5 1 0:KVM QEMU Single File Restore
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Overview
SEP sesam supports single file restore – item-level restore of files, folders, and volumes from the COPY backup of the KVM/QEMU virtual machine if the saveset is stored on a SEP sesam data store (Path, Si3 deduplication store, etc.). By mounting the virtual disk, the operating system creates a virtual drive from the file and makes it available locally on your server.
You can restore single files using the GUI restore wizard or via the web interface Restore Assistant. Although most options are the same in both restore interfaces, the web interface Restore Assistant is more intuitively designed and offers additional advanced options.
Note that this article only describes the procedure for restoring individual files of a KVM/QEMU VM. For details on complete VM restore, see KVM/QEMU VM Restore in the GUI or Standard Restore Procedure.
Prerequisites
Before attempting to restore a single file, all preparation steps have to be performed properly, including configuration and VM backup. For details, see KVM/QEMU.
To ensure error-free operation of SEP sesam and improve performance, make sure that the following conditions are met:
- SEP sesam Server version ≥ 5.0.0 Jaglion. For the list of supported systems, see KVM/QEMU Support Matrix.
- Backups must not be encrypted, compressed or stored on tape.
- To be able to access and mount VM disk image on Linux, the guestfs-tools package must be installed on your SEP sesam Server or Linux RDS. If the guestfs-tools package is not installed on your SEP sesam Server or Linux RDS, it is not possible to mount VMDK and perform SFR. Refer to Installing guestfs-tools on Linux.
- To restore single files via the web interface Restore Assistant, appropriate permissions are required. For details, see About Authentication and Authorization.
- Before starting a restore, check the restrictions for mounting the virtual disk (VHD file).
Restore options
When restoring individual files from KVM/QEMU VM backups, you can choose from the following VM restore options to perform restore according to your needs:
- Do not overwrite existing items: (default) Files are only restored if they do not already exist on the target system.
- Overwrite existing items: If the data exists on the target server, it is replaced with the restored version.
Restoring single files
Depending on the interface you are using, follow the appropriate procedure to restore individual KVM/QEMU VM files:
Restoring a single file (SFR) is supported only in advanced UI mode. For details on switching the UI mode, see Setting the UI mode in the GUI and Setting the UI mode in the Restore Assistant.
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The operations and options available after logging in may differ depending on the user type. Other GUI and Web UI display restrictions may depend on the custom roles with specific permissions and the UI mode. For details, see About Authentication and Authorization and User Roles and Permissions. |
Using the GUI restore wizard
Make sure your UI mode is set to advanced (formerly expert) and create a new restore task for the individual item(s) you want to restore.
- From the SEP sesam GUI menu bar, select Activities -> Restore. The New Restore Task window opens.
- Select what you want to restore. You can search savesets by task name or by filename or path.
- When searching by task name, use the drop-down list of available tasks and select the one you want to restore from. This option is selected by default.
- If you are searching by filename/path, select the option Filename or path in a saveset and enter your search expression in the search pattern field.
- In the Saved in period drop-down lists, specify the time frame for which you want to conduct the search. Click Next.
- The search results are displayed. From the list of savesets matching your query, select the version from which you want to restore an individual file. Then select the Mount virtual disk(s) check box. Note that some restrictions apply.
Note SFR of backups from virtualization platforms requires the guestfs-tools package to be installed on Linux in order to access and mount VM disk image on Linux. If the package is not installed on your SEP sesam Server or Linux RDS, it is not possible to mount VMDK and perform SFR. Refer to Installing guestfs-tools on Linux. - Mount is triggered and your virtual disk is mounted to the device server. This may take a few seconds. Click OK.
- In the Select Files window, select the data you want to restore and click Next.
- On the fourth step of the restore wizard (Target Settings), select a restore target where you want to restore your files. Then select an appropriate VM restore option (Overwrite existing virtual machine, etc.) as described in the above section.
- In the final step of the restore wizard, you can review all the settings of your restore task. You can start your single file restore immediately by clicking Start. If you want to save the restore task, click Save.
- Click OK to unmount the saveset and close your restore session.
You can also select RDS to mount from the drop-down list and specify advanced mount options.
Using the web Restore Assistant
You can restore individual files of a KVM/QEMU VM in the web interface in the advanced UI mode if you have the appropriate permissions. For more details on the UI mode, see Setting UI mode in the Restore Assistant.
To familiarise yourself with the concept of user permissions, see About Authentication and Authorization.
- Open the Restore Assistant in the browser. There are three ways to do this:
- via the GUI: by clicking the Restore Assistant icon in the toolbar or from Activities -> Restore Assistant
- from SEP sesam Web UI: left menu -> Restore Assistant
- or by entering the following address in the browser bar: http://[sesamserver]:11401/sep/ui/restore/.
- In the Start window, select KVM/QEMU. Then select the option Advanced View. The VM or single file restore option is selected by default. Click Next.
- In the Virtual Machine window, under Selection of the server, select your target server. Then, under Selection of the virtual machine, select the VM that you want to restore and click Next.
- In the Task window, under Task selection, select your source task. A backup task defines the source data that was backed up by the client. Then, under Backup selection, select the exact backup version you want to restore. You can use the calendar function in the upper right corner to set a date range for the backups. Select the Single file restore option (in the lower right corner) and click Next.
- In the Files window, you have to select the SEP sesam Server or RDS to which you want to mount the backup. You can also specify an alternate mount path and/or advanced mount options. Then click the button Mount this backup in filesystem. A new window will appear showing the progress of the mount process.
- To be able to access and mount VM disk image on Linux, the guestfs-tools package must be installed on your SEP sesam Server or Linux RDS. If the guestfs-tools package is not installed on your SEP sesam Server or Linux RDS, it is not possible to mount VMDK and perform SFR. Refer to Installing guestfs-tools on Linux.
- Mounting is not possible if the savesets are stored on tapes or if the data is compressed or encrypted. Some other XPRFS restrictions also apply to mounting.
- Once a virtual disk is mounted on the device server, select the files you want to restore and click Next.
- In the Target window, under Target selection, select your target environment for restore. You can use the drop-down list to select or filter VMs by name. You can also select a custom target path by browsing. Then select an appropriate restore option (Overwrite existing items, etc.) as described in the above section. Click Next.
- In the Options window, you can specify additional advanced options, such as selecting a data source (media pool, drive, etc.), set include/exclude filters, etc. For details on the available options, see Standard Restore Procedure. Click Next.
- In the last step, check the summary of your restore task (restore type (based on task type, selected backup, its date and details, restore options, etc.) and click Start restore.
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Monitoring restore
You can monitor the restore progress using the Web UI (Monitoring -> Restores) or view the status in the GUI (Main Selection -> Job State -> Restores). The restore overview provides detailed information on the last run of restore jobs, including task name, status (successful, error, in queue...), start and stop time of the last backup, data size, throughput, etc. For details, see SEP sesam Web UI or Restores by State in the GUI.
See also
Installing guestfs-tools on Linux – KVM/QEMU Restore – KVM QEMU Backup – Restore Assistant – About Authentication and Authorization