want to append as a suffix to the filenames in Rename all restore files with suffix and click OK. For Example: Enter the string temp to rename file.txt to file.txttemp.

  10. Click OK.

  11. Click OK to start the restore.

rename_files

Overwriting Data during Restores

By default, the data in the destination is overwritten when the restored version is newer than the one in the destination.

Use the following steps to overwrite data irrespective of the destination version:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers > client > File System backupset.

  2. Right-click the Subclient in the right pane and then click Browse and Restore.

  3. Click View Content.

  4. Select the data that you want to restore and click Recover All Selected.

  5. Ensure that the Overwrite Files check box is selected.

  6. Click Unconditional Overwrite.

  7. Click OK.

    Note

    Clear the Overwrite Files check box when restoring to a computer that has different hardware and different software device drivers.

Restoring Only When Data Exists on the Destination

Follow the steps given below to restore the only data that already exists in the destination computer. This ensures any data removed from the destination computer is not reintroduced by the data recovery.

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers > client > File System backupset.

  2. Right-click the Subclient in the right pane and then click Browse and Restore.

  3. Click View Content.

  4. Select the data that you want to restore and click Recover All Selected.

  5. Ensure that the Overwrite Files check box is selected. (If it is not selected, only those files that do not exist on the destination will be restored.)

  6. Select the Restore only if target exists check box.

  7. Click OK.

Restores Using User Impersonation

  1. From the CommCell Browser, expand Client Computers > client > File System > backup set.

  2. Right-click the subclient, and then click Browse and Restore.

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

  4. Select the data that you want to restore, and then click Recover All Selected.

  5. If you are performing an out-of-place restore, in the Restore Options for All Selected Items dialog box, clear the Restore to same folder check box.

  6. From the Destination Client list, select the destination client.

  7. Click Browse to select a destination directory.

  8. Click OK.

  9. Select the Impersonate User check box and type the user account details for impersonation:

    • User Name

    • Password

    • Confirm Password

      You must have the necessary privileges to write to the destination directory.

  10. Click OK.

The user name and password are verified on the destination client before a user is impersonated.

The restore job goes into a pending state if the verification fails. On successful verification, data is restored if the impersonated user has the following permissions:

In-Place Restore

Out-of-Place Restore

If the file exists in the restore destination

  • If the file belongs to the user, the user must have write permission to the file irrespective of write permissions to the group and other users.

  • If the file belongs to the group of the user but is not owned by the user, then the group must have write permissions to the file; the file modified time is not preserved in this case.

  • If the file does not belong to either the user or the group, then other users must have write permissions to the file; the file modified time is not preserved in this case.

  • If the file does not belong to the user, ACLs (Access Control Lists) are supported.

Write permission to the destination folder, including the following additional permissions-

  • If the file belongs to the user, the user must have write permission to the file irrespective of write permissions to the group and other users.

  • If the file belongs to the group of the user but is not owned by the user, then the group must have write permissions to the file; the file modified time is not preserved in this case.

  • If the file does not belong to either the user or the group, then other users must have write permissions to the file; the file modified time is not preserved in this case.

  • If the file does not belong to the user, ACLs (Access Control Lists) are supported.

If the file does not exist in the restore destination

Write permission to the destination folder, including read permission on the backed up file, or the user must have file ownership.

Write permission to the destination folder, including Read permission on the backed up file, or the user must have file ownership.

Restores Using End-User Access Permission

You can perform restores using the End-User Access permission by impersonating users, from either the CommCell Console or the command-line interface.

If you are using the CommCell Console, you must set the Impersonate User option.

If you are using the command-line interface, UNIX user ID (UID) is used for impersonation. The UID is the ID of the user who is logged on the UNIX system. The default UID value for the root user is zero.

Before You Begin

  1. Set the EnforceUnixUserPermissionsOnRestore additional setting to 1 on the CommServe. For instructions on adding the additional setting, see Adding or Modifying Additional Settings from the CommCell Console.

  2. Verify that you have one of the following permissions for performing a restore:

    Type of restore

    Permissions required

    In-place

    • A CommCell user having the Browse and End-User Access permissions, and any one of the following:

      • User UID. (The UID is automatically populated only for command-line restores)

      • Impersonation enabled

    Out-of-place, same computer

    • A CommCell user having the Browse and End-User Access permissions, out-of-place permission on the client, and any one of the following:

      • User UID

      • Impersonation enabled

    Out-of-place, cross-computer (only UNIX to UNIX)

    • A CommCell user having the Browse and End-User Access permissions with the following:

      • Impersonation enabled and out-of-place permission on the source client

Performing Restores Using End-User Access Permission From the CommCell Console

You can perform restores using the End-User Access permission by setting the Impersonate User option from the CommCell Console. For instructions on setting the Impersonate User option, see Restores Using User Impersonation.

Performing Restores Using End-User Access Permission From the Command Line

If you perform restores using the End-User Access permission from the command-line, the UID of the user running the QCommand is used for impersonation.

