Backup for SharePoint 6.10 - User Guide

Restoring SharePoint objects

Metalogix Backup for SharePoint lets you restore complete site collections and Web sites. You can also restore individual objects and their child objects. You can choose whether to restore the backed-up objects in place of the existing objects or in a new SharePoint location. You can also restore to a local copy on your computer.

The following checklist helps guide you when you restore SharePoint objects:

Understanding the granular restore process

Metalogix Backup for SharePoint uses a Backup Service that you install on your SharePoint Web Front End (WFE) servers or SQL Server to perform all backup and restore operations. The Backup Service communicates with both the Management Service and with SharePoint. When Metalogix Backup for SharePoint restores backed-up SharePoint objects, it follows the SharePoint object model:

·Documents or Files

·Folders

·Libraries

·Lists

·List items

·Sites or Web sites

·Site Collections

What restore type options are available?

The Restore Type option allows you to specify how Metalogix Backup for SharePoint restores the backed-up objects. Each restore type has its own wizard that guides you through the restore process.

In-place

When you perform an in-place restore Metalogix Backup for SharePoint will add the missing objects to the destination. With the Overwrite Data option available in the restore wizards, when selected, allows you to overwrite content on your farms with the content selected in the restore section.

Out-of-place

An out-of-place restore creates new SharePoint objects in your farm. Metalogix Backup for SharePoint restores the backed-up objects to a different SharePoint location. The new location must be a valid SharePoint structure for the objects. For example, you cannot restore a list within another list.

If an object that you restore has the same name and type as an object that already exists, Metalogix Backup for SharePoint prompts you to overwrite the existing object or skip it.

If an object that you restore has the same name as an object that already exists, but is a different object type, Metalogix Backup for SharePoint does not restore the object.

Metalogix Backup for SharePoint never automatically overwrites objects during an out-of-place restore. No objects with the same name can exist at the same place in the hierarchy. For example, If you back up List1 under Web site A, and Web site B already has a List1, you cannot restore the backed-up List1 under Web site B.

The restored objects have all of the applicable permissions that were defined when the objects were backed-up. The out-of-place restore option lets you copy and move SharePoint objects and their child objects.

Local

Creates a hierarchy of folders in a location accessible to the computer that hosts the Management Console, then copies the backed-up SharePoint files and folders to that location.

Each restored file or folder inherits the permissions of the local folder. The local restore option lets you retrieve a local copy of the file. You can use this option to quickly retrieve a copy of a backed-up file and verify that you selected the correct version of the file. Metalogix Backup for SharePoint lets users perform local restores to their computer.

What should I consider when I restore SharePoint objects?

When you restore an object, the parent of the target object must already exist. For example, if you perform an in-place restore of Web site B and Web site B is under Web site A in the backup set, Web site A must exist in the restore target location to restore Web site B. If you perform an out-of-place restore of Web site B , the Web site that you select to restore Web site B must exist.

When you restore a SharePoint object, Metalogix Backup for SharePoint does not modify the parent of the target object. Because of this, Metalogix Backup for SharePoint cannot restore some components of SharePoint objects that require changes to the target parent. This means that among others, Metalogix Backup for SharePoint is unable to restore workflows, links, and custom column names.

If you restore a custom list, Metalogix Backup for SharePoint may not restore the changes to the default column names. If the custom column names do not exist in the target parent SharePoint object, Metalogix Backup for SharePoint cannot restore these changes.

When you restore a document or list item, Metalogix Backup for SharePoint does not restore any workflows that are associated with that document. If you restore a site that contains lists or libraries with workflows that are set to start automatically, the workflow is restored but is set to start manually. When you restore a document or list item that includes an associated Web Part, Metalogix Backup for SharePoint does not restore the Web Part

When you restore only a list, and you have configured custom content types or inherited content types, Metalogix Backup for SharePoint may not restore the content types and workflow associations for the list. Metalogix Backup for SharePoint restores what it can based on whether the content types exist in the target parent.

