Restore

Restoring a Hyper-V Guest VM

There are three major types of restore options, mainly:

Run Direct Restore
Non-Run Direct Restore
Granular Restore

Run Direct Restore

Run Direct Restore
Type 1 - Original Hyper-V Host
Start up a guest VM from Backup Destination without Auto Migration Enabled - The guest VM data will not migrate to the destination until you manually trigger this action by following the steps in Migrate Virtual Machine (Permanently Restore). If manual migration is not performed, any changes made during the Run Direct instance will NOT be committed to backup files. Start up a guest VM from Backup Destination with Auto Migration Enabled - To start up the guest VM directly from the backup file and then start restoring the guest VM files to the Hyper-V server. VM guest will start migrating without the need to trigger a manual migration. Any changes made during the Run Direct instance will also be committed to the Hyper-V server as well.
Type 2 - Different (Standby) Hyper-V Host
Run Direct restore guest VM to a standby Hyper-V host is supported. This restore option allows you to restore your backed up guest VM to another Hyper-V host, for example, if your original Hyper-V host is down and you need to restore your production guest VMs to a standby Hyper-V host. Start up a guest VM from Backup Destination without Auto Migration Enabled - The guest VM data will not migrate to the destination until you manually trigger this action by following the steps in Migrate Virtual Machine (Permanently Restore). If manual migration is not performed, any changes made during the Run Direct instance will NOT be committed to backup files. Start up a guest VM from Backup Destination with Auto Migration Enabled - To start up the guest VM directly from the backup file and then start restoring the guest VM files to the Hyper-V server. VM data will start migrating without the need to trigger a manual migration. Any changes made during the Run Direct instance will also be committed to the Hyper-V server as well.

Non-Run Direct Restore

Non-Run Direct Restore
Type 1 - Original Hyper-V Host
Restore of a Guest VM to the Original Hyper-V Host (Original Location) - This option will restore guest VM to original location which contains the backed up guest VM. Restore of a Guest VM to the Original Hyper-V Host (Alternate Location) - - This feature will restore any guest VM to another location (a different disk or folder) on the same Hyper-V host.
Type 2 - Different (Standby) Hyper-V Host
Restore of a Guest VM to a different (Standby) Hyper-V Host - This restore option allows you to restore your backed up guest VM to another Hyper-V host, for example: if your original Hyper-V host is down and you need to restore your production guest VM’s to a standby Hyper-V host.
Type 3 - Individual Virtual Disk Restore
Restore of an Individual Virtual Disk to Original/Different Guest VM - The Restore raw file feature is used to the restore of an individual virtual disk to the original or a different guest VM.

Granular Restore

Granular Restore
AhsayOBM makes use of Granular Restore technology to enable a file level restore from a virtual disk file (VHD) of guest VM backup possible. It is particularly useful if you only need to restore individual file(s) from a guest VM, which would normally take a long time to restore and then boot up before you can gain access to the files on the virtual disks. Granular restore gives you a fast and convenient way to recover individual files on a guest VM. For more details about Granular Restore, refer to the Granular Restore section.

AhsayOBM makes use of Granular Restore technology to enable a file level restore from a virtual disk file (VHD) of guest VM backup possible. It is particularly useful if you only need to restore individual file(s) from a guest VM, which would normally take a long time to restore and then boot up before you can gain access to the files on the virtual disks. Granular restore gives you a fast and convenient way to recover individual files on a guest VM.

For more details about Granular Restore, refer to the Granular Restore section.

Restore of a guest VM to a different (standby) allows you to restore your backed up guest VM to another Hyper-V host, for example if your original Hyper-V host is down and you need to restore your production guest VM’s to a standby Hyper-V host.

Restoring a Hyper-V Guest VM

In the AhsayOBM main interface, click the Restore icon.
Select the backup set that you would like to restore the guest VM from.
Select the storage destination that contains the Hyper-V guest VM that you would like to restore.

You may configure the “Temporary directory for storing restore files” by clicking Show advanced option. This will allow you to select the directory that will be used to store temporary files by clicking the Browse button.
Select the “Restore mode”, which will determine the type of restore that will be done.
- For Non-Run Direct, Run Direct and Individual Virtual Disk Restore, select Restore virtual machines.
- While for Granular Restore, select Restore individual files inside virtual machine (Granular Restore).
  
