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Features - Microsoft Windows File System iDataAgent
Microsoft Windows File System iDataAgent - Table of Contents
Overview
Operations
Backup Backup - Windows File Systems
Windows File System Backup Jobs
Advanced File System iDataAgent Options
Browse Browse Data - Overview
Browse Options
Control the Browse Time Interval
Image Browse
No Image Browse
Browse from Copies
Find a File or Folder
Browse Multiple Versions of a File
Full Backup Transparent Browse
Browse Using The Exact Index
Restore Restore Data - Windows File Systems
Restore Considerations for this Agent
Restore Destinations
Restoring Microsoft Virtual Server Virtual Machines
Restore Options
Basic Restore
Browse and Restore
Restore from Copies
Restore Data Using a Specific MediaAgent, Library or DrivePool
Restore by Jobs
Restore from Failed or Killed Jobs
Restore Data using Wildcard Expressions
Automatic Detection of Regular Expressions
Filter Data From Restore/Recover Operations
Rename Files on Restore
Restore Using the Exact Index
Restore Destinations
Set a Job Priority
Start in Suspended State
Related Topics
List Media (Media Prediction)
Restore From Anywhere
Full System Restore Restore Data - Windows File System - Full System Restore
Restoring the System State
Search and Restore Data Discovery and Search
Find a File/Directory/Object
Restoring Data from Search Results
Configuration
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Features - Microsoft Windows File System iDataAgent
Agents Agents - Microsoft Windows File System
Backup Sets Backup Sets - File System, NetWare Server, and Active Directory iDataAgents
Subclients Subclients - Windows File Systems
User Accounts and Passwords
Management
Job Management Data Protection Operations
Data Recovery Operations
Job History Backup Job History
Restore Job History
Troubleshooting
Incrementals Back Up All Files
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Overview - Windows File System iDataAgent
Choose from the following topics:
Introduction
Supported Data Types
Tree Levels in the Windows File System iDataAgent
License Requirement
File System Data
Disaster Recovery Considerations
Related Topics:
Erase Backup/Archived Data
Introduction
The Windows File System iDataAgents are backup and restore vehicles for Windows file system data residing on Windows
computer systems. These File System iDataAgents are just several of a group of iDataAgents that provide backup and
restore support for different kinds of data in what is often a heterogeneous network environment.
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Supported Data Types
All Windows File System iDataAgents support the following data types:
File System
System State
The File System includes regular files in various file system types, and mount points. See File System Data on this page for
a list of what's included.
The System State includes components and services that are critical to operating system recovery. Refer to the System
State page for more information.
The Windows File System iDataAgent does not support backing up data
from non-Windows shares (Unix, NetWare, etc.) For example, backing
up a mapped Unix share is not supported.
Tree Levels in the Windows File System iDataAgent
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When the Windows File System iDataAgent is installed, the following levels are automatically created in the CommCell
Browser.
Delta: Client default: Subclients
File System: Agent
defaultBackupSet: Backup
Sets
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License Requirement
To perform a data protection operation using this Agent a specific Product License must be available in the CommServe.
Review general license requirements included in License Administration. Also, View All Licenses provides step-by-step
instructions on how to view the license information.
File System Data
The following file system types are supported for backup and restore operations:
File Allocation Table (FAT) file systems
New Technology File Systems (NTFS)
Universal Naming Convention (UNC) Paths
Single Instance Storage
Mount Points
Encrypted files
Shared Volumes
Remote Storage Service
Compressed Data
Share with Macintosh data
It is possible to restore data from one file system type to another. For more information on restoring to different file
systems, see Restore Destinations.
Disaster Recovery Considerations
Before you use your agent, be sure to review and understand the associated full system restore (or disaster recovery)
procedure. The procedure for some agents may require that you plan specific actions or consider certain items before an
emergency occurs. See Disaster Recovery for more information regarding your agent.
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Back Up Data
Topics | Advanced Backup Options | Support | Related Topics
Overview
What Gets Backed Up
When Does the Data get Backed Up
How Long is the Backup Data Retained
Backup Types
When a Backup is Converted to a Full Backup
Comparing Backup Types
Combining Backup Types
Agent-Specific Backup Overviews
Related Reports
Overview
The primary purpose of a backup is to secure your data to media, for recovery at a later time. Review the following topics
to understand the scope of backup operations.
Disaster Recovery Backup
All information for the CommCell is stored in a SQL database and the Windows registries on the CommServe. It is critical to
be able to retrieve this information in the case of a disaster or system failure, and thus critical that this data be backed up.
For more information and procedures, see Disaster Recovery Backup.
What Gets Backed Up
The data that will be backed up is determined first by the agent, which is designed to handle one or more types of data.
Then, the subclient content configuration determines what specific data of the supported data type(s) will be backed up.
Data Types
Each agent is designed to back up one or more specific data types. For example, to secure Windows File System data you
would use the Windows File System iDataAgent . To find out what data types an agent is tailored to secure, read the
Product Overview for the agent. Some agents may overlap in what data types they can secure, and you should plan your
backups accordingly.
Subclient Content
Subclient content will determine what gets backed up by the Agent. If an agent is designed to backup Windows File System
data, for example, the data you want to backup must be included the contents of a subclient. Subclients provide a flexible
way of managing what gets backed up. See Subclients for information on subclients and assigning content to subclients.
For agents that support On Demand Data Protection operations, the content is specified via Content Files (in some cases in
conjunction with a Directive File) instead of through a Subclient Properties (Content) tab. See Defining Content for On
Demand Data Protection Operations for more information.
Excluding Data from Data Protection Operations
You may want to exclude files or subdirectories that are contained within a subclient content path from data protection
operations. This is useful to prevent the system from needlessly securing data that does not need to be protected. Also, you
can prevent the same data from being secured multiple times in cases where two agents are securing the same data, by
excluding the data from operations on one of the agents. See Excluding Data from Data Protection Operations for
information on methods of excluding data from data protection operations.
When Does the Data get Backed Up
The software allows you to schedule or initiate backups at the subclient, instance and/or backup set level, depending upon
the agent. Scheduled data protection operations provide a convenient means of securing data without user intervention.
When scheduling data protection operations, you need to establish a schedule for each subclient. For example, a backup
schedule always contains a full backup and may contain one or more other backup operations. When combined for a given
subclient, these backups comprise a full backup cycle.
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You can also schedule data protection operations using a Agent Specific Data Protection Schedule Policy or an All Agent
Types Data Protection Schedule Policy.
Almost all operations can either be scheduled, or performed immediately.
How Long is the Backup Data Retained
Each subclient is associated to a storage policy. How long the backup data will be retained on the backup media is
determined by the retention rules set in the Storage Policy Copy Properties dialog box. This will affect media usage, and
is an important consideration when planning your backups. A longer retention period, for example, could use more media
for securing the data over time.
If a retention period other than infinite is selected, the data will be pruned according to backup cycles in relation to the
retention rules you set in the Storage Policy Copy Properties dialog box. Pruned data can be overwritten on the backup
media.
The backup data from a subclient will be retained according to the rules set for the storage policy associated with it. The
ability to define data in subclients, and then associate them to specific storage policies allows you to prioritize exactly what
data is retained and for how long.
For example, a client is being backed up with the Windows File System iDataAgent using the default subclient (which backs
up the entire file system). It is associated to a storage policy that regularly ages the data. There is a critical folder on that
client that you would like retained longer than the rest of the file system. You could create a new subclient with that critical
folder as its content, and associate the new subclient with a storage policy that has the desired retention period.
See Data Aging for detailed information and advanced concepts on Data Aging and retention.
See Subclients for information on assigning a storage policy to a subclient.
Backup Types
See the following for detailed information on each of the common backup types:
Full Backups
Incremental Backups
Incremental Backups - Lotus Notes
Differential Backups
Synthetic Full Backups
Not all agents support all of the common backup types. See Backup Options - Support for a list of supported backup types
for each agent.
In addition to the common backup types listed above, each agent may support additional backup types. For more
information on backups for a specific agent, see the Agent-Specific Backup Overview.
When a Backup is Converted to a Full Backup
In some cases, the system will automatically run a job as a full backup to ensure the integrity of your data, even if you
have selected a non-full backup option. An unplanned full backup could have the following effects:
Increased backup size and therefore increased media usage.
Increased time to complete the backup, possibly pushing the backup out of the Operation Window.
Increased network bandwidth usage.
Therefore, conversions to full should be considered when planning your backups. You can avoid, or plan for these situations
by familiarizing yourself with the general circumstances, and the circumstances for each agent in which an operation is
converted to full.
See When a Non-Full Backup is Automatically Converted to a Full Backup for detailed information.
Comparing Backup Types
The backup scheme for a given subclient can employ more than one type of backup. Often you will use either full backups
and incremental backups or full backups and differential backups, depending on your data security needs and preferences.
Full backups always back up all the data that is assigned to a given subclient. While full backups are necessary (to establish
a backup baseline), they are the least efficient form of backup because they back up all data and therefore take the longest
time to complete. Incremental backups generally back up the least amount of data thereby making them the most efficient
form of backup. Differential backups, on average, are somewhere between the two. They tend to back up more data than
an incremental, but less than a full backup.
Incremental backups are more efficient than differentials from a backup perspective. However, differential backups can
increase restore efficiency. Each time a backup occurs, the data is written to an archive file on the backup media. This topic
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is discussed in Backup Series within Removable Media Groups. Since each incremental backup produces an archive file, the
backup data for a given subclient tends to be distributed among different archive files. In differential backups, however, all
the changed data resides in one (i.e., the latest) archive file. From a restore perspective, this storage protocol can be
important, particularly if you want to restore the latest version of a large amount of data.
To understand this observation better, we will compare the backup examples in Incremental Backups on and Differential
Backups. These examples show how the two backup types back up the same file system with the same file modifications.
The examples reveal that the incremental backup data is distributed among more archive files than the differential backup
data. Consider user files A, C, and D. The latest versions of these files reside in three incremental backup archive files (i.e.,
one archive file per backup). The same user files are consolidated into one (i.e., the latest) differential backup archive file.
This is a clear advantage from a restore point of view since in order to restore the entire file system to its most recent
state, the software needs to reference only two archive files: the one produced by the most recent differential backup (i.e.,
n-1) and the one produced by the preceding full backup (i.e., 1). To restore the same data from the incremental backups,
the system would need to reference four archive files: those produced by backups n-1, 4, 3, and 1. This introduces
additional latency because the system must actively seek for each required archive file.
Note that from a restore perspective, full backups provide the most efficiency since all data is always in only one archive
file. But, because of the load that full backups place on system resources, it is impractical to use them exclusively. Another
means of enhancing restore efficiency involves the use of a different kind of backup; a synthetic full backup.
Combining Backup Types for Exchange Databases
When using any of the Exchange Database iDataAgents, you may choose either full backups and incremental backups, or
full backups and differential backups, depending on your data security needs and preferences, but you cannot mix types. If
it is more productive to switch to the opposite methodology, a full backup is forced. Any existing backups from the previous
methodology can not be restored.
Conclusions on Incremental and Differential Backups
Incremental and differential backups each have their own advantages. Compared to differentials, incremental backups:
Back up less data
Consume less media
Take less time to complete
Result in lengthier restores, particularly of larger amounts of data
Assist in managing transaction logs (for Exchange Database iDataAgents)
Compared to incrementals, differential backups:
Back up more data
Consume more media
Take more time to complete
Result in faster restores, particularly of larger amounts of data
Note that differential backups are cumulative and get larger in succession as additional files change over time. This can
introduce problems in the backup strategy of subclients where the proportion of data that changes is high. Under these
conditions, the size of the differential backup can rapidly approach the size of a full backup. In such cases, you may want to
revisit your backup strategy and run full backups more frequently.
In general, the case for using differential backups tends to become stronger if you run few full backups relative to the total
number of backups run for a given subclient. If, however, you run full backups fairly frequently relative to the total number
of backups for a given subclient, then the need for differential backups becomes less compelling. Keep in mind that these
are merely general guidelines. Your own requirements with regard to backup and restore efficiency should dictate the most
suitable backup regimen.
For some subclients, there may be no clear advantage to using only one of these backup types. For example, you may have
a subclient that requires a lengthy full backup cycle (e.g., one full backup per month) yet needs to be backed up frequently
(e.g., every day). To improve backup performance, you would back up the subclient using incrementals; however, doing so
would cause the restore performance to suffer. To mitigate the opposing effects of employing either backup type alone, the
system allows you to use both types of backups for a given subclient. In this example, you could run incremental backups
daily (e.g., Monday through Saturday), but run a differential backup once a week (e.g., Sunday). Doing so would limit the
restore operation to at most eight archive files compared with approximately 30 files if only incrementals were run.
For the Lotus Notes Database iDataAgent, running an incremental backup allows you to
update an existing subclient with new databases (discover) without having to run a full
backup on the entire subclient.
Using a balanced combination of full, differential, and transaction log backups can provide your enterprise with the proper
level of recovery ability, while balancing system and operation window resources. Adding File and File Group backups to the
mix provides the ability to back up the database in a more granular way. Using VSS backups disables all other backup
types.
Combining Backup Types
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Only Full Backups
Running only full backups can be useful for smaller, more static databases, but for larger, more robust databases, running
only full backups can be overly time- and media-consuming.
Differential Backups
Running differential backups in addition to full backups can help to greatly reduce the time and media required to secure
the database. Additionally, differential backups are cumulative, so they allow for relatively quick restores. However,
restores using differential backups lack the ability to restore any given point in time.
Transaction Log Backups
Transaction log backups allow you to perform a restore to any given point in time which may be critical when it is necessary
to restore a database to the moment before failure. However, when performing restores that predominantly use transaction
log backups, the restore job can take much longer, because each log must be applied in succession.
File and File Group Backups (SQL Server 2000/2005 iDataAgent only)
A File or File group backup is a backup which contains only a selected portion of the database. Using file/ file group backups
you can better manage large databases that contain tables that are more dynamic than others. Keep in mind that file and
file group backups add an increased level of administration to maintain. For more information regarding their proper usage,
consult the Microsoft SQL Server documentation.
It is recommended that you select the file group, as opposed to individual files, as the content for a user-defined subclient.
Selecting subclient content at the file level will require you to remember and make manual additions of files which are later
added to this file group in the database.
Combined Backups
The key to establishing an effective combination of the above backup types is understanding the needs of the databases
being backed up and generating an appropriate backup plan:
If your database is updated frequently and you need to be able to recover data to any given instant, transaction log
backups are crucial.
It is a good idea to periodically run differential backups in order to expedite the restore process.
If your database is more static and it is acceptable to experience small losses of data, it could be sufficient to run
occasional Full and Differential backups.
SQL 2000/2005 only: If your database is so large that a full database backup takes longer than your backup window
allows, you may need to consider using file/ file group backups. Using file level backups you can back up a portion of the
database each night (along with the transaction logs) and over time accomplish a full backup of the database.
Windows iDataAgents that support VSS users only: VSS full backups may reduce the load on your server slightly over
the standard full backups. Remember that when the VSS option is enabled, only VSS Full backups are available for use
on that instance.
In addition, the way in which the database tables are modified can also affect your backup plan:
If your database receives small but frequent modifications to its tables, the transaction log grows much more quickly
than the database itself. In this scenario, it would be advantageous to run differential backups more frequently than
transaction log backups.
If the database receives infrequent, large additions to its tables, the database itself grows much more quickly than the
log. In this scenario, it may be more advantageous to run transaction log backups than differential backups.
SQL 2000/2005 only: If the database contains tables that are rarely or never modified, while other tables are frequently
modified, placing tables on different file groups and performing backups of these groups separately may be a way to
manage backups more efficiently.
A typical scenario of a combination of full, differential, and transaction log backups will give a better idea of how this works.
This scenario allows you to minimize the number of media necessary to perform a restore compared to using only a full
backup cycle and transaction logs. Since a differential backup will pickup all changes since the last full backup, the earlier
transaction log information becomes redundant. The earlier transaction logs won’t be necessary for a restore to a time that
occurs after the differential backup.
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Conclusions on Transaction Log and Differential Backups
Differential and transaction log backups each have their own advantages. Compared to differentials, transaction log
backups:
back up only transaction records
result in lengthier restores, particularly of larger and busier databases
can restore a database to any point before a failure.
Compared to transaction log backups, differential backups:
back up actual data
result in faster restores
only restore to the time of backup.
Note that differential backups are cumulative and get larger in succession as additional records change over time. This can
introduce problems in the backup strategy of subclients where the proportion of data that changes is high. Under these
conditions, the size of the differential backup can rapidly approach the size of a full backup. In such cases, you may want to
revisit your backup strategy and run full backups more frequently or use transaction log backups to cover a longer period of
time.
In general, the case for using differential backups tends to become stronger if you run few full backups relative to the total
number of backups run for a given subclient. If, however, you run full backups fairly frequently relative to the total number
of backups for a given subclient, then the need for differential backups becomes less compelling. Keep in mind that these
are merely general guidelines. Your own requirements with regard to back up and restore efficiency should dictate the most
suitable backup regimen.
Agent-Specific Backup Overviews
Given below is a list of supported Agents. The corresponding linked page provides information on the Agent specific backup
options and procedures.
Active Directory NAS NDMP
DB2 NetWare Server
Image Level NetWare File System iDataAgent
Informix NetWare NDS iDataAgent
Novell GroupWise iDataAgent
Lotus Domino Server
OES File Systems
Lotus Notes Database iDataAgents
Lotus Notes Document iDataAgents Oracle
Microsoft Exchange Server Oracle RAC
Exchange Database iDataAgents ProxyHost
Exchange Mailbox iDataAgents Image Level ProxyHost
Exchange Public/Web Folder iDataAgents SAP
Microsoft SharePoint Server Serverless Data Manager
SharePoint Database iDataAgents Sybase
SharePoint Document iDataAgents
Unix and Macintosh File Systems
Microsoft SQL Server
Microsoft Windows File Systems
Related Reports
Backup Job Summary Report
The Backup Job Summary Report provides a summary of backup jobs for each client.
Calendar Backup Job Summary Report
The Calendar Backup Job Summary Report provides a total amount of backup jobs run (along with their job status) for a
specified time period.
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Backup - Microsoft Windows File System
Topics | How To | Related Topics
Overview
Supported Backup Types
Windows File System Backup Jobs
Backing up DFS Data
Locked/Open Files
Volume Shadow Service (VSS) Enabled Backups
QSnap Enabled Backups
Using Change Journal, Classic File Scan, or Data Classification Enabler for Backups
Setting the Archive Bit Attribute
Preserving the File Access Time
Backing Up Quorum Data for MSCS Clusters
Backing Up Microsoft Virtual Server and Microsoft Hyper-V Virtual Machines
Backup Considerations
Advanced Backup Options
Overview
Plan your backup jobs for this agent by reviewing the following information:
For an overview of backup jobs, see Backup Data.
For a list of supported data types for this agent, see Supported Data Types.
For information on subclients, see Subclients.
For information on configuring subclients for this agent, see Subclients - Windows File System.
For information on excluding data via subclients, see Excluding Data from Data Protection Operations.
For information on backing up the system state part of Windows File System, see Backing Up System State on the
System State page.
Supported Backup Types
This agent supports the following backup types:
Full Backups
Differential Backups
Incremental Backups
Synthetic Full Backups
Windows File System Backup Jobs
This agent has the following unique functionality and options for protecting Windows File System data:
Backing up DFS Data
Locked/Open Files
Volume Shadow Service (VSS) Enabled Backups
QSnap Enabled Backups
Use Change Journal or Classic File Scan for Backups
Setting the Archive Bit Attribute
Preserving the File Access Time
Backing Up Microsoft Virtual Server and Microsoft Hyper-V Virtual Machines
Backing up DFS Data
Distributed File Systems (DFS) consist of both data and configuration information. The data is stored in the file system of
several machines participating in the DFS tree, while the configuration is stored in the registry of each machine and/or the
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Active Directory databases. The software supports backup of DFS data only. You can back up DFS data mapped to a UNC
path, but this is not recommended.
Locked/Open Files
Some applications and system programs lock certain files while in use (open), thereby preventing the files from being
backed up. This is often the case with some system files that are locked by the operating system. Files that are locked are
skipped during the backup process and their file names and paths are logged to the Backup Job History log. You can use
the CommCell Console, to examine this log to determine if any files were skipped. The iDataAgent automatically attempts
to obtain any skipped files in the next backup.
For the Windows iDataAgents that support VSS, clients can back up locked files using VSS for Windows File System
iDataAgents.
QSnap for the Windows File System iDataAgent can also be used to back up locked files for the Windows iDataAgents that
support VSS.
NOTES
There is third party software that enables you to back up locked files. Such software works in conjunction with the File
System iDataAgent. Contact your software provider for further details.
See Using Open File Manager for an example of using third party software to enable backups of locked files.
Volume Shadow Service (VSS) Enabled Backups
When using one of the Windows iDataAgents that support VSS, you can enable VSS for backup jobs, see VSS for the
Windows File System iDataAgent for more information.
QSnap Enabled Backups
When using Windows 2000, XP, Server 2003, or Vista, you can install and enable QSnap to back up locked files. See QSnap
for the Windows File System iDataAgent for more information.
NOTES
Attempting to use the Windows File System iDataAgent with QSnap to protect the system volume of a Windows
computer is strongly discouraged. Due to the normally high rate of I/O on such a volume (e.g., the C: drive), it would
prove very difficult to create a snapshot of it, since a sufficient period of no disk activity is required in order to create the
snapshot. When possible, the use of VSS is recommended.
Simultaneous QSnap backups cannot be run for two Windows File System subclients with contents on the same volume.
Because of this, you must define subclients as entire volumes or schedule backups so that they do not overlap.
You cannot use QSnap to back up files for Windows Vista Image iDataAgent clients; only VSS is supported.
Using Change Journal, Classic File Scan, or Data Classification Enabler for Backups
When configuring Windows File System backup sets, Use Change Journal is selected as the default method for scanning
files to determine which files have changed and/or have been backed up. For all Windows File System iDataAgents, you can
select Use Classic File Scan to scan files, or you can select Use Data Classification for the same purpose if the Data
Classification Enabler is installed on the client. The preferred option is the Data Classification Enabler because it is the
fastest scan method.
Data Classification Enabler is not supported by the Microsoft Data Protection Manager
iDataAgent.
There are some instances in which the Classic File Scan is always used, including but not limited to:
When backing up FAT Volumes
When backing up mount points that are not assigned a drive letter
When File Archiver is installed
When files or file level wildcards are used to define subclient content, see Subclient Content Considerations for more
information.
If the File Archiver for Windows Agent is also installed on the computer, classic scan will
be enforced unless you include the nOmitFSDMRestrictionsForBkp registry key.
If the backup set contains both NTFS drives and FAT volumes, and if either the change journal or the Data Classification
Enabler is the selected method of scanning, the change journal or the enabler will be used for NTFS volumes and the classic
file scan will be used for FAT volumes (because neither the Windows Change Journal nor the Data Classification Enabler
supports FAT volumes). If classic file scan is the selected method of scanning, both NTFS and FAT volumes will use the
classic file scan. Also, if the File Archiver Agent is installed on the client, the scan will always default to classic file scan if
you select the Data Classification Enabler scan option.
The options you set for classic file scan will be used whenever classic file scan is called (these appear grayed out unless
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classic file scan is selected). For example, you can select classic file scan, pick your options, and then select change journal.
In this case the change journal will be used, but your selected options for classic file scan will be saved and used whenever
the classic file scan is called.
See Use Change Journal, Classic File Scan, or Data Classification Enabler for Backups for step-by-step instructions on
changing your selection.
If you add files to a folder that was included in a previous backup and if the last backup time is later than modification time
on the file then the file will not be picked up during a classic file scan and only a full backup will pick the older files that are
included in the subclient content later. However, if you move an older folder it will be included in the next incremental or
differential backup.
For Windows File System iDataAgent, if you are using Change Journal or Data
Classification as the scan method, the incremental backup will backup all the new or
changed data since the last incremental or full backup, ignoring any differential backups
performed prior to the current backup.
Setting the Archive Bit Attribute
For Windows File System iDataAgent, it is recommended to use the Change Journal for the purpose of determining which
files have changed and/or have been backed up. For situations in which you are using this system with other software to
manage your data or if you are backing up volumes that do not use the Change Journal (such as a FAT partition) the Check
archive bit during backups option is useful. These options effect only the Classic File Scan.
Each file in an NTFS or NWFS file system has a set of attributes managed by the operating system. The archive bit is one of
these attributes. If the Check archive bit during backups option is selected, any backup will clear the archive bit setting.
A change to the file content or name will set the archive bit, flagging it for backup. Archive Bits and Change Journal do not
co-exist because the clearing of the Archive Bit after a backup, would be perceived as a file-change in Change Journal.
If you select the Check archive bit during backups option, then all incremental or differential backups conducted on the
selected backup set and its subclients include not only those files whose content has changed, but also any files that have
been renamed. This option does not affect the behavior of full backups and the corresponding incremental and differential
backups tend to be more comprehensive. In addition, the system resets the archive bit of every file that it backs up.
When this option is cleared, files are considered modified based only on the file modification time. In addition, the system
does not change the state of the archive bit of the files it backs up.
If you are using an external application to move data backed up by this system based on file access times and file modified
status, it is important to understand how the Use Change Journal and Check archive bit during backups options affect
those file attributes. For example, if you select the Use Change Journal option the file access times will not be preserved
and the file is marked as modified. If the Check archive bit during backups option is selected, in conjunction with the
Preserve File Access Time option, the file access times will be preserved and the file will not be marked as modified. See
Set the Archive Bit Attribute for step-by-step instructions.
Preserving the File Access Time
This option allows you to prevent the file access time from being changed for Windows/Unix/Macintosh File System
iDataAgents as a result of running data protection operations on the client. When this option is selected, the file access time
will be preserved. See Preserve the File Access Time for step-by-step instructions.
Backing Up Quorum Data for MSCS Clusters
One special common resource is the quorum resource, a physical disk in the common cluster disk array that plays a critical
role in cluster operations; it is essential for quorum data to be backed up, as it includes recovery logs as well as cluster
configuration and state data.
The quorum data is not backed up by subclients on the virtual server; the Windows File System iDataAgent on a physical
node of the cluster includes the quorum data during a system state backup. To back up the quorum data on a regular basis,
you must ensure that a data protection operation is scheduled for a Windows File System iDataAgent subclient on the
physical nodes, with the Backup System State option selected; a system state backup will automatically include quorum
data.