If you restore in-place list items that were deleted, Metalogix Backup for SharePoint creates new list items. If you perform another in-place restore operation that includes those list items, Metalogix Backup for SharePoint may create duplicate objects because the internal identifiers for the list items do not match the originally backed-up objects.

When you restore an object using a differential backup, Metalogix Backup for SharePoint displays two restore operations on the Management Console Overview tab: a restore from the full backup immediately followed by a restore from the differential backup.

What permissions are required to restore SharePoint objects?

Metalogix Backup for SharePoint uses the permissions of the logged in user on the computer where the Management Console is installed. When you restore a site collection, Web site, or SharePoint item, Metalogix Backup for SharePoint takes into account both the current permissions that the user has and the permissions the user had when the backup was created.

The user must have appropriate permissions assigned both when the backup was created, and in the present. In the present, the permission applies to the site collection that is the target for the restore. The user must have one of the following permissions assigned, otherwise if the user did not have sufficient permissions when the objects were backed-up, Metalogix Backup for SharePoint displays the site collections and Web sites in the backup set as disabled.

Site Collection Administrator
Users with the Site Collection Administrator role can restore SharePoint items to any site or site collection where they are the administrator.

Web Application Policy - Full Control
A user who has full control as a result of a Web application policy can restore SharePoint items to any site or site collection in a Web application where they are granted full control.

SharePoint Farm Administrator
A SharePoint Farm Administrator can restore SharePoint items to any site or site collection in a SharePoint farm, including MySites for all users.

Restoring a backed-up SharePoint object

The Management Console allows you to restore:

·List items and documents

·Folders

·Lists and Libraries

·Sites or Web Sites

·Site Collections

When you perform a restore, you can choose where to restore the backed-up objects. You can restore:

·By replacing existing objects

·In a new SharePoint location

·To a local copy on a computer

What should I consider when I restore SharePoint objects?

Consider the following questions before attempting to restore any SharePoint objects:

·Which objects do you want to restore?

·Where do you want to restore the objects?

·What are the expected results?

Restoring backed-up SharePoint objects can only be done on the same version of SharePoint from which the Backup was taken. For more information about these considerations, the permissions required to restore SharePoint objects, and the overall restore process, see Understanding the granular restore process.

Why are some SharePoint objects disabled in the Management Console?

The Management Console disables or hides some objects when you do not have the appropriate permissions for those objects. In addition, some objects are disabled or hidden if the backup is archived or moved to another location. If the backup set is archived or moved, you may be able to view the backup set in a list, but you cannot view the objects in the backup set.

If you return the archived backup set to its original backup set storage location, you can view the objects in the backup set. For more information about the permissions required to back up SharePoint objects, see Understanding the granular restore process. For more information about archived backup sets, see Managing Backup Set disk space.

How do I restore a backed-up object?

Use the Management Console to restore a backed-up object.

To restore a backed-up object

1.From the Management Console workspace selector click Granular Restore.

2.In the Granular Restore pane, select a farm and then select Mounted Databases.

3.Click the Restore tab.

4.In the ribbon, select the type of restore to perform from one of the following choices:

·In-place. The restored content is returned to the same place in the SharePoint farm in which it originated. All selected items must belong to the same parent site. Multiple targets are not permitted.

·Out-of-place. The restored content is stored in a new location that you specify in your SharePoint farm.

·Local. The restored content is stored in a location accessible from the computer that hosts the Management Console.

5.In the Backup Sets pane, click the backup set from where you want to restore content.

6.In the Backup Content area, select the check boxes for the content to restore.

You can also use the search box to search for item names that start with the expression entered in the search box. If the search items are documents, you can select a document and click Download Document from the ribbon to open the document in its document viewer.

Select the items that you want to restore. You can also use Live Compare to locate and visually verify the objects that you want to restore. For more information see How does Live Compare help me locate missing objects?

7.In the ribbon, click Restore to open the wizard for the selected restore type.

