Use file-level recovery to recover files from a backup of a VM running Windows or Linux. The recovery process involves creating a recovery object from the backup or imported backup to mount on the recovery target.
A single file-level recovery can be performed on multiple VMs simultaneously. Procedures to perform a file-level recovery depend on whether you are running Windows or Linux. Instructions for each operating system follow.
Use the following procedures to perform a file-level recovery on Windows.
The file-level recovery object exposes as both a CIFS (Samba) share and an iSCSI LUN on the appliance. The recovery target can be the original VM, a different VM running the same operating system, or a physical machine running the same operating system. The target can be configured with basic, GUID Partition Table (GPT), or dynamic disks. All configured disks must have unique names.
You can mount either the CIFS share or the iSCSI LUN on the recovery target, depending on the tasks you wish to perform. You must mount the iSCSI LUN to perform the following tasks:
• | Recover access control information on files and folders. |
• | Recover New Technology File System (NTFS) encrypted files. |
• | Recover files on dynamic disks. If the dynamic volumes are still in use on the original VM, you must mount the recovery object on a different machine. |
Note: For the recovery, iSCSI disks are writable and a 1 GB write limit is enforced. Errors display on the recovery target machine if more than 1 GB is required. In this case, you must perform a VM recovery.
The file-level recovery job creates the recovery object. If a previously-created recovery is still mounted to this VM, you must tear it down before creating a new one.
To create a file-level recovery object
1 | Select Recover and click the Backup Catalog tab. |
Use Filter Backups to the right to customize the backups that display.
2 | Select a host-level backup or host-level imported backup copy from which you want to recover files. |
To import a backup copy, see To import a backup copy.
3 | Click Recover Files. |
4 | Follow the prompts to create the file recovery object. |
The file-level recovery job runs immediately and creates the recovery object. To view the recovery object, select Recover and click the File Level Recovery tab.
Note: If you receive an error on a UEB appliance while creating the recovery object, increase the memory allocation for the UEB VM using the host that manages it.
Mount the recovery object to the target machine and copy the files. You can mount either the CIFS share or the iSCSI LUN on to the recovery target. Instructions for each method follow.
1 | To locate the path to the recovery object, select Recover and click the File Level Recovery tab. |
2 | Select the recovery object and click Show Details. |
The CIFS path displays in the File Level Recovery Details window.
3 | Log in to the recovery target. |
4 | Enter the CIFS path in to a file browser on the recovery target. |
5 | Browse the share to locate the files you want to recover. |
6 | Move selected files to the desired location on the recovery target. |
7 | Disconnect the network share by right-clicking the share and selecting Disconnect. |
1 | Log in to the recovery target. |
2 | Launch the iSCSI Initiator from Administrative Tools in the Control Panel. |
3 | In the Target field, enter the appliance IP address and click Quick Connect.... |
4 | Select the desired iSCSI target from the list. |
5 | Click Done. |
6 | Use Windows Disk Management tools to assign drive letters and retrieve files. |
Note: The Windows file explorer contains a setting to hide protected/system files. Turn off this setting to access all files.
7 | Move selected files to the desired location on the recovery target. |
8 | Use the iSCSI Initiator to disconnect from the LUNs. |
To ensure optimal performance, unmount the recovery object from the recovery target and remove the recovery object from the appliance.
Warning! Proceeding with the removal while the restore target is still connected causes undesired results and errors on the target machine.
To remove a file-level recovery object
1 | Select Recover and click the File Level Recovery tab. |
2 | Select the recovery object to remove from the appliance. |
3 | Click Remove. |
Use the following procedures to perform a file-level recovery on Linux:
File-level recovery is performed with iSCSI. Review the following prerequisites and considerations:
• | The iscsi-initiator-utils package must be installed on the recovery target. |
• | For the recovery, iSCSI disks are writable and a 1 GB write limit is enforced. Errors display on the recovery target machine if more than 1 GB is required. In this case, a VM recovery must be performed. |
• | This procedure does not support software RAID (mdraid) configurations. To recover files from a VM with these configurations, you must recover the entire VM. |
The file-level recovery job creates the recovery object.
To create a file-level recovery object
1 | Select Recover and click the Backup Catalog tab. |
Use Filter Backups to the right to customize the backups that display.
2 | Select a host-level backup or host-level imported backup copy from which you want to recover files. |
To import a backup copy, see To import a backup copy.
3 | Click Recover Files. |
4 | Follow the prompts to create the file recovery object. |
The file-level recovery job runs immediately and creates the recovery object. To view the recovery object, select Recover and click the File Level Recovery tab.
Mount the iSCSI LUN to the target machine and copy the files.
To use iSCSI to recover files to a Linux machine
1 | Log in to the recovery target. |
2 | Open the terminal and log in as root user. |
3 | Enter the following command to change to the /tmp directory: |
# cd /tmp
4 | Run the following command to copy the iscsi_flr script from the backup appliance: |
# wget http://<appliance IP>/iscsi_flr
5 | After the script downloads, add the execute permission: |
# chmod +x iscsi_flr
6 | Run the following command to mount the recovery object: |
# ./iscsi_flr mount
7 | Enter the appliance IP address. |
8 | Enter the full path of the mount point directory. |
Notes:
• | The full path is likely: /iscsi_flr. |
• | To view this path, select Recover and click File Level Recovery tab. Select the recovery target and click Show Details. The last part of the iSCSI details provides the path. |
9 | Move selected files to the desired location on the recovery target. |
10 | Run the following command from the /tmp directory to disconnect from the LUNs: |
# ./iscsi_flr unmount
To ensure optimal performance, unmount the recovery object from the recovery target and remove the recovery object from the appliance.
Warning! Proceeding with the removal while the restore target is still connected causes undesired results and errors on the target machine.
To remove a file-level recovery object
1 | Select Recover and click the File Level Recovery tab. |
2 | Select the object to remove from the appliance. |
3 | Click Remove. |