vStor 4.12 Documentation
  • Welcome to vStor!
  • Introduction
  • Installation
    • Deploying Catalogic vStor on Physical Appliances
    • Deploying Catalogic vStor Virtual Appliance for VMware
    • Deploying Catalogic vStor Virtual Appliance for Microsoft Hyper-V
    • Required Ports for Catalogic vStor
    • Updating Catalogic vStor
  • Quick Start
    • Catalogic vStor for VMware
    • Catalogic vStor for Hyper-V
  • Basic Configuration
    • Initializing vStor
    • Adding Catalogic vStor Node to Catalogic DPX
      • Using vStor API Keys with Catalogic DPX
    • Configuring vStor System Settings
    • Configuring vStor Network Settings
    • Backing up Configuration Settings of Catalogic vStor
    • Restoring Configuration Settings of Catalogic vStor
  • Storage Management
    • Adding Disks
    • Managing Storage Pools
    • Managing Volumes
      • Migrating Volumes
      • Creating Volume Snapshots
      • Using vStor Autosnapshot
    • ZFS Compression and Deduplication
    • Managing Shares
    • Managing Hosts for LUN Volumes
    • Using vStor Snapshot Explorer
  • Data Protection
    • Catalogic vStor Backup and Recovery
    • vStor Partnerships
      • Creating Replication Groups
      • Establishing Cross-Version Partnerships
    • Enabling Volume Encryption
    • Immutability in vStor
    • Using GuardMode Scan
    • Using Remote Keystore
  • Advanced Configuration
    • Using Multipath Storage
    • Managing Certificates
    • Adding Encryption URLs
    • Managing MinIO Buckets
    • Assigning an E-mail to a vStor Account
    • Managing vStor User Accounts
    • Using Multifactor Authentication (MFA)
  • vStor Command Line Interface
    • Catalogic vStor Server CLI Overview
  • Best Practices
    • Hardware Configurations: Best Practices
    • Data Backup: Best Practices
    • Data Archiving: Best Practices
    • Backup Storage: Best Practices
    • Frequently Asked Questions: Best Practices
  • Technical Support
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On this page
  • Mounting Disk Images
  • Viewing and Selecting Snapshots
  • Accessing the Mounted Filesystem
  • Scanning for Potential Threats
  • Restoring Files to Network Share
  • Running Restore to Network Share
  • Unmounting Disk Images
  1. Storage Management

Using vStor Snapshot Explorer

PreviousManaging Hosts for LUN VolumesNextCatalogic vStor Backup and Recovery

Last updated 2 months ago

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

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 and 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

  1. In the navigation menu, click Storage

  2. Click on the name volume of interest to see the detailed view.

  3. Go to the Snapshots tab.

  4. Locate the snapshot containing the disk images you wish to mount.

  5. Hover over the name of the snapshot and click the Mount button. The Mount dialog will open.

  1. Specify the 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>.

  2. The Select images list will contain all compatible .RAW or .VMDK disk images. Select the images you want to mount and confirm your selection.

  1. Depending on the size of the selected volumes, the process may take some time. When the process is finished, click Go to mounted image to browse the file system.

Accessing the Mounted Filesystem

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.

Scanning for Potential Threats

After mounting a filesystem, it is 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:

  1. In the volume view of your mounted filesystem, click on the GuardMode Scan tab.

  2. Click the Scan with GuardMode button to start the scan.

  3. A new tab will open, displaying real-time results of the scan.

Restoring Files to Network Share

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.

Running Restore to Network Share

  2. Navigate to the Mounted File System tab.

  3. Select the files or directories you wish to restore.

  4. Click the Restore to Network Share button.

  5. A dialog titled Restore to Network Share will appear.

  6. 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

  7. 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.

Unmounting Disk Images

To unmount the disk image and remove the mounted volume, simply delete the volume from your volume list.

Warning! Deleting the volume is irreversible. Before proceeding, ensure you no longer need access to 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 .

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

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 .

Mount a disk image as described in the section.

Using GuardMode Scan
Using GuardMode Scan
Using GuardMode Scan
Mounting Disk Images
Agentless Backups for VMware
Bare Metal Recovery (BMR)