How does Metalogix Backup for SharePoint match file names when searching?

When you specify an object name, Metalogix Backup for SharePoint searches for that name starting at the beginning of the names of the backed-up objects. The value you specify must be at the beginning of the object name, or there must be a space or separator, such as an underscore or period, in the name before the value you specified.

You can also specify a wild card character (? or *) in the middle of the search value. The question mark (?) matches a single character. The asterisk (*) matches one or more characters.

How do I control the number of search results ?

By default, search results include only the first 100 results per backup set. Use the Management Console to change this setting and display between 20 and 999 results per backup set.

1.From the Management Console workspace selector click Configuration.

2.In the Configuration pane, select the farm whose Management Service search preference you want to set.

3.In the Configuration tab ribbon, click Management Console. The Management Console Preferences window opens.

4.Set the search limit value in the Limit the number of matches returned per backup set between 20 to 9999.

5.Click OK to close the window and save the changes you made to the Management Console preferences.

How does Live Compare help me locate missing objects?

You can compare the objects in a backup set with the objects in the live SharePoint farm which you want to restore. The comparison is color-coded to indicate the difference between the farm and the backup set.

1.In the Backup Content area, select the check boxes for the content to restore.

2.Select any node that you want to inspect.

3.Right-click the node or anywhere in the hierarchy pane and from the context-menu select Live Compare.

4.Expand the highlighted node in the Live Compare window. A highlighted node indicates that one or more differences were detected in that node. Optionally, you can expand your search for more differences by clicking Show All SharePoint Structure to list the entire farm hierarchy.

5.When you expand a highlighted node all the way, you will find the differences. Use the following color code:

a.Black - The object exists in the farm and the backup set.

b.Gray - The object exists in the farm but not in the backup set.

c.Red - The object exists in the backup set but not in the farm.

6.Select one or more items, folders, lists, sites or site collections you want to restore. If the items are documents, you can select a document and click Download Document from the ribbon to open the document in its document viewer.

7.From the ribbon, select a Restore Type: In-place, Out-of-place or Local.

8.Click Restore. The restore wizard for the selected restore type starts.

Restoring Lists and List items

Follow the steps below to restore list items and documents:

1.From the Management Console workspace selector click Granular Restore.

2.In the Granular Restore pane, select a farm and then select Mounted Databases.

3.Click the Restore tab.

4.In the ribbon, select a Restore Type: In-place, Out-of-place or Local.

5.In the Backup Sets pane, click the backup set from where you want to restore content.

6.In the Backup Content area, select the check boxes for the list items or documents to restore. You can also use the search box to search for the list item or document names that start with the expression entered in the search box.

7.In the ribbon, click Restore. Depending on your choice of Restore Type, the In-Place Restore Wizard, Out-of-Place Restore Wizard or Local Restore Wizard opens.

8.In the Welcome step you can select the Hide this Welcome page in future to skip this step the next time you invoke the wizard.

9.Click Next. The the Restore step appears. Review the objects to restore. If you want to overwrite all the objects that will be restored, then select Overwrite Data.

10.Click Next. The Target step appears. Specify the target location for where you want your restore to occur . You can specify a target in the search field when you have a large number of targets.

11.Click Next. The Item Options step appears.

Select from the following settings:

a.Copy List Items and Documents: This option allows granular copy of list items and documents.

b.Copy versions for List Items and Documents: This option allows including major and/or minor versions of the content. Versioning must be enabled on the target destination. By default Copy all versions is selected. If the end user wants to copy just some versions, they must check select Number of versions to copy and enter the amount of versions to be used during the restore.

12.Click Next. The Permissions step appears.

Select from the following options:

a.Copy Item Permissions: Unique permissions to the specific items to be restored.

b.Copy Folder Permissions: Unique permissions to the specific folder nodes to be restored.

c.Copy List Permissions: Unique permissions to the specific list or library to be restored.

13.Click Next. The Summary step appears.

14.Review the restore settings and click Restore.