For restoring your data SEP sesam offers Restore Assistant, the web-based restore interface that is intuitive and offers many advanced options that enable you to tailor the restore to your needs. With Restore Assistant you can create a restore task, configure regular or specialized restore types, and recover data from a wide range of sources, including filesystems, database applications, groupware systems, virtual environments, and operating systems.
For experienced users, the Restore Assistant offers the flexibility to switch between simple and advanced restore modes, enabling to fine-tune their restore process.
Web restore procedure
Restore Assistant is designed to guide you through a series of steps or windows and configure the restore.
The restore procedure includes selecting the backup to restore, the restore target, and other restore options depending on the type of data to restore. The available restore options in simple mode cover the most common restore cases and are the recommended method for performing a restore. In advanced mode additional restore types are available, such as restoring backups and VMs to the file system, writing backups and VMs to dump files, performing VMware sandbox restore, etc. Also, an additional Options window is available for all task types.
Tip
You can start the restore procedure directly from a successfully finished backup. In Web UI, you can start restore through backup results in Monitoring -> Last Backup State or Monitoring -> Backups. For the selected backup click the button for available actions to open the context menu and then click Restore. A Restore button with additional options is also available in detailed view of a backup result. In GUI, you can right-click a backup result and then click Web Restore. In this case, the task type and client are already set and you can skip these two steps in Restore Assistant.
The following sections describe all options and selections that are available in the Restore Assistant. Not all options and features are available for every task type. The options and features that are available for a task type depend on the restore capabilities for the selected procedure. Specific actions, which are required depending on a task type, are described in articles for restoring that particular task type.
To access the Restore Assistant:
Through the GUI: either click the Restore Assistant icon in the toolbar, or click Activities -> Restore Assistant in the menu bar.
Through the SEP sesam Web UI: either click the Restore Assistant icon in the toolbar at the top of the page, or in the main menu click Assistants and then Start the Restore Assistant.
Using the browser: enter the following address in your web browser: http://[sesamserver]:11401/sep/ui/restore/.
Start window
In the Start window, select the appropriate task type. While the basic steps are the same for all task types, specific options may vary based on the selected task and UI mode. You can also switch to advanced mode that offers additional options and alternative restore procedures.
Advanced options
Instant recovery
This process enables the immediate startup of a VMware virtual machine directly from the backup source, eliminating the need for data restoration. Instant VM recovery utilizes vMotion technology to perform live migrations of running VMs from one physical server to another, ensuring zero downtime. SEP sesam offers versatile instant recovery for VMware, especially for backup chains.
Sandbox restore
The online VMware sandbox restore enables you to restore and start one or more virtual machines (VMs) in an isolated virtual environment without network access to the production environment. The SEP sesam VMware sandbox serves as a testing environment where you can restore and launch one or more VMs, conduct VM troubleshooting, install new software, apply updates and patches, verify VM backups, and more.
Restore to file system
This option enables you to restore your data directly to the file system without requiring any additional actions.
Restore into dump file
Restoring into a dump file directs the data to a single file instead of its original location. You can specify the name of the dump file, or leave empty and SEP sesam automatically generates the name.
Screenshots
Client window
In the Client window, select the specific client you intend to restore, which serves as the source for data retrieval in your restore operation. You can search for clients or VMs based on their name, location, or operating system.
When restoring a virtual machine, select the virtualization server that hosts the VM you wish to restore and then the specific VM.
Screenshots
Task window
In the Task window, select a backup task and a specific saveset that defines the source data backed up on the client. To filter the displayed backup tasks or locate a specific backup, you can use the search functionality and enter your search term in the Search for files or directories in all backups field. You can also set a date range using the calendar function. Additionally, you can filter savesets based on their state (for example, only successful) and backup levels (for example, only full).
Options
Generation restore
This process automatically displays and restores all generations of backed-up files in the backup chain (full, differential, incremental) up to the selected saveset. This option is selected by default and can be changed only when restoring INCR or DIFF backup in Advanced mode.
Selective restore/Single file restore
Selective restore is recommended when only specific data or files from the backup are needed, as it offers faster restore times and improved performance. With selective file restore (SFR) of a VM backup, the target saveset is mounted by default. This configuration allows immediate access for browsing and searching before the actual restore process begins, providing quick access to your data. The mounted saveset essentially creates a virtual read-only file system, ensuring that it cannot be altered or damaged. The path to the target saveset in the SEP sesam home directory is displayed in the restore assistant and can be easily copied for access.
The Mount this backup in the filesystem option lets you mount non-compressed and non-encrypted file-based savesets stored on SEP sesam data stores (for example, Path or Si3) directly into the filesystem of the SEP sesam Server. It enables you to browse and select files or directories from the backup without initiating a complete restore process. This option is not available for savesets stored on tapes. On Linux, the guestfs-tools package must be installed on your SEP sesam Server or Linux RDS.