If you do not back up the system state for the Windows File System iDataAgent on a
physical node of the cluster, the quorum data will not be backed up, and you will not be
able to restore the quorum data, which is essential to the operation of the cluster.
Backing Up Microsoft Virtual Server and Microsoft Hyper-V Virtual Machines
You can back up Microsoft Virtual Server and Microsoft Hyper-V virtual machines by configuring pre-snapshot and post-
snapshot scripts that use the VSBackupUtil utility. The snapshot scripts enable the system to quiesce and snap the virtual
machines. See Back Up Virtual Machines on Microsoft Virtual Server and Back Up Virtual Machines on Microsoft Hyper-V for
step-by-step procedures.
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Backup Considerations
Before performing any backup procedures for this agent, review the following information:
Backing up Large Files or System Volumes
When backing up large files and/or system volumes, the Windows memory pool resources may run low and the backup
may fail with errors reported in the Windows Event Viewer and the iDataAgent logs. In this case, it is recommended that
you review the Microsoft documentation for increasing the maximum memory pool usage and paged memory pool size.
Skipping Volumes and Mount Points that are not Formatted
If you are using an unformatted volume or a mount point to an unformatted volume, backup of a subclient may go into
the pending state with the following message in the Event Viewer: Cannot scan <path>. To prevent this from
happening, add the NSkipDirErrors Registry Key and set the value at 1 (or any value other than 0).
Excluding CommCell Directories
Software Installation, Index Cache, Job Control, and Job Results directories are by default included in the backups
performed by the Windows File System iDataAgent. However, if you want to exclude them from being backed up you can
add the nFilterGalaxyDirectories registry key to filter them out of Windows File System backups.
The CV_MAGNETIC folder (which is created when a mount path is configured) will by default be excluded from data
protection operations if a MediaAgent and the Windows File System iDataAgent is installed in a computer. (The
CV_MAGNETIC folder must be associated with the MediaAgent that is installed in the computer.) To include the folder in
data protection operations, the nDoNotFilterGalaxyMagneticMountPaths registry key must be created in the computer.
Filtering Failed Files to Eliminate Backup Failures
Filters can be used in conjunction with the "Items That Failed" list on the data protection Job History Report to eliminate
backup or archive failures by excluding items which consistently fail that are not integral to the operation of the system
or applications. Some items fail because they are locked by the operating system or application and cannot be opened at
the time of the data protection operation. This often occurs with certain system-related files and database application
files.
Also, keep in mind that you will need to run a full backup after adding failed files to the filter in order to remove them.
Using VSS or QSnap with Classic File Scan
When configuring Windows File System backup sets, you have the option of using the change journal or a classic file
scan to detect which files have changed since the last backup. If you select the classic file scan and the check archive bit
option together, then backups on all subclients with VSS or QSnap enabled within the backup set will be converted to full
backups.
This is not an issue if you are only using VSS to back up the system state, which is always backed up in full. (There is no
option to use QSnap for system state backup.) If you have VSS or QSnap enabled on a subclient that does not include
the system state, you must use the change journal or deselect the check archive bit option if you want to perform
incremental or differential backups.
DataArchiver and File System iDataAgents on the Same Client
If you have a File Archiver Agent on the same client as your File System iDataAgent, and you want to include
DataArchiver stubs in the file system incremental backups, see Including DataArchiver Stubs in Backups for more
information.
32-bit Agents on an x64 Platform
If you plan to do a full system restore on a Windows 2003 Server x64 platform, use an x64 iDataAgent for backup. You
cannot do a full system restore on an x64 platform if you are using a 32-bit iDataAgent.
Full iDataAgent Backup for Windows Server 2003 R2
Full system backups of a created ADAM instance cannot be restored using full system restore.
Backups and “on access” virus scanning
Backup jobs may take more time if anti-virus software is set for “on access” scanning. To address this issue, it is
recommended that all files under the <software_install_folder>/Base folder be excluded from anti-virus scanning
software.
Data backed up twice for root-to-root junction points
If a junction point that goes from one root directory to another root directory is added directly to subclient content, the
associated data will be backed up twice. In this case, all of the data -- but not the link -- will be restored. However, if the
junction point is a sub-directory of subclient content, then the data will be backed up once, and the link and the restore
will work normally.
Backup failures on Windows Server 2008 and Vista
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The User Account Control (UAC) feature is enabled by default on computers running Windows Server 2008 and Vista. If
you notice backup failures, but desire to keep the UAC feature enabled, you may try adding the logged in user to the
Administrators and Backup Operators groups. Note, however, that this may cause Java to fail on your computer.
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Full Backups
Topics | How To | Related Topics
Overview
Backups for any client start with a full backup. For Agents that support non-full backups, the full backup becomes a
baseline to which subsequent backup types are applied. For example, if an agent supports incremental backups, a full
backup must be performed before an incremental backup can be initiated.
A full backup contains all the data that comprises a subclient's contents. If a client computer has multiple agents installed,
then the subclients of each agent require a full backup in order to secure all of the data on that client. Backups can also be
performed at the backup set or instance level, and will apply to all of the subclients within the selected backup set or
instance.
For Oracle and Oracle RAC iDataAgents, refer to Level 0 backups in the Oracle Backup and Recovery Guide from Oracle
Corporation. Also refer to Backup - Oracle for more information on this special type of full backup.
See Backup Data for an overview of all backup operations.
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Incremental Backups
Topics | Lotus Notes | How To | Related Topics
Overview
For the Oracle, Oracle RAC, DB2, Informix, and SAP iDataAgents, Incremental
backup works as described in differential backups. See Differential Backups for
information on Incremental backups for these iDataAgents.
Incremental backups behave differently on Notes Database and Notes Document
clients. See Incremental Backups - Lotus Notes for more information.
For the DB2 iDataAgent, Delta backup works as described below.
An incremental backup contains only data that is new or has changed since the last backup, regardless of the type. On
average, incremental backups consume far less media and place less of a burden on resources than full backups.
The following illustration clarifies the nature of full and incremental backups. For simplicity, assume there is a file system
that contains six files as represented in the figure.
Note that the File System above could also represent database tables, Active Directory objects and attributes, etc.
Backup #1 is a full backup and therefore writes all the data, changed and unchanged, to the backup media. Backups #2
through #n-1 are incrementals and only back up those files that have changed since the time of the last backup, regardless
of the type. For example, files A, B, and E changed after the full backup and were therefore backed up in Backup #2.
Backup #4 backed up files A and D because both files were modified sometime after Backup #3 occurred. File F did not
change; hence, it was not backed up in any of the incremental backups, but it was included in both full backups, which, by
definition, back up everything.
See Backup Data for an overview of all backup operations.
For Windows File System iDataAgent, if you are using Change Journal or Data
Classification as the scan method, the incremental backup will backup all the new or
changed data since the last incremental or full backup, ignoring any differential
backups performed prior to the current backup.
For the Netware iDataAgent, any data that was backed up with a differential backup
will be backed up again when performing a subsequent incremental backup.
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Differential Backups
Topics | How To | Related Topics
Overview
For the Oracle, DB2, Informix, and SAP iDataAgents, the incremental backup works
as described below.
The Informix iDataAgent supports incremental backup Levels 1 and 2.
The incremental backup type is not supported by the Oracle Database application for
9.2 Standard Edition, and therefore is not supported by the Oracle iDataAgent. If
you are using the Standard Edition of Oracle, you will need to run full backups.
A differential backup contains only the data that is new or has changed since the last full backup. Like incrementals,
differential backups, on average, consume less media and place less of a burden on resources than full backups.
For most agents, differential backups are cumulative. This means that each differential backup contains all changes
accumulated since the last full backup. Each successive differential backup contains all the changes from the previous
differential backup. The Oracle iDataAgent, however, provides a backup option that allows you to specify whether or not
you want the backup to be cumulative. The following illustration demonstrates the nature of differential backups. For
simplicity, assume there is a file system that contains six files as represented in the figure. This file system and its
modifications are the same as those described for Incremental Backups.
Note that the File System above could also represent database tables, Active Directory objects and attributes, etc.
Backup #1 is a full backup and therefore writes all the data to the backup media. Backups #2 through #n-1 are differential
backups and only back up those files that changed since the time of the last full backup. For example, files A, B, and E
changed after the full backup and were therefore backed up in Backup #2 as well as all subsequent differential backups.
File C changed sometime after Backup #2 and was consequently backed up in Backup #3 and all subsequent differential
backups. File F did not change; hence, it was not backed up in any of the differential backups, but it was included in both
full backups, which, by definition, back up everything.
See Backup Data for an overview of all backup operations.
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Synthetic Full Backups
Topics | How To | Related Topics
Overview
How Synthetic Full Backups Work
Using Synthetic Full Backups
Running an Incremental Backup Before or After a Synthetic Full Backup
Verify Synthetic Full Backups
Synthetic Full Backup Considerations
Overview
As the name suggests, a synthetic full backup is a synthesized backup. It is created from the most recent full backup (i.e.,
standard or synthetic) and subsequent incremental and/or differential backups. The resulting synthetic full backup is
identical to what would have been created had the last backup for the subclient been a full backup. Unlike full, incremental,
and differential backups, a synthetic full backup does not actually transfer data from a client computer to the backup
media. In this sense it is not really a backup at all, rather a backup consolidator.
Because synthetic full backups consolidate backup data into one archive file, they provide a means of enhancing restore
performance, particularly when a given full backup cycle contains many incremental backups. For a discussion on the
benefits of data consolidation, see Comparing Backup Types.
An example of the usefulness of synthetic full backups is the case where a Client is remotely located from a MediaAgent,
with a WAN connection that is limited in bandwidth. In such a case, you may not want to perform full backups on a regular
basis across the WAN, but you do want a archive file of your backup data to enhance restore performance.
Synthetic full backups are treated by the system as standard full backups. As a result, they delineate full backup cycles in
the same manner as standard backups. This is an important point to remember, since retention periods are defined in part
by the number of full backup cycles. Using synthetic full backups in an unguided manner may cause the unintentional
expiration of data.
Synthetic full backups can either be started manually or scheduled to occur at regular intervals. Scheduling allows you to
incorporate synthetic full backups into your regular backup schedules as described in Using Synthetic Full Backups.
How Synthetic Full Backups Work
You can start a synthetic full backup at the subclient, backup set or iDataAgent level. When started for a backup set or
iDataAgent, the operation acts on each constituent subclient individually. In other words, if you start a synthetic full for a
backup set that contains two subclients, the system automatically conducts two synthetic full backups, one for each
subclient.
A synthetic full backup extracts the index data of each participating subclient. Using this index data and the previously
backed up user data images, it builds new full backup images, one for each subclient. The new backup images consolidate
the index and user data stored in the related incremental, differential, and previous full backups. As the synthetic full
backup for each subclient proceeds, the system writes an archive file to the storage policy from which the backup data
originated (i.e., one archive file per subclient). Since each archive file represents one synthetic full backup for each
subclient, a synthetic full backup of a backup set containing three subclients would initiate three operations, each resulting
in an archive file.
The following illustration demonstrates the operation of a synthetic full backup that was initiated at the backup set level.
For simplicity, assume:
The backup set contains two subclients; default and subclient1
Each subclient has the same backup schedule
Index and user data of the backups are directed to the same storage policy. (This is the default behavior of standard
backups.)
Backups for each subclient are directed to separate and dedicated storage policies (i.e., groups that service no other
subclients.)
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From this figure, we can see that from a single request on 4/7, two synthetic full backups were created: one for each
subclient. When we requested a synthetic full backup for the backup set, the system identified all the backups that were
created for each subclient back to the most recent full (F), which in this case occurred on 4/1. Using the index data from
these backups, the system created new consolidated index and user data images and wrote them to new archive files (SF)
on the same storage policies.
In this example, we assumed that the standard backup was written to a dedicated storage policy and that the user data and
corresponding index were both backed up to the same storage policy. Note that these conditions do not affect the overall
operation of a synthetic full backup. In either case, (i.e., non-dedicated storage policies or divided index/user data) the
system locates the applicable index and user data and creates a new archive file.
An important point to remember is that a synthetic full backup consolidates data; it does not back up data from the client
computer. Consequently, the data in a synthetic full backup always reflects the data of the previous backup, regardless of
when the synthetic full backup was requested. In this example, the synthetic full backup was started on 4/7; however, the
data it contains is from the 4/1 through 4/6 backups. To secure data for 4/7, we would need to run a conventional (i.e.,
full, incremental, or differential) backup on 4/7.
Also, keep in mind that synthetic full reads the data from the copy whose restore copy precedence is set to 1. And like a
real backup, synthetic full is always created in the primary copy. i.e., its destination is always a primary copy.
Using Synthetic Full Backups
Like standard full backups, synthetic full backups create full backup images, thereby promoting restore efficiency. There is
however one important distinction: synthetic full backups do this without actually backing up data. Consequently, they
impose no load on the client computer. Given this fact, you may find it advantageous to incorporate synthetic full backups
into your standard backup cycles.
There is a trade-off in using synthetic full backups. Synthetic full backups do not impose a load on the client computer;
however, they do require new media each time they are run. Therefore, you must determine your priorities for media usage
versus restore efficiency.
The following figures show two examples of using synthetic full backups in standard backup schedules. The figures show a
series of full backup cycles where each cycle is a week in length. The longer lines indicate full backups while the shorter
lines indicate incrementals. Note that both sets of backups begin with the required standard full backup.
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In the first figure, both synthetic and standard full backups are used to define the full backup cycles. Synthetic full backups
are used more often because they do not affect the operation of the client computer. In the second figure, synthetic full
backups are used exclusively. To ensure that client data is properly secured, each synthetic full backup is followed by an
incremental backup on the same day. If you decide to incorporate synthetic full backups into your standard backup
schedules, the approach you take is entirely dependent upon your needs.
If a synthetic full backup fails to complete successfully, we suggest that you run a
standard full backup in its place.
Running an Incremental Backup Before or After a Synthetic Full Backup
The Backup Options dialog allows you to run an incremental backup either before or after a synthetic full backup. Running
an incremental backup immediately before the synthetic full ensures that any new or recently changed data is included in
the synthetic full. Running an incremental backup immediately after the synthetic full ensures that any new or recently
changed data since the backup that occurred prior to the synthetic full, but was not included in the synthetic full, is backed
up by the incremental.
Verify Synthetic Full Backups
In a scenario where a conventional full backup is run only once for a given subclient, and incrementals (or differentials) with
periodic synthetic full backups are run after that, files that never change may inadvertently be missed. Eventually, these
files may be pruned, leaving no existing backups of the files. The problem of omissions may build up over time until the file
changes or a conventional backup is executed. This can be avoided by using the Verify Synthetic Full advanced backup
option.
When this option is selected, disparities between actual files on the client computer and the Index are collected. Internally,
a flag is set when the synthetic full backup completes successfully. This flag adds functionality to the next
incremental/differential backup to detect any items that the previous synthetic full backup did not include, and include any
such items in that incremental/differential backup. The pending flag is cleared when the incremental/differential backup
completes successfully, or when a conventional full backup completes, whichever occurs first.
Synthetic Full Backup Considerations
When starting a synthetic full backup, keep the following points in mind:
Synthetic full backups consolidate data; they do not back up data from the client computer. You should therefore use
synthetic full backups in addition to and not in place of any regularly scheduled incremental or differential backup jobs.
A synthetic full backup cannot be the first backup job of a client computer or subclient.
A synthetic full backup cannot be the next backup job after a standard full backup.
Synthetic full backups always create a new index. As a result, full backup transparency is not available when synthetic
full backups are used.
Synthetic full backups are media-based; they read backup data from one media and simultaneously write (restore) the
result to the new active media within the same media group. As a result, synthetic full backups require that at least two
media drives for the same storage policy be available at the time the job is started.
Synthetic full backups cannot be performed on subclients where the storage policy is associated with a stand-alone
drive.
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A synthetic full backup job results in the creation of a newly formed full backup which is counted as a full cycle.
A synthetic full backup job always starts on a new media on single stream storage policies. Be sure that media is
available in the associated scratch pool(s). Remember that if you start a synthetic full backup at the backup set level,
the system automatically creates a synthetic full backup for each subclient. Therefore, you may need to have several
spare media available.
Do not concurrently run more than one synthetic full backup, especially synthetic full backups with multiple streams.
When performing a synthetic full backup on the default subclient of the Windows File System iDataAgent, the latest
backup of the system state will be included in (copied to) the synthetic full backup.
If you want to perform a synthetic full backup using an alternate MediaAgent (one other than the MediaAgent used for
the Primary backup), you must configure an Incremental Storage Policy.
NOTES
To configure the Incremental Storage Policy: Configure a Storage Policy (e.g., Storage Policy1: MediaAgent 1 and
TapeLibrary1) and configure the Incremental Backup to use another Storage Policy (e.g., Storage Policy2:
MediaAgent2 and MagneticLibrary2). Regular daily backups can be performed as incremental backups with Storage
Policy2, and, when necessary, synthetic full backups can be initiated using Storage Policy1. For more information,
see Incremental Storage Policy.
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Advanced Backup/Archive Options
Topics | Advanced Backup Options | Support | Related Topics
Overview
Data Options
Follow Mount Points
Back up Data in Remote Storage
HotFix Information
Back up Files Protected by System File Protection
Stop DHCP Service when Backing up System State Data
Stop WINS Service when Backing up System State Data
Start Log Backup after Successful Backup
Create New Index
Index Check Pointing
Partial (Excludes read-only Filegroups)
Tail-log Backup (database is left in restoring state)
Optimize Backups for Novell Storage Management Services (SMS)
Verify Synthetic Full Backups
Startup Options
Default Priority
Change Priority
Start up in Suspended State
Job Retry Options
Total Running Time
Number of Retries
Kill Running Jobs When Total Running Time Expires
Media Options
Start New Media
Mark Media Full after Successful Operation
Allow other Schedule to use Media Set
Skip Metafile Creation
Release Resources during meta-data collection phase
Reserve Resources before Scan
Job should wait for Inline Copy Resources
Vault Tracking Options
NAS Options
Backup ArchiveLogs Options
Delete ArchiveLogs Options
Oracle Options
Overview
Once you have selected your backup type, you can choose to apply Advanced Backup Options to your operation. These
provide media management tools at the operation level, as well as tools to optimize your backups for specific
circumstances. The advanced options are listed below.
Data Options
Follow Mount Points
When selected (default) for Macintosh File System, Unix File System, or Windows File System, specifies that the backup will
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include both the mount point and the data pointed to from that mount point. For Windows File System, this data is backed
up even if it is included in another subclient; therefore, data for this file system can be duplicated in the backup. For all
supported file systems, clearing the Follow Mount Points option in the Advanced Backup Options dialog box causes the
configuration (i.e., the mount point) to be backed up without backing up the data on the mounted volume.
For Windows File System, mount points, which point from the directory to the target data, allow you to add new volumes to
the existing file system without using new drive letters. Backups follow mount points by default, backing up both the
configuration and the data on the mounted volume. For Windows File System, these backups will not duplicate data in any
of the following situations:
if more than one mount point on a subclient identifies the same location
if there are mount points to volumes that are not assigned drive letters
if two mount points point to each other
However, for Windows File System, a backup that follows a mount point will duplicate data if the mount point points to a
volume with an existing drive letter. In this case, data is backed up via the mount point and by any subclient that scans the
existing drive letter. To avoid this duplication, filter the mount point or volume letter, or clear the Follow Mount Points
option.
If you schedule a backup job for a default subclient with this option cleared and subsequently initiate another backup, the
first job will back up all the data, including the mount point data.
Back up Data in Remote Storage
For Windows file systems, specifies that the backup include the data pointed to in remote storage. By default, the system
backs up only the reparse points — pointers to the remotely stored data — and not the data itself. You must select the
Backup data in remote storage option in the Advanced Backup Options dialog box in order to back up the actual remote
storage data.
The Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 Remote Storage feature conserves disk space by moving infrequently used
data from the hard disk to directly-attached remote storage; it recalls the data when needed. You specify criteria for
moving files to remote storage during Windows installation.
Remotely stored data should not be included in every full backup for the following reasons:
By definition, remotely stored data is data that is rarely accessed or modified. Therefore, it need not be backed up
regularly.
Backing up remotely stored data is less efficient than backing up data from the local disk. Including this data in backups
decreases backup efficiency.
During a full system restore, all data is restored to the local hard drives. If data in remote storage exceeds the available
space on the hard drive, the hard disk space will be inadequate for the restore. Plan for hard disk space accordingly.
Even if this option is not selected, reparse points can be restored if the local disk becomes corrupted. But data is not
restored in the event of a disaster to the remote storage device.
It is not recommended that you include remotely stored data in every backup; however, you should deploy a backup
scheme that includes some backups of remotely stored data, in accordance with your deployment of the Remote Storage
Service. Before instructing the system to back up this data, ensure that the media in the remote storage device will be
available at the times of backup and restore.
HotFix Information
For Windows file systems, specifies that information will be collected about all hot fixes for the operating system
configuration. This is useful in situations where knowledge of the operating system configuration is vital to successfully
restoring a system. It is also useful in disaster recovery scenarios.
For step by step procedures, see Start a Backup with HotFix Information.
Back up Files Protected by System File Protection
Specifies the backup is to include those files that are protected by the Windows System File Protection feature. This feature
protects shared files that may be overwritten by application installations, such as dynamic link libraries (DLLs). This option
is available for any subclient that backs up the System State.
Stop DHCP Service when Backing up System State Data
For Windows file systems, specifies the system stop DHCP services on the client computer when System State data is
backed up. This option is provided for cases where you cannot use VSS to back up the System State.
For more information, see VSS for Windows File System iDataAgents.
Stop WINS Service when Backing up System State Data
For Windows file systems, specifies the system stop WINS services on the client computer when System State data is
backed up. This option is provided for cases where VSS cannot be used to back up the System State.
See VSS for Windows File System iDataAgents for more information.
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Start Log Backup after Successful Backup
Specifies that a Transaction Log backup will start automatically after a successful Full or Differential backup operation is
completed. This is useful when you want to back up logs immediately after a data backup, and allows you to do so without
creating two scheduled jobs.
For more information, see SQL - Transaction Log Backups or Sybase - Transaction Log Backups.
Create new index
Specifies the system will create a new index with a full or On Demand data protection operation, and for archive operations.
Selecting this option will cause the following to occur for this job only:
full backup transparent browse capability will be disabled, if it is supported by the agent.
override the Create new index on full backup option on the Agent Properties (Index) tab
for an On Demand Data Protection operation, override the Set index cycle to every nn backup jobs setting in the
Subclient Properties (General) tab of the default subclient.
for an archive operation, override the Create new index every n archive jobs or Set index cycle to every n
archive jobs setting in the Subclient Properties (Rules) or (Archiving Rules) tab, and the new index interval
counter will start again at zero.
This option is selected by default for all full backup operations, except On Demand Data Protection Operations. For
scheduled backups, disable this option only if you need full backup transparent browse capabilities.
For more information about the Index and its use, see Index.
Index Check Pointing
Index check pointing provides the facility to automatically continue data protection operations when there are job failures
due to loss of connectivity to the index in the following situations:
Loss of connectivity to shared index cache folder
Power or any sudden failure on a MediaAgent computer
Cluster fail-over of a MediaAgent
You can enable the index check pointing to continue the data protection operation from the point of failure. This can be
done in one of the following ways:
By choosing the Enable Index Check-pointing option while performing a data protection operation. See Enable Index
Check Pointing for step-by-step instructions. (If necessary, the option can be enabled in a schedule policy and attached
to the agents that require index check pointing.)
By enabling the sindexcheckpoint registry key in the the MediaAgent. This will enable all data protections operations to
that MediaAgent to be check pointed.
Note that you may notice slower performance when index check pointing is enabled.
Index check pointing is recommended on clustered MediaAgents (MediaAgents installed on a virtual server) so that the data
protection jobs on the MediaAgent can continue when there is a cluster failover.
Index check pointing is supported by all index-based agents (except the NAS NDMP iDataAgents) and by all MediaAgents.*
See Advanced Backup/Archive Options Support for a list of Agents that support this feature.
*Some agents may not support all MediaAgents. See the Agents section in MediaAgents - Supported Features, Agents and
Devices for information on Agents that do not support all MediaAgents.
Partial (Excludes read-only Filegroups)
A partial backup resembles a full database backup, but does not contain all the filegroups. Instead, it contains all the data
in the primary filegroup, every read/write filegroup, and any optionally-specified read-only files. Partial backups are useful
whenever you want to exclude read-only filegroups. A partial backup of a read-only database contains only the primary
filegroup.
Tail-log Backup (database is left in restoring state)
This advanced backup option is only available if the Transaction Log option was selected in the Backup Option dialog box.
Specifies to back up the tail of the log and to leave the database in the RESTORING state.
Optimize Backups for Novell Storage Management Services (SMS)
The NetWare File System iDataAgent provides the capability to utilize Novell's Storage Management Services (SMS) when
backing up NetWare data. When the Optimize for Novell SMS option is selected from the Data tab of the Advanced
Backup Options dialog box, Novell's SMS will query the configured subclient content to determine what data will be backed
up. Once the data has been queried, SMS then determines the order and conduct of backing up the data. This negates the
need for the iDataAgent to generate a collect file during the scan phase, which significantly reduces the amount of time
taken for the scan phase to complete.
Note the following before selecting the Optimize for Novell SMS option:
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This option is supported only for the NetWare File System iDataAgent.
This option can only be used for full backups.
This option cannot be used in conjunction with any filter exceptions/exclusions, wild card content, or wild card filters.
Full backups running with this option selected cannot be suspended.
NOTES
The "Optimize for Novell SMS-based fast backup" option is only available for NetWare File System.
Verify Synthetic Full
When this option is selected, disparities between actual files on the client computer and the Index are collected. Internally,
a flag is set when the synthetic full backup completes successfully. This flag adds functionality to the next
incremental/differential backup to detect any items that the previous synthetic full backup did not include, and include any
such items in that incremental/differential backup. The pending flag is cleared when the incremental/differential backup
completes successfully, or when a conventional full backup completes, whichever occurs first.
See Verify Synthetic Full Backups for more information.
Startup Options
Priority
Use Default Priority
If selected, the default priority for this type of job will be used in determining how the Job Manager will allocate
resources for this job.
Change Priority
Use this option to manually specify the priority for the job, between 0 (highest priority) and 999 (lowest priority). The
Job Manager will use the priority setting when allocating the required resources. This is useful if you have jobs that are
very important and must complete, or jobs that can be moved to a lower priority.
