Restoring a file from a virtual machine backup

You can restore one (or more) files from a virtual machine that was backed up to Tivoli® Storage Manager server storage.

To mount a backed up virtual machine disk and export the mounted volume for a file level restore operation, complete the following steps:

1. Configure the mount proxy nodes:
   1. Go to the Configuration window in the Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI.
   2. Click Edit TSM Configuration in the Tasks list. The configuration notebook might take a few moments to load.
   3. Go to the Mount Proxy Node Pairs page and select a VMware datacenter in the table.
   4. Click Add Mount Proxy Node Pair.
   5. Click New Settings in the table.
      For Linux operating systems, the Linux mount proxy node must be configured manually. Use the sample dsm.sys file content that is shown in the Mount Proxy Settings dialog when you configure the Linux mount proxy node.
      For Windows operating systems, only one client acceptor is created. If you want to add a second Windows mount proxy node, you must manually configure the client acceptor on a remote system.
2. Validate that the mount proxy nodes are online and that the iSCSI service is running:
   1. Go to the Configuration window in the Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI.
   2. Select a VMware datacenter in the navigation tree.
   3. Select the mount proxy node (created in Step 1) in the table and click Validate Selected Node. The validation results might take a few moments to complete. A successful validation shows the Status: Running message for each mount proxy node in the Status Details pane. An unsuccessful validation shows the Status: error message for each mount proxy node that encountered an error.
      Remember: By default, the iSCSI service is started manually. If the system where this service is running restarts, the iSCSI service must be restarted manually.
      If you receive an error message, investigate possible causes that are based on error messages that are shown in the Task Details pane of the Recent Tasks report.
3. Go to the Restore window in the Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI and click Restore Points in the header.
4. Expand the list of VMware datacenters and select a virtual machine from the navigation pane. All active and inactive backup versions for the selected virtual machine are identified as restore points in the Restore Points table. Virtual machine template backups are identified in the Template column in the Restore Points table.
   Depending on the number of managed vCenters, the list might take a few moments to load.
5. Select one or more restore points for one virtual machine in the table and click Mount to open the Mount wizard.
6. On the Mount Options page, complete the following steps:
   1. Select the mount proxy node.
   2. Optional: To select the operating system where the backed up virtual machine disks are to be mounted, click the Guest Operating System list and make your selection.
      
      Tip: When the operating system where the disks are to be mounted is different from the operating system of the mount proxy node, the mount point path updates automatically.
   3. Enter the absolute path of the mount point. The following characters are supported: a-z, A-Z, 0-9, colon (:), forward slash (/), backward slash (\), and underscore (_). The maximum length is 200 characters.
      
      • For Windows operating systems, the absolute path to a disk is mount root\tag\vmname\snapshot date and time\file system number. For example:

        C:\tsmmount\ticket_9471\tangowin2k12test\2014-07-01-10_35_50\Volume1\

        The default value is D:\tsmvemount\vmname.
      • For Linux operating systems, the absolute path to a disk is mount root/tag/vmname/snapshot date and time/file system number. For example:

        /tsmmount/ticket_9471/vm1/2014-07-01-10_35_23/Volume1

        The default value is /mnt/vmname.
   4. Enter a description of this mount operation in the Description Tag field. This description becomes part of the mount path so that the administrator can easily identify the operation. The following characters are supported: a-z, A-Z, 0-9, and underscore (_). The maximum length is 20 characters.
   5. Optional: If you want the mounted virtual machine disks on a network share, select Create Network share and enter the appropriate credentials.
      
      • For Windows operating systems, enter the user name that is allowed to access Windows Share.
        Tip: For security reasons, ensure that files are shared only by users and groups who are authorized to access those files.
      • For Linux operating systems, enter the IP address or name of the system that mounts the exported file system.
   6. Click Next.
7. In the Summary page, review the settings and click Finish to start the mount operation. To change your mount settings, click Back.
   After the operation starts, you can monitor its progress (Recent Tasks) in the Reports window.

   If the mount operation does not complete successfully, investigate possible causes that are based on error messages that are shown in the Task Details pane of the Recent Tasks report.

8. Export (or share) the mounted volumes from the virtual machine:
   1. Go to the Restore window in the Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI.
   2. Click Mount Status in the header.
   3. Select the mount operation that contains the volumes you want to export.
   4. Copy the content in the Network Share pane by using Ctrl + C and send to the user who accesses the mounted volumes to restore the files.
9. Log in to the system where the files will be restored and complete the following step:
   • For Windows operating systems, connect to the Common Internet File System (CIFS) where the files are mounted. Copy the files with a file manager application such as Windows Explorer.
   • For Linux operating systems, connect to the Network File System (NFS) where the files are mounted. Copy the files with a file manager application.