The Attach virtual disks to a Proxy-VM via NFS server option enables you to attach a VMDK (Virtual Machine Disk) backup to a virtual machine through an NFS (Network File System) server. It enables you to access the contents of the VMDK backup directly within the VM and you can browse and select individual files or directories as needed.
The Continue with the regular backup file explorer option opens the standard backup browser, which is the standard method for selecting items from the backup.
Note
It is recommended to enable this option for the restore of specific data, such as Exchange, Hyper-V and V-Sphere backups, as it provides faster restore times and improved performance. By default, the target saveset is mounted to the SEP sesam home directory var\tmp\mnt, e.g., C:\Program Files\SEPsesam\var\tmp\mnt\saveset_ID. This configuration allows immediate access for browsing and searching before the actual restore is initiated, providing quick access to your data, such as individual mailboxes. The mounted saveset essentially creates a virtual read-only file system, ensuring that it cannot be altered or otherwise damaged.
Complete restore/Virtual machine restore
This process involves restoring an entire saveset or an entire virtual machine (VM). For complete restore, the selection of individual files is not possible, and the step in the Files window is skipped.
Screenshots
Files window (selective restore only)
In the Files window, select the specific data you want to restore. This step is available for selective restore or single file restore, and it enables you to select the individual files and directories you need to recover. The standard backup browser is provided as the default method for browsing and selecting items.
Options
In virtual environments you can mount a backup in filesystem, or attach a VMDK via NFS server (available on VMware only) to browse and select the files and directories.
Mount a backup in filesystem:
SEP sesam Server or RDS to mount on
Define the SEP sesam Server or RDS where the backup should be mounted.
Alternative mount path on server/RDS
By default, the target VMDK is mounted to the SEP sesam home directory var\tmp\mnt. Optionally, you can specify an alternative path for mounting the backup.
Advanced mount options
Optionally, you can set additional parameters for mounting the backup.
Attach VMDK via NFS server (available on VMware only):
Proxy VM
Select the virtual machine that will serve as the proxy between the source (the NFS server and VMDK) and the destination (the target virtual machine). Only clients configured as virtual machines with SMSSH or SSH access mode and the correct VM host name can be selected.
NFS interface
Optionally, specify the network interface that will be used to communicate with the NFS server during the attachment process.
Advanced attach options
Optionally, you can configure additional parameters for attaching the VMDK via the NFS server.
Screenshots
Target window
In the Target window, select the specific client as the destination for data recovery in your restore operation. You can search for clients or VMs based on their name, location, or operating system.
When restoring a virtual machine, select the server that will host the VM you wish to restore and then the specific VM.
In case you want to perform restore into a dump file, specify or browse for the path where the dump file will be created, and optionally change the default dump file name.
By default, the files are restored to the original location and the original target path is used for restore. Optionally, you can specify a new target path to restore your data to a different destination. You can enter the path directly or browse for it.
If you want to restore mail(s) to a different user mailbox or folder (for example, for Kopano Groupware, Dovecot IMAP, Courier, or Cyrus mail servers), use the Target mail folder and user options. Enter a new mail user (option Change user to) and/or folder (option Change folder to). Skip this step to restore mails to their original location (default).
Execution options
Do not overwrite existing items
Files are restored only if they do not already exist on the target system.
Create new version
Restored files are saved under new names.
Overwrite existing items
If the data already exists on the target system, it will be replaced with the restored version.
Overwrite existing items with newer items from the backup
If the data already exists on the target system, it will be replaced with newer items from the backup.
Overwrite existing items with older items from the backup
If the data already exists on the target system, it will be replaced with older items from the backup.
Alternatively, for VMs:
Do not overwrite an existing virtual machine
The VM is restored only if it does not already exist on the target system.
Restore an existing virtual machine with a new name
The VM is restored with a new name, MAC address, and UUID.
Overwrite an existing virtual machine
If the VM already exists on the target server, it will be replaced with the restored version, preserving the original MAC address and UUID.
Automatically shutdown the VM if running
This option enables SEP sesam to automatically shut down the virtual machine (VM) if it is running at the time of restore. This ensures that the VM is gracefully powered off before restore begins, reducing the risk of data conflicts or corruption.
(Do not) start the virtual machine after restore
Specifies whether to automatically start a virtual machine after it's been restored.
(Do not) Auto recover after restore
Specifies whether automatic recovery occurs after the restore operation.
Keep the original tree structure
This option is selected by default when restoring to the original location. It ensures that the directory structure of the restored files matches the original directory structure of the backed-up data.
Restore all items flat in the selected target directory
The backup is restored to a flat file structure, without replicating the original directory structure.
Restore without file system permissions (skip ACLs)
When selected, ACLs (Access Control Lists) are not restored.
Restore file system permissions (ACLs) only
Only the ACLs are restored.