  The “Mount virtual disks automatically” option is selected by default. If the guest VM contains multiple virtual disks and you only require the restore of files from a single or certain virtual disk(s), then unselect this option to speed up the virtual disk mounting. Otherwise, Granular Restore will connect and mount all available virtual disks and this process could take longer.
  
  Click Show advanced option to select the "Read timeout limit"
  
  This selection defines the duration when the Granular Restore session will be disconnected if there is no response from the mounted VM.
  - Default - this setting should be suitable for guest VMs located on a local, removable or network drive. The time out value is 15 seconds.
  - Unlimited - the connection will not time out when this is selected. This selection is recommended when:
    - Backup destination is a cloud storage.
    - AhsayCBS over the Internet.
    - A large guest VM or guest VM with a large incremental delta chain.
      
      If in doubt or unsure about the guest VM size or network stability, it is recommended to use Unlimited.
Click Next to proceed when you are done with the selection.

This screen will only be displayed if “Granular Restore” was enabled upon backup set creation.
FOR GRANULAR RESTORE ONLY: The following screen will only be displayed if Granular Restore is performed on the machine for the first time. Make sure you click Yes to confirm mounting of the virtual disk on this machine. Clicking No will exit the restore process.
Select to restore the Hyper-V guest from a specific backup job then select the files or folders that you would like to restore. Click Next to proceed.

To do an Individual Virtual Disk Restore, tick the Restore raw file checkbox.
The next screen that will be displayed depends on the type of restore to be done.
Non-Run Direct and Run Direct Restore
1. You can select to restore the Hyper-V guest VM to the Original location or an Alternate location.
  1. Original location - the Hyper-V guest VM will be restored to the same directory path which stores the backup source on the original Hyper-V host.
  2. Alternate location - – the Hyper-V guest VM will be restored to a different directory path on the original Hyper-V host.
    
    Click Next to proceed.
    
    The following values are needed to be updated:
    1. Virtual Machine Name
    2. Virtual Machines Directory Location (guest configuration files)
    3. Virtual Hard Disk Location (new location for the guest VHD files)
  For restore to an alternate Hyper-V Host with a different CPU architecture, the latest version of AhsayOBM client application must be installed.
2. You can configure the type of restore to be done whether it is Non-Run Direct or Run Direct by ticking/unticking the Run Direct checkbox.
  
  The “Run Direct” checkbox will only be displayed if the “Run Direct” feature was enabled upon backup set creation.
3. The option “Auto migrate after Run Direct is running” will only be available once “Run Direct” is ticked.
4. To configure other restore settings, click Show advanced option.
  
  When “Verify checksum of in-file delta files during restore” is enabled, this will verify the checksum of in-file delta files and will make the restore process time longer. It is recommended to enable the feature only if you want to verify if the merged files were correct.
5. Click Restore to start the restoration.
6. If the guest VM selected to be restored already exists on the Hyper-V server, AhsayOBM will prompt to confirm overwriting of the existing guest VM.
  - Yes - the existing guest VM will be deleted from the Hyper-V server before the restore process starts.
  - No - the restore of the current guest VM will be skipped.
7. After the Hyper-V guest VM has been restored, you will see the following screen.
8. Go to the Hyper-V server and open the Hyper-V Manager to verify the guest VM has been restored and is powered off.
9. Power on the guest VM and verify if it is running correctly.
  
  Example: WIN_restored
10. FOR RUN DIRECT RESTORE ONLY: COntinue to the next section for instructions on how to:
  - Migrate Virtual Machine (Permanently Restore)
  - Stop Run Direct Virtual Machine
  Migrate Virtual Machine (Permanently Restore)
  
  To permanently restore the guest VM after starting up using the Run Direct option, you will still need to migrate it to from the backup destination to the designated permanent location on the Hyper-V server using the Migrate Virtual Machine option. This process can be performed even when the VM is already running.
  1. After starting up the VM from the backup destination, click Close.
  2. Click on Manage Run Direct virtual machines.
  3. Click on the guest VM.
  4. To permanently retore the guest VM, click on Migrate Virtual Machine.
  AhsayOBM will begin migration of the guest VM from the backup destination to the Hyper-V Server.
  
  The guest VM can be used during the migration process. Any changes made in the guest VM environment is saved in transaction logs and will be applied when the migration process is completed.
  
  When finalizing the restore, during the application of changes in transaction logs with the restored guest VM, the guest VM will be put into saved state temporarily. Once the changes have been applied, the guest VM will resume.
  
