Restore Overview

In the restore process, you can choose to restore a single file, folder, or all files and directories from a specific path. The ZMC control plane uses a 4 step process to guide you into the restore journey, and it starts with signing into the ZMC control plane, entering the restore tab, and selecting the backup set from the top right.

The backup set you selected decides the medium used for the restore. If you backup server A to a disk via backup set X and to the cloud via backup set Y, select backup set X to use the disk as the restore medium.

Sample backup configuration, where you chose to restore from Backup set X as disk offers lower latency and thus a faster restore window.

The restore time will depend on how many incremental backups exist between the restore point and the nearest full backup. For Zmanda to efficiently expedite the creation of the restore image, please ensure there is sufficient space in the staging disk.

Zmanda splits the restoration process into four guided steps(what, where, how and now), each highlighted below.

Restore What

The first step in the restore process where you identify what file/directory you want to restore.

Restore To (on or before): The datestamp at which the restore should happen, entered in YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS format. ZMC control plane will find the nearest backup image captured on or before the datestamp as the restore point. If the closest restore point is an incremental backup, ZMC will select all incremental backups until the last full backup to build a restore image.

Restore Device: The storage set from which the restore image is being built. It's auto-selected by ZMC, as each backup set is linked to only one storage set.

Media Explored: The disk label identified by Zmanda that contains the needed files to build the restore image.

Host Name: In a backup set, multiple sources are backed up. You define which source ZMC should consider using as the restore source.

Alias/Directory/Path: The absolute path of the folder/directory within the source, which we are trying to restore. Using the edit icon to its right, you can browse the version history of the file/folder.

Restore Preference: This lets you select if you want to restore the entire directory or search for a specific file inside the directory tree.

Restore Where

The second step in the restore process is where you define where Zmanda should create the restored file/folder.

DLE/Object Type: Non-editable field identifying the OS from which Zmanda took the backup. This field pairs with the Destination Host Type, which helps you determine which destinations a restore would be possible. In the screenshot above, ZMC indicates that you can only restore the data from Linux to Linux/Unix/Mac/Solaris file systems.

Original Host: Non-editable field identifies the source machine.

Original Directory: Non-editable field, indicating which file/directory is being restored.

Destination Host Type: ZMC control plane labels the systems on which you can perform the restore. ZMC defines the host types based on the cross-compatibility of the file systems. For example, you can only restore Linux backups on ext4-type file systems like Linux/Unix/Mac/Solaris, displayed here.

Destination Host Name: The IP address of the destination system where you would like the restore to occur.

Destination Host Location: The absolute path on the destination system where you would want to restore files to be loaded.

Destination Type: Toggle to select where ZMC should create the restore files. The default option is Destination Directory, indicating that Zmanda should create the restored files at the absolute path specified in the destination host location**.** If you select Original Location, it will load the files to the original file path on the source, except to the destination host specified.

Restore Path: This lets you select if restored files should be converted to a new directory with the timestamp label as the folder name or if you want the entire absolute file path replicated on the destination host.

Temporary Location: Recommend to keep it on auto, as it transfers the files from the storage medium into the holding disk before moving it to the destination host.

Exclude List: You can include all the files or folders to exclude in the restore. Each folder should be entered on a new line, and you can use regex for a broader selection.

Restore How

The third step in the restore process is where you define the rules for file/folder conflict resolution.

DLE/Object Type: Non-editable field identifying the OS from which Zmanda took the backup.

Destination Host: The IP address of the destination system where you would like the restore to occur.

Destination Location: The absolute path on the destination system where you would want to restore files to be loaded.

Directory Conflicts: This helps you define Zmanda’s behavior when conflicts exist at a directory level.

File Conflicts: This helps you define Zmanda’s behavior when conflicts exist at a file level.

Restore Now

In the final step, ZMC offers you are readout of the restore parameters before you trigger the restore.

Restore Status: This indicates if the restore run has started. If not, a green play button is visible, allowing you to start the restore run.

Restore from Backup Image Of: Offers a readout of the original machine which hosted the data.

Restore to destination: Offers an overview of the machine on which the restore will take place.

Media Needed: Based on the type of data to restore, Zmanda lists out the backup label on which the restores exist to ensure that the corresponding media is kept ready. If a specific restore medium is offline, the restore will fail, and ZMC will notify you.