Recovery State Options (MS SQL Server only)
You can select one of the following options that are relevant for restoring MS SQL Server databases and affect the database's state after the restore:
Leave the database ready for use by rolling back uncommitted transactions. Additional transaction logs cannot be restored.
Preserve the replication settings
Restrict access to the restored database
Leave the database non-operational, and do not roll back uncommitted transactions. Additional transaction logs can be restored.
Leave the database in read-only mode. Undo uncommitted transactions, but save the undo actions in a file so that recovery effects can be reversed.
Screenshots
Options window (Advanced View only)
In the Options window, you can fine-tune the restore procedure with a range of advanced configuration options for restore. This step is only available in Advanced view.
Advanced options
Optional data source selection
You can select your preferred media pool, drive, used media|barcode, and interface from the drop-down lists. These options can help you optimize resource utilization.
Preferred media pool
If the data was migrated or replicated and different media pools were used for the process, the source media pool to restore from can be selected from the drop-down list of available media pools.
Used media/barcode
If the data was migrated, the migrated copy is stored to another media. Here you can select the source media from which to restore from the drop-down list of available media.
Drive
The number of the drive with the backed up data (more relevant for tape backups without a loader). Optionally, select the drive number of the drive to be used for reading the data. Typically, you use this if you have configured additional drives and want to assign dedicated drives for restore. For details, see the option Create second drive in Configuring a Data Store.
Interface
The name of the server from which the files are being restored. This is either a Remote Device Server (RDS) or the SEP sesam Server.
Include/exclude filter
Allows you to control which files or directories are included or excluded from your restore. For instance, you can enter *.docx into the filter to include or exclude all MS Word ".docx" files from the restore operation.
This feature is available for client-side filtering, while server-side filtering is limited to excluding and is not applicable for complete restores.
Advanced restore options
Log, Special Options tab:
Log level
This option allows you to change the verbosity of the main and trace logs to provide in-depth visibility into the restore process than in standard logging mode:
0: print only standard and error messages together with a summary
1: display a line for every item when its processing starts: sbc-3008: Info: Processing item: [xxx]...
2: display a line for every item when its processing finishes: sbc-3108: Info: Item processed successfully: [xxx]
3: display backup module processing information (with DB_API modules)
4: display underlying module processing XBSA and detailed DB_API modules
5: display packing data (mtf, cpio, sidf) trace messages
Provides the capability to define additional options for the sbc command, which will be performed on the target client system. For details, see SBC CLI.
Options for restore (server side)
Provides the capability to define additional options for the sbc command, which will be performed on the SEP sesam Server. For details, see SBC CLI.
Retention, Generation, Pre/Post tab:
Execute pre
The commands from the pre interface are run.
Start restore in spite of pre error
Typically, the restore will not start if the pre commands are not successful. By selecting this option, the restore will ignore the pre command errors.
Execute post
The commands from the post interface are run.
Start post in spite of restore error
If the restore did not finish successfully, you can force the execution of post commands by enabling this option (e.g., booting a database).
Retention time
Retention time specifies how long (in days) this restore task is kept and can be accessed. The default is 7 days. If you want to use a restore task after a longer period of time or use it as a template, it is recommended to set a longer retention time. Setting the value to 0 (zero) means unlimited lifetime; a restore task will be kept permanently unless you manually delete it.
Virtualization restore options
In the context of a VM restore, this section provides you with choices for the transport mode. You can select from available transport modes such as HOTADD, SAN, NBD, or NBDSSL. These modes can be arranged to match your specific requirements, ensuring efficient data transfer. For details, see Selecting the best VMware transport mode for your environment.
You can also specify your preferred data mover, and select whether the VM should start after the restore.
Target options of the virtual machine
You can specify additional target options, such as network interface(s), folder, storage repository, etc. Note that the available target options depend on the selected task type.
Recovery actions
In this section you can enable or disable various recovery actions, including configurations, removals, and startups. Additionally, you can perform checks on the VM's power state, guest tools state, and network IP address or add custom actions or checks. You can select templates from the Actions or Checks drop-down lists or manually enter your own action or check commands. To activate your custom action or check, click Save.
If you need to remove any action or check, select it and click the recycle bin icon. These advanced options offer control over specific requirements or specialized use cases.
Screenshots
Finish window
In the Finish window, you can review the summary of the configured restore task.
Optionally, you can change the default restore task name and include a note or a description for the restore. You can also set a time limit for the task's execution. If the restore task exceeds the specified time, it will be automatically canceled.
You can start the restore immediately or save the task for later execution. In Web UI, you have the option to schedule the task.
Any form of reproduction of the contents or parts of this manual is allowed only with the express written permission from SEP GmbH. When compiling and designing user documentation SEP GmbH uses great diligence and attempts to deliver accurate and correct information. However, SEP GmbH cannot issue a guarantee for the contents of this manual.