For more information, see Job Priorities and Priority Precedence.
Start up in suspended state
Specifies that this job will start in the Job Controller in a suspended state and cannot run until the job is manually resumed
using the Resume option. This option can be used to add a level of manual control when a job is started. For example, you
could schedule jobs to start in the suspended state and then choose which scheduled jobs complete by resuming the
operation started in the suspended state.
Job Retry Options
Total Running Time
The maximum elapsed time, in hours and minutes, from the time that the job is created. When the specified maximum
elapsed time is reached, as long as the job is in the "Running" state, it will continue; if the job is not in the "Running" state
when the specified time is reached, Job Manager will kill the job.
For more information, see Job Running Time.
Number of Retries
The number of times that Job Manager will attempt to restart the job. Once the maximum number of retry attempts has
been reached, if the job has still not restarted successfully, Job Manager will kill the job. Note that this job-based setting
will not be valid if restartability has been turned off in the Job Management Control Panel.
For more information, see Job Restart.
Kill Running Jobs When Total Running Time Expires
Option to kill the job when the specified Total Running Time has elapsed, even if its state is "Running". This option is
available only if you have specified a Total Running Time.
For more information, see Job Running Time.
Media Options
Start New Media
This option starts the backup/archive operation on a new media, which causes the following to occur:
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If removable media is used, the current active media is marked as Appendable and a new media is used for the
backup/archive.
If magnetic media is used, a new volume folder is created for the backup/archive.
If cleared, the operation automatically uses the current active media or volume.
This media management feature provides a degree of control over where the data physically resides, for example helping
you to meet security or performance goals. This feature is useful in situations where you would like the data to reside on a
new media, not appended to a media already containing backup/archive data.
Another form of the Start New Media option is available from the library properties. See Library Properties - Start New
Media for more information.
For related information, see Creating an Exportable Media Set.
Mark Media Full after Successful Operation
This option marks media full, 2 minutes after the completion of the backup/archive operation. If any jobs are initiated
within the 2 minutes, they are allowed to write to the media. If the job was associated with the prior media, new media
(such as a new tape) will be used for subsequent jobs. (Applies to all backup/archive types.)
This media management feature provides a degree of control over where the data physically resides, for example helping
you to meet security or performance goals. This feature prevents any other data from being written to the media. If the
job was associated with the prior media, new media (such as a new tape) will be used for subsequent jobs. (Applies to all
backup/archive types.)
For related information, see Creating an Exportable Media Set.
Allow other Schedule to use Media Set
This option allows jobs that are part of a schedule policy or schedule and using a specific storage policy to start a new
media and also prevent other jobs from writing to the set of media. It is available only when the Start New Media and
Mark Media Full options are enabled, and can be used in the following situations:
When one scheduled job initiates several jobs and you only want to start new media on the first job.
When you want to target specific backups to a media, or a set of media if multiple streams are used.
For related information, see Creating an Exportable Media Set.
Skip Metafile Creation
The Image Level iDataAgents can restore at both the file and volume level. However, if you do not need the file level
restore capability, then you can increase performance by skipping metafile creation. This disables the file level restore, and
is most useful in situations where the file system is already backed up by the File System iDataAgent.
If selected:
A metafile of the data on the specified volume will not be created as part of the backup, saving some time.
The data can only be restored using Volume Level restore. (The metafile is required for File Level restore.)
If cleared, a metafile will be created, and the data can be restored using either File Level restore or Volume Level restore.
If File Level restores will never be used for this client, instead of manually selecting the Skip Metafile Creation option for
each job, edit the SkipMetaFileCreation registry key to automatically skip metafile creation for all backup jobs.
Release Resources during meta-data collection phase
For the Image Level iDataAgents, specifies that reserved media will be released while the system is collecting the metadata
for the data protection operation. This is useful in cases where the system is collecting data on a large volume and you
want the resources available for other jobs.
Reserve Resources Before Scan
Normally, media is reserved for a job before the operation phase (backup or archive). When selected, this option will
reserve the media before the scan phase. This reserves the media earlier because the scan phase precedes the operation
phase.
Job should wait for Inline Copy Resources
If you are performing a data protection/archive operation on a subclient with a storage policy that has the Inline Copy
option enabled, then this option specifies that the operation should wait until resources are available for both the data
protection/archive operation and the Inline Copy. (This option is available only if an Inline Copy is created on the storage
policy that is being used for this data protection operation).
If cleared, the data protection operation will create the Primary copy even if there are not enough resources to create the
Inline Copy.
For more information, see Inline Copy.
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Vault Tracking Options
Several Vault Tracking options are available to export and track media. These options are available only when a Vault
Tracker license is available in the CommServe, and are only applicable for data protection operations using a storage policy
associated with a library containing removable media (e.g., tape, optical or stand-alone.)
For additional information, see the following:
VaultTracker
VaultTracker Enterprise
NAS Options
BlueArc
Back up from Snapshot
Specifies that the NAS NDMP file server is to create a snapshot and perform the backup from the snapshot, rather than
backing up the live file system.
Back up Quotas
Specifies that the user quota information and group quota information, registered in the node to monitor and control
disk usage, is to be backed up.
Back up offline data
Specifies that the original files, not stub files, are copied during the backup job. This allows you to back up data that has
been archived, rather than just the stub left by the NAS NDMP file server's data archiving software. Refer to the
hardware vendor's documentation for more information about such archived data.
Celerra
Back up from Snapshot
Specifies that the NAS NDMP file server is to create a snapshot and perform the backup from the snapshot, rather than
backing up the live file system.
Selecting this option enables the Celerra "Use the Backup-with-Integrated-Checkpoints" feature, which automatically
creates, mounts (as read-only), and uses the new checkpoint of the file system for the backup, and then deletes the
checkpoint when the backup completes (and even if it fails).
Volume-based Backup
Specifies a data block level backup of an entire specified volume, rather than a file-by-file backup.
When this option is selected:
any entries in the Filters tab of the Subclient Properties will be ignored, and the whole volume will be backed up.
Direct Access Restore (DAR) will not be available, but individual files, directories, or whole volumes can be selected
for restore.
three-way backups, three-way restores, and NDMP Remote Server (NRS) are available with EMC Celerra 5.6 or
higher. Only for EMC Celerra 5.5, must the library be directly attached to the NAS NDMP file server.
Using this option is incompatible with NDMP Restore Enabler. If selected, you can restore only to an EMC Celerra file
server.
If needed, a VBB Full Destructive Restore can be run when this option is selected.
Back up offline data
Specifies that the original files, not stub files, are copied during the backup job. This allows you to back up data that has
been archived, rather than just the stub left by the NAS NDMP file server's data archiving software. Refer to the
hardware vendor's documentation for more information about such archived data.
Hitachi
Back up Quotas
Specifies that the user quota information and group quota information, registered in the node to monitor and control
disk usage, is to be backed up.
Back up from Snapshot
Specifies that the NAS NDMP file server is to create a snapshot and perform the backup from the snapshot, rather than
backing up the live file system.
Choices = select "Yes", "No", "Snap" or "Sync"
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Exclusive Backup
Prevents the concurrent execution of multiple backup or restore operations on the same file system.
Isilon
Back up from Snapshot
Specifies that the NAS NDMP file server is to create a snapshot and perform the backup from the snapshot, rather than
backing up the live file system.
Choices = select "Yes", "No", "Snap" or "Sync"
NetApp
Back up ACLs
Specifies that the Access Control Lists (ACLs) will be backed up for the specified subclient content, and therefore its
original security attributes will be retained. The option to disable backing up ACLs is not supported.
Pillar
Back up ACLs
Specifies that the Access Control Lists (ACLs) will be backed up for the specified subclient content, and therefore its
original security attributes will be retained. The option to disable backing up ACLs is not supported.
Block Backup
Specifies that backup operations will be blocked.
Backup Archive Logs Options
Backup ArchiveLog
This option specifies whether the archive logs will be backed up. When selected, the archive logs get backed up based on
the criteria set below.
Older than n Days
This option allows you to back up the archive logs older than the specified number of days. Use the space provided to
enter the number of days.
Not older than n Days
This option allows you to back up the archive logs that are not older than the specified number of days. Use the space
provided to enter the number of days.
By Log Time
This option allows you to back up the archive logs based on the time they were created. Use the Start Time and End
Time fields to specify the time range when the logs were created. This time range will be used as the criteria for archive
logs to be backed up.
By Log Sequence Number
This option allows you to back up the archive logs based on the specified range of Log Sequence Numbers (LSN). Use
the Start LSN and/or End LSN fields to specify the range of LSNs used as the criteria for archive logs to be backed up.
By System Change Number
This option allows you to back up the archive logs based on the specified range of System Change Numbers (SCN). Use
the Start SCN and/or End SCN fields to specify the range of SCNs used as the criteria for archive logs to be backed up.
LIKE
This option allows you to back up archive logs that match the specified string pattern, or partial string pattern. Use the
space provided to enter the string pattern. Note that when you select this option and leave the field blank, all the
archive logs from the selected destinations get backed up. Refer RMAN documentation for information on how to enter a
pattern.
For Example:
To back up the log file DB1_1_2355.arch, you can specify the pattern as %2355% with or without the destination
selected. The log file DB1_1_2355.arch will be backed up from the default or selected destination.
All
This options allows you to back up one copy of all the archive logs, from any of the available destinations randomly,
regardless of any criteria.
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Select ArchiveLog destinations
This option allows you to select the location from where the archive logs will be backed up. Note that, this option is disabled
when you select the All criteria. Use the Add button to select an archive log destination from the Select ArchiveLog
destinations drop-down list. Similarly, use the Delete button to remove an archive log destination from the previously
selected list of archive log destinations. If you select the LIKE option with no string to be matched and do not select any
destination, one copy of all the archive logs will be backed up from any of the available destinations randomly.
The Select ArchiveLog destinations drop-down box lists all the destination paths configured for the instance (including
USE_DB_RECOVERY_DEST path). However, if you need to use the database recovery file destination, you need to manually
type in the exact path in the space provided instead of choosing the USE_DB_RECOVERY_DEST path from the list.
While defining the destination path in the Oracle SPFile, if you do not end the destination path with a slash symbol, the last
name in the destination path will get added to the archive log file name. Therefore, in the Select ArchiveLog
destinations option, if you select the destination path that includes part of the file name and also specify a pattern for the
file name using the LIKE option, the operation will fail. However, if you select the LIKE option without specifying the
pattern, the operation will succeed.
The Backup Archive Logs options are applicable only for a Scheduled or Run
Immediately backup job. For a Save As Script backup job, you are only allowed to
back up all the archive log files, irrespective of any criteria, using the Backup
ArchiveLog option in Subclient Properties (Content) tab.
For related information, see "Start an Archive Log Backup" for Oracle and Oracle RAC iDataAgents.
Delete Archive Logs Options
Delete ArchiveLog
This option specifies whether the archive logs will get deleted. When selected, the archive logs get deleted based on the
criteria set below
Older than n Days
This option allows you to delete the archive logs that are older than the specified number of days. Use the space
provided to enter the number of days.
Not older than n Days
This option allows you to delete the archive logs that are not older than the specified number of days. Use the space
provided to enter the number of days.
By Log Time
This option allows you to delete the archive logs based on the time they were created. Use the Start Time and End Time
fields to specify the time range when the logs were created. This time range will be used as the criteria for deleting the
archive logs.
By Log Sequence Number
This option allows you to delete the archive logs based on the specified range of Log Sequence Numbers (LSN). Use the
Start LSN and/or End LSN fields to specify the range of LSNs used as the criteria for deleting the archive logs.
By System Change Number
This option allows you to delete the archive logs based on the specified range of System Change Numbers (SCN). Use
the Start SCN and/or End SCN fields to specify the range of SCNs used as the criteria for deleting the archive logs.
LIKE
This option allows you to delete archive logs that match the specified string pattern, or partial string pattern. Use the
space provided to enter the string pattern. Note that when you select this option and leave the field blank, all the
archive logs from the selected destinations get deleted. Refer RMAN documentation for information on how to enter a
pattern.
For Example:
To delete the log file DB1_1_2355.arch, you can specify the pattern as %2355% with or without the destination
selected. The log file DB1_1_2355.arch will be deleted from the default or selected destination.
All
This option allows you to delete one copy of all the archive logs, from any of the available destinations randomly,
regardless of any criteria.
Select ArchiveLog destinations
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This option allows you to specify the location from where the archive logs will get deleted. Note that, this option is disabled
when you select the All criteria. Use the Add button to select an archive log destination from the Select ArchiveLog
destinations drop-down list. Similarly, use the Delete button to remove an archive log destination from the previously
selected list of archive log destinations. If you select the LIKE option with no string to be matched and do not select any
destination, one copy of all the archive logs will be deleted from any of the available destinations randomly.
The Select ArchiveLog destinations drop-down box lists all the destination paths configured for the instance (including
USE_DB_RECOVERY_DEST path). However, if you need to use the database recovery file destination, you need to manually
type in the exact path in the space provided instead of choosing the USE_DB_RECOVERY_DEST path from the list.
While defining the destination path in the Oracle SPFile, if you do not end the destination path with a slash symbol, the last
name in the destination path will get added to the archive log file name. Therefore, in the Select ArchiveLog
destinations option, if you select the destination path that includes part of the file name and also specify a pattern for the
file name using the LIKE option, the operation will fail. However, if you select the LIKE option without specifying the
pattern, the operation will succeed.
The Delete Archive Logs options are applicable only for a Scheduled or Run
Immediately backup job. For a Save As Script backup job, you are only allowed to
delete the backed up archive log files, irrespective of any criteria, using the Archive
Delete option in Subclient Properties (Content) tab.
For related information. see "Delete Archive Logs" for Oracle and Oracle RAC iDataAgents.
Oracle Options
Enter Maximum number of database block corruptions
Specifies the maximum number of database block corruptions a backup process can encounter before stopping. A database
block is a logical unit of database space. RMAN ignores the specified number of database block corruptions before
terminating a backup process. Once the specified threshold value is reached, RMAN abruptly stops the backup process with
an error message.
For example:
LISTING 2: r_20030520213618.log
RMAN-00571: ===========================================================
RMAN-00569: =============== ERROR MESSAGE STACK FOLLOWS ===============
RMAN-00571: ===========================================================
RMAN-03009: failure of backup command on d1 channel at 05/20/2003 21:36:26
ORA-19566: exceeded limit of 0 corrupt blocks for file
/u01/app/Oracle/oradata/MRP/sales_data_01.dbf
It is recommended that you set this number to match the number of corrupted database blocks identified by RMAN for the
database file being backed up. By default, the maximum number of allowed database block corruption value is 0. In this
case, even one corrupted database block will terminate the backup process. For more information on detecting the number
of corrupted database blocks, see the Oracle documentation.
Enable RMAN Disk Ratio
When this option is selected, RMAN reads data files across disks and groups them in a backup set. This way, the backup
load is distributed across disks thus increasing the backup performance. By default, this option is disabled in the Advanced
Backup Options (Oracle Options) tab. Once you have enabled this option, you must also specify a disk ratio value greater
than zero in order for RMAN to utilize this option. The disk ratio option is applicable only when you are backing up data files
or control files.
RMAN Disk Ratio
Specifies the number of disks from which data files are included in each backup set. For example, consider data files
distributed across 10 disks that supply data at 10 bytes/second and a tape drive that needs 40 bytes/second to keep
streaming. In this case, you can set the disk ratio value to 4, which will direct RMAN to include data files from 4 disks in
each backup set. RMAN compares the disk ratio value with the number of disks available for backup and uses the lowest
value. For example, if the disk ratio value is set to 4 and the data files are available in 3 disks, RMAN attempts to include
data files from 3 disks in each backup set. If you set the option to 0, disk ratio will be disabled. When the disk ratio
option is disabled, RMAN reads the files as specified in Data Files per BFS option in the Subclient Properties (Backup
Arguments) tab.
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Browse Data
Topics | How To | Examples | Support | Related Topics
Overview
Control the Browse Time Interval
The Time-of-Day Element
Browse Data from Before the Most Recent Full Backup
Image Browse
No Image Browse
Establish the Page Size for a Browse
Browse Using a Specific MediaAgent
Browse from Copies
Browse Multiple Versions of a File or Object
Browse and Restore/Recover/Retrieve Using The Exact Index
Find a File/Directory/Object
Full Backup Transparent Browse
Global Browse/Recovery Options
Browse Error Reporting
Overview
The option to browse the data obtained by data protection operations provides the facility to view and if necessary,
selectively restore/recover the data objects (files/folder/directories/database objects, etc.) that were backed up. This option
is especially useful to search for specific data object(s), including a specific version.
The browse option can be invoked from either the client, agent, instance, backup set, or subclient level depending on the
functionality of a given agent. This helps to narrow the search to a specific part of the data.
Depending on the agent, there are several additional options to customize your browse, including:
Capability to browse the most recent (latest) data.
Capability to browse data between a specified time range.
Capability to limit the browse to a specified path.
Facility to specify the page size of the browse window.
Ability to browse the image of the data as it existed at the specified browse time.
Ability to browse from a specified storage policy copy.
Ability to browse only volumes for Volume Level Restores.
Ability to browse databases or file groups/files for these databases.
Ability to browse contents defined by file attributes other than size and time.
Ability to browse folders/files owned by specific users.
After selecting the necessary browse options, the browse window provides a list of data objects that meets the specified
criteria. This window also provides the capability to select multiple or specific data object(s) that you wish to
restore/recover.
Note that most of the Unicode / International characters are automatically displayed in the browse window. If these
characters are not displayed, make sure that the necessary fonts or other software required to display these characters are
installed on the computer in which the CommCell Console is displayed. For example, if you run the CommCell Console as a
web-based application, make sure that the that the necessary fonts or other software required to display the characters are
installed on the local computer from which the Console is run.
If necessary, you can also perform the following operations in the browse window, depending on whether the agent
supports the operation:
Search the data using the Find option to restore/recover specific data objects.
View and restore/recover multiple version(s) of data objects.
Perform a full iDataAgent restore.
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For the Unix File System iDataAgents, if you back up data contents including hard
links with registry key HLINK set to Y and the appropriate hard link updates applied,
and if a non-head hard link is removed between the scan and backup phases of the
backup job, and if you then perform a browse and restore on the data contents, the
hard link will not be displayed, and you will not be able to restore the link using this
restore method. However, you will be able to restore the hard link using Restore by
Jobs. See the Service Pack documentation for more information on hard link
updates.
For the Lotus Notes iDataAgents, for a database that is reconfigured from a default
subclient to a user-defined subclient, the database would appear twice in the Backup
Data dialog box under the following conditions:
The default subclient had been backed up prior to the reconfiguration, and after the
reconfiguration only the user-defined subclient is backed up. In the default view of
the Backup Data dialog box, the second occurrence of the database reflects the
more recent backup, and you would be able to successfully restore either
occurrence. With the next back up of the default subclient, the duplication would be
eliminated.
For the Exchange Database iDataAgent, you must dismount all information stores
that you will be selecting during the restore operation. If you are restoring the entire
Exchange Server, be sure to dismount all stores.
For the Exchange Mailbox iDataAgent and Exchange Mailbox Archiver Agent, when
performing a point-in-time browse and restore/recover operation for data associated
with an old mailbox alias name, you must restore/recover the data out-of-place to
the current mailbox alias name. Otherwise, attempting to restore the data in-place
to a mailbox alias that no longer exists will cause the restore/recovery operation to
fail.
For information on browsing QR Volumes, see Browsing Available QR Volumes.
For information on browsing Migration Archiver Agents, see Browsing Data -
Migration Archiver Agents.
For information on browsing the Exchange Compliance Archiver Agent, see Browse
and Retrieve - Exchange Compliance Archiver Agent.
Control the Browse Time Interval
The following agents have different behavior due to the nature of their data and operations. See the appropriate topic for
more information.
Control the Browse Time Interval for Informix
Control the Browse Time Interval for Oracle, Oracle RAC and DB2
Control the Browse Time Interval for Exchange Database
Control the Browse Time Interval for Image Level and Serverless Data Manager
Control the Browse Time Interval for SQL
Control the Browse Time Interval for Sybase
Except for the above agents controlling the browse time interval works as follows:
The browse operation provides you with two options, Exclude Data Before and Browse Data Before, which allow you to
control the start and end points of the browse retrieval process. These features can be useful if you need to
restore/recover:
Some previous version of data.
Data that was deleted prior to the most recent data protection operation.
If you want to browse and restore previous versions of a data object only, you may find
it more convenient to use the Version option as described in Browsing Multiple
Versions of a File or Object.
Although both options have their uses, the Browse Data Before option is generally used far more often than the Exclude
Data Before option. Users are usually more interested in restoring the most recent data up to some date threshold than
they are in omitting data from before some given date.
The Exclude Data Before option identifies the starting point of the index search and the Browse Data Before option
identifies the ending point.
The following figure shows how the search process is affected by the Exclude Data Before and Browse Data Before
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options.
As shown in the figure, the Browse Data Before date, when specified alone, causes the search process to begin with the
most recent full backup and end with the backup that occurred just prior to the specified date. The Exclude Data Before
date, when specified alone, causes the search process to begin with either the backup that occurred just after the specified
date and end with the most recent backup.
You can also use the Browse Data Before and Exclude Data Before options together to limit the search boundaries on
both ends.
The Time-of-Day Element
The specifications for both the Browse Data Before and Exclude Data Before options include not only the date, but the
time-of-day (i.e., hours and minutes) as well.
Specifying the time is necessary when isolating a backup on a date on which two or more backups occurred. (Note that this
condition can occur even if backups are scheduled only once a day. For example, someone may have launched a backup
using the Run Immediately option in addition to a scheduled backup. Also, depending on the size of a backup and the time
it is scheduled to begin, a backup can start on one date and complete on the next, since the backup need only span 12:00
midnight.)
In determining whether to include a backup in a search, the system uses the time that a backup completes. The Exclude
Data Before option causes the system to begin its search on the backup that completed after the specified date and time,
unless it encounters a full backup first. The Browse Data Before option causes the system to end its browse search using
the most recent backup that completed before the specified date and time.
The following figure shows the minimum and maximum times that can be given for the Browse Data Before and Exclude
Data Before options in order to define the search boundaries as shown. Notice that the point of delineation is the backup
completion time, 2:25am in this case.
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Browse Data from Before the Most Recent Full Backup
In the browses described previously, the searches are bounded by the most recent full backup. There may be times,
however, when you want to browse data that is older than the most recent full backup. One way of accessing that data is to
specify a Browse Data Before date that pre-dates the full backup. Remember, the Browse Data Before date establishes
the ending point of the search. Consequently, using a Browse Data Before date that pre-dates the most recent full backup
starts the search in the previous full backup cycle. This is only valid of course if the data in that full backup cycle has not
expired.
The following illustration demonstrates the use of the Browse Data Before option to access data that was backed prior to
the most recent full backup. Other searches including the default are shown for comparative purposes.
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This figure shows that the:
Default search is bounded by the most recent full backup. It has no access to data that was backed up prior to that time.
Browse Data Before option can be used to restore data that was backed up prior to the most recent full backup.
The illustration shows the search boundaries that would be in effect if the date and time specified preceded the
completion of the 5/10 backup. The search starts with the 5/9 backup and is bounded by the next most recent full
backup.
Exclude Data Before option, when used alone, cannot access data that was backed-up prior to the most recent full
backup, regardless of the date/time that was specified. The end point of such a search is always bounded by either the
most recent full backup or the Exclude Data Before date, whichever is most recent.
Search can begin on a backup that occurred prior to the most recent full backup and end on a backup that occurred after
the next most recent full backup.
Image Browse
Image browse displays the structure of the entity as it existed as of some specified time. An image restore operation
restores the data or some specified portion thereof. (Remember, the two operations - browse, restore - are the same
except that a restore returns the actual data while a browse displays only the structure.)
When you browse or restore data in the image mode, the system by default returns the requested data based on the latest
image available. This is usually the information that most users are interested in. The system does this by using the current
date and time as the effective date.
The following examples illustrate data retrieval:
Example 1 - Basic Example
Example 2 - Public/Web Folder and Mailbox Example
Example 3 - Directory/Container Example
Limitations of Image Browse
The image mode (i.e., searching through the current full backup cycle) may not meet your needs in all circumstances. It
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can only restore the latest version of an entity (i.e. file/directory/database/public folder/mailbox/folder/message). Further,
if the requested entity was deleted before the most recent full backup, the default mode of operation cannot find the data.
In such situations, use either the no-image mode or the other browse capabilities provided by the system to control the
search and retrieval process.
No Image Browse
The no-image browse operation is useful for retrieving data that may have been deleted at some unknown time or
retrieving a previous backup version of a data object. Rather than returning an image of the specified data object, a no-
image browse returns all data objects that have existed, whether currently present or not, since the full backup of the
specified backup cycle.
The no-image browse/restore is more inclusive than the image form of the operation. However, it is not suitable for all
situations. Use the default image operation if you want to restore an entity to the state in which it existed as of a specified
time. Use the no-image option if you do not need to preserve the structure of an entity.
The following examples illustrate no-image browse:
For database agents, see the example in Database Retrieval.
For non-database agents, see the examples in Data Retrieval and Directory/Container Retrieval. A no-image restore of
the same data would have returned all of the data as stated plus file D from the 5/10 backup.
The Type column in the browse window indicates whether a data object has been
deleted. Note, however, that the type column is not supported by all Agents.
Browse Multiple Versions of a File or Object
As part of the default browse operation, the system allows you to browse and recover previously backed up/archived
versions of a data object. You can access this feature by using the View All Versions option. The system responds by
displaying the date-stamped versions of the selected entities that are available for recovery. You then select the version
you want and recover it.
The following example demonstrates the use of this feature.
A default image browse of this entity returns:
A from 5/13
B from 5/15
C from 5/13
In this example for iDataAgents, using the View All Versions option we can browse and restore any version of these files
back to the 5/10 full backup. For example, for File A, we can restore the 5/10, 5/11, and 5/13 versions. Note that this
feature is available only for individual data objects. It cannot be used to restore some previous version of a
directory/container. If you need to restore a directory or container to some prior state, use the Browse Data Before and
Exclude Data Before options as described in Controlling the Browse Time Interval.
When you restore all file versions simultaneously, the restore operation automatically appends a different number to the file
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name (for example: file,1.txt; file,2.txt; where "1" is the most recent version, "2" is the next recent version, etc.) so that
each version remains unique. If the destination volume does not have the long namespace installed, the naming of these
files will vary according to the available namespace.