By using the Save As Script option in the CommCell Console, you can save the restore options on the source client to an XML script. The QCommand uses the XML script to perform the restores. QCommand determines the UID which will be used for impersonating the restores. For details about the permissions required by the impersonating user, see Restores Using User Impersonation.

For instructions on how to perform a command-line restore, see Command Line Restore - UNIX and Linux File Systems.

Important Considerations

Review these important considerations before you perform a restore using the End-User Access permission:

  • If the Impersonate User option is not set in the XML script, then the UID of the user running the QCommand is used for impersonation. Cross-computer restores are not supported in this case.

  • If the Impersonate User option is set in the XML script, then that user account is used for impersonation. The impersonation XML tag takes precedence over the user UID.

  • Restores using the End-User Access permission are not supported for non-root client installations.

  • Pre-restore and post-restore commands are not supported.

  • On the HP-UX system, the user who owns a file can change the ownership of the file for any other user on the computer. To improve the efficiency of the restores using the End-User Access permission, disable this default setting.

Procedure
  1. Log on to the HP-UX destination computer as a root user.

  2. Use a text editor to open the /etc/privgroup file, or create the file if necessary.

  3. Add or edit the following line, and save the file.

    -n CHOWN
  4. At the UNIX shell prompt, run the following command:

    setprivgrp -f /etc/privgroup
  5. Log on again as root user.

  6. Restart Commvault services.

Restoring by Jobs

You can select a specific backup job for a restore. This method of restoring data is faster and useful in the following scenarios:

  • To restore point-in-time data associated with a specific backup job

  • To restore multiplexed data from the same client

You can specify the number of source path levels to strip when restoring a specific job by using the Command Line Interface.

If you do not want to restore the operating system files or directories, avoid restoring a specific job when it is associated with the default backup set. The entire content of the backed up client will be restored and the client where you are restoring might run out of space.

Restores by jobs use the same number of streams that you configured for the subclient. For more information on configuring multiple streams for subclients, see Configuring Multiple Streams for Backups.

Restoring All the Data Backed Up during a Job

Follow these steps to restore all the data backed up during the selected job:

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

  2. Right-click the backupset, and then select All Tasks > Restore by Jobs.

  3. In the Restore by Jobs Filter dialog box, enter the Start Time and End Time, and then click OK. The list of backup jobs, completed in the specified time period appears.

  4. Right-click the job you want to restore, and then select Restore Selected Jobs.

  5. If you are performing an out-of-place restore, in the Restore Options for All Selected Items dialog box, clear the Restore to same folder check box.

  6. From the Destination Client list, select the destination client.

  7. Click Browse to select a destination directory.

  8. Click OK.

  9. Optional: Select the Impersonate User check box, and type the user account details for impersonation:

    • User Name

    • Password

    • Confirm Password

      You must have the necessary privileges to write to the destination directory.

  10. Click OK.

Restoring Specific Data Backed Up during a Job

You can restore specific files and folders from the data backed up during the selected job. Follow these steps to restore specific files and folders from the selected backup job:

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

  2. Right-click the backup set, and then select All Tasks > Restore by Jobs.

  3. In the Restore by Jobs Filter dialog box, enter the Start Time and End Time, and then click OK. The list of backup jobs, completed in the specified time period appears.

  4. Right-click the job you want to restore, and then select Browse and Restore.

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

  6. Select the data that you want to restore, and then click Recover All Selected.

  7. If you are performing an out-of-place restore, in the Restore Options for All Selected Items dialog box, clear the Restore to same folder check box.

  8. From the Destination Client list, select the destination client.

  9. Click Browse to select a destination directory.

  10. Click OK.

  11. Optional: Select the ImpersonateUser check box, and type the user account details for impersonation:

    • User Name

    • Password

    • Confirm Password

      You must have the necessary privileges to write to the destination directory.

  12. Click OK.

Restoring from a Failed or a Killed Job

You can restore data from a failed or killed job. When you restore data from a failed or a filled Job, the data backed up to the point of failure will be restored.

Failed or killed backup jobs are immediately aged regardless of the defined retention rules, therefore, these jobs can only be restored if the media is not yet overwritten.

You can restore aged data from tape media but cannot restore from disk libraries.

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

  2. Right-click the backup set, and then select All Tasks > Restore by Jobs.

  3. In the Restore by Jobs Filter dialog box, select Failed or Killed in the Job Status area.

  4. Enter the Start Time and End Time to specify the time period in which the job was failed or killed.

  5. Click Advanced.

  6. In the Advanced Filter Options dialog box, select the Include Aged Data check box, and then click OK.

  7. Click OK on the Restore by Jobs Filter dialog box. The list of backup jobs completed in the specified time period appears. The list also includes Failed or Killed jobs.

  8. Right-click the job you want to restore, and then select Restore Selected Jobs.

  9. If you are performing an out-of-place restore, in the Restore Options for All Selected Items dialog box, clear the Restore to same folder check box.