  Stop Run Direct Virtual Machine
  
  You can stop running guest VMs started up using Run Direct by either:
  - Quitting AhsayOBM
  - Click on the Stop Run Direct button.
  - When the Auto Migrate option is selected, there will be no Stop Run Direct option available. As once the auto migration is completed, the guest VM will have been fully restored to the HyperV Host and will be running and managed under the Hyper-V Host environment. Therefore, the Run Direct VM instance will no longer exist as a result.
  - The "Stop Run Direct" link is only present if you run a Run Direct restore without auto migrate selected.
  - When a guest VM started in a Run Direct instance is stopped, any changes made within the guest environment will be lost, if the guest VM is not migrated to the Hyper-V Server using the “Auto migrate after Run Direct is running” option.
Individual Virtual Disk Restore

The “Restore raw file” feature is used for the restore of an individual virtual disk to the original or a different guest VM.
1. Click Browse to select the location on the Hyper-V server you want to restore the virtual disk to.
2. Select the path then click OK.
3. Click Restore, then wait for the restoration to finish.
4. In Hyper-V Manager, right click on the guest VM you wish to add the virtual disk to, then click Settings.
5. Select Add to add virtual disk to the guest VM.
6. Click Browse to choose the vhd file.
7. Select the folder where the restore virtual disk is located.
8. After the virtual disk is added. Start the guest VM to confirm. Depending on the guest operating system there may be other configuration settings to be completed before the disk is available.
Granular Restore
1. Specify the drive where you wish the mounted image to be mapped on your machine.
2. When the virtual disk(s) are in the process of being prepared for mounting on the AhsayOBM machine, you will see the following screen.
3. If the “Mount virtual disks automatically” option is unselected, then click on the disk icon to mount the virtual disk you wish to restore files from.
  
  Otherwise, the virtual disks will be automatically mounted.
  
  The volume name of the virtual disk will be displayed when mounted to make it easier for users to identify where the files to be restored are located. However, if the volume has no specified name, then the volume number will be displayed instead e.g. Volume2.
  
  Please wait as the process could take some time depending on the size of the virtual disk, network bandwidth, and storage location
4. There are two options to restore individual files from here:
  - Option 1: Restore using AhsayOBM File Explorer
  - Option 2: Restore using Windows File Explorer
  Option 1: Restore using AhsayOBM File Explorer
  
  This method allows you to use the file explorer in AhsayOBM to browse through the files from the mounted virtual disk and select files you wish to restore.
  1. Click on the folder icon to browse the files in the mounted virtual disk. If there are multiple volumes in the guest VM, you can only select one volume at a time to restore individual files.
    
    You will then see a file explorer menu as shown below. Select the file(s) you wish to restore, then click Next to proceed.
    
    Some system folder(s) / file(s) generated (e.g. System Volume Information) are only shown in the AhsayOBM File Explorer and will not be restored, therefore, those folder(s) / file(s) will not be shown in the mapped drive shown in step d below.
  2. Select a path where you wish the files to be restored, then click Restore.
  3. The following screen shows when the selected files have been restored to the defined destination.
  4. Open the defined restore path and you should be able to see the files restored there.
  Option 2: Restore using Windows File Explorer
  
  This method allows you to browse through the files from the mounted virtual disk through the file explorer on the machine where you have AhsayOBM installed on.
  Granular restore of Hyper-V backup sets performed using Windows File Explorer:
  1. Will not show up on the Restore Status tab in Live Activities of the backup service provider AhsayCBS.
  2. Will not generate restore reports on backup service provider AhsayCBS.
  3. Will not generate restore log on AhsayOBM.
  1. Click the icon beside the folder icon then you will be prompted to select a driver letter where you wish the mounted image to be mapped on your machine, click OK when you have finished selecting.
  2. The selected drive letter will be mapped and prompted in the Windows Files Explorer with the files you wish to restore shown.
  3. You can now click on the files to view them directly from here, which will be in read-only mode, or copy them to your local machine.
  4. The mounted drive letter cannot be ejected from the Windows File Explorer, it will only be closed when you exit AhsayOBM.
  5. When you have finished restoring the necessary files, you can go back to AhsayOBM and click on Cancel.
  6. Click on Stop the granular restore and unmount the virtual disk(s).
    
    Due to the limitation of the virtual file system library, the mounted virtual disks will only be unmounted from your machine when you exit AhsayOBM.