File Archiver and File Share Archiver Agents also support the View All Versions option to browse and recover different
versions of archived files. For these agents, if all versions of a file are recovered then the original file will remain a stub file
and not be recovered. Upon recovery, the system appends a unique number to the file name (as mentioned above) to
ensure that different versions of a file residing in the same location have a unique name.
For the SharePoint Document iDataAgent, the View All Versions window in the Backup
Data Browse has different functionality.
List Items and documents backed up from a Document Library with Versioning
disabled will only show the latest version of the object in the View All Versions
window. To restore a past version of an object, you must perform a browse back in
time.
Documents backed up from Document Libraries with Versioning enabled will display
all backed up versions in the View All Versions window.
When the properties of a file are changed, such as permissions, but not its contents, while the file will be backed up with
the next incremental or differential backup, the View All Versions option will only display the latest version of the file.
File and NDS object versions have slightly different meanings due to the differences
between File System and NDS backups.
In File System, an incremental or differential backup backs up only changed or new
files. Consequently, File System versions are always different from one another.
In NDS, a full backup backs up the entire NDS tree (or portion that is defined in the
subclient contents. Therefore every NDS backup creates a new NDS version and
consequently, NDS versions of the same object are not necessarily different.
Find a File/Directory/Object
The find feature allows you to search the data protection archives for any file or directory name or name pattern. Because
find supports the capability of searching multiple indexes, unlike browse, you can search beyond the last full backup (or
new index) as long as the data resides on an index that exists within the retention period. The find feature is accessible as
a right-click option on the browse window, and for supported agents a non-browse find is available from the All Tasks
menu. Depending on the agent, the Find option is accessible from either the backup set or archive set level, and for
Exchange Compliance Archiver it is accessible from the agent level.
The following list provides details of supported wildcard characters:
The Active Directory iDataAgent does not support the use of wildcard expressions.
For Windows, Data Protection Manager, NetWare, Unix, SharePoint Document, and NAS NDMP iDataAgents, and File
Archiver Agents, see Wildcards (File System).
For Lotus Notes Document iDataAgent, see Wildcards (Lotus Notes Document).
For Exchange Mailbox, Public Folder and Web Folder iDataAgents, Exchange Compliance Archiver and Exchange
Mailbox/Public Folder Archiver Agents, see Wildcards (Exchange).
Searching Content Indexes
If Content Indexing is configured for your site and is supported for this Agent, you can search the content of messages,
attachments, files and/or documents. For more information see:
Operations - Content indexing and Search
Data Discovery and Search
Search Data from Previous Version
For information on supported Agents, see Content Indexing - Support.
Global Browse/Recovery Options
Certain options for Browse and Recovery operations can be set globally, in that it will occur for all browse and recovery
operations provided the option is enabled. Options that can be set are as follows:
Show Aged Data during Browse and Recovery
When enabled, aged data will be included as part of the results of the operation; refer to Accessing Aged Data.
Always Use Exact Index for Browse
When enabled, the exact index will be used for the browse operation; refer to Browse and Restore/Recover/Retrieve
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Using The Exact Index.
Disable Confirmation Message for Restore Jobs
When enabled, confirmation messages will no longer be displayed for restore jobs.
Automatically Switch Copy to Read Data from any Copy
When enabled, copy precedence automatically changes if the primary copy is unreachable.
To set these options, see Configure Browse/Recovery Options.
Browse Error Reporting
During a Browse operation, if one of the following error conditions occurs, an accurate problem description will be reported
in the Browse window. This is extremely useful for troubleshooting.
MediaAgent Offline
Index Cache Inaccessible
Offline Requested Data Not Found
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Browse and Restore/Recover/Retrieve from Copies
Topics | How To | Related Topics
Overview
Restore/Recover/Retrieve Considerations
Overview
By default, when a browse and restore/recover/retrieve operation is requested, the software attempts to browse and
restore/recover/retrieve from the storage policy copy with the lowest copy precedence. If the data that you want to browse
and restore/recover/retrieve was already pruned from the primary copy, the software searches the other copies of the
storage policy in the following order:
1. Lowest copy precedence to highest copy precedence among all synchronous copies.
2. Lowest copy precedence to highest copy precedence among all selective copies (if your agent supports selective
copies).
If the data that is to be browsed and restored/recovered/retrieved was secured through multiple storage policies, the
software will search for the requested data first from synchronous copies starting with the lowest copy precedence number
to the synchronous copy with the highest copy precedence number, and then from selective copies in the same order for
each of these storage policies.
You can enable the Automatically Switch Copy to Read Data from any Copy option
from the Browse/Recovery Option dialog box to automatically change the copy
precedence if the primary copy is not available in the following conditions:
MediaAgent, library or drive pool is offline.
None of the drives in the specific library are in an usable state.
No data path configured to access this type of media.
The first media to read is not in the library.
(See Configure Browse/Recovery Options for step-by-step instructions.)
You can choose to browse and restore/recover/retrieve from synchronous or selective copies other than the primary copies
by using an agent's Advanced Browse/Restore/Recover/Retrieve Options or Select Copy Precedence dialog box to
specify a copy precedence number at browse and restore/recover/retrieve time. This feature can be useful a variety of
circumstances, including the following:
You know that the media containing the protected data for a particular copy has been removed from the storage library.
In this case, you can choose to browse and restore/recover/retrieve from a copy whose media are inside the library.
You want to browse and restore/recover/retrieve from a copy that accesses faster magnetic disk media rather than
slower tape media.
You know that the media drives used by a particular copy are busy with another operation and want to browse and
restore/recover/retrieve from a different copy to avoid resource conflicts.
If you specify a copy precedence number for a browse and restore/recover/retrieve operation, the software searches only
the storage policy copy with that precedence number in each of the storage policies through which the data was secured. If
data does not exist in the specified copy, the browse and restore/recover/retrieve operation fails even if the data exists in
another copy of the same storage policy.
You can also use the copy precedence feature to browse and restore/recover/retrieve from specific copies as follows:
1. Go through each storage policy that will be accessed by the browse and restore/recover/retrieve operation.
2. Use the Storage Policy Properties - Copy Precedence tab to assign a particular copy precedence to the copy that
you want checked for that particular storage policy.
3. Specify that copy precedence number in the agent's Advanced Browse/Restore/Recover/Retrieve Options or
Select Copy Precedence at browse/restore time.
For a more detailed discussion, see Recovering Data From Copies.
Restore/Recover/Retrieve Considerations
When you are directly performing a restore/recover/retrieve operation, as discussed in Basic Restore, you can select the
necessary copy from which to perform the operation from the agent's Advanced Restore/Recover/Retrieve Options dialog
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box. Note that data should be restored/recovered/retrieved from the same copy from which you have performed the
browse operation.
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Full Backup Transparent Browse
Topics | How To | Related Topics
Overview
Enabling Full Backup Transparent Browse
Guidelines for Enabling Full Backup Transparent Restores
Overview
The browse searches described thus far are confined to one full backup cycle, either the most recent (by default) or some
previous cycle. Usually, this provides the desired results because users generally want to restore either the latest version or
the latest version as of some specified date. Under those circumstances, the full backup boundary does not hinder their
ability to get the desired data.
If, however, you want to view all available versions of an entity (i.e. file/NDS object) that have not yet been pruned, then
the full backup boundary becomes more of a barrier since the browse cannot access data beyond it in a single operation.
You can of course use the Browse Data Before option (described in Controlling the Browse Time Interval) to start the
browse from before the most recent full backup, but even so, the browse ends at the next most recent full. For lengthy
retention periods (i.e., those comprising many full backup cycles), this approach can become tedious since you would need
to browse each cycle, one at a time. This is where the full backup transparent browse capability becomes most useful.
Full backup transparent browses enable you to browse all the data within the entire retention period, not just one full
backup cycle. In effect, the browse extends back in time, starting with the least recent full backup in the retention period,
through the full backups and to the most recent backup. When you use the Versions option on any entity, the browse
operation displays all available backed up file versions.
In both cases, you can use the Versions option on any entity to display all available backed up file versions.
In the event a full backup transparent browse is necessary, the following example demonstrates how it is used. For
simplicity, assume that the backup set contains only the default subclient and that its retention period is set for 7 days and
1 full backup cycle.
A default image browse of this file system returns:
File A from 5/13
File B from 5/14
File C from 5/13
Using the Versions option, we can also browse and restore any version of these files back to the 5/3 full backup. For
example, for File C, we can restore the 5/3, 5/6, 5/10, and 5/13 versions. Had we not used full backup transparent
browses, the browse would have started at the 5/10 full backup rather than the full backup on 5/3.
Enabling Full Backup Transparent Browse
Full backup transparent browses are a feature, not a restore option. Whether or not the feature is available depends on how
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file system full backups are configured for the client computer. If full backups are configured to generate a new index on
each occurrence, then full backup transparent browses are disabled. If full backups are configured to use and build upon
the existing index from the previous backup operation (i.e., in the manner of incremental and differential backups), then
full backup transparent browses are enabled.
By default, full backups are configured to generate a new index, thus disabling the full backup transparent browse feature.
This configuration is in effect for all subclients on the client computer. You can change this configuration from the
Advanced backup Options dialog box.
Guidelines for Enabling Full Backup Transparent Restores
The following items summarize the advantages and consequences of enabling full backup transparent browses.
Full backup transparent browses are a convenience only. Their advantage is that you can access all the data within the
retention period in a single browse operation.
However, when you enable full backup transparent browses, the respective index files accumulate backup data over the
length of the retention period. This leads to larger index files even though pruning deletes indexes that correspond to
expired data. For this reason, this method is not recommended. You can use the Find function to browse and restore
beyond the last full backup, but within the retention period. For more information, see Find a File/Directory/Object.
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Browse and Restore/Recover/Retrieve Using The Exact Index
Topics | How To | Related Topics
Overview
Normally when browsing or restoring data, if the required index for the data is not in the index cache, then the index from
the last backup in the backup cycle corresponding to the selected point-in-time (the last-in-cycle backup) is restored and
used to perform the browse or restore operation.
When you select the Use Exact Index option, the index from the specified point-in-time is restored instead of from the
last-in-cycle backup.
This is useful in situations when you want to restore data from specific media; for example, this feature is useful when
media is off-site, and you would like to maximize the chances that the necessary index information comes from the same
media.
This option can be established as a global property from the Browse/Recovery option available in the Control Panel.
However, if necessary, this can be overridden by selecting the appropriate option required to perform the browse operation
from the Advanced Browse options, or Restore Options.
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Restore Backup Data
Topics | Restore Options | Support | Related Topics
Overview
What You Need to Know Before Performing a Restore
Restore Methods
CommCell Console
Command Line
Recovery Tools
Factors in Choosing the Appropriate Restore Methods and Options
Scope
Time
Source
Destination
Version
Agent-Specific Overviews
Related Reports
Overview
This page provides a global overview of restore operations. For specific restore information on each agent, see Agent-
Specific Overviews.
What You Need to Know Before Performing a Restore
To avoid common problems, review the following before starting a restore operation:
Verify that the CommServe, MediaAgent and media library are powered on.
You have successfully done a backup of the data you are attempting to restore.
Verify that the media from which you wish to perform the restore is available in the CommCell. Use the List Media
feature to identify the media required by the restore operation.
Always ensure that sufficient space has been allocated for the restore.
When you restore data, the system restores data in the following method:
If the folders and files that you wish to restore are not available, the necessary folders and files are automatically
created by the restore operation.
If the folders and files are available, and if you do not select the Unconditional Overwrite option in the Restore
Options dialog box, the existing folders and files will not be overwritten. Only the non-existent entities will be
restored by the restore operation.
If the folders and files are available, and if you select the Unconditional Overwrite option in the Restore Options
dialog box, the existing folders and files will be overwritten with the folders and files with the most recent time-stamp
in the backup data.
After restoring data, check the Restore Job History to view the list of files that were successfully restored.
If you wish to restore data that has been aged, see Accessing Aged Data for information on restoring such data and
saving the media containing the data for future use.
When performing a restore to a NAS NDMP file server with LAN free data paths, it is important to import all of the
required tapes for the restore job into the same library. For information about determining which tapes will be required
for a given restore job, see List Media (Media Prediction).
Restore Methods
Listed below are different methods by which data can be restored.
CommCell Console
The primary interface from which most restores are usually conducted is the CommCell Console. In general, this method
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offers the greatest flexibility and richest set of options for restoring data. There are various types of restores that can be
conducted using the CommCell Console, which are listed below, with links provided for more information on each type.
Basic Restore
This type of restore, available for the File System iDataAgents, File Archiver agents, and File Share Archiver Agent, is the
simplest most direct method of restoring a single data object. All you do is type in the path and file name of the data object
that you want to restore, select the restore options, and then the data is restored.
Browse and Restore
Most agents allow you to select data objects to be restored from a browse data window. This type of restore is appropriate
for selecting multiple objects for restore (but can be used for single objects as well), and provides the additional flexibility
of allowing you to select a time range in which to browse for data to be restored, and from which storage policy copy the
data is to be restored from.
Find and Restore
Some agents allow you to search for data that matches a certain pattern (e.g., wildcards/regular expressions), and
selectively restore the objects returned as results from the search.
EZ Restore
Windows and Unix File System iDataAgents support the capability to perform an EZ Restore, which is a simplified method
for restoring data from an EZ Backup operation.
Command Line
The command line methods of restoring data provide a text-based shell-style interface from which to conduct restore
operations. Supported command line interfaces are described below.
Command Line Interface
The Command Line Interface provides a way to restore data from the command line, as an alternative to the CommCell
Console, where various restore options can be specified either as parameters on the command line or in a separate
arguments file. For more information, see Command Line Interface - Qoperation restore.
Third-Party Command Line
Agents such as DB2, Oracle, Oracle RAC, Informix and SAP offer the capability of initiating restore jobs from a command
line that is native to the associated application. For example, Oracle data can be restored through the Recovery Manager
(RMAN) command line. For all of these agents, the third-party command line interfaces provide an alternative to the
CommCell Console for restoring data. Note, however, that the SAP iDataAgent can only restore data from the SAP
command line. For more information, see Third-Party Command Line Operations.
Recovery Tools
There are two specialized recovery tools that can be used to restore data in the event of a system failure.
Media Explorer
Media Explorer can be used to quickly view and recover data from any media in the event that the entire CommCell has
been rendered unusable or inaccessible.
CommServe Disaster Recovery Tool
The CommServe Disaster Recovery Tool restores the meta data (stored in the CommServe SQL database) from the Disaster
Recovery Backup file which is created when a Disaster Recovery backup is performed from the CommCell Console. This tool
is useful for rebuilding the CommServe computer as well as for creating and maintaining a CommServe in the hot-site, and
other uses.
Factors in Choosing the Appropriate Restore Methods and Options
Consider the following factors when planning your restore strategy.
Scope
To what degree does data need to be restored?
To restore all or part of a client's data, you can perform a Basic Restore or Browse and Restore from the CommCell
Console, or you can run a Qoperation restore from the Command Line Interface. If the system is not available, but the
media is intact, then you would use Media Explorer to perform the restore.
If you aren't sure of the exact data to be restored, but can specify a matching pattern, then you can perform either a
Find and Restore or Restore Data Using Wildcard Expressions to locate and restore data that matches the specified
pattern.
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To restore the full system (operating system and application) on a client, see Disaster Recovery for your agent.
To restore a CommServe, you could use either the CommServe Disaster Recovery Tool or Restore by Jobs to perform the
recovery.
Time
Does the data need to be restored from the latest available backup data or from a previous point-in-time?
To browse and restore to a point-in-time, see:
Browse Data Before a Specified Time
Browse Data Between a Specified Time
To browse and restore from the latest data, see Browse the Latest Data.
Source
Does the data need to be restored from a specific source object?
To restore from any configured library in the CommCell, see Restore From Anywhere.
To restore from a specific media resource, see Restore Data Using a Specific MediaAgent, Library or Drive Pool.
To restore from a specific storage policy copy, see Restore from Copies.
To restore individual files and folders to different locations specified in a map file, see Restore Data Using a Map File.
To restore from a Quick Recovery volume, see Recovering QR Volumes.
To restore from a replicated volume, see Recover Replicated Data.
Destination
Where is the data being restored to?
For a general overview, see Restore Destinations.
To restore data to the same location on the same client from which the data was backed up, see In-Place Restore.
To restore data to a different location on the same client, or to a different client, see Out-of-Place Restore.
Version
Does the restore involve any version considerations?
To restore data to a different application version, see Cross-Application Restores.
To restore data to a different operating system version, see Cross-Platform Restores.
To restore an older version of a file, see Browse Multiple Versions of a File or Object.
Agent-Specific Overviews
Given below is a list of supported Agents. The corresponding linked page provides information on the Agent specific restore
options and procedures.
Active Directory Microsoft Windows File Systems
BlueArc NAS NDMP NetApp NAS NDMP
DB2 NetWare Server
EMC Celerra NAS NDMP OES File Systems
Image Level Oracle
Image Level ProxyHost Oracle RAC
Informix ProxyHost
Lotus Notes/ Domino Server SAP
Macintosh File System Serverless Data Manager
Microsoft Exchange Server SnapVault
Microsoft SharePoint Server Sybase
Microsoft SQL Server Unix File Systems
Related Reports
Restore Job Summary Report
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The Restore Job Summary Report provides a summary of restore jobs for each client.
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Restore Data - Windows File Systems
Topics | How To | Full System Restore | Related Topics
Overview
Restore Considerations for This Agent
Restore Destinations
In-Place Restore
Out-of-Place Restore
Cross-Platform Restores
Restore to Network Drive/NFS-Mounted File System
Restoring Microsoft Virtual Server and Microsoft Hyper-V Virtual Machines
Overview
The Windows File System iDataAgent supports the following types of restores for Windows:
File system data
System state, including components and services (databases)
ACLs (Access Control Lists) only
For the Windows File System iDataAgents, restore operations can be performed from the client, iDataAgent, and backup set
levels in the CommCell Browser. The system state is restored, like other File System data, through a Windows File System
iDataAgent subclient. For more information, refer to Restoring System State on the System State page.
To provide the automated rebuilding and restoration of Windows client computers, see the following for more information:
1-Touch for Windows
Restore Considerations for This Agent
Before performing any restore procedures for this agent, review the following information:
When restoring data to a computer in a different domain:
If two domains have the correct trust relationship established, the ACLs will be restored to the new domain.
If the two domains do not have any trusts, the old ACLs cannot be restored to the new domain even if the accounts
have the same names. This is because the SIDs for the name will be different in each domain and therefore not
recognized.
Some files, as they are restored, may be prevented by the operating system from overwriting the corresponding file in
the file system. The file may be in use by the operating system or it may be open with exclusive read access by an
application. In either case, the file is essentially locked and cannot be overwritten.
When a file that is to be restored is locked, the system automatically writes the file to another file name within the same
directory and records the instance in the Windows registry. The system then prompts you to restart the system. You
can either restart the computer then or at a later time. Upon restart, the computer automatically overwrites the files
with the restored data.
Do not set a quota for an object (such as a volume, directory, or user) that is lower than the amount already used.
Doing so may cause improper results for data protection or recovery operations.
The system does not back up multiple copies of mounted data. If a backup includes more than one mount point to the
same drive, the system backs up the data one time only. To restore data in mounted volumes, you must type the path
of the first point that is mounted to the drive.
If you are using this iDataAgent with Windows Server 2003 R2:
Full system backups of a created ADAM instance cannot be restored using full system restore.
Running an out-of-place Restore by Jobs for a Windows subclient will unintentionally restore Job Results-related folders
and files.
If a junction point that goes from one root directory to another root directory is added directly to subclient content, the
associated data will be backed up twice. In this case, all of the data -- but not the link -- will be restored. However, if the
junction point is a sub-directory of subclient content, then the data will be backed up once, and the link and the restore
will work normally.
VSS and non-VSS system state restores require that the Job Result Path reside on the same drive as the data to be
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restored.
Restore Destinations
By default, the Windows File System iDataAgent restores data to the client computer from which it originated; this is
referred to as an in-place restore. You can also restore the data to another Client computer in the CommCell. Keep in mind
the following considerations when performing such restores:
The destination client must reside in the same CommCell as the client whose data was backed up.
Note that when you perform restores other than in-place restores, the restored data assumes the rights (i.e.,
permissions) of the parent directory.
The following section enumerates the types of restore destinations that are supported by the Windows File System
iDataAgent. See Restore/Recover/Retrieve Destinations - Support for a list of Agents supporting each restore destination
type.
In-Place Restore
Same path/destination
Out-of-Place Restore
Keep in mind that out-of-place restore operations are also subject to the conditions described in Cross-Platform Restores.
Same path/destination
Different path/destination
Cross-Platform Restores
Different Operating System
Restoring Windows Data to Unix Platforms
The following cross-platform restore operations for Windows data are supported:
Windows to AIX
Windows to FreeBSD
Windows to HP-UX
Windows to IRIX
Windows to Linux
Windows to Solaris
Windows to Tru64
NOTES:
Cross-platform file system restores from Windows to Unix of files encrypted by the Windows operating system are not
supported.
Restore to Network Drive/NFS-Mounted File System
Besides restoring data to a client computer’s local drive, you can also restore data to a UNC path. (See Restore to Network
Drive/NFS-Mounted File System for comprehensive information.)
Restoring Microsoft Virtual Server and Microsoft Hyper-V Virtual Machines
You can restore Microsoft Virtual Server and Microsoft Hyper-V virtual machines that were backed up using the
VSBackupUtil utility. See Restore Virtual Machines on Microsoft Virtual Server and Restore Virtual Machines on Microsoft
Hyper-V for step-by-step procedures.
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Basic Restore
Topics | How To | Related Topics
Overview
There are two functions that help you retrieve backed up data from the backup media: Browse and Restore. Browse
operations allow you to view the data that has been backed up for a client computer without actually restoring the data.
Restore operations retrieve the data from the backup media and restore it to the desired location.
In the CommCell Browser, the Browse and various Restore commands appear in the right-click menus at the agent,
instance and/or backup set levels, depending on agent.
Using the Restore commands, i.e., restoring without browsing, is most appropriate when you want to restore the latest
backup job for an agent, instance or backup set and want to retain the current file structure.
In certain situations and for supported agents, Restore operations can run without utilizing the Browse feature. For
example, if you know the path/name of the volume of the data that you want to restore, you can restore it without
browsing. In these agents, this procedure is most appropriate when the number of paths for the data that you want to
restore is small or when the data that you want to restore is at a single volume. If you want to restore data from many
different paths or volumes, you should probably select the data from the Browse window.
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Browse and Restore
Topics | How To | Related Topics
Overview
There are two functions that help you retrieve backed up data from the backup media: browse and restore. In the
CommCell Browser, the browse and variously-named restore commands appear, depending on agent, in the right-click
menus at the agent, instance and/or backup set levels.
Browse operations allow you to view data that has been backed up by the agent on the client computer and select all or
some of that data. Depending on the agent, there are several options available to customize your browse. See Browse Data
for comprehensive information on Browse operations.
Restore operations allow you to retrieve data from backup media and restore it to the desired location. Restoring without
browsing is most appropriate when you want to restore the latest backup job for an agent, instance or backup set and want
to retain the current file structure. See Basic Restore for more information on restoring without using browse.
Browse and Restore
The Browse and Restore procedure is a sequential procedure that combines the two procedures. When you select a Browse
command from the CommCell Browser, you can define and run one of many potential browse sequences. At the end of the
browse, when you are looking at the resulting information presented in the Browse window, you can continue with a restore
procedure simply by selecting data and clicking the Recover All Data button. As with the browse, depending on the agent,
there are several options available to customize your restore.
Perform a browse and restore operation when you want to:
restore from an earlier backup
restore only select files/objects
restore deleted files/objects
when you don't want or don't need to retain the current file structure
to utilize browse options
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Browse and Restore/Recover/Retrieve Data Using a Specific MediaAgent,
Library or Drive Pool
Topics | How To | Related Topics
Overview
Considerations for Browsing Data
Considerations for Restoring NAS Data
Considerations for File Level Restores with Image Level or Image Level ProxyHost
Considerations for Browsing Data for Agents that do not have a Browseable Index
Other Considerations
Overview
Data can be restored/recovered from any compatible library and drive type in the CommCell. By default the system
automatically identifies and restores/recovers data from any configured library in the CommCell, even if the media is not
available in the original library in which the data protection operation was performed. (This is described in
Restore/Recover/Retrieve From Anywhere.) Data Recovery operations use a specific data path - MediaAgent, Library and
Drive Pool - to perform the restore operations. When the default options are selected, the system automatically chooses the
most appropriate data path, as described in Data Recovery Operations using Alternate Data Paths.
In some situations you may want to use another data path to perform a data recovery operation. In such a situation, you
can specify the MediaAgent, Library and/or the Drive Pool.
Consider the following examples:
You may want to use a specific MediaAgent to perform the browse and restore operation instead of the system selected
default MediaAgent. For example, the default MediaAgent may be busy and you wish to use another MediaAgent which is
idle, or you know the library attached to a specific MediaAgent contains the media associated with the data you wish to
restore.
The default MediaAgent may have a problem accessing the devices (library, drive) and hence you wish to use another
MediaAgent sharing the library to perform the browse and restore operation.
This feature is applicable only for tape/optical libraries. The operation will fail if the
requested data is not available in the magnetic library attached to the specified
MediaAgent.
Considerations for Browsing Data
When you perform a browse operation, the system returns the list of files requested by the browse by reading the most
recent version of the index in the MediaAgent. If the index is either not available in the MediaAgent's index cache, or not
accessible to browse/restore operation then it is restored to the selected MediaAgent from any available MediaAgent. If the
MediaAgent used for Browse happens to have visibility to the media then that MediaAgent is used for the browse operation.
The same MediaAgent will also get selected in the subsequent restore options. If necessary you can change the MediaAgent
in the subsequent restore operation.
Considerations for Browsing Data for Agents that do not have a Browseable Index
Some Agents (e.g., database Agents) do not have a browse able Index. Browse operations on such Agents do not provide
the option to select a MediaAgent, as an index is not used to display the data in the Browse window.
However, you can restore the data using a specific MediaAgent, Library or Drive Pool.
Considerations for Restoring NAS Data
Consider the following while selecting an alternate path for restoring NAS data.
If the data protection operation was performed using a MediaAgent with NDMP Remote Server (library attached to the
MediaAgent), use another MediaAgent with the NDMP Remote Server configuration to perform the data recovery
operation.