  10. From the Destination Client list, select the destination client.

  11. Click Browse to select a destination directory.

  12. Click OK.

  13. Optional: Select the Impersonate User check box, and type the user account details for impersonation:

    • User Name

    • Password

    • Confirm Password

      You must have the necessary privileges to write to the destination directory.

  14. Click OK.

Restoring Block-Level Backup

You can perform a file-level or a volume-level restore from a block-level backup. For more information, see Block-Level Restores.

Resubmitting a Restore Job

You can rerun a failed or completed restore job. This is useful when you want to use all the options and settings configured for the original job.

Follow the steps given below to rerun a restore job:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers.

  2. Right-click the <Client> and click View | Job History.

  3. Click Data Recovery Operations.

  4. Select the Browse and Restore check box and clear all other check boxes.

  5. Click OK.

  6. Right-click the restore job that you want to resubmit from the Data Recovery Job History tab and click Resubmit Job.

  7. Click OK to start the restore.

resubmit_job

Filtering Data from Restores

During a restore operation, you can specify the files, directories, and file name patterns that you want to filter and exclude from restoring.

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers > client > File System backupset.

  2. Right-click the Subclient in the right pane and then click Browse and Restore.

  3. Click View Content.

  4. Select the data that you want to restore and click Recover All Selected.

  5. Click Advanced.

  6. Select the Paths/Filters tab.

  7. Click Add for Source Item list and enter the path of the source data.

  8. If you want to remove any files or folders from the restore operation, click Add for Filter Item list and enter the path of the data. Wildcard entries must be expressed as complete paths.

    Note

    Make sure that the filter items specified are available in the source items selected.

    You can also click Delete to remove existing source or filter items.

  9. Click OK.

  10. Click OK to start the restore.

filter_paths

Supported Wildcards in Filters

The following wildcards can be used in filters to exclude data when restoring data.

Wildcards

Description

Examples

*

Any number of characters. This wildcard is used in the following scenarios:

  • Filter all files of a specific extension

  • Filter all files under a specific directory

  • Filter all files of a specific extension where the file name starts with a specific pattern.

  • *.doc filters all files with the extension .doc, for example "status.doc" and "mission.doc," on all partitions on the client computer.

    /Test/*.doc filters all .doc files only in the /Test directory.

  • a*.so filters all files with the extension .so, for example "alsvc.so" and "advdcc.so" on the client computer which have the name beginning with "a".

  • /Finance/Test/* filters all the files and directories in the "Test" directory under the "Finance" directory on the / partition. Any sub-directories under the Test directory are not get backed up.

?

Any one character.

  • This wildcard can be used in the following scenario:

  • All files (or directories) for which any one character in the file name or the directory name is variable.

  • /access? filters any directory or file on the machine for which the name begins with- "access" followed by any one character such as "access1" or "access5". However, "access12" or "access15" are not backed up because the last two characters in the name are variable.

  • /Class/report? filters any directory or file under the /Class directory where the character in place of the question mark (?) is variable. For example: "/Class/report1" and "/Class/report2" are backed up. However, "/Class/report15" is not backed up.

[]

Set or range of characters.

  • /[a-m]*.doc filters any file with .doc extension on the / partition for which the name begins with the letters "a" through "m”.

  • /[AEIOU]*.doc filters any file name that ends with .doc and begins with the letters A, E, I, O, or U.

  • /Finance/report[1-47-9] filters files report1, report2, report4, report7, report8, report9 under the Finance directory.

  • /Department-[A-CS] filters files Department-A, Department-B, Department-C, and Department-S.

[!]

The negation of a set or range of characters. You can use the wildcard in the following scenario: filter all files in a directory except the files for which the name starts with any character from the specified set or range of characters.

/root/[!AEIOU]*.doc filters all .doc files in the /root directory that start with a letter other than A, E, I, O, or U.

**

Matches any directory level.

  • /**/move.cpp filters the file named move.cpp located at any directory level. For example: /root/newapp/move.cpp/opt/kde3/src/move.cpp.

  • /etc/** filters all directories, sub-directories, and files under the /etc directory.

***

Matches any directory level, including the parent directory

  • /etc/*** filters all directories, sub-directories, and files under the /etc directory, and the /etc directory itself.

  • To filter all directories, sub-directories, and files under the /etc directory, specifying /etc/*** instead of /etc/** improves performance because /etc/*** filters the /etc directory itself. This is especially useful if you have a large subset of the file system under the /etc directory.

Notes:

  • When you use wildcards to specify the subclient content, the content path appears in Italics.

  • If you want all the files with the file extension ".doc" to be filtered from any level, then specify the content as "*.doc". If any subclient content does not start with a forward slash (/), then "/**/" will be prefixed to the content to match at any level. For example: "*.doc" will become "/**/*.doc".

