vRanger 7.7.1 - User Guide

Performing an FLR on Windows

Performing an FLR on Windows

You can restore a file from a savepoint by accessing the File Level Restore command in the My Repositories view. FLR is accessible regardless of how the savepoints are sorted. You can right-click the savepoint in the Working Repository pane to select the command or you can click to select the savepoint and then click the FLR icon on the toolbar.

There is no need to copy or recreate the contents of the disk. The data remains compressed. When you make an FLR request, only the relevant files are moved from the repository to the designated computer.

A key component of the vRanger FLR is the vRanger catalog functionality. While you can use FLR without cataloging enabled, it is much easier to find a preferred file by using a catalog search than through manual browsing of savepoints.

 

NOTE: If the volume was created on Windows Server ® 2012 or later, the vRanger machine must also use Windows Server 2012 or later to complete FLR. Older systems may not show data on GPT disks. VMs with dynamic disks are not supported for FLR.

Performing an FLR using Catalog Search

Performing an FLR using Catalog Search

Cataloging lets you search and browse savepoints for files inside the backup archives. Cataloging must be enabled at the start of the backup job to function, and also enabled globally in the Configuration Options dialog box.

Catalog Search has the following parameters:

•	When cataloging a full backup, all files in the system are stored in the database.

•	When cataloging an incremental backup, only the files that were modified since the last backup are stored in the database.

•	When cataloging a differential backup, only the files that were modified since the last full backup are stored in the database.

 

NOTE: When it comes to reporting the status of a backup task, cataloging is not considered a critical function. The cataloging portion of the task can fail, and the task is still considered successful.

To perform FLR using Catalog Search:

1	On the main vRanger UI, navigate to the My Repositories pane, and then select the repository in which you want to search.

2	Do one of the following to start the Catalog Search function:

▪	Click the Catalog Search Icon .

▪	On the Menu Bar, click the Tools menu, and then click Catalog Search.

The Catalog Search & Browse dialog box appears.

Entering a search string in the Catalog Search Criteria field searches all repositories and savepoints for the string.

3	To refine the scope of the search further, click Advanced.

The Advanced option lets you limit the search to a repository or VM (savepoint).

4	Select the repository or VM you want to search, enter the search string, and click Search.

5	Select the preferred savepoint, and click FLR for File Level Restore, or Restore for the Full Restore.

 

NOTE: Catalog searching supports the traditional wildcard character (*) in any position. The search string can be as short or as long as you prefer; however, the shorter the string, the longer the search takes. SQL Server® Express is limited to one CPU and 1 GB of RAM; a short search string — for instance, “dot” — could result in very slow searching, and SQL Server Express could run out of memory. To minimize performance issues during Catalog Search, make the search string as specific as possible.

Performing a manual FLR

Performing a manual FLR

The dialog box for this method of restoring files is made up of the following three panes:

•	Savepoint pane: In this area, all the files or folders connected to a savepoint are nested. When you click the file or folder that you want to restore, the path is listed above it.

•	Destination pane: This pane includes a tree structure of all possible destinations for the restored file or folder you select.

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Restore Status pane: This area of the dialog box contains data after the restore process starts. It includes a column that indicates the percentage of the job that has completed. The dialog box also features a Stop link that, when clicked, ends the restore process. When a job is stopped or it has completed, a View in Explorer link appears.

To perform a manual FLR:

1	In the main vRanger UI, click My Repositories.

2	In the Working Repository pane, right-click the savepoint for which you want an FLR and select File Level Restore.

3	In the Select the Files/Folders to Restore pane, expand the archive to view the file structure.

4	Select the file or files to recover.

5	In the Destination pane, select the destination to which the selected files should be recovered.

The Destination pane shows the Windows Explorer view for the machine on which vRanger is installed.

 

CAUTION: vRanger does not check for previous versions of the files you are restoring. Files restored using FLR overwrite any previous files of the same name in the restore destination.

6	Click Restore.

7	In the Restore Status pane, view the status of the restore activity and the value in the Percent Finished column.

8	Make sure that the status is Finished and Percent Finished is 100%.

9	To view the restored file or folder, click the View in Explorer link.

Performing an FLR on Linux

Performing an FLR on Linux

FLR from Linux® server savepoints requires that a vRanger virtual appliance (VA) is deployed and configured for Linux FLR. For instructions on deploying and configuring the vRanger VA, see the Quest vRanger Installation/Upgrade Guide.

After you configure the vRanger VA, the FLR process for a Linux VM is the same as the manual FLR process — meaning the process not using a catalog search — for a Windows® VM. For more information, see Performing a manual FLR.

Linux FLR limitations

There are several limitations and requirements that apply to FLRs from Linux® VMs.

 

NOTE: The following summarizes the limitations; for more information, see the Quest vRanger Installation/Upgrade Guide.

•	Linux: FLR from Linux servers requires the use of the vRanger VA. For more information, see Performing an FLR on Linux.

•	Linux: Not all Linux file systems are supported for FLR. For a list of supported Linux platforms and file systems, see the Quest vRanger Installation/Upgrade Guide.

•	Permissions: vRanger requires you to recover the Linux files to an intermediate Windows® machine. When you recover Linux files to a Windows machine, you lose the file permissions.

•	Source VM Configuration: The source VM properties need to show the operating system (OS) type as Linux. If this setting is not configured properly, vRanger does not identify the savepoint as a Linux VM.