If the data protection operation was performed using a MediaAgent configured to use a library attached to a NAS file
server, then use a MediaAgent with a similar configuration to perform the data recovery operation.
If the appropriate MediaAgent is not selected, the restore operation will fail.
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Considerations for File Level Restores with the Image Level or Image Level ProxyHost iDataAgents
Consider the following while selecting an alternate MediaAgent for File Level Restores using the Image Level or Image Level
ProxyHost iDataAgents on Windows:
The specified alternate MediaAgent must be on Windows, and have its index cache on an NTFS partition, or the restore
operation will fail.
For large scale file systems, the time required to rebuild the index on an alternate MediaAgent should be considered.
This can be avoided through the use of a Shared Index Cache.
Other Considerations
If the media is used in another compatible library to perform the restore, the library may read the barcode differently. In
such a situation, update the media barcodes and then perform the restore/recover operation.
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Features - Microsoft Windows File System iDataAgent
Restore by Jobs
Topics | How To | Support | Related Topics
Overview
How to Restore by Jobs
Points to Remember When Restoring by Jobs
Best Practices
License Requirements
Overview
The Restore By Jobs feature provides the facility to select a specific backup job to be restored. This method of restoring
data is considerably faster as it reads continuously on the tape and retrieves the data and does not depend on the indexing
subsystem to get the seek offsets on the media.
This feature can be used in different scenarios such as the following:
To restore point-in-time data associated with a specific backup job, such as full, incremental, differential, etc.
To restore CommServe DR data for the disaster recovery or for createing a hot-site purposes. (For more information on
creating a hot-site, see Planning for CommCell Disaster Recovery Using a Hot-Site.)
This feature is especially useful for restoring multiplexed data from the same client. (This is explained in detail in the Best
Practices section.)
Restores by Jobs supports the Scheduling, Data Encryption (if enabled), Command Line Interface, and Restore Data Using a
Map File features. Data browsing capabilities are not available for this feature.
Restore By Jobs is supported by the Macintosh, Unix, and Windows File System iDataAgents. The feature can also be used
to restore CommServe DR backup data from Release 5.9.0 and higher. This feature is not supported by the NetWare File
System iDataAgent. (See Support Information - Advanced File System iDataAgent Options for more information.)
How to Restore by Jobs
Basic restores by jobs for the agent are implemented by using the Restore by Jobs option from the backup set level to
select the desired backup jobs and then starting the restore. See Restore by Jobs for File System Data for step-by-step
instructions.
Basic restores by jobs for CommServe DR data are implemented by using the DR Restore: Restore by Job option from
the CommServe icon to select the desired backup jobs and then starting the restore. See Restore by Jobs for CommServe
DR Data for step-by-step instructions.
Points to Remember When Restoring by Jobs
Consider the following when restoring by jobs:
Only jobs from the same backup set can be selected together to perform restores by jobs.
A Restore by Jobs will not run if a filter archive file for an Erase Backup Data job exists. Therefore, to run a Restore by
Jobs in this case, the appropriate Data Aging operation must first be run to prune the filter archive file.
When you use the Restore by Jobs method for a Windows File System subclient, you can restore the system state along
with file system data if you do an out-of-place restore. Restore by Jobs allows you to restore the system state out of
place only, not in place. If you attempt to restore a backup job in place on a subclient that was used to back up system
state, the system state data will be filtered out and only file system data will be restored. If you do the same restore out
of place, both system state and file system data will be restored.
Running an out-of-place Restore by Jobs for a Windows subclient will unintentionally restore Job Results-related folders
and files.
Best Practices
Consider the following when restoring by jobs:
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Restore by Jobs is especially useful for restoring from multiple tapes and multiplexed data, as the Restore by Job
operation restores multiple jobs in parallel if these jobs are multiplexed together on the same media.
Tape Multiplexing causes data from different backup jobs to be multiplexed and interleaved on the tape. The
conventional restore reads the data on the tape one backup job at a time. This might result in multiple passes of the
tape before the entire data is retrieved. If the data to be restored are interleaved on the tape, and if all these data need
to be restored for the same client, the multi-pass restore is not very efficient.
However in the case of a restore by job operation, data from different backup jobs are passed back to the client so that
all of the interleaved backup jobs can be restored in parallel.
Run a restore by jobs whenever you want to restore the entire contents of the job.
Avoid running restore by jobs whenever you are restoring any of the following:
Few files for a specific job
Multiple versions of a file
Point-in-time version of a file
Instead, use a conventional browse and restore to perform such operations.
Avoid running restores by jobs for jobs associated with the default subclient. If you do this, the entire contents of the
machine will be restored. As such, this may cause problems (e.g., the machine might run out of space) or produce
undesirable results (e.g., you might end up restoring operating system files or directories that you really do not want to
restore).
Avoid modifying the contents of any associated subclients since this may result in the retrieval of older data.
License Requirements
This feature requires a Feature License to be available in the CommServe.
Review general license requirements included in License Administration. Also, View All Licenses provides step-by-step
instructions on how to view the license information.
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Features - Microsoft Windows File System iDataAgent
Restore from Failed or Killed Jobs
Topics | How To | Related Topics
Overview
Points to Remember when Restoring from Failed or Killed Jobs
License Requirements
Support Information
Overview
The Restore from Failed or Killed Jobs option provides the facility to select specific failed or killed backup job(s) to be
restored. When restoring a failed or killed job, the data that was written in the backup job up to the point of failure or being
killed is what will be restored.
Points to Remember when Restoring Failed or Killed Jobs
Failed or killed backup jobs are immediately aged regardless of their defined retention rules, therefore, these jobs can only
be restored if:
The Show Aged Data During Browse and Recovery option is selected from the CommCell Console Control Panel's
Browse/Recovery Option dialog box. See Accessing Aged Data for more information.
The media is not yet overwritten (Aged data can only be restored from removable storage media, i.e., tape or optical
media. Data stored in Magnetic libraries cannot be restored using the Show Aged Data During Browse and Recovery
option.)
License Requirements
The Restore by Jobs feature requires a Feature License to be available in the CommServe.
Review general license requirements included in License Administration. Also, View All Licenses provides step-by-step
instructions on how to view the license information.
Support Information
Restoring failed or killed jobs is done by using the Restore by Jobs feature, and therefore, is supported by the same
agents. Refer to Advanced File System iDataAgent Options - Support for more information.
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Restore Data using Wildcard Expressions
Topics | How To | Related Topics
Restoring Files and Folders/Directories
Supported Wildcard Expressions
Mixed Mode Restores
Methods of Restoring Data using Wildcard Expressions
Restoring Files and Folders/Directories
Wildcard expressions can be used to restore file system data, to. This function provides the ability to restore files and/or
folders/directories that have a common naming convention. For example, msde2.txt and msj4j.txt.
When restoring directories, if a wildcard pattern that matches the name of a directory was specified, the system restores
the directory, but none of the directory's contents. For example, if the wildcard restore string is tem?, the system restores
any and all data named with a four-character string starting with the letters t, e, and m. If a directory name satisfies the
wild card condition (e.g., sys:\temp) then only the directory would be restored; however, none of the files or any
subdirectories contained therein are restored.
Supported Wildcard Expressions
See Supported Wildcard Characters for a list of wildcards supported by the restore operation.
Note that a combination of wildcards in a single expression (e.g., access?.h*) can also be used. If the expression is
specified by itself, without a path (*.txt), the system searches for and returns all data within the backup set that satisfies
the expression. By preceding the expression with a path, the scope of the restored data can be narrowed. For example,
specifying sys:\data\*.txt, would restore only those files and directories within the sys:\data directory with extensions
of .txt.
Mixed Mode Restores
In addition to specifying the data to be restored using the wildcard expressions, the system allows you to also select
specific data to restore. This is known as a mixed mode restore. Both the selected data as well as the data that satisfies the
wildcard expression(s) is restored, with one important exception. All directories that are to be restored, whether they were
specifically named or selected, or merely satisfy the wildcard expression(s) are restored without their content. That is, any
directory to be restored is handled in the same way as if the directory was being restored as a result of a wildcard
expression.
Methods of Restoring Data using Wildcard Expressions
The system provides two methods of using wildcard characters to restore data. They are:
Restoring Data Directly using Wildcards
This method of restoring data is fast because you do not have to browse the backup data first.
Browsing and Restoring Data Using Wildcards
This method of restoring data uses the browse feature. This method is helpful when you are uncertain of the
organization of data that you want to restore.
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Automatic Detection of Regular Expressions
Topics | How To | Related Topics
One of the advanced options available during a restore operation is the ability to specify a source path. Certain iDataAgents
also allow you to choose to detect or ignore regular expressions (wildcard characters) in the specified source path. This
allows you to restore files and folders which contain regular expressions in their name (e.g., c:\[test]). This is similar in
concept to the use of wildcards in filters, and works according to these guidelines:
No-Browse Restore - option is on by default (detect supported regular expressions in specified source path as wildcards);
this option can be changed for this type of restore and is the only way to automatically detect regular expressions during
restore.
Supported Regular Expressions are:
* = any number of characters
doc* will find any directory or file name that begins with "doc" (e.g., document, documentation)
** = any number of characters across any number of path levels
c:\**\move will find the directory or file named move located at any level under the c: drive (e.g.,
c:\info\com\move)
? = any one character
access? will find any directory or file name that begins with "access" followed by any one character (e.g., access1,
access5)
[] = any range of characters
[ei]nsure will find any directory or file name that ends with "nsure" and begins either "e" or "i". (e.g., ensure,
insure)
[a-z]nsure will find any directory or file name that ends with "nsure" and begins with any letter from "a" though "z".
(e.g., ansure, bnsure, cnsure, etc.)
![a] or ^[a] will exclude any directory or file name that begins with "a". (e.g., applications)
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Filter Data From Restore/Recover Operations
Topics | How To | Related Topics
Using the Restore/Recover Filter feature, you can specify the files, directories, file name patterns, or NDS
containers/objects, that you want to filter from the restore data.
Supported Wildcard Characters
The following wildcard characters are supported by the restore filter operation. These characters can be used to broaden
the scope of the filter operation:
Wildcard Character Definition
*, Any number of characters
?, Any one character
[] Any range or set of characters
You can also use a combination of wildcards in a single expression (e.g., access?.h*).
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Features - Microsoft Windows File System iDataAgent
Rename/Redirect Files on Restore
Topics | How To | Related Topics
The capability of renaming files or data objects during restore is a feature supported by the Windows/Unix/Macintosh File
System iDataAgents as well as the DB2, Oracle and SQL Server iDataAgents. However, there are some agent-specific
differences as to how this feature is implemented, which are discussed below.
Windows/Unix/Macintosh iDataAgents
For supported File System iDataAgents, one of the options available during a restore operation is the ability to append a
suffix that you supply. On the Windows platform, this suffix is appended to the filename (i.e., before the extension). On the
Unix/Mac platforms, the suffix is appended after the extension. Renaming files as they are restored allows them to be
restored without overwriting existing files, yet remain in the same place. You can then view both the restored file, with the
appended filename, and the original file.
Example Windows
Entering the string "temp" in the Rename Restore Files dialog box, will rename file1.txt to file1temp.txt.on restore.
Example Unix
Entering the string "temp" in the Rename Restore Files dialog box, will rename file1.txt to file1.txttemp on restore.
DB2 iDataAgent
The DB2 iDataAgent provides the capability to rename one or more table spaces or table space containers upon restore
from the Redirect tab of the Advanced Restore Options dialog box. Renaming these items as they are restored allows them
to be restored without overwriting existing table spaces or table space containers.
Oracle iDataAgent
The Oracle iDataAgent provides the capability to rename one or more datafile(s) upon restore, from the Redirect tab of the
Advanced Restore Options dialog box. Renaming datafiles as they are restored allows them to be restored without
overwriting existing datafiles and tablespaces. See Redirect/Rename Data During Restore for more information.
SQL Server iDataAgent
The SQL Server iDataAgent provides the capability to rename one or more database(s) upon restore, as well as their
associated database path(s), from the Advanced SQL Restore Options dialog box.
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List Media (Media Prediction)
Topics | How To | Support | Related Topics
Choose from the following topics:
Overview
How to Perform a List Media Operation
List Media Associated with a Specific Backup Set, Instance or Subclient
List Media Associated with Index
List Media (Precise) Associated with a Specific File and/or Folder
List Media Associated with a Specific Job
Recall Media
General Information
Overview
List media option is useful to predict media required for the following operations:
To restore data associated with a specific backup set, subclient or instance
To restore the index required to browse data associated with a specific backup set or subclient
To restore a specific file (or specific files and folders)
To restore data associated with a specific job
Media prediction is useful in a variety of circumstances, including the following:
To ensure that media required by an operation is available in the library, especially if you are restoring/recovering data
across a firewall.
In cases where data spans across several media, to identify the exact media necessary to restore/recover a
file/folder/sub-section of the data.
To identify and restore/recover from a copy that accesses a faster magnetic disk media rather than slower tape/optical
media.
To identify media associated with an alternate copy, when the media containing data associated with a specific copy is
not readily available due to the following reasons:
When the media is exported from the library
When the media is used by another operation
Note that List Media operations are supported only with traditional browse and not with search results.
How to Perform a List Media Operation
The list media operation can be performed in several different ways, depending on the requirement. The following sections
describe each of these methods.
List Media Associated with a Specific Backup Set, Instance or Subclient
This operation is referred to as List Media in the CommCell Console and provides the following options:
Search media associated with the latest data protection cycle, starting from the latest full backup. (This is the default
option.)
Search media associated with data protection operations performed between a specified time range.
Search for media associated with a specific storage policy copy, synchronous or selective copies, with the specified copy
precedence number.
Keep in mind that when you search media from a secondary copy, the listed media may not reflect the entire instance or
backup set data, unless all the storage policies associated with all the subclients have been configured for secondary copies.
The List Media option is available as a right-click option in the subclient level and in the Browse Options dialog box from
the Backup Set/Instance level. See Perform List Media for a Subclient and Perform List Media for a Backup Set or Instance
for step-by step instructions.
List Media Associated with Index
When a browse operation is performed, the system automatically restores the index from the appropriate media, if the
index for the data is not available in the index cache, for Agents that support index. In such situations, this option is useful
to verify the following:
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Whether the index is available in the index cache or must be restored from a media
Whether the index must be restored from a media, if the appropriate media is available
The List Media option for index restore is available in the Browse Options dialog box. See List Media Associated with Index
for step-by-step instructions.
Related Topics: Index
List Media (Precise) Associated with Specific Files and/or Folders
This operation is referred to as List Media (Precise) in the CommCell Console and is useful to precisely predict media in
which specific files or folders reside. For example:
When a data protection operation spans across multiple media and you would like to know the exact media in which the
files you wish to restore reside.
You have a specific set of files (either a random set or a specific set, such as *.doc or *.txt) that you wish to restore and
would like to know the all the media in which the files reside.
You wish to restore a specific version of the file and would like to know the specific media in which the version resides.
If you wish to exclude indexing media which does not contain data by using List Media
(Precise), create the skipIndexingMedia registry key and set the value to 1.
The List Media option for specific files and/or folders can be accessed from the Browse window, after selecting the
appropriate files/folders for restore. See List Media (Precise) for Specific Files and/or Folders for step-by step instructions.
The precise media prediction is also available when you view different versions of the file (See Browse Multiple Versions of a
File or Object) or when you use the find operation (see Find a File / Directory / Object) to locate a file.
List Media Associated with a Specific Job
The Restore by Jobs feature provides the facility to restore data from a specific data protection operation. This option also
includes the facility to list media associated with the job.
See List Media for specific Jobs for step-by step instructions.
Recall Media
The Recall Media feature provides the facility to temporarily bring media back from an export location for a specific
operation and return the media to the export location when the operation is complete. This capability is useful if you have
exported media to another location with the intention of keeping the media at the export location for an established period
of time, but need to bring the media back from the export location for a specific purpose (such as a data recovery
operation) prior to the original return date.
See Recall Media using List Media (Media Prediction) for step-by-step instructions.
General Information
Other notable features provided by the list media operation are:
Facility to Print or Save the prediction results. The files can be saved either as a tab (.xls) or comma (.csv) separated
file.
The List Media (Precise) operation can be run immediately or scheduled. When it is run immediately the results are
displayed immediately in the CommCell Console and if it is scheduled the results are saved in a specified file.
Note that in both cases the result provides information on the total space required to restore the selected data.
The List Media (Precise) operation also includes the ability to email prediction results by generating an alert (if
configured) which would in turn contain the prediction results.
Command line interface provides commands for some of the list media operations. See Command Line Interface - qlist
for more information.
The list media operation is displayed as a job (with appropriate controls, such Suspend, Resume, and Kill) in the Job
Controller. Appropriate event messages are also populated in the Event viewer.
The List Media (Precise) operation will not be supported if the MediaAgent used for the operation is not upgraded to the
current software version.
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Restore/Recover/Retrieve From Anywhere
Topics | Related Topics
The software automatically identifies and restores/recovers data from any configured library in the CommCell, even if the
media is not available in the original library in which the data protection operation was performed.
Consider the following example:
Client A is protected using MediaAgent A. For some reason, Client A's data requires to be restored to Client B using
MediaAgent B, with a compatible library. The following steps are required in such a situation:
1. Export the media from MediaAgent A.
2. Import the media in MediaAgent B.
3. Select the files to be restored/recovered by performing a Browse on Client A's data.
4. Restore/recover the files to Client B, by selecting the Destination as Client B in the Restore Options or Recovery
Options.
The system automatically identifies and restores/recovers the data from the appropriate media.
If the media is used in another compatible library to perform the restore, the library may read the barcode differently. In
such a situation, update the media barcodes as described in Update Media Barcodes and then perform the restore/recover
operation.
Note that although the media is displayed as a Media from a different library in the CommCell Console, when a
media is imported into another library, Data Recovery operations can be performed from the media. (However, the media
will not be used for Data Protection operations.)
For File Level restores using Image Level or Image Level ProxyHost on Windows, see Considerations for File Level Restores
with the Image Level or Image Level ProxyHost iDataAgents.
All libraries (with compatible drive types) including stand-alone drives, support this
feature.
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Restore Data - Windows File Systems - Full System Restore
Topics | How To | Full System Restore | Related Topics
Overview
Full iDataAgent Restore Considerations
Restoring a Windows File System Client with QSnap Installed
What is Restored
File System
System State
Registry Keys
Restoring Domain Controllers
Restoring the Active Directory
Restoring the Cluster Database
Non-authoritative Restores
Authoritative Restores
Primary Restores
Specific Boot Modes
Other Considerations
Job Results Directory
Overview
A full iDataAgent restore is the process of fully restoring a client's File System and system state. Full iDataAgent restores
can be helpful or even necessary, depending on circumstances. For example, full iDataAgent restores can be used to:
Create a computer that duplicates the data and configuration from another computer.
Re-establish a computer's data and configuration after a catastrophic system failure.
The distinction between a full iDataAgent restore and other restore types lies in the type of data you are restoring. A full
iDataAgent restore recovers not only regular data files and directories to their original paths, but recovers the system state
as well (if required). The File System and system state can be restored at the same time without an intervening restart. By
default during full iDataAgent restores of File System data, the system restores all data by unconditionally overwriting the
corresponding files of the system being established.
The restore process is performed at the backup set level. If the client computer has two or more backup sets, be prepared
to identify the backup set whose data you want restored during the restore process. (In general, all backup sets of a given
client computer encompass the entire file system; however, backup filters, which can be unique, can introduce differences.)
Full iDataAgent Restore Considerations
Be sure to review the items in What You Need to Know Before
Performing a Restore on the Restore Backup Data page.
If you are recreating and repartitioning the system disks and do not
know how large each volume was, you can browse the backup data
and view the size of each volume on the backup data browse
screen.
If you want to Restore to a Computer with a Different Hardware
Configuration, review the procedure in that section before starting
the restore.
If you plan to do a full system restore on a Windows 2003 Server
x64 platform, use an x64 iDataAgent for backup. You cannot do a
full system restore on an x64 platform if you are using a 32-bit
iDataAgent.
If you plan to perform a full system restore on a Domain Controller,
it will fail unless the binaries for Active Directory are installed prior
to the restore attempt. To work around this issue, you need to
either install the Active Directory Domain Services Role or run
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DCPROMO and cancel it when the wizard appears. DCPROMO will
check to see if the AD binaries are installed, and if they are not, it
will install them. After this is done, reboot into DSRM and start the
restore normally.
Restoring a computer may require re-installing the operating system.
In addition, the procedure for restoring a domain controller differs
from that for restoring a non-domain controller. See Restoring Domain
Controllers for information on restoring a Domain Controller.
The flowchart illustrates the workflow for restoring a File System client
computer.
Restoring a Windows File System Client with QSnap
Installed
In order to ensure the Registry is properly restored, note the following
scenarios when restoring a Windows File System client with QSnap
installed:
Restoring from a backup that was run after QSnap was installed:
Install the Windows File System iDataAgent and QSnap before
performing the full iDataAgent restore.
Restoring from a backup that was run before QSnap was installed,
and QSnap had since been installed:
If rebuilding the operating system, install the Windows File
System iDataAgent and then run the full iDataAgent restore.
Then install QSnap after the client is restored and has rebooted.
If not rebuilding the operating system, uninstall QSnap, restore
the registry, and then reinstall QSnap.
What is Restored
As part of the full iDataAgent restore, you can restore any or all of the following:
File System
System State
Registry Keys (excluded by default)
File System
Full iDataAgent restore always restores file system data in place. If the original path is not present, the file restore will fail.
All files are restored to their original paths; however, if any files are locked at the time of restore, the system automatically
writes each locked file to another file name within the same directory and records the instance in the Windows registry.
System State
For information on backing up and restoring the Windows File System system state, refer to the System State page.
Registry Keys
By default, the system files and registry entries are excluded from the restore. However, in the following situations you may
want to restore these files and registry entities:
When restoring the physical node on a cluster (in order to restore all virtual machine registry entries)
When restoring MediaAgents (in order to restore the library and drive configuration)
You can do this by creating the nDisableGalaxyMerge registry key and setting the appropriate value.
Restoring Domain Controllers
Domain controllers are Windows 2000 and Server 2003 clients that have replicas of the Active Directory — the directory
service for Windows 2000 and Server 2003 servers. The Active Directory provides a single point of administration; it
contains information on objects and provides users access to resources.
NOTES:
Active Directory servers can also be backed up with the Active Directory iDataAgent.
A domain controller also has the System Volume (SYSVOL) system state object. SYSVOL is a shared directory that stores
the server copy of many of the domain’s public files. The SYSVOL share is replicated across all domain controllers in the
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domain using the Window's File Replication Service (FRS). FRS replication of the SYSVOL occurs daily, on the same
schedule as the Active Directory replication.
Domain controllers communicate with each other across the network, replicating data and network information. This
replication takes place automatically, according to the schedule you established during Windows installation. When restoring
the system state to a domain controller, you can decide how to replicate restored data across the domain.
The steps for restoring a domain controller depend on the desired restore type: authoritative, non-authoritative, or primary.
The following chart lists the three restore types for the Active Directory, cluster databases, and SYSVOL. Explanations
follow.
System State Object Non-Authoritative Authoritative Primary
SYSVOL Default Optional Optional
Active Directory Default Use ntdsutil after the non- Not applicable
authoritative restore to make
the restore authoritative
Cluster Databases Not applicable Use the authoritative restore Not applicable
utility to complete the restore
Restoring the Active Directory
The system performs a non-authoritative restore of the Active Directory by default, ensuring that any Active Directory data
that has changed since the last backup is not replicated to other domain controllers. After a non-authoritative restore,
Active Directory replication ensures that the restored domain controller receives a current replica of the Active Directory.
During this process, any new objects that have been created since the backup are replicated to the restored domain
controller.
If desired, you can force an authoritative restore of the Active Directory, replicating all the restored data to the remainder
of the domain controllers in the domain. To force an authoritative restore, run the NTDS utility (ntdsutil) after running a
full iDataAgent restore.
The Active Directory uses a Tombstone mechanism to delete objects from its directory on Windows 2000 and Server 2003
clients. When an Active Directory object is deleted from a domain controller, it is initially marked as tombstoned and is not
fully removed from the directory. During Active Directory replication, the tombstone attribute is replicated to the other
domain controllers, temporarily deleting the object from all the domain controllers. Once the tombstone lifetime is reached,
the object is permanently removed from the directory. The Active Directory Tombstone has a default lifetime setting of 60
days.
When performing restore operations, you must consider the Active Directory tombstone lifetime. Restoring from a backup
that was secured more than a lifetime before the restore may result in Active Directory inconsistencies. The restored
domain controller may have objects that are not replicated on the other domain controllers. These objects will not be
deleted automatically, as the corresponding tombstones on the other servers have already been deleted. Therefore, when
you restore from a backup that is older than the tombstone lifetime, you may have to manually delete each unreplicated
object on the restored computer in order to resolve inconsistencies.
Restoring the Cluster Database
Restores of the Cluster Databases are always authoritative. The system state restore will place the restored cluster data in
a temporary location. The backup administrator may then use the Authoritative restore utility (authorutil) to restore the
data if desired.
Non-Authoritative Restores
When the Active Directory or SYSVOL is restored to a domain
controller, by default it is restored in a non-authoritative mode. After
restoring in the non-authoritative mode, newer data on the network is
propagated to the restored computer, updating it with any newer
information. A non-authoritative restore is illustrated in the following
diagram.
Authoritative Restores
When the restored data is meant to override the data on other domain
controllers, it should be restored using the authoritative mode. Once
this data is restored to the domain controller, it is propagated to the
other domain controllers and overwrites any newer data on those
computers. The authoritative mode is used if critical SYSVOL or Active
Directory system state objects have been deleted and the deletion has
been propagated throughout the domain. An authoritative restore is
illustrated in the diagram below.
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Authoritative restores must be performed with
caution because the system state will be rolled back
to the point of the backup, possibly resulting in a loss
of data that cannot be restored once overwritten.
Primary Restores
A primary restore, which is performed for a standalone domain controller or the first domain controller in the network,
marks the restored data as the primary data for all replicas within the domain. This creates a new File Replication Service
(FRS) database and pushes the replicated SYSVOL data to any domain controllers added to the replication system.
A primary restore should be used only when all other domain controllers are non-functional and
you want to rebuild the domain from the last backup. Do not perform a primary restore if any
other working domain controller from this domain is available.