  • If you wants to treat the asterisk (*), question mark (?), and square brackets ([ ]) as literal, and not as wildcards, then add a forward slash (\) before the wildcard. For example: /Report\[2011-2012\]/*.doc will filter all the .doc files under /Report[2011-2012]

  • More than one type of wildcard can be used when specifying subclient content. For example: /Dcvol?/oracle[1-47]/**/*.log).

Restoring Mixed Mode Data

In addition to specifying the data to be restored using the wildcard expressions, you can also select specific data to restore. This is known as a mixed mode restore. Both the selected data as well as the data that satisfies the wildcard expression(s) is restored, with one important exception. All directories that are to be restored, whether they were specifically named or selected, or merely satisfy the wildcard expression(s) are restored without their content. That is, any directory to be restored is handled in the same way as if the directory was being restored as a result of a wildcard expression.

Use the following steps to perform a mixed mode restore:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | Client | File System | Backup Set.

  2. Right-click the Subclient in the right pane and then click Browse and Restore.

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

  4. Select Add from Filter Criteria and choose File Name filter. Use wildcards to match specific file name patterns.

    Note

    If more than one filter is used in the browse request, the objects qualifying all the filters will be displayed in the browse results.

  5. Click View Content.

    imagesklzzwxh:0696rowseklzzwxh:0697indowsklzzwxh:0698ilter.png

  6. Select the data that you want to restore and click Recover All Selected.

  7. Click Advanced.

  8. Select the Paths/Filters tab.

  9. Click Add for Source Item list and enter the path of the source data.

  10. If you want to remove any files or folders from the restore operation, click Add for Filter Item list and enter the path of the data. Wildcard entries must be expressed as complete paths.

    Note

    Make sure that the filter items specified are available in the source items selected.

    You can also click Delete to remove existing source or filter items.

  11. Click OK.

    Note

    If both wildcard expressions and specific data paths are specified (that is, a mixed mode restore), the system displays the message that any directories that are to be restored in the job will be restored empty. Click Yes to continue the operation or click No to change the necessary options.

  12. Click OK to start the restore.

    filter_paths

Restoring Data Using a Map File

You can restore individual files and folders to different locations using a map file containing a list of files to be restored, with their corresponding restore paths.

Creating a Map File

The map file is a text file in the CSV (Comma Separated Value) format. Follow the steps given below to create a map file:

  1. Create a text file on the client computer where you want to restore the data.

  2. Add the mapping information in the file in the following format:

    "<source path>","<destination path>"

If the specified destination folder is not available, the necessary destination folder will be created during the restore.

The specified paths for both the source and destination should be absolute paths within the same client computer.

You can provide following information in a map file:

Information

Example

File to File Mapping

"/dir1/file1.txt","/dir2/file1.txt"

Folder to folder mappings

"/dir2/info/","/dir4/info/"

Drive to drive mappings

"/"(root),"/mnt","/usr"

Rename files/folder during restore

"/dir4/file2.txt","/dir5/file3.txt"

Filter certain files

"/dir5",""

Adding Files and Folders with Unicode Characters to a Map File

If the path or the filename contains Unicode characters, the Map File must be converted to a format that can be used by the data protection operation. The Unicode Conversion utility must be used to convert the Map File to a format that can be provided as input.

  1. Using a text editor, create a file that contains a list of files or folders with Unicode characters and save the file as a Unicode text file.

  2. From the command line, navigate to the <software install folder>/Base folder and type the following:

    ./CVconvertUnicode <source file> <destination file>

    where:

    • <source file> is the full path and name of the file created in Step 1.

    • <destination file> is the full path and name of the destination file. This file is automatically created by the utility.

  3. Use the destination file as the Map File to perform the restore.

Partial File Restore Using a Map File

Files can be restored partially using a Map file. Multiple files can be added in the Map file for partial restores with specific start/ stop offset values. These restores can be run from the CommCell GUI or from the command line. Partial file restores are supported for:

  • Index restores

  • Index Free Restore – Restore By Job

  • Using a text editor, create a text file on the client computer where you want to restore the data.

  • Add the mapping information in the file using the following syntax:

    <source file path>”,“<destination file path>”,<start offset>,<stop offset>

    Where:

    <start offset> and <stop offset> are values in bytes

    For example: “/path1/data1/SRC”,"/path2/data2/DEST”,100,1000

The partial file restore behavior with different mapping options is given below:

Mapping

Behavior

File in map, no start offset and no stop offset

File will be restored fully

File in map, only start offset provided

File will be restored from <start offset> till the end of the file

File in map, start and stop offsets provided

File will be restored from <start offset> to <stop offset>

File in map, start offset provided in invalid format (not a number)

Restore will start from the beginning of the file

File in map, stop offset provided in invalid format (not a number)

Restores till the end of the file

File in map, stop offset value is less than start offset

Restores till the end of the file

Map file having duplicate source file entry with different destination location

Only the first source file entry will be honored

Map file with folder path, start and stop offsets provided

All the files under the folder will honor the start and stop offsets

Restoring Using a Map File

Use the following procedure to restore a list of files and folders from a computer and each of these files have a different destination.

