Using vStor Snapshot Explorer

Attention! Disks added to the VM using Logical Volume Management (LVM) will not be visible after mounting the snapshot.

Note. This feature is available for vStor 4.11 and higher.

vStor Snapshot Explorer lets you quickly mount RAW or VMDK disk images from your VMware backups to easily browse the filesystem content using vStor UI. This functionality is also compatible with snapshots created by Catalogic DPX's Agentless Backups for VMware and Bare Metal Recovery (BMR) features, providing versatile access to your backed-up data across different DPX backup scenarios.

Attention! vStor Snapshot Explorer does not support the BTRFS (B-tree File System) or ReFS (Resilient File System) file systems.

Mounting Disk Images

Viewing and Selecting Snapshots

In the navigation menu, click Storage
Click on the name volume of interest to see the detailed view.
Go to the Snapshots tab.
Locate the snapshot containing the disk images you wish to mount.
Hover over the name of the snapshot and click the Mount button.

You will see a dialog window. Enter a name for the new mounted volume, or use the default name. The default name for a mounted volume uses the following convention: mount-<volume_name>-<timestamp>.
On the list, you will see all compatible RAW or VMDK disk images, select the images you want to mount and confirm your selection.

Proceed with the mount operation. The process may take some time, depending on the size of the selected volumes.

Accessing the Mounted Filesystem

See also. After mounting your filesystem, you can use the GuardMode Scan feature to check for potential security threats. This scan helps ensure the integrity of your data before a restore. For details, see Using GuardMode Scan.

Upon completion, the interface will redirect you to the volume details screen, featuring a new Mounted File System tab.

Tip. Your mounted snapshot will be visible as a volume in the Volumes table on the Pools screen.

Use this tab to browse the contents of the mounted filesystem.

Tip. This functionality is particularly useful for quickly accessing and reviewing backup data without the need for full restoration.

To download specific files or directories, click the checkbox next to them and click the Download button.

Your selected files will be downloaded as a zip archive, mirroring the directory structure of the machine.

Warning! Single file downloads may be limited to 2GB due to browser restrictions. For files exceeding this size, utilize the multi-file selection feature to initiate a zip archive download, which bypasses this limitation.

Scanning for Potential Threats

After mounting a filesystem, it's crucial to ensure the integrity of your data before proceeding with any restore operations. vStor Snapshot Explorer offers a powerful feature called GuardMode Scan to scan for potential ransomware infections or data encryption. To initiate a GuardMode scan:

In the volume view of your mounted filesystem, click on the GuardMode Scan tab.
Click the Scan with GuardMode button to start the scan.
A new tab will open, displaying real-time results of the scan.

See also. For detailed information on using this feature, as well as interpreting and acting on scan results, see Using GuardMode Scan.

See also. Before restoring files to a network share, it's highly recommended to perform a GuardMode scan on the mounted filesystem. This ensures that you're not inadvertently restoring compromised or encrypted data For details, see Using GuardMode Scan.

vStor Snapshot Explorer lets you restore selected partitions, directories, or files directly to a network share instead of downloading them to your local machine. This functionality provides a more efficient way to restore large amounts of data or to restore files to a specific network location.

Tip. Ensure you have the correct permissions to write to the specified network share before initiating the restore process.

For large restores, consider the available space on the network share and the time it may take to complete the operation.

Mount a disk image as described in the Mounting Disk Images section.
Navigate to the Mounted File System tab.
Select the files or directories you wish to restore.
Click the Restore to Network Share button.
A dialog titled Restore to Network Share will appear.
In this dialog, you need to provide the following information:
1. SMB/CIFS Details:
  - Hostname or IP address of the network share
  - Path to the shared folder (must start with a slash or backslash, e.g., "/shared_folder" or "\shared_folder")
2. SMB/CIFS Credentials:
  - Username
  - Password
After entering the required information, confirm your selection.

Once you've provided the necessary details and confirmed, vStor Snapshot Explorer will begin the restoration process. The selected files will be restored to the specified network share, maintaining the original directory structure of the machine.