Specific Boot Modes
When restoring the SYSVOL and Active Directory on a domain controller, the computer must be restarted in the Directory
Services Restore mode. For Windows 2000 clients, restart the computer and press F8 upon system startup, then select the
Directory Services Restore Mode. For Windows Server 2003 clients, see the documentation accompanying the Windows
Server 2003 operating system for instructions on starting in Directory Services Restore mode.
You may also restore file system data on a domain controller that is in the Directory Services Restore mode. The restore
process will restore the File System data and system state data in one restore operation. When complete, the computer
must be restarted into the normal mode of operation.
If the computer is not a domain controller, it is not necessary to restart it in the Directory
Services Restore mode, as there is no Active Directory present. You can fully restore all
components with one operation.
Other Considerations
Job Results Directory
Storing job results on a UNC path is not supported for Windows File System iDataAgents in the following cases:
In-place restore of the system state
Full system restores
Data restored from Search Results
When using these options you must store or change the job results to a local drive. (For step-by-step instructions, see
Change the Job Results Path of a Client.)
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System State
Topics | How To | Related Topics
Overview
System State Components and Services
Backing up System State
Excluding System State Files from Backup
Backup Considerations
VSS and Windows iDataAgents that support VSS
System State and Virtual Servers
Scheduled System State Backups
Restoring System State
Using Browse and Restore
Using Restore by Jobs
Restore Considerations
Domain or Non-domain Controller
Restoring ACLs Only
Reasons for Out-of-Place System State Restores
In-place Restore of the system state
Other Considerations
Overview
The Windows File System system state is made up of many components and services that are critical to recovery of the
Windows operating system. The system state is backed up and restored as part of Windows File System iDataAgent backup
and restore.
System State Components and Services
The system state could include any or all of the following components and services:
System File Protection catalog and files
Performance monitor configuration files
Active Directory
Quotas
SYSVOL (if this is a domain controller)
Certificate Services database (if this is a certificate server)
Cluster database (if this server is part of a cluster)
Registry
COM+ database
DHCP
WINS
IIS
UDDI (only with Windows Server 2003 using VSS)
Disk quota information
Event logs
RSM database
WMI database
Terminal Server Licensing database
Content Indexing catalogs
Backing up System State
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By default, the system state is backed up along with file system data by the default subclient of a Backup Set. You can
change this default setting and back up the system state with a different subclient in a Backup Set; see Back Up the
System State for step-by-step instructions. Within a Backup Set, however, only one subclient can back up the system state.
A system state backup is always a full backup whether you select full, incremental, or differential backup for the subclient
that includes the system state. You can, however, filter out some components from system state backup. (See Excluding
System State Files from Backup on this page.) And you can restore individual system state components/services or the
entire system state. (See Browse and Restore on this page.)
Whichever method you choose for backing up the system state, it should be backed up
on a regular basis.
Excluding System State Files from Backup
You can exclude any or all of the following system state components from backup by using the Filters tab in the Subclient
Properties dialog:
System Protected Files
Disk Quotas
Certificate Services
COM+ Database
DHCP
WINS
IIS
UDDI Database
Event Logs
RSM
WMI Database
Terminal Services Licensing
Content Indexing Catalogs
Remote Storage Database
One Touch Files
System state component folders are cleaned before data restoration, so any non-
system data in system state component folders will be lost.
See Filter Out System State Components for Backup for step-by-step instructions for using these filters.
Backup Considerations
Following are some issues to consider when backing up the system state.
VSS and Windows iDataAgents that Support VSS
By default, Volume Shadow Services (VSS) is used to back up the system state part of the default subclient for the
Windows iDataAgents that support VSS. You can change this default by deselecting Use VSS for System State in the
General tab of the Subclient Properties dialog. Refer to Back Up the System State for step-by-step instructions.
Vista iDataAgents do not have the Use VSS for System State option in the General
tab of the Subclient Properties dialog. The option is always enabled.
When Not Using VSS to Back Up System State
Using VSS is the preferred method of backing up the system state for Windows iDataAgents that support VSS. If VSS is
disabled on the subclient that is backing up system state, a number of system state components will not be protected. In
addition, disabling VSS requires that the WINS and DHCP services be stopped in order to back up the WINS and DHCP
databases.
To stop the WINS and DHCP services, use the following two advanced backup options on the Agent level:
Stop DHCP Service when Backing up System State Data
For Windows File System, specifies that the system stop DHCP services on the client computer when System State data
is backed up.
Stop WINS Service when Backing up System State Data
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For Windows File System, specifies the system stop WINS services on the client computer when System State data is
backed up.
Refer to Start a Backup with WINS/DHCP Services Disabled for step-by-step instructions for using these two Backup
options. See VSS for Windows File System iDataAgents for more information on using VSS with Windows File System
iDataAgents.
System State and Virtual Server Computers in a Cluster Environment
Backups (and restores) of the system state are disabled for virtual server computers in a cluster environment. In order to
back up system state elements in a cluster environment, select Backup System State on a scheduled subclient on the
active Physical Node. To back up the cluster database, Cluster Service must be running on the physical node. For more
information, see Backing Up Quorum Data for MSCS (Microsoft Cluster Server) Clusters on the Backup - Microsoft Windows
File System page.
Scheduled System State Backups
Scheduled backups can provide a convenient means of backing up the system state without user intervention. Refer to the
Scheduling page for more information about establishing backup schedules.
When to Schedule System State Backups
When scheduling system state backups, you should establish a frequent backup schedule. A backup schedule always
contains a full backup and may contain one or more incremental and/or differential backups. When combined for a given
subclient, these backups comprise a full backup cycle.
The system state needs regular and frequent backups. If the default subclient is backing up the system state, take this into
consideration when scheduling your backups.
Restoring System State
System state components can be included with the Windows File System data when doing restores. You can restore the
entire system state or just certain of its individual components/services.
One of the following methods is used to restore the system state:
Browse and Restore
Restore by Jobs
Following are more details on using these methods for system state restores.
Using Browse and Restore
Browse and Restore provides a flexible way to restore system state data. The client browse window offers three main
subcategories for system state: Components, Services, and Special Components. Each category has its own elements
and its own rules for restoration, as described below.
Components
System State Components include the following:
System File Protection catalog and files
Performance monitor configuration files
Active Directory
Quotas
SYSVOL (if this is a domain controller)
Certificate Services database (if this is a certificate server)
Cluster database (if this server is part of a cluster)
Registry
COM+ database
Restore rules for Components are as follows:
You can do an in-place restore for all components, but you cannot restore individual components in place.
Individual Components or all components can be restored out-of-place. (See Reasons for Out-of-Place System State
Restores.)
Services
System State Services include the following:
DHCP
WINS
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Event logs
Disk quota information
RSM database
WMI database
Terminal Server Licensing database
Content Indexing catalogs
In order to restore a Content Indexing Catalog, you must perform a full System State
restore. You cannot select and restore just "Content Indexing Catalog" in the System
State services.
Restore rules: Individual services or all services can be restored in place or out of place.
Special Components
Except for 1-Touch, System State Special Components can only be restored as a group.
See Restore the System State Using Browse and Restore for step-by-step instructions.
Using Restore by Jobs
When you use the Restore by Jobs method for a Windows File System subclient, you can restore the system state along
with file system data if you do an out-of-place restore. Restore by Jobs allows you to restore the system state out of place
only, not in place. If you attempt to restore a backup job in place on a subclient that was used to back up system state,
the system state data will be filtered out and only file system data will be restored. If you do the same restore out of place,
both system state and file system data will be restored.
For more information on this restore method, see the Restore by Jobs page. For step-by-step procedures, see Restore by
Jobs for File System Data.
Restore Considerations
Following are some issues to consider when restoring system state.
Domain or Non-domain Controller
System state restore procedures differ depending on whether you are restoring to a domain controller or to a non-domain
controller. The domain controller must be restarted in the Directory Services Restore mode in order to restore certain
objects, such as the Active Directory. See Specific Boot Modes for more information. There is no need to boot in a special
mode for a system state restore of a non-domain controller because no databases need to be taken offline.
Restoring ACLs Only
The Restore ACLs Only restore option allows you to apply backed up Access Control Lists (ACLs) to files that have been
restored without their ACLs, or apply them to the existing files at the restore destination. When this option is selected, ACLs
are restored/applied only if the file is present (i.e., restored or already existing in the restore location).
Reasons for Out-of-Place System State Restores
Following are some possible reasons why you would restore the system state (or some of its elements) out-of-place:
To restore SYSVOL out of place so that you can restore deleted group policy objects (GPOs) back to the Active Directory
server without having to do a full system restore.
To restore the registry hives out of place. Once these hives are restored, you can manually replace the hives that exist
on your server with these. Or you can load them into the registry to see what was in them at the time of the backup if
the server is down. This can be helpful if the server crashed and you need previous registry info about the server.
To restore the IIS metabase file out of place to repair a IIS server using Microsoft procedures.
These methods require advanced skills. Be sure to visit the Microsoft support website
and look for articles that describe these methods in more detail.
In-place Restore of the system state
Storing job results on a UNC path is not supported for Windows File System iDataAgents in the following cases:
In-place restore of the system state
Full system restores
Data restored from Search Results
When using these options you must store or change the job results to a local drive. (For step-by-step instructions, see
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Change the Job Results Path of a Client.)
System state restore is not permitted in-place on a Commserve.
Other Considerations
If you have upgraded to the latest version of the software, but are working with data from previous versions, then the
Full iDataAgent restore option will be available at the client level for system state data. Refer to documentation from
previous versions for details on how and when to use this option.
System state restore requires a reboot after the restore is complete. Note that DFS Replication will be temporarily
halted during a system state restore and will automatically resume after the reboot.
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Agents
Topics | Related Topics
Overview
Audit Trail
Agent-Specific Operations
Overview
Agent software is installed on a client computer to perform data protection and data recovery operations for specific
operating systems or applications. Multiple agents may be used to protect all types of data residing on a computer. For
example, to secure all the data on a computer where a Microsoft SQL Server resides, you would need the following
iDataAgents:
One Windows File System iDataAgent to back up the computer’s file system.
One Microsoft SQL Server iDataAgent to back up the database.
In the CommCell Console, such a configuration would appear as two iDataAgents on a client computer.
Most agents must be installed. Once installed, agents are displayed in the CommCell Browser as levels under the client
computer in which they are installed. Each agent has sub-levels in the CommCell Browser. These sub-levels are organized
into one or more of the following logical levels as a level in the client computer. Depending on the agent, sub-levels can
appear as follows:
instances
backup sets
subclients
These logical groups of data along with the agent itself are organized according to a parent-child scheme, which varies
depending on the agent. In effect, each scheme determines the order in which the logical groups of data must be created
per agent. Basically, a child cannot be created and used until a parent for that child is created. For most agents, the agent
is always the primary parent.
For example, suppose that an agent allows for the creation of instances, backup sets, and subclients and that this order
reflects the required creation dependency order for these logical group types. In such a case, a subclient for this agent
cannot be created until a backup set (i.e., the subclient's parent) for the subclient is created; similarly, the backup set
containing this subclient cannot be created until the instance (i.e., the backup set's parent) for the backup set is created.
Typical agent/logical information group schemes include the following:
Agent ===> Instance(s) ===> Backup Set(s) ===> Subclient(s)
Agent ===> Instance(s) ===> Subclient(s)
Agent ===> Backup Set(s) ===> Subclient(s)
Agent ===> Subclient(s)
The Oracle RAC iDataAgent deviates somewhat from this scheme. For example, this agent is
not installed. As such, no agent level is displayed for this agent; however, a RAC pseudo-
client must be created, and the corresponding level is displayed. For more information, see
Overview - Oracle RAC iDataAgent.
For most agents that support backup sets, a default backup set and a default subclient are automatically created once the
agent is installed. When created, these logical groups contain all of the available data for backup. For some agents that
support instances, an instance can be created during agent installation, while other agents require that you create instances
after agent installation. Also, for some agents, an instance may be restricted to contain just a single database.
Most agents allow you to create multiple logical data groups and also multiple children for these groups. These are regarded
as user-defined items, and they allow you to distribute the data for backup. For example, you may be able to create three
backup sets for an agent, and you may be able to create two subclients for each backup set. To facilitate the processing of
data, you can also create series of backups and subclient groups for some agents.
Per agent, each logical group of data that is created appears as a level under the agent level. For agents where a logical
group of data is created by default after the agent is installed, the corresponding level also appears by default under the
agent and is assigned a name. For example, for agents for which a default backup set is automatically created, the name
defaultBackupSet is typically assigned to the backup set and therefore appears as the level name. In some cases, levels
appear only after you create the affected item.
You can click or expand the agent level to view the level immediately below the agent as long as the appropriate logical
group of information for the agent has been created. For most agents, if you click the agent level, the level that lies
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immediately under the agent level is also displayed in the right-hand pane of the CommCell Browser.
Audit Trail
The following operations are recorded in the Audit Trail, if Audit Trail is enabled:
Deconfigure an Agent
Delete an Agent
See Audit Trail for more information.
Agent-Specific Operations
The following pages provide information on agent-specific operations:
Active Directory Microsoft SharePoint Server
ContinuousDataReplicator Microsoft SQL Server
DB2 Microsoft Windows File System and Microsoft Data
Exchange Compliance Archiver Protection Manager
Exchange Mailbox/Public Folder Archiver Agents NAS NDMP
Domino Mailbox Archiver NetWare Server
File Archiver Novell GroupWise
File Share Archiver OES File System
SharePoint Archiver Oracle
Image Level ProxyHost
Image Level ProxyHost Quick Recovery
Informix Recovery Director
Lotus Notes/Domino Server SAP
Macintosh File System Serverless Data Manager
Microsoft Exchange Server Sybase
Unix File System
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Agents - Microsoft Windows File System and Microsoft Data Protection
Manager
Topics | How To | Related Topics
Configurable Properties
Activity Control
Assigning a Filter Storage Policy for Erase Backup Data
Creating a New Index on a Full Backup
Converting to a Full Backup on Indexing Failures
User Accounts
User Security
Version
Configurable Properties
Once installed, the agent is configured and is therefore able to manage the data on the client computer. However, you can
change certain aspects of the configuration (e.g., client computer, backup sets, etc.) to manage the data in the manner
that best suits your needs. Depending on the agent, you can view or change the agent configuration from the tabs that are
available for that agent in the Properties dialog box.
Activity Control
You can enable or disable all operations for this CommCell object, and all objects below it. For more information, see
Activity Control.
Assigning a Filter Storage Policy for Erase Data
A filter storage policy must be assigned to the agent in order to conduct Erase Backup Data operations for File System,
Data Protection Manager, Exchange Mailbox, and Exchange Public/Web Folder iDataAgents, as well as to conduct Browse
and Erase Archived Data operations for the Exchange Mailbox/Public Folder Archiver and SharePoint Archiver Agents, The
purpose of the filter storage policy is to tell the system which media will be used to store the index filter information and
how long to retain it. If one is not assigned at the time an erase data job is run, the system will display a message
reminding you that no filter storage policy has been defined. For step-by-step instructions, see Assign a Filter Storage
Policy for Erase Data.
Creating a New Index on a Full Backup
For all agents that support the Index tab except Lotus Notes, Image Level, and Image Level ProxyHost, you can set default
value for creating a new index on the backup schedule/job at the time of creation. For step-by-step instructions, see the
"Create a New Index on a Full Backup" section on the How To page for this agent.
Selecting this option at the agent level only changes the default behavior (i.e., whether
or not the Create new index option is selected in the Advanced Backup Options by
default). However, the backup job will always use whatever option is selected in the
Advanced Backup Options dialog box when configuring the backup job/schedule.
For information about the Create new index option for a backup job, see Backup Data
- Agent-Specific Backup Overviews, select your Agent from the list, and then refer to
the "Create New Index" section.
See Convert to Full Backup on Indexing Failures for step-by-step instructions.
Converting to a Full Backup on Indexing Failures
For all agents that support the Index tab except Image Level, and Image Level ProxyHost, and with some caveats and
considerations identified later in this section, you can convert a non-full backup to a full backup and thereby create a new
index if the index is irretrievable. For Lotus Notes Database, this option pertains only to incremental backups. For Lotus
Notes Document, this option pertains only to incremental and differential backups. For NDS, no backup type conversion is
required because NDS supports only full backups.
User Accounts
One or more of the agents of this type use one or more accounts that are configured
from a non-Properties dialog box. See the appropriate section for your agent(s) in User
Accounts and Passwords for more information.
User Security
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You can perform the following functions:
Identify the user groups to which this CommCell object is associated.
Associate this object with a user group.
Disassociate this object from a user group.
For more information, see User Administration and Security.
Version
The Version tab displays the software version and post-release service packs and updates installed for the component. See
Version for an overview.
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Backup Sets
Topics | Related Topics
Overview
Default Backup Sets
User-defined Backup Sets
Differences
Archive Sets
Operations
Agent-Specific Overviews
Overview
Information in this overview regarding the definition of a backup set, the types of
backup sets, and the creation of a default backup set does not apply to the DB2
iDataAgent. For more information, see Backup Sets - DB2 iDataAgents.
A backup set is a logical grouping of subclients. There are two types of backup sets: default and user-defined. These types
and their differences are discussed in this section.
Default Backup Sets
Upon installation, most agents that utilize backup sets create a default backup set that contains a default subclient.
This ensures that all data backed up by the specific agent is ready to be included in its backup operation.
The Windows 2000 and higher File System iDataAgents include the system state in the Default Subclient by default, but you
can optionally exclude the system state from the Default Subclient and use a different subclient to back up the system
state, depending on how you want to safeguard critical information. (Only one subclient per backup set can be used to back
up the system state.)
For certain agents which support instances or partitions together with backup sets, upon installation the system creates one
default backup set per instance to achieve the same coverage. Within those agents, some require a manual creation of
backup sets in place of the automatic generation at installation. For these latter agents you are responsible for defining the
data to be protected.
For most agents, the default backup set can contain subclients other than the default subclient. You can add user-defined
Subclients to a default backup set. When you do, certain agents remove the user-defined content from the default backup
set's default subclient content.
User-defined Backup Sets
For agents that support them, you can create additional backup sets, i.e., user-defined backup sets, to back up data
using different backup options or schedules. By adding user-defined backup sets to your agent configuration, you can
establish:
One or more series of backups for a given client computer.
One or more subclient groups for a given client computer.
One or more series of backups for related subclients (i.e., members of a subclient group).
A user-defined backup set will contain its own default subclient. For most agents, you can add user-defined Subclients to a
user-defined backup set. When you do, certain agents remove the user-defined content from the backup set's default
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subclient content.
Differences
The default backup set and the user-defined backup sets differ only in that:
The default backup set can only be deleted by deleting the respective iDataAgent or instance.
You can back up the default backup set from the iDataAgent or instance node in the CommCell Browser where user-
defined backup sets are managed from the backup set node.
Archive Sets
All Migration Archiver Agents support one or more special types of container objects (called archive sets) which provide a
logical grouping of subclients in the CommCell Console. These groupings allow you to perform operations on all subclients
within that set, without having to administer each individual subclient. These group operations include the ability to perform
archive operations, browse recoveries, configure security, set up data protection job schedules, as well as view job
histories.
The various types of archive sets supported by Migration Archiver Agents are briefly described below:
defaultArchiveSet
The File Archiver Agents and File Share Archiver Agents provide a default grouping for subclients, called the Default
Archive Set, for the purpose of performing traditional archive and recovery operations on the client. This type of archive
set contains one or more user-defined subclients, and allows you to easily distinguish it from other specialized types that
may reside on the client such as DataClassSet and On Demand Archive Sets.
The Exchange Mailbox Archiver and Exchange Public Folder Archiver Agents also support a default archive set, which is a
complete set of subclients that contain all the Exchange Mailboxes or Public Folders on the client computer.
DataClassSet
The DataClassSet grouping is supported for the File Archiver for Windows Agent when the Data Classification Enabler is
installed on the same client. It is used for logically grouping classification schemes to perform classification-based
migration archiving operations. See Overview - Data Classification Enabler for more information.
For Data Classification to work with the File Archiver for Windows Agent, the
DataClassSet must be used.
On Demand Archive Set
The File Archiver Agents and File Share Archiver Agents support the On Demand Archive Set type of grouping which is
designed for use with the On Demand Data Protection Operations feature. This feature allows you to specify which files
you want to archive through the use of Content files, instead of using Subclient Contents and Archiving Rules. See On
Demand Data Protection Operations for an overview.
User-defined Archive Sets
Agents listed below support the ability to create additional archive sets, i.e., user-defined archive sets. This feature is
useful for archiving client data using different archive options or schedules, and for workload balancing. For step-by-step
instructions, see Create Archive Sets.
User-defined Archive Sets are supported by the following agents:
Domino Mailbox Archiver Agent
Exchange Mailbox Archiver Agent
Exchange Public Folder Archiver Agent
SharePoint Archiver Agent
If there is an overlap in the data archived between various Archive Sets on the same
client, data must be retained on all the storage policies used by various subclients in all
Archive Sets on the client in order to recover data.
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Operations
You can perform various operations from the backup set/archive set as long as the agent is installed and appears enabled
in the CommCell Browser. Backup set/archive set operations include the configuring and running backup/archive
operations, browse and restore/recovery jobs and supporting functionality, such as, List Media, Alerts, View Data Protection
Jobs and Scheduling. Not all operations for backup sets/archive sets are performed from the backup set/archive set node.
In many cases, equivalent operations can be performed only from some other node.
For details on agent-specific operations, see agent backup set/archive set overviews linked at the top of this page.
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Agent-Specific Overviews
The following pages provide information on agent-specific backup set/archive set options:
Archive Sets - Domino Mailbox Archiver Agent
Archive Sets - File Archiver and File Share Archiver Agents
Archive Sets - SharePoint Archiver Agent
Backup Sets - DB2 iDataAgents
Backup Sets/Archive Sets - Exchange Server iDataAgents and Exchange Mailbox/Public Folder Archiver Agents
Backup Sets - File System, NetWare Server, Active Directory, and Microsoft Data Protection Manager iDataAgents
Backup Sets - Lotus Notes and SharePoint Document iDataAgents
Backup Sets - NAS NDMP iDataAgents
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Backup Sets - File System, NetWare Server, Active Directory, and
Microsoft Data Protection Manager iDataAgents
Topics | How To | Related Topics
Overview
File System, NetWare Server and Active Directory iDataAgent Configurable Properties
User Accounts
User Security
Windows File System iDataAgent Configurable Properties
Use Change Journal, Classic File Scan, or Data Classification Enabler for Backups, Set the Archive Bit Attribute, Preserve
the File Access Time
Microsoft Data Protection Manager iDataAgent Configurable Properties
Use Change Journal or Classic File Scan for Backups, Set the Archive Bit Attribute, Preserve the File Access Time
UNIX File System iDataAgent Configurable Properties
Preserve the File Access Time
NetWare File System iDataAgent Configurable Properties
Decompress Data Before Backup
Using Backup Sets
Overview
During installation of the Windows File System, UNIX File System, NetWare File System, NetWare NDS and Active Directory
iDataAgents, the system automatically creates a default backup set, which contains a default subclient. After installation,
you have the option of defining a User Create Backup Set, which also will contain a default subclient.
File System, NetWare Server and Active Directory iDataAgent Configurable Properties
Once installed, the agent is configured and is therefore able to manage the data or volumes on the client computer.
However, you can change certain aspects of the backup set configuration to manage the data in the manner that best suits
your needs.
You can view or change the backup set configuration from the Backup Set Properties dialog box. The following information
can be configured for all File Systems:
User Accounts
The following pertains to NetWare File System, Novell Directory Service, and Windows File System:
One or more of the agents of this type use one or more accounts that are configured
from a non-Properties dialog box. See the appropriate section for your agent(s) in User
Accounts and Passwords for more information.
User Security
You can perform the following functions:
Identify the user groups to which this CommCell object is associated.
Associate this object with a user group.
Disassociate this object from a user group.
For more information, see User Administration and Security.
The security tab is not available at the NetWare NDS iDataAgent Backup Set level.
Windows File System iDataAgent Configurable Properties
You can view or change the backup set configuration from the Backup Set Properties dialog box. The following information
can be configured for all Windows File Systems:
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Use Change Journal, Classic File Scan, or Data Classification Enabler for Backups, Set the Archive Bit
Attribute, Preserve the File Access Time
From the backup set properties Job Options tab, you can choose to Use Change Journal, Classic File Scan, or Data
Classification Enabler for Backups, Set the Archive Bit Attribute, and Preserve the File Access Time. These options affect
which files are backed up during incremental and differential backup jobs.
Microsoft Data Protection Manager iDataAgent Configurable Properties
You can view or change the backup set configuration from the Backup Set Properties dialog box. The following information
can be configured for Microsoft Data Protection Manager backup sets:
Use Change Journal or Classic File Scan for Backups, Set the Archive Bit Attribute, Preserve the File
Access Time
From the backup set properties Job Options tab, you can choose to Use Change Journal or Classic File Scan for Backups,
Set the Archive Bit Attribute, and Preserve the File Access Time. These options affect which files are backed up during
incremental and differential backup jobs.
UNIX File System Configurable Properties
You can view or change the backup set configuration from the Backup Set Properties dialog box. The following information
can be configured for all UNIX File Systems:
Preserve the File Access Time
From the backup set properties Job Options tab, you can choose to Preserve the File Access Time.
NetWare File System Configurable Properties
You can view or change the backup set configuration from the Backup Set Properties dialog box. The following information
can be configured for all NetWare File Systems:
Decompress Data Before Backup
The NetWare File System data can be in compressed format on a volume that supports compression, and data in
compressed format can only be restored to a volume that supports compression. The Decompress Data before Backup
option allows you to select whether to decompress data that is in compressed format on the backup media and can be
restored to either a compressed or uncompressed volume. By default, data is backed up in a compressed format if the data
is on a volume that supports compression.
See Enable Decompress Data before Backup for a NetWare File System Backup Set for step by step instructions.
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Subclients
Topics | Related Topics
Overview
Default Subclients
User-Defined Subclients
DataClassSet Subclients
Creating and Configuring Subclients
Establishing Parallel Data Protection Operations Using Subclients
Subclient Operations
Audit Trail
Subclients and Data Encryption
Agent-Specific Subclient Operations
Overview
A subclient is a portion of a client, and can either contain all of the client's data or a designated subset thereof. There are
two main types of subclients, default and user-defined, which are described below. In addition, this section discusses
general subclient configuration requirements as well as how to utilize multiple subclients to perform data protection
operations in parallel.