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers > client > File System backupset.

  2. Right-click the Subclient in the right pane and then click Browse and Restore.

  3. Click View Content.

  4. Select the data that you want to restore and click Recover All Selected.

  5. Click Advanced.

  6. Select the Map tab.

  7. Select the Use map file check box and click Browse to navigate to the map file.

  8. Clear the Restore unmapped file check box.

  9. Click OK.

  10. Click OK to start the restore.

map_file_1

Note

If you are restoring a specific version of a file with the name filename1.txt and the file is already available in the destination folder, then the file is restored as filename1,.txt. The suffix is ignored. However, if even filename1,.txt is already available in the destination folder, then the file is restored as filename1,<version ID>.txt

Combining Browse and Restore with the Map File Restore

Use the following procedure to restore a set of files to a specified location with some files within that set to different destinations.

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers > client > File System backupset.

  2. Right-click the Subclient in the right pane and then click Browse and Restore.

  3. Click View Content.

  4. Select the data that you want to restore and click Recover All Selected.

  5. Click Advanced.

  6. Select the Map tab.

  7. Select the Use map file check box and click Browse to navigate to the map file.

  8. Select the Restore unmapped file check box.

  9. Click OK.

  10. Click OK to start the restore.

map_file_2

Restoring Folder Structure

You can restore the folder structure in the client without including the files.

Procedure

  1. From the CommCell Browser, go to Client Computers > client > File System.

  2. Right-click a backup set, and then click All Tasks > Find. On the Filters tab, click Add, and then select the Object Type filter.

  3. Enter Folder as the Object Type.

  4. Click View Content.

    The Search Results tab appears.

  5. Open Tree View and select the top-level folder structure hierarchy.

  6. Add all currently selected items by right-clicking one selected item, then clicking Add to Selected List.

  7. Go to the Selected Items tab and click Recover All Selected.

Restoring Deleted Files

You can restore deleted files using the following steps:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers > client > File System backupset.

  2. Right-click the Subclient in the right pane and then click Browse and Restore.

  3. Click View Content.

  4. Select the data that you want to restore and click Recover All Selected.

  5. Click Advanced.

  6. Select the Browse Options tab.

  7. Select the Restore deleted items check box and then select the Specify Time Range check box.

  8. Select the time range to restore the files deleted in that period of time.

  9. Click OK.

  10. Click OK to start the restore.

imagesklzzwxh:0058estoreklzzwxh:0059inuxklzzwxh:0060estore_delete.png

Setting Up Pre-processes and Post-processes

You can run batch files or shell scripts before and/or after restore jobs. Follow the steps given below to setup a process before or after the restore job:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers > client > File System backupset.

  2. Right-click the Subclient in the right pane and then click Browse and Restore.

  3. Click View Content.

  4. Select the data that you want to restore and click Recover All Selected.

  5. Click Advanced.

  6. Click the Pre/Post tab.

  7. If you want perform a process before the restore job, enter the path for the batch file in the Pre Recovery Command box or click Browse to select the batch file.

  8. If you want perform a process after the restore job, enter the path for the batch file in the Post Recovery Command box or click Browse to select the batch file.

  9. Click OK.

  10. Click OK to start the restore.

imagesklzzwxh:0063estoreklzzwxh:0064inuxklzzwxh:0065re_post.png

Setting Up a Pre-process and Post-process to Run after Each Attempt

By default, a specified post-process command is executed only on successful completion of the restore operation.

Use the following steps to run a post-process even if the restore operation did not complete successfully. For example, this may be useful to bring a database online or release a snapshot.

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers > client > File System backupset.

  2. Right-click the Subclient in the right pane and then click Browse and Restore.

  3. Click View Content.

  4. Select the data that you want to restore and click Recover All Selected.

  5. Click Advanced and then click the Pre/Post tab.

  6. Enter the path for the batch file in the Post Recovery Command box or click Browse to select the batch file.

  7. Select the Run Post Process for all attempts check box.

  8. Click OK.

  9. Click OK to start the restore.

post_rest_process

Restoring Sparse Files

The sparse files are restored by default as flat files, wherein the holes are restored as data. This will increase the disk usage. Use the following steps to restore the holes as genuine holes which will considerably reduce the disk usage.

To add or edit an additional setting, follow the steps in Add or Modify an Additional Setting.

Use these arguments:

  • In the Name box, type OptimizeRunLengths. The Category and Type details are automatically populated.

  • In the Value box, type a positive integer value that is a multiple of 1024. Any other value will be rounded off to the next multiple of 1024.

optrunlen_reg_key

Restoring Mac Files

You can restore Apple Double formatted Mac files that contain resource fork data.

Enabling a Global Option to Restore Resource Fork Data
  1. From the CommCell Console, click the Control Panel button in the toolbar.

