Restore

File Backup Restore

AhsayOBM supports two restore methods for File Backup Sets:

• Traditional restore

  restores the entire compressed file or image file. Backed up data can only be accessed when complete restore is performed.

• OpenDirect restore

  allows you to quickly access individual files from a large compressed or image file by viewing and/or copying files from the file explorer on the Windows you are performing the restore, without having to fully restore the whole compressed or image file first. Applies only to File backup sets with OpenDirect feature enabled.

Here's a comparison between Traditional and OpenDirect restore:

For more information regarding OpenDirect restore, please refer to the Appendix section.

Traditional Restore

1. Click the Restore icon on the AhsayOBM main interface.

   

2. All the available backup sets for restore will be listed. Select the backup set that you would like to restore data from.

   

3. Select the destination where you would like to restore your data from.

   

   You may select 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 restore files by clicking the Browse button.

   

4. Select Normal restore. Click Next to proceed.

   

5. Select to restore files from a specific backup job, or from all files available, then select the files or folders that you would like to restore.

   

   For more details on how to use the Search function, please refer to Restore Filter.

   There are two options from the "Select what to restore" dropdown menu:

   • Choose from files as of job

     This option allows you to select a backup version from a specific date and time to restore.

   • Choose from ALL files

     This option allows you to restore all the available backup versions for this backup set. Among all the available backup versions, you can even select only some of the backup versions of a file to restore.

     

     The following is an example showing all the available backup versions of the file “File1.txt”. The latest version is shown in solid black color and all the previous versions are shown in grey color. You can identify the file version from the “Date modified” column.

     

     When the restore is done, you will see all the selected backup versions in the restore destination. The latest backup version has the file name as the original file, while the previous versions have the time stamps added to their file names for easy identification.

   Click Next to proceed when you are done with the selections.

6. Select to restore the files to their Original location, or to an Alternate location. Then, click Next to proceed.

   • Original location

     The backed up data will be restored to the computer running AhsayOBM under the same directory path as on the machine storing the backup source.

     For example, if the backup source files are stored under the Users/[User’s Name]/Downloads folder, the data will be restored to the Users/[User’s Name]/Downloads folder as well on the computer running AhsayOBM.

     

   • Alternate location

     You can choose to restore the data to a location of your choice on the computer where AhsayOBM is running or to a network drive.

     • To restore to a location of your choice on the computer where AhsayOBM is running, click Browse. Select the location and click OK.

       

     • To restore a network drive, enter the network address where you want the backup files to be restored.

       

       Tick the box beside This share requires access credentials if the network drive was set up with password. Enter the “User name” and “Password”.

   • Click Show advanced option to configure other restore settings:

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     Restore File Permissions

     Restore file permissions is disabled by default. When you perform a file restore on shared files or folders using a shared computer, it is recommended that you enable Restore file permissions by ticking the checkbox so that the files restored will not be fully accessible to everyone using the shared computer.

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     Delete Unmatched Data in Restore Location

     By enabling this option, the restore process will attempt to synchronize the selected restore source with the restore destination, making sure the data in the restore destination is the same as the restore source. Any data created after backup will be treated as “unmatched data” and will be deleted from the restore source if this feature is enabled.

     Example:

     • Two files are created under the Document folder 01, namely “doc_1” and “doc_2”.

       

     • A backup is performed for folder Document folder 01.

     • Two new files are created, namely "doc_3" and "doc_4".

       

     • A restore is performed for the Document folder 01, with "Delete unmatched data in restore location" option enabled.

     • Since "doc_3" and "doc_4" have never been backed up, therefore they will be deleted from Document folder 01, leaving only the two files that have been backed up.

       

     Please exercise extra caution when enabling this feature. Consider what data in the restore source has not been backed up and what impact it would cause if those data were deleted. Prior to the data restore and synchronization, a warning message will be displayed. Only clicking Yes will the “unmatched data” be deleted. You can click Apply to all to confirm deleting all the “unmatched data” at a time.

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     Verify Checksum of In-File Delta Files During Restore

     Verify checksum of in-file delta files during restore is enabled by default. When you perform restore for non-RunDirect backup set, you can enable the feature by ticking the checkbox so that the checksum of in-file delta files will be verified. As the feature will make the restore process time longer, it is recommended to enable the feature only if you want to verify if the merged file were correct.

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7. Click the Restore button to start the restore job.

   

8. The following screen will be displayed to indicate that the restore job is successfully completed. You may click the icon to the right of the progress bar to check the restore log.

   

9. Once you are done with checking the restore log, click the Close button to return to the previous screen.

   

OpenDirect Restore

This restore method applies to backup sets created with OpenDirect restore enabled only.

1. Click the Restore icon on the AhsayOBM main interface.

2. All the available backup sets for restore will be listed. Select the backup set that you would like to restore data from.

   

3. Select where you would like to restore your data from.

   

   You may select 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 restore files by clicking the Browse button.

4. Select Open backup data directly without restoration (OpenDirect).

   

   You may select the "Read timeout limit" by clicking Show advanced option.

   This selection defines the duration when the OpenDirect restore session will be disconnected if there is no response from the mounted compressed or image file.

   • Default

     This setting should be suitable for compressed or image file located on a local, removable, or network drive. The time out value is 15 seconds.

   • Unlimited

     the connection will not be time out when this is selected. This selection is recommended under the following usage:

     • Backup destination is a cloud storage.

     • AhsayCBS over the internet.

     • A large compressed or image file with large incremental delta chain.

     If in doubt or unsure about the compressed or image file size or network stability, it is recommended to use Unlimited

   Click Next to proceed when you are done with the selection.

5. The following screen will be displayed when you perform OpenDirect restore for this backup set on this machine for the first time only. Make sure you click Install to install the virtual file system driver on this machine. Clicking No will not let you continue the restore process.

6. Select to restore files from a specific backup job, or from all files available, then select the files or folders that you would like to restore. Click Next to continue.

   

7. You will be prompted to select drive letter where you wish the mounted files to be mapped on your machine, click OK when you have finished selection.

8. The selected drive letter will be mapped and prompted in the Windows Files Explorer with the files you wish to restore shown.

9. You can now click on the files to view them directly from here, which will be in read-only mode.

   If it is a zipped file, you can directly click on it to see all the individual files inside.

   You may also copy individual file(s) you wish to restore to your local machine.

10. The mounted drive letter cannot be ejected from the Windows File Explorer, it will only be closed when you exit AhsayOBM.

11. When you have finished restoring the necessary files, you can go back to AhsayOBM and click Cancel to exit the OpenDirect Restore.

    

    Then click Stop the OpenDirect in the confirmation message.

    • As a result of the limitation of the virtual file system library, the mapped drive will only be unmounted from your machine when you exit AhsayOBM. In other words, each OpenDirect restore session on AhsayOBM can only mount and unmount once.
    • OpenDirect restore of file backup sets:
      • Will not show up on the Restore Status tab in Live Activities of the backup service provider AhsayCBS. Restore Status tab in Live Activities only applies to the restore performed directly through AhsayOBM.
      • Will not generate restore reports or report email on backup service provider AhsayCBS.
      • Will not generate restore log on AhsayOBM.