Default Subclients
When the Agent software is installed, depending on your Agent, the install program automatically creates a Default
Subclient for that Agent. At that time, the Default Subclient comprises all fixed disk resources on the Agent. (CD-ROM
drives and mapped network drives are excluded by default.)
The Default Subclient contains all the data backed up/archived by an Agent that is not allocated to other subclients (where
applicable). This means that, with a minimum of configuration, you can run data protection operations that include all of the
data that you want to secure. However, this definition may change depending on your Agent, as additional subclients are
defined. Although you can re-configure the content of Default Subclients to back up or archive specific objects, we strongly
recommend against it because this would disable the capability of the Default Subclient to serve as a "catch-all" entity for
client data, thus increasing the likelihood that some data won't get backed up or scanned for archiving.
On Demand Backup Sets/Archive Sets contain a Default Subclient that functions differently from ordinary Default
Subclients. For more information, see Default Subclients for On Demand Backup Sets/Archive Sets.
User-Defined Subclients
For most Agents you can create additional subclients, called user-defined subclients, with each subclient containing a
unique portion of the client data. The user must create and define subclient contents for clients that do not automatically
create a Default Subclient. In this case only the data specified by the user is protected, migrated or archived. For Agents
that have Default Subclients, user-defined subclients are optional and need not be defined provided the Default Subclient
implementation satisfies your data protection / data recovery requirements.
For the Windows File System system state, the default subclient, by default, is used for backup. However, you can
optionally choose to use another subclient for system state backup. For more information, refer to the System State page.
See Also:
Fpolicy Subclient
Proxy Stub Subclient
DataClassSet Subclients
DataClassSet subclients are used for the File Archiver for Windows Agent with Data Classification. DataClassSet subclients
are created and administered from the DataClassSet level for this Agent. This involves creating and administering the
required archiving rules. See Migration Archiving - File Archiver and File Share Archiver Agents for an overview.
Creating and Configuring Subclients
When you create a subclient, you need to configure the following information:
Provide a subclient name.
Define the content/databases of the subclient.
Associate a storage policy/QR Policy to the subclient.
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In addition to the above, some Agents have additional configuration requirements.
You enter this information using the Subclient Properties dialog box. Although this information alone is sufficient to declare
a subclient, you can optionally establish other subclient properties as well.
Due to the variation among Agents on the specifics regarding subclient creation and configuration, click on the desired link
at the top of this page for a more detailed discussion on your Agent.
The size of the subclient directly impacts the data protection and subsequently the
recovery. The larger the subclient, the longer the time required to back up or restore
data. Additionally, extra space is needed on the MediaAgent.
Do not create a subclient named Do Not Backup, if necessary, use the following
formats:
DoNotBackup (case sensitive)
do not backup (case sensitive)
If other formats of this subclient name are used, the subclient may not be
recognized by the associated schedule policy.
Establishing Parallel Data Protection Operations Using Subclients
Subclients fulfill two general purposes. They allow you to:
Perform data protection or archiving on different parts of the client at different times.
Perform data protection or archiving on multiple parts of the client in parallel.
You can perform a data protection operation on an entire backup set/archive set/instance/agent quicker by scheduling
multiple subclients simultaneously. This way, the data protection jobs proceed in parallel and take less time than if the
backup set/archive set/instance/agent was not divided into separate subclients.
Note that in order for the data protection jobs for most Agents to run in parallel, the backup set/archive set/instance/agent
must be configured to use either different storage policies or a storage policy that is configured to have at least one data
stream for each subclient. If the subclients are configured to use the same storage policy and that storage policy is not
configured for multiple data streams, then a media group resource contention will arise and the competing subclients will
perform the data protection operations one after the other, in a serial manner.
The Oracle RAC iDataAgent is designed to perform data protection jobs in parallel without using
multiple subclients and storage policies. See Overview - Oracle RAC iDataAgent for more
information.
See Storage Policies and Data Streams and Hardware-Specific Resource Issues for the respective overview.
Subclient Operations
You can perform subclient operations as long as the Agent is installed or the pseudo-client is created, any dependent nodes
(such as backup sets/databases/instances/partitions) are created/configured, and the subclient appears enabled in the
CommCell Browser. Subclient operations include the running of data protection and archive operations, viewing job history,
viewing job schedules, as well as configuring subclient properties and deleting a user-defined subclient.
Audit Trail
Changes to the following options are recorded in the Audit Trail, if Audit Trail is enabled:
Change subclient properties (content and pre/post commands)
Re-associate individual subclients
Re-associate bulk subclients
The following operations are recorded in the Audit Trail, if Audit Trail is enabled:
Create a subclient (may result in data loss if no schedules are created)
Delete a subclient
See Audit Trail for more information.
Subclients and Data Encryption
Data is encrypted according to the method you select while you Configure the Client for Data Encryption. You can select
from several algorithms and key lengths. For more information, see Data Encryption.
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Agent-Specific Subclient Operations
The following pages provide information on agent-specific subclient operations:
Active Directory iDataAgent Oracle iDataAgent
Compliance Archiver Agents Oracle RAC iDataAgent
Migration Archiver Agents Quick Recovery Agent
DB2 iDataAgent Recovery Director (see Snapshot Volume Units)
Exchange iDataAgents SAN iDataAgents (Image Level, Image Level ProxyHost,
Informix iDataAgent ProxyHost, SDM)
Lotus Notes iDataAgents SharePoint Server iDataAgents
NAS NDMP iDataAgents (BlueArc, EMC Celerra, Hitachi, SQL Server iDataAgents
NetApp) Sybase iDataAgent
NetWare iDataAgents (NetWare File System, NDS, Novell Windows/Unix/Macintosh File System and Microsoft Data
GroupWise) Protection Manager iDataAgents
OES File System iDataAgents
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Subclients - Windows/Unix/Macintosh File Systems and Microsoft Data
Protection Manager iDataAgents
Topics | How To | Related Topics
Overview
Configurable Properties
Things to Consider when Creating and Configuring File System Subclients
Overview
The following table shows subclient creation and configuration details specific to Windows, Unix and Macintosh File System
iDataAgents.
Type of Default Supports Supports Contents of Other Notes
Agent
Data Subclient Default User the default Types of
created Subclient Defined subclient when subclients
during Subclient user-defined supported
install of subclient is by the
the Agent present Agent
folders; Yes Yes Yes entire file None *See Caution
Unix File System
system except Against Re-
iDataAgents; files
portions configuring
Macintosh File assigned to Default Subclient
System iDataAgents other subclients, Content.
unless otherwise
configured*
Windows File System folders; Yes Yes Yes entire file None *See Caution
iDataAgents system Against Re-
files;
(including configuring
System system state) Default Subclient
State data except portions Content.
assigned to
System other subclients,
databases unless otherwise
configured*
Microsoft Data folders; Yes Yes Yes entire file None
Protection Manager system except
files;
iDataAgent portions
assigned to
other subclients,
unless otherwise
configured
The following example illustrates a simple subclient configuration for File System iDataAgents:
Example - Windows, Unix, Macintosh
Configurable Properties
Once installed, the agent is configured and is therefore able to manage the data or volumes on the client computer.
However, you can change certain aspects of the subclient configuration to manage the data in the manner that best suits
your needs.
You can view or change the subclient configuration from the Subclient Properties dialog box. The following information can
be configured.
Activity Control
You can enable or disable all operations for this CommCell object, and all objects below it. For more information, see
Activity Control.
Content/Databases
You can define the content of the subclient. Most agents include a configure button that displays a dialog where you can
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add or modify the data included as subclient content. For step-by-step instructions, see Configure Subclient Content.
For more information, see File System Content. See also Subclient Content Considerations.
You can also change the user account for configuring UNC paths as part of the subclient content for Windows File System
agents. For more information, see User Accounts and Passwords.
Data Transfer Options
Several configurable options to efficiently use available resources for transferring data secured by data protection
operations are provided in the subclient. This includes the following:
Enable or disable Data Compression either on the client or the MediaAgent.
Configure the transfer of data in the network using the options for Network Bandwidth Throttling and Network Agents.
Data Encryption
You can enable or disable the encryption of data for transmission over unsecure networks and for storage on media. For
more information, see Data Encryption.
Data Paths
You can view the data paths associated with the primary storage policy copy of the selected storage policy or incremental
storage policy. In addition you can also modify the data paths for the subclient, including its priority. For additional
information, see Configuring Alternate Data Paths for Subclients.
Data Protection Filters
You can perform the following functions:
Define data protection filters to exclude specified subclient data from being backed up or archived. For more information,
see Filters.
Use regular expressions (or wildcards) in subclient data protection filters. See Inclusions, Exclusions, and Exceptions to
Exclusions for more information.
Perform in-place editing of subclient data protection filter exclusions and exceptions. See Editing Filters for more
information.
Global Filters
You can enable or disable Global Filters. For more information, see Global Filters.
Multiple Data Readers within a Drive or Mount Point
Specify whether multiple data reads are allowed for a single physical drive (Windows or NetWare) or mount point (Unix)
during backups on this subclient. This should be selected only for specialized hardware such as RAID. For more information,
see Automatic File System Multi-Streaming.
Number of Data Readers
Specify the number of simultaneous backup data streams allowed for this subclient. For best performance, this should be
set no higher than the number of physical drives that hold this subclient's data, except for specialized hardware such as
RAID. For more information, see Automatic File System Multi-Streaming.
Pre/Post Processes
You can add, modify or view Pre/Post processes for the subclient. These are batch files or shell scripts that you can run
before or after certain job phases. For more information, see Pre/Post Processes.
QSnap
If installed on the client, QSnap can be enabled to back up locked files, or to provide volume-level snapshot functionality
and utilize the integrated block-filter driver. Agents that support this feature include Windows File System, Unix File
System, and SDM on Windows. If QSnap is enabled, the CommCell Summary Report displays a superscript Q in the
subclient column. For step-by-step instructions, see Enable QSnap on a Subclient.
QSnap is not supported by the Microsoft Data Protection Manager iDataAgent.
Storage Policies
You can associate the subclient to a storage policy. For more information, see Storage Policies.
For eligible Unix File System subclients configured for 1-Touch for Unix, it is strongly recommended that you select a
storage policy that uses a MediaAgent on a different computer. In such a case, if the system becomes defective, the media
does not have to be exported to another MediaAgent when you try to recover the system using 1-Touch. For more
information, see the following as appropriate:
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1-Touch for AIX
1-Touch for Linux
1-Touch for Solaris
Subclient Name
You can rename a subclient. For step-by-step instructions, see Rename a Subclient.
System State Backups
By default, the system state is backed up with the rest of the file system on the default subclient for the Windows File
System iDataAgent. You can change this default. For more information, see Backing Up System State.
System state backup is not supported by the Microsoft Data Protection Manager
iDataAgent.
User Accounts
The following pertain to Windows File System and Data Protection Manager:
You can define an account for configuring a UNC path as part of the subclient's content.
You can define an account with permissions to execute Pre/Post commands for the agent's archive, backup, or volume
creation jobs.
See Microsoft Data Protection Manager iDataAgent or Microsoft Windows File System iDataAgent in User Accounts and
Passwords for more information.
User Security
You can perform the following functions:
Identify the user groups to which this CommCell object is associated.
Associate this object with a user group.
Disassociate this object from a user group.
For more information, see User Administration and Security.
Volume Shadow Service (VSS) Backups
For the Windows iDataAgents that support VSS, you can specify whether Volume Shadow Service (VSS) will be used to
back up data for this subclient. You can also specify whether VSS will be used to back up the system state (if system state
is included in backup) on the subclient.
If enabled on other subclients, VSS is used to back up locked files. If VSS is enabled, the CommCell Summary Report
displays a superscript Q in the subclient column. For more information, see VSS for Windows File System iDataAgents.
VSS is used automatically by the Microsoft Data Protection Manager iDataAgent. You do
not have an option to not use it.
1-Touch Recovery
For some Unix File System iDataAgents, you can configure the subclient for 1-Touch. For more information, see the
following as appropriate:
1-Touch for AIX
1-Touch for Linux
1-Touch for Solaris
Things to Consider when Creating and Configuring File System Subclients
When creating and configuring subclients for File System and Data Protection Manager iDataAgents, keep in mind the
following considerations:
Unix File System
The tmpfs, ctfs, proc, devfs and lofs (loopback) file systems are now automatically skipped during backups by the Solaris
File System iDataAgent. The filters for these file systems and others can be altered by using the ignoreFStype registry
key. The addition of the lofs file system as a skipped file system has an impact on the Solaris Global Zone with regard to
filesystem submount points that might previously had been expected to be backed up (e.g., if the root of a zone is an
lofs file system and it has the ufs, zfs, or vxfs submount file system). These submount file systems will be skipped
during backup unless they are added to the subclient content.
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For the Unix File System iDataAgents, if you back up data contents including hard links with registry key HLINK set to Y
and the appropriate hard link updates applied, and if a non-head hard link is removed between the scan and backup
phases of the backup job, and if you then perform a browse and restore on the data contents, the hard link will not be
displayed, and you will not be able to restore the link using this restore method. However, you will be able to restore the
hard link using Restore by Jobs. See the Service Pack documentation for more information on hard link updates.
Windows File System and Microsoft Data Protection Manager
Subclient Content Considerations
Normally, system files are automatically filtered from backups of regular file system files; however, using a file level
wildcard (such as *.* or *.evt) will override this filter. Therefore, when using a wildcard to define subclient content
on a default or user-defined subclient, be sure the wildcard does not include system files.
If a subclient's contents are defined using a file level wildcard (such as *.* or *.evt), the change journal is not used
for those files; therefore, the classic file scan will be used to determine if the files should be backed up. See Use
Change Journal or Classic File Scan for Backups for more information. If your subclient has multiple content paths,
only those files picked up by the wildcard are affected.
A subclient that is defined as files will always use classic file scan, regardless of whether or not a wildcard has been
specified.
When specifying subclient contents using regular expressions, keep in mind that the option to Treat Characters as
Regular Expressions applies only to the last level of the content path for user-defined subclients, and is not supported
for default subclients.
Any changes made to Subclient Content filters will only be applied during full backups. Synthetic full backups do not
scan for filtering or changes.
Using QSnap or VSS to back up the default subclient
Using VSS or QSnap to back up the default subclient is not recommended because doing so results in the backing up
of files that should not be backed up by the Windows File System iDataAgent. These files include locked database files
and other system files. If you do choose to enable VSS or QSnap on the default subclient, be sure to filter out system
databases, system protected files, and any application databases.
QSnap is not supported by the Microsoft Data Protection Manager iDataAgent; VSS is
used automatically.
Changing Subclient Content
It is recommended you perform a full backup after changing or adding any subclient content definitions in the
Subclient Properties (Content) tab in order to ensure that all of the data is backed up.
Caution Against Re-configuring Default Subclient Content
We recommend that you do not re-configure the content of a default subclient, because this would disable its
capability to serve as "catch-all" entity for client data, thus increasing the likelihood that some data won't get backed
up or scanned for archiving.
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User Accounts and Passwords
Topics | How To | Related Topics
Overview
CommCell Accounts
CommCell Network Password
Automatic Updates
Maintenance Advantage Page
Job Results Directory
Domain Controller
MediaAgent Accounts
Media Password
Index Cache Account
Active Directory iDataAgent
ContinuousDataReplicator
Data Classification
DB2 iDataAgent
Exchange Agents (Exchange Compliance Archiver, Exchange Database, Exchange Mailbox, Exchange Mailbox Archiver,
Exchange Public Folder, Exchange Public Folder Archiver, Exchange Web Folder)
File Archiver for Windows
Image Level iDataAgent
Image Level ProxyHost iDataAgent
Informix iDataAgent
Lotus Domino Server iDataAgents
Microsoft Data Protection Manager iDataAgent
Microsoft SQL Server iDataAgent
Microsoft Windows File System iDataAgent
NAS NDMP Agents (BlueArc, EMC Celerra, Hitachi, NetApp)
NetWare Server iDataAgents (File Archiver for NetWare, GroupWise, NetWare File System, Novell Directory Service)
Oracle iDataAgents (Oracle, Oracle RAC, SAP for Oracle)
ProxyHost iDataAgent
Quick Recovery Agents
Serverless Data Manager iDataAgent
SharePoint Agents (SharePoint Archiver, SharePoint Database, SharePoint Document)
Sybase iDataAgent
Other Considerations
Audit Trail
Important Considerations
Overview
User accounts and passwords can be administered for various components of the product, including the CommServe,
MediaAgents, and agents. These accounts and passwords allow you to perform various operations per the affected
component. In some cases, user accounts and passwords are established during the install of the specific component, and
in most cases they can be changed after the install via various operations from the CommCell Browser. To this latter end,
you can use the CommCell Browser to populate either account-like dialog boxes or spaces within other types of dialog
boxes with this information.
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CommCell Accounts
CommCell Network Password
The CommCell network password is an internal security measure used to ensure that communications occur only between
CommCell computers. By default, the software assigns each computer in the CommCell a different password. You can, at
any time, define a new CommCell network password for any computer in the CommCell. Although you do not need to know
the existing password to define a new one, you do need to have administrative privileges.
The CommCell network password can be changed from the Change System Password dialog box.
The CommCell network password can be changed from the Change Network Password dialog box. See Change the
CommCell Network Password for step-by-step instructions.
Automatic Updates
The CommServe uses an account to access updates. This account can be changed from the User name and password
dialog box. See Change Account for Accessing Updates for step-by-step instructions.
Maintenance Advantage Page
You can prepopulate user credentials to access the Maintenance Advantage web site automatically. See Change Account for
Accessing the Maintenance Advantage Page for step-by-step instructions.
Job Results Directory
On Windows clients, you can use and change an Impersonate User account to access the Job Results Directory for the
client. See User Impersonation for Accessing the Job Results Directory for more information.
Domain Controller
You can use and change the account to register a domain controller with the CommServe. To register a domain controller,
you must administer Name Servers in the CommCell Browser. You must register a domain controller to authenticate Single
Sign On or to configure the Search Console for Content Indexing and Search. See Change Account to Register a Domain
Controller with the CommServe for step-by-step instructions.
MediaAgent Accounts
Media Password
The Media Password is used to enforce credentials while using the Media Explorer (DR Tool) to restore data from a media.
This password prevents the unauthorized access of data from media. The password is assigned during the installation of the
CommServe and can be changed, and it becomes necessary in the case of a disaster. The password is stored as an
encrypted string on the On Media Label (OML) of the tape, and the information for the password (including the SQL
metadata, etc.) is stored encrypted in the OML of the tape and in the SQL database.
Only one media password is allowed per media. If you changed the media password, it will be effective for the next media.
Keep in mind that the existing media can be accessed using only the old media password.
The Media Password can by changed from the Change System Password dialog box. See Change the Media Password for
step-by-step instructions.
If you want to provide more security by not allowing anyone else to read and decipher
data on the media, you may want to enable Data Encryption.
Index Cache Account
If you have a shared index cache, you will require a user account to access the shared index. See Shared Index Cache for
more information.
Active Directory iDataAgent
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The Active Directory account information is used to verify the rights to back up and restore data from the Active Directory
Server. This information is initially assigned by the user during the installation of the iDataAgent.
If necessary, you can change the options established during installation or setup a non-administrator account from the
CommCell Console. (See Change Account for Accessing Application Servers/Filers for step-by-step instructions.)
It is necessary to use an account with sufficient privileges. If a user account does not have sufficient privileges, Active
Directory jobs may fail either in whole or part. Consider the following analysis before setting up an account for the Active
Directory iDataAgent.
Administrator account Non-Administrator account
Must have Administrative rights in the Domain Controller.
You must specify an account that already exists. If the
desired account does not exist, you must create it in the
Active Directory Domain Controller. The account must be a
member of the Domain Administrator group or have Read,
Change, and Create Child Objects permissions for the Active
Directory domain.
As Administrative rights are provided by default, this account
does not require additional rights. Once the account is created, edit the Active Directory Agent
Properties from the CommCell Console and provide one of
the following:
A valid user account information. Note that this account
must exist in the Active Directory Domain.
The the correct path to the user using the LDAP path of
the desired account as the user name. (e.g.,
CN=administrator, CN=users, DC=company, DC=com)
Other User Accounts
You can define an account with permissions to execute Pre/Post commands for the agent's archive, backup, or volume
creation jobs. See Pre-Post User Impersonation for Data Protection and Recovery Operations for more information.
ContinuousDataReplicator
You can define a user or an account with permissions to execute Pre/Post commands when creating Recovery Points. See
Pre-Post User Impersonation for Data Protection and Recovery Operations for more information.
DB2 iDataAgent
To perform data protection and recovery operations, the DB2 iDataAgent requires a user account with one of the following
privileges to access the DB2 application and database:
Administration privileges (default)
DB2 database administration privileges
SYSADM, SYSCTRL, and SYSMAINT user group privileges
This account must already be set up on the client. Additional accounts should be established by the DB2 database
administrator. To establish additional accounts on your own, consult the appropriate DB2 application documentation.
The user account can be added or modified from the CommCell Console using Instance Properties or Backup Set
Properties. This allows you to regulate the number of databases accessed per specified user. See Create/Modify an
Instance, Configure a Backup Set/Archive Set, and Change Account for Accessing Databases/Applications for step-by-step
instructions.
Other User Accounts
The following pertains to DB2 on Windows:
You can define an account with permissions to execute Pre/Post commands for the agent's archive, backup, or volume
creation jobs. See Pre-Post User Impersonation for Data Protection and Recovery Operations for more information.
Data Classification
See File Archiver for Windows.
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Exchange Agents
To perform data protection and recovery operations, various Exchange agents require a user account to log on to the
related server to access the data. The affected agents include: Exchange Mailbox, Exchange Public Folder, Exchange
Compliance Archiver, Exchange Mailbox Archiver and Exchange Public Folder Archiver. The account must have Exchange
administrator privileges.
This account information is input during the Exchange agent install.
The account must already be set up on the client. Additional accounts should be established by the Exchange database
administrator. To establish additional accounts on your own, consult the appropriate Exchange application documentation.
The user account can be added or modified from the CommCell Console at the agent level. See Change Account for
Accessing Application Servers/Filers for step-by-step instructions.
Other User Accounts
For the Exchange Mailbox Archiver Agent and the Exchange Mailbox iDataAgent, you can specify a user account to
authenticate against the Active Directory domain user groups whose mailboxes you want to configure for Auto-Discovery
operations.
See Discovering and Assigning New Mailboxes for an overview.
CommCell authentication is required for end-users to perform advanced message recovery operations such as find
recoveries and browse recoveries from Outlook using the DataArchiver Outlook Add-In. The Single Sign On (SSO)
feature allows Exchange administrators to establish a CommCell User Group for Outlook Add-In end-users to perform
these functions using their existing Windows user accounts and passwords residing in the Active Directory domain. To
configure this feature:
1. Add a New Domain Controller.
2. Add a New External User Group. Note that the CommServe user group must have Browse capabilities in order for
the Single Sign On feature to work properly.
With this configuration, the External Domain users list will incorporate all Outlook users, as well as the External
Domain users into the list. You can avoid this by adding the following configuration, which is optional:
Create and enable the nUseCommonSSOUser registry key. Once the key is enabled, refresh the CommCell Console.
This will automatically create a user group called Common Outlook Add-In Default Group and a user account called
Default Outlook User. This group is automatically created with associations to all CommCell objects and assigned
the Browse and In Place Recover capability.
Assign the newly created Common Outlook Add-In Default Group user group with these additional capabilities:
Browse
Browse and Out of Place Recover
These additional capabilities in conjunction with the Browse and In Place Recover capability are required to perform
the advanced message find and recovery operations. For more information on how to assign capabilities, see
Reassign the Capabilities of a User Group.
Once Single Sign-On has been configured, then Outlook users may perform find and browse recoveries of archived
messages without the need to enter CommCell authentication credentials. When users select the Outlook Add-In option
to Find and Recover Messages, their Windows user accounts are automatically granted rights to access the
CommServe to perform this function as part of a CommCell User Group. For more information, see Single Sign On.
The following pertains to Exchange Compliance Archiver, Exchange Mailbox, Exchange Mailbox Archiver, Exchange
Database, Exchange Public Folder, Exchange Public Folder Archiver, and Exchange Web Folder:
You can define an account with permissions to execute Pre/Post commands for the agent's archive, backup, or volume
creation jobs. See Pre-Post User Impersonation for Data Protection and Recovery Operations for more information.
The following pertains to Exchange Database:
You can define an account with permissions to execute Pre/Post commands for data recovery jobs. See Pre-Post User
Impersonation for Data Protection and Recovery Operations for more information.
File Archiver for Windows
For File Archiver for Windows with Data Classification, you can specify a user account to authenticate against the Active
Directory domain users whose files you want to archive. See Use Users and User Groups - Data Classification Enabler for an
overview.
Other User Accounts
You can define an account with permissions to execute Pre/Post commands for the agent's archive, backup, or volume
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creation jobs. See Pre-Post User Impersonation for Data Protection and Recovery Operations for more information.
You can define a user or an account with permissions to restore data to either mapped/shared network drives or
directories to which you have no write privileges. See Change Account for Restoring to Mapped/Share Network Drives
and Restricted Directories for step-by-step instructions.
If you are using the Proxy Stub Subclient feature, which allows the File Archiver for Windows Agent to archive and
recover data residing on an EMC Celerra File Server (running DART OS versions 5.5 and later), you must enter
authentication information to access data on the file server for this purpose. For more information, see Configuring File
Archiver for Windows to Archive and Recover Celerra Data.
Image Level iDataAgent
The following pertain to Image Level on Windows:
You can define an account with permissions to execute Pre/Post commands for the agent's archive, backup, or volume
creation jobs. See Pre-Post User Impersonation for Data Protection and Recovery Operations for more information.
You can define a user or an account with permissions to restore data to either mapped/shared network drives or
directories to which you have no write privileges. See Change Account for Restoring to Mapped/Share Network Drives
and Restricted Directories for step-by-step instructions.
Image Level ProxyHost iDataAgent
You can define an account with permissions to execute Pre/Post commands for the agent's archive, backup, or volume
creation jobs. See Pre-Post User Impersonation for Data Protection and Recovery Operations for more information.
You can define a user or an account with permissions to restore data to either mapped/shared network drives or
directories to which you have no write privileges. See Change Account for Restoring to Mapped/Share Network Drives
and Restricted Directories for step-by-step instructions.