  2. Double-click the Browse/Search/Recovery icon.

  3. Select Recover Apple Resource Fork Data check box.

  4. Click OK.

Restoring Resource Fork Data for a Specific Job

Use the following steps to recover Apple resource fork data of selective Mac files.

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | File System.

  2. Right-click the <Backup Set>, point to All Tasks and then click Browse and Restore.

  3. Click View Content.

  4. Select the Mac File System data that you want to restore and click Recover All Selected.

  5. Click Advanced.

  6. Select Recover Apple Resource Fork Data check box.

  7. Click OK.

restore_mac_data

Excluding ACLs from Restores

The ACLs and the data are restored by default when you restore the data . Use the following procedure to exclude the ACLs from the restore.

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | File System | Backup Set

  2. Right-click the subclient in the right pane and then click Browse and Restore.

  3. Click ViewContent.

  4. Select the data that you want to restore and click Recover All Selected.

  5. Click to clear the Restore ACLs check box.

  6. Click OK.

Restoring ACFS Data

Use the following steps to restore Oracle ACFS data:

  1. Click View Content.

  2. From the Browse window, select the data you want to restore in the right pane and click Recover All Selected.

  3. From the Restore Options for All Selected Items window, clear the Restore to Same Folder box.

  4. In the Specify Destination Path box, type the location where the files will be restored. For eg., /oracle/acfs.

  5. Click OK.

Listing Media

List media option is useful to predict media required for the following operations:

  • To restore data associated with a specific backup set or subclient.

  • To restore the index required to browse data associated with a specific backup set or subclient.

  • To restore a specific file (or specific files and folders).

  • To restore data associated with a specific job.

The List Media feature can also be used in a number of other capacities. Refer to the List Media documentation for a complete overview of this feature.

The list media operation can be performed for backup sets and subclients. The following sections describe each of these methods.

Listing Media for a Subclient
  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | File System | Backup Set.

  2. Right-click the subclient for which you wish to list media and then click Browse and Restore.

  3. From the Restore Options dialog box, if required, select the following options:

    • Click Latest Backup to list media associated with the most recent data protection cycle.

    • Click Time Range to list media associated with data protection operations up for the specified date and time range. Select the Start Time and End Time check boxes to specify the start and end dates along with time.

    • Click Relative Time to list media associated with data protect operations for the specified relative time in terms of Days, Weeks, Months or Years.

  4. Click List Media.

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

  6. Click OK.

The appropriate media is listed in the Media dialog box.

Listing Media for a Backup Set
  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | File System.

  2. Right-click the backup set for which you wish to list media, point to All Tasks and then click Browse and Restore.

  3. From the Restore Options dialog box, if required, select the following options:

    • Click Latest Backup to list media associated with the most recent data protection cycle.

    • Click Time Range to list media associated with data protection operations up for the specified date and time range. Select the Start Time and End Time check boxes to specify the start and end dates along with time.

    • Click Relative Time to list media associated with data protect operations for the specified relative time in terms of Days, Weeks, Months or Years.

  4. Click List Media.

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

  6. Click OK.

    The appropriate media is listed in the Media dialog box.

imagesklzzwxh:0075estoreklzzwxh:0076inuxklzzwxh:0077ist_media_bkpset.png

Listing Media and Size for a Backup Set

Before restoring any file or folder, you can review all the media that is associated with the selected data. Use this option to ensure that the media required to restore the selected data is available. You can also predict the total size of the data that you want to restore. Follow the steps given below to display the media and the size:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | File System.

  2. Right-click the <Backup Set> in the right pane and then click Browse and Restore.

  3. Click View Content.

  4. Select the data that you want to restore and click List Media and Size.

  5. Click OK.

The media associated with the selected data is displayed. If required, you can recall the required media from the export location.

imagesklzzwxh:0079estoreklzzwxh:0080inuxklzzwxh:0081ist_media.png

Scheduling a Restore

  1. From the CommCell Console, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | File System.

  2. Right-click a <Backup Set> and click All Tasks | Browse and Restore.

  3. Click View Content.

  4. Select the data to restore and click Recover All Selected.

  5. Click the Job Initiation tab and click Schedule.

  6. Click Configure.

  7. Select the appropriate scheduling options. For example:

    • Click Weekly.

    • Check the days you want the run the restore job.

    • Change the Start Time to 9:00 PM

    • Click OK to close the Schedule Details dialog

    • Click OK to close the Restore Options dialog

    The restore job will execute as per the schedule.

imagesklzzwxh:0083estoreklzzwxh:0084penvmsklzzwxh:0085chedule_details.png

See Scheduling for a comprehensive information on scheduling jobs.

Managing Restore Jobs

Once you initiate the restore operation, a restore job is generated in the Job Controller. Jobs can be managed in a number of ways. See Job Management for a comprehensive information on managing jobs. The following sections provide information on the different job management options available:

Restarting Jobs

Jobs that fail to complete successfully are automatically restarted based on the job restartability configuration set in the Control Panel. This configuration can be changed at any time; however, changes to this configuration will affect all jobs run in the entire CommCell.

It is also possible to override the default CommServe configuration for individual jobs by configuring retry settings when initiating the job. This configuration, however, will apply only to the specific job.

Configure Job Restartability at the CommServe Level
  1. From the CommCell Console ribbon, click the Home tab, and then click Control Panel.

  2. In the Data section, click Job Management.

    The Job Management dialog box is displayed.

  3. On the Job Restarts tab, select the job information.

    • In the Job Type box, select the job type that you want set the restart capability for (for example, File System and Indexing Based (Data Recovery)).

    • Select the Restartable check box.

    • Optional: to change the maximum number of times that the Job Manager tries to restart a job, in the Max Restarts box, select the number of times.

    • Optional: to change the time interval between attempts for the Job Manager to restart the job, in the Restart Interval (Mins) box, select the number of minutes.

  4. Click OK.

Configure Job Restartability for an Individual Job
  1. From the Restore Options dialog box, click Advanced, then select the Job Retry tab and specify the following as desired:

    • Total Running Time - The maximum elapsed time, in hours and minutes, from the time that the job is created.

    • Number of Retries - The number of times that Job Manager will attempt to restart the job.

    • Kill Running Jobs When Total Running Time Expires - Option to kill the job when the specified Total Running Time has elapsed, even if its state is "Running".

  2. Click OK.

imagesklzzwxh:0089estoreklzzwxh:0090inuxklzzwxh:0091ob_retry.png

Controlling Jobs

The following controls are available for running jobs in the Job Controller window:

Suspend

Temporarily stops a job. A suspended job is not terminated; it can be restarted at a later time.

Resume

Resumes a job and returns the status to Waiting, Pending, Queued, or Running. The status depends on the availability of resources, the state of the Operation Windows, or the Activity Control setting.

Kill

Terminates a job.

Suspending a Job
  1. From the Job Controller of the CommCell Console, right-click the job and select Suspend.

  2. The job status may change to Suspend Pending for a few moments while the operation completes. The job status then changes to Suspended.

Resuming a Job
  1. From the Job Controller of the CommCell Console, right-click the job and select Resume.

  2. As the Job Manager attempts to restart the job, the job status changes to Waiting, Pending, or Running.

Killing a Job
  1. From the Job Controller of the CommCell Console, right-click the job and select Kill.

  2. Click Yes when the confirmation prompt appears if you are sure you want to kill the job. The job status may change to Kill Pending for a few moments while the operation completes. Once completed, the job status will change to Killed and it will be removed from the Job Controller window after five minutes.

Additional Restore Options

Several additional options are available to further refine your restore operations. The following table describes these options, as well as the steps to implement them.

Be sure to read the overview material referenced for each feature prior to using them.

Option

Description

Related Topic

Skip Errors and Continue

This option allows a restore job to continue regardless of media errors and outputs a file that lists the full path names of the files that failed to get restored.

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | File System.

  2. Right-click the <Backup Set> and then click All Tasks|Browse and Restore.

  3. Click View Content.

  4. From the Browse window, select the data you want to restore in the right pane and click Recover All Selected.

  5. In the Restore Options for All Selected Items dialog box, click Advanced.

  6. In the Advanced Restore Options dialog box, select Skip errors and continue check box.

  7. Click OK

Use Exact index

This option allows you to associate the media with the most recent index available in the CommCell.

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | File System.

  2. Right-click the <Backup Set> and then click All Tasks|Browse and Restore.

  3. Click View Content.

  4. From the Browse window, select the data you want to restore in the right pane and click Recover All Selected.

  5. In the Restore Options for All Selected Items dialog box, click Advanced.

  6. From the Advanced Restore Options , select Use Exact Index check box.

  7. Click OK.

Startup Options

The Startup Options are used by the Job Manager to set priority for resource allocation. This is useful to give higher priority to certain jobs. You can set the priority as follows:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | File System.

  2. Right-click the <Backup Set> and then click All Tasks|Browse and Restore.

  3. Click View Content.

  4. From the Browse window, select the data you want to restore in the right pane and click Recover All Selected.

  5. In the Restore Options for All Selected Items dialog box, click Advanced.

  6. In the Advanced Restore Options dialog box, click Startup.

  7. In the Startup tab, select Change Priority.

  8. Enter a priority number. 0 is the highest priority and 999 is the lowest priority.

  9. Select the Start up in suspended State check box to start the job in a suspended state.

  10. Click OK.

Refer to Job Priority and Priority Precedence.

Copy Precedence

By default, the system retrieves data from the storage policy copy with the lowest copy precedence. If the data was pruned from the primary copy, the system automatically retrieves data from the other copies of the storage policy in the lowest copy precedence to highest copy precedence order. Once the data is found, it is retrieved, and no further copies are checked.