Informix iDataAgent
To perform data protection and recovery operations, the Informix iDataAgent requires a user account to access the
Informix application and database. This account must have administration privileges (default) or Informix administration
privileges.
The account must already be set up on the client. Additional accounts should be established by the Informix database
administrator. To establish additional accounts on your own, consult the appropriate Informix application documentation.
The user account can be added or modified from the CommCell Console using Instance Properties. See Create/Modify an
Instance and Change Account for Accessing Databases/Applications for step-by-step instructions.
Lotus Domino Server iDataAgents
You can define an account with permissions to execute Pre/Post commands for the agent's archive, backup, or volume
creation jobs. See Pre-Post User Impersonation for Data Protection and Recovery Operations for more information.
The following pertains to Lotus Note Database and Lotus Notes Document:
You can define a user or an account with permissions to restore data to either mapped/shared network drives or
directories to which you have no write privileges. See Change Account for Restoring to Mapped/Share Network Drives
and Restricted Directories for step-by-step instructions.
Microsoft Data Protection Manager iDataAgent
You can define an account with permissions to execute Pre/Post commands for the agent's archive, backup, or volume
creation jobs. See Pre-Post User Impersonation for Data Protection and Recovery Operations for more information.
Microsoft SQL Server iDataAgent
To perform data protection and recovery operations, the SQL Server and SQL Server 2005 iDataAgents require a user
account to access the SQL Server application and database. The account must have the following privileges:
Local administrator privileges
SQL sysadmin fixed server role for the instance
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The account must already be set up on the client. Additional accounts should be established by the SQL database
administrator. To establish additional accounts on your own, consult the appropriate Microsoft SQL Server application
documentation.
The user accounts can be added or modified from the CommCell Console using Instance Properties. See Create/Modify
an Instance and Change Account for Accessing Instances for step-by-step instructions.
Other User Accounts
If the BUILTIN\Administrators account has been removed, you must have a "NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM" account to
successfully restore system databases.
You can define an account with permissions to execute Pre/Post commands for the agent's archive, backup, or volume
creation jobs. See Pre-Post User Impersonation for Data Protection and Recovery Operations for more information.
You can define an account with permissions to execute Pre/Post commands for data recovery jobs. See Pre-Post User
Impersonation for Data Protection and Recovery Operations for more information.
However, this option is not available for SQL Server 2005 if you click Files/File
Groups in the Browse Options dialog box on the way to the Restore dialog box.
Microsoft Windows File System iDataAgent
You can define from the subclient level an account to be used when configuring a UNC Path as part of the subclient's
content.
The user name and password that you use must have sufficient rights to access the share to which the UNC Path is
pointing. Also, the user name and password must have the right to log on to the client machine that is running the
backup, as well as rights to the logs on that computer.
To perform a backup or a restore operation using a UNC Path as either the content of the subclient or the destination for
a restore, we recommend using an account that has administrative privileges. Also, the User Account that is used must
be an account that already exists. If you choose to use an account that does not exist, it must be created.
Once you establish the account, you can modify the account. See Change Account for Configuring UNC Paths for step-
by-step instructions.
You can define an account with permissions to execute Pre/Post commands for the agent's archive, backup, or volume
creation jobs. See Pre-Post User Impersonation for Data Protection and Recovery Operations for more information.
You can define an account with permissions to execute Pre/Post commands for data recovery jobs. See Pre-Post User
Impersonation for Data Protection and Recovery Operations for more information.
You can define a user or an account with permissions to restore data to either mapped/shared network drives or
directories to which you have no write privileges. See Change Account for Restoring to Mapped/Share Network Drives
and Restricted Directories for step-by-step instructions.
Considerations When Using a Windows User to Run Operations
For an overview, see Services: Running Services Using a Windows User.
Backup
Generally, to run backups , the user must be either an administrator or a member of the Backup Operators group. Each
such member acquires backup rights. Backup operators (or Service Users) are designed to have full control to the registry
and the install folder.
To back up the System State data, the service user must be either an administrator or a backup operator. Also, system
state backups require backup operator group permissions on the HKLM\SYSTEM\SETUP key to enable system-protected file
backups.
The 1-Touch component of system state backups will fail whenever you run services as
a backup operator. As a workaround, either skip backing up 1-Touch information during
system state backups by using the SKIP_1TOUCH_BACKUP registry key, or run the
backups using the local system account.
An administrator or a backup operator in a local group can back up any file and folder on the local computer to which the
local group applies. An administrator or backup operator on a domain controller can back up any file and folder on any
computer in the domain or any computer in a domain where a two-way trust relationship exists.
To back up files if you are not an administrator or a backup operator, you must be the owner of the files and folders you
want to back up or have one or more of the following permissions for the files and folders you want to back up: Read, Read
and execute, Modify, or Full Control.
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You must enable backup operator access to the registry and directory.
To add a user to the Backup Operators Group on a domain controller, use Active Directory users and computers.
Also, on a domain controller, you may need to modify the Domain Controller Security Policy since a domain controller
overrides the Local Security Policy. In addition, when you set the policy for DC security policy, this policy adds itself to the
local policy as an "Effective Policy Setting". This means the domain controller is using a policy that has overwritten the Local
Policy Setting.
See Set Up or Modify User Permissions and Rights for more information.
Restore
Generally, only restore rights are required to restore files. For a Windows 2000 Server, these rights are inherited by backup
operators. For a Windows 2003 Server, you must add backup operators to the 'Restore Files and Folder' Local Security
Policy.
To restore System State data, one of the following must be true: the service user is a local administrator, or Services will
be run as a local system. See Set Up or Modify User Permissions and Rights for more information.
Set Up or Modify User Permissions and Rights
See the following procedures as appropriate:
View or Modify User Rights Assignments on a Workgroup or Member Server
View or Modify User Rights Assignments on a Domain Controller
Set up User Permissions and Rights on a Windows Workgroup or Member Server
Set up Rights on a Windows 2000 Domain Controller
Set up Registry Permissions on Windows 2000
Set up Folder Permissions
NAS NDMP Agents
To perform data protection and recovery operations, the NAS NDMP agents require a user account to log on to the related
file server to access the data. The user account depends upon the file server being accessed.
For the BlueArc and Hitachi NAS NDMP file servers, the User Account is user-defined.
For EMC Celerra NAS NDMP file servers, the User Account must be ndmp. If you are not using Celerra OS 4.0 (e.g.,
you're using Celerra OS 2.2.49), you must contact EMC Celerra Technical Support to change your NDMP password on the
data mover.
For NetApp NAS NDMP file servers, the User Account must be root.
Where appropriate, the user account can be added or modified from the CommCell Console at the agent level. See Change
Account for Accessing Application Servers/Filers for step-by-step instructions.
Other User Accounts
You can define an account with permissions to execute Pre/Post commands for the agent's archive, backup, or volume
creation jobs. See Pre-Post User Impersonation for Data Protection and Recovery Operations for more information.
The following pertains to File Share Archiver:
After installing the File Share Archiver Agent and before performing a migration archiving operation, you must configure
the authentication credentials to access the file server. For more information, see Configuring Authentication Credentials
to Access the File Server.
You can define a user or an account with permissions to restore data to either mapped/shared network drives or
directories to which you have no write privileges. See Change Account for Restoring to Mapped/Share Network Drives
and Restricted Directories for step-by-step instructions.
For NetApp NAS NDMP file servers running on ONTAP version 7.0 platforms that have an FPolicy Subclient configured to
facilitate stub recalls, the User Name required to support the feature must either be a domain level administrator or a
member of the administrator's group for the domain in which the filer resides. In addition, that User Name must have
read and write permissions to the CIFS share from which stubs are being recalled. For step-by-step instructions on
adding or changing the User Name or password associated with an FPolicy Subclient, see Configure an FPolicy Subclient.
NetWare Server iDataAgents
To perform data protection and recovery operations, the NetWare Server agents require a user account to log on to the
related server to access the data. This account information is input during the NetWare Server iDataAgent install.
For the File System iDataAgent, GroupWise iDataAgent and File Archiver for NetWare Agent, the named user account
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should have supervisor privileges for the NetWare server.
For the Novell Directory Service (NDS) iDataAgent, the named user account should have supervisor privileges for the
root of the NDS tree on the NetWare server.
This account must already be set up on the client. Additional accounts should be established by the NetWare Server
administrator. To establish additional accounts on your own, use the appropriate NetWare administration tool or consult the
appropriate NetWare Server application documentation.
The user account can be added or modified from the CommCell Console at the agent level. See Change Account for
Accessing Application Servers/Filers for step-by-step instructions.
Other User Accounts
You can define a user or an account with permissions to restore data to either mapped/shared network drives or
directories to which you have no write privileges. See Change Account for Restoring to Mapped/Share Network Drives
and Restricted Directories for step-by-step instructions.
Oracle iDataAgents
To perform data protection and recovery operations, the Oracle and SAP for Oracle iDataAgents require two user accounts.
The Oracle RAC iDataAgent requires the latter of these user accounts. These accounts include:
A user account with administrator privileges to access the Oracle application. This information can be added from the
General tab of the Instance Properties.
For Oracle on Unix, you can use the operating system user account to verify the rights to perform all data protection and
recovery operations for the associated Oracle instance. For Oracle on Windows, you use the Impersonate User option for
this purpose.
A database user account with administrator privileges to access the Oracle database. This information can be added from
the Details tab of the Instance Properties.
You can use a database user account to verify the rights to access Oracle databases. You can use an account for the
standard database, and you can use an account for the Recovery Catalog database. The account information is included
within one or more of the following database connect strings:
1. Database user ID
2. Password for the user ID
3. Oracle service name.
The standard database user account must have the following privileges:
Administration privileges (default) or Oracle database administration privileges
SYSDBA and ALTER SYSTEM system privileges
Alternatively, instead of the SELECT ANY TABLE privilege, you can create less powerful user IDs with the following object
privileges:
SELECT ON "SYS"."V_$DATABASE"
SELECT ON "SYS"."V_$DATAFILE"
SELECT ON "SYS"."DBA_TABLESPACES"
GRANT SELECT ON "SYS"."V_$ARCHIVE_DEST" TO "USER_NAME"
The Recovery Catalog database user account must have recovery catalog owner privileges.
The above mentioned accounts must already be set up on the client. Additional accounts (except Impersonate User) should
be established by Oracle database administrator. To establish additional accounts on your own, consult the appropriate
Oracle application documentation.
See Create/Modify an Instance, Change Instance Details, and Change Account for Accessing Databases/Applications for
step-by-step instructions.
Other User Accounts
The following pertain to Oracle on Windows:
You can define an account with permissions to execute Pre/Post commands for the agent's archive, backup, or volume
creation jobs. See Pre-Post User Impersonation for Data Protection and Recovery Operations for more information.
You can define an account with permissions to execute Pre/Post commands for data recovery jobs. See Pre-Post User
Impersonation for Data Protection and Recovery Operations for more information.
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ProxyHost iDataAgent
You can define an account with permissions to execute Pre/Post commands for the agent's archive, backup, or volume
creation jobs. See Pre-Post User Impersonation for Data Protection and Recovery Operations for more information.
You can define a user or an account with permissions to restore data to either mapped/shared network drives or
directories to which you have no write privileges. See Change Account for Restoring to Mapped/Share Network Drives
and Restricted Directories for step-by-step instructions.
Quick Recovery Agents
Exchange
To perform data protection and recovery operations, the Quick Recovery Agent with Exchange requires a user account to
log on to the related server to access the data. The account must have either of the following privileges:
Exchange administrator privileges
Site Service privileges
This account information is input during the Exchange agent install.
The account must already be set up on the client. Additional accounts should be established by the Exchange database
administrator. To establish additional accounts on your own, consult the appropriate Exchange application documentation.
You can select an Exchange application and change the associated user account from the CommCell Console at the agent
level. Also, if you are including another Exchange Server, you can change the Exchange Server Name. See Change Account
for Accessing Application Servers/Filers for step-by-step instructions.
Also, consider the following:
When configuring the Exchange server(s) for the Quick Recovery Agent on a cluster, be sure to enter the Exchange
server name into the Exchange Server Name field of the Change User Account dialog box. If you do not enter the
server name, the agent may not be able to detect the Exchange Server.
It is also recommended to enter the Exchange Server name here if you are having difficulty detecting the Exchange
server.
If you have tried entering the Exchange Server into the Change User Account dialog box and still cannot detect the
server, you can manually add the server to the registry using the sExchangeServerName Registry Key.
Microsoft SQL Server
To perform data protection and recovery operations, the Quick Recovery Agent with SQL Server requires a user account to
access the SQL Server application and database. The account must have the following privileges:
Local administrator privileges
SQL sysadmin fixed server role for the instance
The account must already be set up on the client. Additional accounts should be established by the SQL database
administrator. To establish additional accounts on your own, consult the appropriate Microsoft SQL Server application
documentation.
You can select a SQL Server application and change the associated user account from the CommCell Console at the agent
level. See Change Account for Accessing Application Servers/Filers for step-by-step instructions.
Also, consider the following:
If the Quick Recovery Agent has difficulty detecting the SQL server on a cluster, you can manually add the server to the
registry using the SClusteredSQLServerName Registry Key.
NAS
For the Quick Recovery Agent with NAS, you can change from the agent level the account for discovering network drives.
This account has permissions on both the NAS data server and the Quick Recovery Agent machine. In effect, this account
also has permissions on the CIFS shares that are backed up.
Since the NAS data server and the Quick Recovery Agent machine can never be the same machine, the account is a
network (and not a local) account. Therefore, since the account has permissions on both machines, the machines must
either be in the same domain or have an appropriate trust set up.
See Change Account for Discovering Network Drives for step-by-step instructions.
Oracle
To perform data protection and recovery operations, the Quick Recovery Agent with Oracle requires an Impersonate User
account with administrator privileges to access the Oracle application and database. The account must already be set up on
the client.
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You can add/select an Oracle instance and add/modify the associated user account from the CommCell Console at the agent
level. See Change Account for Accessing Databases for step-by-step instructions.
Other User Accounts
You can define an account with permissions to execute Pre/Post commands for the agent's archive, backup, or volume
creation jobs. See Pre-Post User Impersonation for Data Protection and Recovery Operations for more information.
Serverless Data Manager iDataAgent
You can define an account with permissions to execute Pre/Post commands for the agent's archive, backup, or volume
creation jobs. See Pre-Post User Impersonation for Data Protection and Recovery Operations for more information.
SharePoint Agents
To perform data protection and recovery operations, the SharePoint agents require a user account to log on to the related
file server to access the data. This account must have the required rights to create and modify SharePoint databases.
For the SharePoint iDataAgents and SharePoint Archiver, consider the following.
The Base Services of the client will run under the user account that is specified. Use an account that meets this criteria:
member of the local Administrator Group
member of the SharePoint Administrator Group
System Administrator role on the SQL Server Instance
In addition, this account must have "Log on as Service" permissions to ensure the Communication (CVD) Services will
start. For more information on Base and Communication (CVD) Services, see Services.
Refer to the Knowledge Base article, ID #10573, Galaxy Service Account User Information for Windows 2003 and Window
Server 2003 clients available from the Maintenance Advantage web site.
This account must already be set up on the client. Additional accounts should be established by the SharePoint database
administrator. To establish additional accounts on your own, consult the appropriate SharePoint application documentation.
The user account can be added or modified from the CommCell Console at the agent level.
For SharePoint Database, you can change:
the SSO Administrator Account for the service on the associated SharePoint Portal server; and
the Administrative Group Account
For SharePoint Document, you can change the Administrator Account.
See Change Account for Accessing Application Servers/Filers for step-by-step instructions.
Other User Accounts
You can define an account with permissions to execute Pre/Post commands for the agent's archive, backup, or volume
creation jobs. See Pre-Post User Impersonation for Data Protection and Recovery Operations for more information.
Sybase iDataAgent
To perform data protection and recovery operations, the Sybase iDataAgent requires two user accounts. They are:
Operating system account with privileges to access the Sybase application
You can use the operating system user account to verify the rights to perform all data protection and recovery
operations for the associated Sybase instance
Database user account with administrator (default) privileges or Sybase database administrator privileges to access
Sybase databases.
For Sybase on Unix, the account information for accessing the database is input during the Sybase iDataAgent install.
These accounts must already be set up on the client. Additional accounts should be established by the Sybase database
administrator. To establish additional accounts on your own, consult the appropriate Sybase application documentation.
The user accounts can be added or modified from the CommCell Console using Instance Properties. See Create/Modify
an Instance and Change Account for Accessing Instances for step-by-step instructions.
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Other Considerations
Please note the following issues.
Share permissions will not be backed up or restored
You must use the local system account for this purpose.
Full system restore requires a local system account
To perform a full system restore, see Disaster Recovery. A full system restore should be performed using only the local
system account because this account has full rights to restore the data on the computer. If a full system restore runs as
a User, registry and other data will not be restored properly because the User does not have the required rights to write
to the system. Even when restoring just the system state or system state services (system databases), the services
must be running as a local system account; otherwise, the restore will fail. Also, following a full system restore, the user
no longer has rights to the registry key. Therefore, you may have to give the User permissions to this key in the registry
following a full system restore.
QSnap requires a local system account
QSnap fails to snap volumes when services are running as a backup operator account. Therefore, use a local system
account to this purpose.
OST file comes back corrupted for Microsoft Outlook
When you open Outlook, a pop-up message indicating that you have an older OST file is displayed. You can delete this
file and create a new one if necessary.
You may not be able to set the archive attribute
During a file system backup, there maybe a message logged in clbackup.log indicating you are unable to turn off the
archive attribute after the backup. This happens because the user does not have the rights to write to this folder (e.g.,
C:\Program Files\).
Ignore a specific message when running backups
During file system backups and restores, the following message is displayed:
W2K File System: Failed to enumerate share information [[997 Access is denied.]
Note that backups will be successful even if this message is displayed.
Audit Trail
The following operations are recorded in the Audit Trail, if Audit Trail is enabled:
User login
User logout
Failed login
See Audit Trail for more information.
Important Considerations
If you are getting invalid password errors and you are sure that your password is correct, try changing your password.
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Job Management - Data Protection Operations
Topics | Related Topics
When a Non-Full Backup is Automatically Converted to a Full Backup
When a Non-Full Backup is Automatically Converted to a Full Backup
Under the following conditions, a non-full backup is automatically converted to a full backup:
If it is the first backup of the subclient.
If you re-associate a subclient to another storage policy.
If you promote a secondary storage policy copy that is not synchronized with a primary copy (for all the subclients of a
storage policy).
If a backup job within the most recent backup cycle is pruned or disabled from a primary copy.
If a new content path is added to the subclient.
Some agents have additional scenarios in which a non-full backup is also automatically converted to a full backup:
Exchange Database iDataAgents
If an Exchange Database has been restored
If an Exchange Database has been auto-discovered
If the Pre-Selected backup type has been changed
Image Level and Image Level ProxyHost iDataAgents
After a failover occurs in a clustered environment, without having CXBF bitmap persistence enabled. For more
information, see Configure Persistence.
After an in-place Volume Level restore
Oracle iDataAgent
If an incremental backup is selected for an Oracle subclient that includes Archive Logs and/or control files only
SQL Server iDataAgent
See Default Subclient Backup Conversion Rules and File/File Group Subclient Backup Conversion Rules for complete
listings.
NetWare File System iDataAgent
The first NetWare File System backup run after having selected the backup set option Decompress Data Before
Backup is converted to a full backup for all subclients that belong to that backup set.
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Job Management - Data Recovery Operations
Topics | Related Topics
Hardware Considerations
Hardware Considerations
When a hardware failure occurs during a restore, the restore job will go into a device wait state indefinitely and will need to
be killed.
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Backup Job History
Topics | How To | Related Topics
Overview
Items That Failed
Content Indexing Failures
Items that were Successfully Content Indexed
Items That Were Backed Up
Pruning Backup History Information
Supported Features
Overview
You can view the backup and restore history of iDataAgents, BackupSets/Instances, and subclients.
The Backup Job History Filter dialog box allows you view detailed, historical information about backup jobs. Once you
have chosen your filter options, they are displayed in the Backup Job History window. The Backup Job History window
displays the following information:
Job ID The unique number allocated by the Job Manager that identifies the operation.
Status Displays the Job Status of a particular operation.
iDataAgent The agent that performed the operation.
The instance/partition in the client computer that represents the database that was included in
Instance/Partition
this operation.
Backup Set The backup set that was protected/recovered during the operation.
The subclient that was protected during the operation. Note that a deleted subclient will have a
Subclient Unix time stamp appended to its name in cases where another subclient is currently using the
same name as the deleted subclient.
Storage Policy The storage policy to which the data protection operation was directed.
Backup Type The type of backup that was conducted: Differential, Full, Incremental or Synthetic.
Failed Folders The number of folders that were not included in the operation.
Failed Files The number of files that were not included in the operation.
Start Time The date and time on the CommServe when the operation started.
End Time The date and time on the CommServe when the operation was completed.
The amount of data that was transferred to the media.
Size on Media NOTE: When viewing the jobs from the client level, the amount displayed is an uncompressed size
and includes valid and invalid attempts of the backup jobs, and thus, may be larger than the size
displayed when viewing the jobs from any other level.
User Name The name of the user who initiated the operation.
Displays whether content indexing was used for the operation.
If viewing job history data from:
Versions 6.1.0 and prior: Yes or No
Content Indexed Version 7.0.0: Full, Partial, or No
Note that if a job is displayed as partially content indexed, not all of the data protected in the job
was content indexed successfully. Rerun content indexing on this job so that the protected data is
fully content indexed.
Error Code Error Code for job pending or job failure reason. (See Obtaining Information About Job Errors in
Job Controller for more information.)
From this window, you can right-click a backup job to:
View/change the fields that are displayed in the Backup Job History window
Browse the data backed up by the backup set or instance from the Backup Job History window. This is provided as
right-click option for each job. (This menu option, when selected, initiates the Browse Options dialog box preset with
the values needed to browse the data.)
View items that failed during the backup job
View details of the backup job
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View files that were not indexed during a backup job that performed content indexing
View associated media
View events of the backup job
View a list of items that were backed up
View the log files of the backup job.
Items That Failed
The items that failed for a data protection operation include individual files that may fail the job even though a particular
job completed successfully. You can determine the degree of success for these jobs using this window.
Filters can be used in conjunction with the "Items That Failed" list on the data protection Job History Report to eliminate
backup or archive failures by excluding items which consistently fail that are not integral to the operation of the system or
applications. Some items fail because they are locked by the operating system or application and cannot be opened at the
time of the data protection operation. This often occurs with certain system-related files and database application files.
Also, keep in mind that you will need to run a full backup after adding failed files to the filter in order to remove them.
NOTES
A listing of files and folders that failed is not available for the Quick Recovery Agent, nor the Image Level, Image Level
ProxyHost, and Serverless Data Manager iDataAgents. These agents do not perform a file level backup/copy.
Certain application related files can never be backed up by the File System iDataAgent due to the nature of the data. For
example, Microsoft SQL Server database files cannot be backed up by the File System iDataAgent. In this and other
similar circumstances, consider entering files such as these as exclusions in the corresponding subclient filter.
Content Indexing Failures
Content Indexing failures allows you to look at the messages, files and documents that could not be indexed during a
content indexing operation. Content Indexing looks at each file (of the supported data types) and indexes its contents
allowing advanced searches of backed up/archived/migrated data.
Files that were not indexed, (perhaps because the file’s content could not be read) are added to the Content Indexing
Failures list, and are viewable from the View Content Index (Failed Items) option in the Job History window. For step-by-
step instruction, see View the Items that Failed to Content Index.
Items that were Successfully Content Indexed
You can view the list of items that were successfully content indexed during a Content Indexing operation for a particular
job. for step-by-step instructions, see View the Items that Were Successfully Content Indexed.
Items That Were Backed Up
The View backup file list option allows you to view a list of the files that were backed up during a backup job, along with
the data sizes of each backed up file. The View backed up messages option allows you to view a list of messages that
were backed up by using, along with the alias name, display name, email address, sender name, and recipient of each
message.
From these windows you can conduct searches based on a particular string, allowing to find particular files quickly and
easily.
NOTES
It is not recommended that this option is used to view a very large list of items that were backed up (such as lists that
total over 100,000 items). It is suggested that the Browse option is used to find a list of backed up items in such cases.
Pruning Backup History Information
You can prune backup history information based on the number of days established in the Days to keep the backup job
histories option from the Media Management Configuration (Service Configuration) dialog box available in the
Control Panel.
Supported Features
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Features - Microsoft Windows File System iDataAgent
The NAS NDMP iDataAgents do not support the ability to view items that failed.
The Image Level and Image Level ProxyHost iDataAgents do not support the ability to Browse the data of a selected
backup job in Backup Job History.
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Features - Microsoft Windows File System iDataAgent
Restore Job History
Topics | How To | Related Topics
Overview
Items That Restored
Supported Features
Overview
The Restore History Filter dialog box allows you to view detailed, historical information about restore jobs.
Once you have chosen your filter options, they are displayed in the Restore Job History window. From this window you
can right-click a restore job to:
View Restore Items; items in the job that were Successful, Failed, Skipped or All. These items, if any, will be listed in
the Restored Files window.
View Job Details of the restore job. The job details will be listed in the Job Details window.
View Events of the restore job. The job events will be listed in the All Found Events window.
View Log files of the restore job. The job log files will be listed in the Log File window.
Items That Restored
When viewing files that restored in the Restored Files window, each of the files is listed with the restore status level
appended at the end of the file path. The possible status levels are: RESTORED, FAILED and OLDER.
Successfully restored files will be listed with RESTORED appended to the file path. If files are not restored/recovered due to
errors, the file paths will be appended with FAILED. Under some circumstances, the system may not restore/recover certain
files because they are older versions of the same files already present in the files system; these files are appended with the
word OLDER.
Supported Features
The NAS NDMP iDataAgents do not support the ability to view failed/successful item lists.
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Features - Microsoft Windows File System iDataAgent
Incrementals Back Up All Files
Due to the functionality of other vendor software, incremental backups of Windows File System iDataAgent files may back
up all files. This becomes obvious when the sizes of incremental backups are much too large.
This might occur for the following reason:
Cause:
Some software products (e.g.: some anti-virus packages when they scan) may cause the modification times to get changed
on files that were not modified by users. An incremental backup sees the changed modification times on these files and
backs them up along with files that were actually modified.
Solution:
See your software vendor's documentation for instructions on how to prevent its software from changing modification time
on unmodified files.
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