You can retrieve data from a specific storage policy copy (Synchronous Copy or Selective Copy). If data does not exist in the specified copy, the data retrieve operation fails even if the data exists in another copy of the same storage policy. Follow the steps given below to retrieve the data from a specific storage policy copy:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | File System.

  2. Right-click the <Backup Set> and then click All Tasks|Browse and Restore.

  3. Click View Content.

  4. From the Browse window, select the data you want to restore in the right pane and click Recover All Selected.

  5. In the Restore Options for All Selected Items dialog box, click Advanced.

  6. In the Advanced Restore Options dialog box, click Copy Precedence.

  7. On the Copy Precedence tab, select the Restore from copy precedence check box.

  8. Enter the copy precedence number.

  9. Click OK.

Refer to Recovering Data From Copies.

Data Path Options

The data recovery operations use a default Library, MediaAgent, Drive Pool, and Drive as the Data Path. You can use this option to change the data path if the default data path is not available. Follow the steps given below to change the default data path:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | File System.

  2. Right-click the <Backup Set> and then click All Tasks|Browse and Restore.

  3. Click View Content.

  4. From the Browse window, select the data you want to restore in the right pane and click Recover All Selected.

  5. In the Restore Options for All Selected Items dialog box, click Advanced.

  6. In the Advanced Restore Options dialog box, click Data Path.

  7. On the Data Path tab, select the MediaAgent and Library.

  8. Select the Drive Pool and Drive for tape library.

  9. Select the name of the Proxy server if you wish to restore using a proxy server.

    You can select the Proxy server only when you are restoring from a snapshot. This option is not available for a regular restore.

  10. Click OK.

Refer to Change Data Path.

Encryption

If the client's data is encrypted with a pass phrase, you must enter the pass-phrase to start the data recovery operation. Follow the steps given below to enter the pass-phrase:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, click Client Computers | File System.

  2. Right-click the <Backup set> that contains the data you want to restore, point to All Tasks and then click Browse Backup Data.

  3. In the Browse Options dialog box, click OK.

  4. In the Client Browse tab, select the data to be restored and click Recover all Selected.

  5. In the Restore Options for All Selected Items dialog box, click Advanced.

  6. In the Advanced Restore Options dialog box, click Encryption.

  7. Enter the Pass Phrase.

  8. Click OK.

Refer to Data Encryption.

Alerts

This option enables users or user groups to get automatic notification on the status of the data recovery job. Follow the steps given below to set up the criteria to raise notifications/alerts:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, click Client Computers | File System.

  2. Right-click the <Backup set> that contains the data you want to restore, point to All Tasks and then click Browse Backup Data.

  3. In the Browse Options dialog box, click OK.

  4. In the Client Browse tab, select the data to be restored and click Recover all Selected.

  5. In the Restore Options for All Selected Items dialog box, click Advanced.

  6. In the Advanced Restore Options dialog box, click Alerts.

  7. Click Add Alert.

  8. From the Add Alert Wizard dialog box, select the required threshold and notification criteria and click Next.

  9. Select the required notification types and click Next.

  10. Select the recipients and click Next.

  11. Click Finish.

  12. Click OK.

Refer to Alerts and Notifications.

Command Line Restores

Command Line Interface enables you to perform backups or restore from the command line. The commands can be executed from the command line or can be integrated into scripts.

You can also generate command line scripts for specific operations from the CommCell Browser using the Save As Script option.

Refer to Command Line Interface.

CommCell Readiness Report

The CommCell Readiness Report provides you with vital information such as connectivity and readiness of the Client, MediaAgent, and CommServe. It is useful to run this report before performing a backup or a recovery operation. Follow the steps given below to generate the report:

  1. On the CommCell Console menu bar, select the Reports tab.

  2. Click Readiness.

    The Report Selection dialog box appears.

  3. If necessary, select Reports | CommServe | CommCell Readiness in the left pane.

  4. Select the Computers tab, and then click Modify below the Computers list.

  5. In the dialog box that appears, clear Include All Client Computers and All Client Groups.

  6. Select the appropriate client from the Exclude list, and then click Include >.

  7. Click OK.

  8. Select the MediaAgent tab, and then clear Include All MediaAgents.

  9. Select the appropriate MediaAgent from the Exclude list, and then click Include >.

  10. Click Run.

    The report appears in your default Web browser.

Restore Job Summary Report

The Restore Job Summary Report provides you with information about all the data recovery jobs that are run in last 24 hours for a specific client and agent. You can get information such as failure reason, failed objects, job options, and so on. It is useful to run this report after performing the restore. Follow the steps given below to generate the report:

  1. On the CommCell Console menu bar, select the Reports tab.

  2. Click Summary.

    The Report Selection dialog box appears.

  3. If necessary, select Reports | Jobs | Job Summary in the left pane.

  4. On the General tab, select Data Recovery Jobs.

  5. Select the Computers tab.

  6. Select the appropriate client and the appropriate agent.

  7. Click Run.

    The report appears in your default Web browser.

Refer to Restore Job Summary Report.

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