Media Explorer for Disaster Recovery - How To

Topics | How To

Determine Required Archive Files for Data Recovery

Catalog the Media

Use Media Explorer to Recover a Disaster Recovery Backup

Determine Required Archive Files for Data Recovery

Required Capability: none

To determine which archive files are needed to complete a data recovery:

  1. Determine the time for which you want to recover the data. This is based on your decision to recover either the latest set of data as in the case of a hardware failure or to a earlier time as in the case of a database or software corruption that was captured by more recent data protection operations.
  2. Once you have determined the recovery time, determine the number of subclients that will be required in the recovery.

    If the data being recovered is of File System type and only part of the data is required or the entire Database application was secured by a data protection operation of the default subclient, then the number of subclients required can be as few as one.

    If the entire File System is required or the data being recovered is a database application, then most likely all subclients that contained any part of this application will be required.

    This identification process is greatly facilitated if you had run Media Information and CommCell Configuration reports while the CommServe was still available, and have those reports available as reference materials.
  3. Catalog all the required media using Media Explorer, and view the archive files in the Archive File Catalog Database pane. To determine the number of subclients that exist, sort by clients and examine the number of unique application IDs per client.
  4. Once you have determined the time of the recovery and the number of subclients that are required, using the Backup Time column, select the first Full data protection operation prior to the desired recovery time.
  5. Continue selecting each non-full data protection operation for that subclient until:

    (At which option your stop is dependent upon your particular recovery scenario.)

  6. Step 5 needs to be executed for each subclient that was determined to be part of this client's recovery.
  7. Repeat for each client.

Catalog the Media

Before You Begin

To Catalog the Media using Media Explorer:

  1. From whichever folder you installed Media Explorer, run the MediaExplorer.exe. The Current database file path is created and defaults to the  DrCatalogDb.dat as indicated in the Media Explorer window.
    It is possible to perform a recovery using only the default archive database. However, if recovering large numbers of or many types of archive files makes locating files cumbersome, you can create additional database file paths using the New button.

    The New and Open buttons can be used to start cataloging to a new catalog or to open an existing catalog database. This is useful in situations where you would like to use Media Explorer over multiple sessions and not overwrite previous catalog operations.
  2. Detecting the Media - Selecting the tape or magnetic/optical media option.

    Use the Media Information and CommCell Configuration reports to assist you in determining from which media it will be necessary to restore. If you do not have any reports saved, you will have to manually determine the required media. This involves finding the correct (latest) archive file(s) for backups you want to restore.

    For a locally-attached tape drive/library:

    1. manually load the media into the drive
    2. select the Tape option
    3. click Drive Detect to populate the tape mount paths in this field (i.e., tape0, tape1, tape2, etc., depending on your SCSI settings). The drive shown matches the SCSI ID setting for the device.
    4. select the drive on which it is loaded
    5. identify the Media Type by selecting from the list
    A full DLT 7000 tape will take approximately two hours to catalog. Be certain you have enough disc space on your local computer to accommodate the files.

    For a magnetic volume:

    1. Select the Magnetic/optical option
    2. Browse to or type the drive path for the magnetic volume path. (i.e., F:\, where F is the drive which holds the magnetic volume)
    3. Directly beneath CV_magnetic folder, select the volume folder in which the archive files (AF_nnn) reside, and click OK to continue.
    The CV_MAGNETIC  folder structure represents the top level of the magnetic mount path.

    The V_nn folder represents a volume which is equivalent to a storage policy copy.

    The AF_nnn folders represent the individual archive files within a volume. Each backup creates one or more archive files, depending on the iDataAgent.
    1. If the magnetic volume to be cataloged belongs to a de-duplicated library, check the De-Duplicated Data checkbox.

    For an optical volume:

    1. Select the Magnetic/optical option.
    2. Provide the root drive of the optical media in the volume path.
  3. Click Catalog Jobs. The catalog operation reads the media for archive file information and displays it in the Archive File Catalog Database pane.
  4. You may be asked to provide a media password. Type the password and click OK. If you do not know the media password, contact your software provider for assistance.
  5. If data was encrypted using a pass-phrase, you are prompted to enter the pass-phrase used at the time of the data protection operation.
  6. The status bar reflects the cataloging process as it is occurring. A message appears when cataloging is complete. Click OK. You can check for details in the DrRecovery.log located in the local Media Explorer folder.
    An archive file will sometimes span across several tapes during the course of normal backups. In this case when a catalog operation is run on the first media, the information on the second media may not appear to have been cataloged. However, when you perform a recovery from the first tape, Media Explorer asks you to load the second tape manually to continue the recovery.
  7. For multiple tapes, return to Step 2 and continue cataloging all media to be used in the restore.

Post Catalog Check

Recovering Data that Span Media

In some cases, a data protection operation will start on one media and complete on another. This we refer to as a spanned job . At most there can be one spanned job per any given media.

If after cataloging a media you see an archive file for which the Catalog column does not display Found All and the Catalog State column displays Partial, this indicates the archive file is spanned to another media. In this case, you need to locate that other media and catalog it as well. Once the last media that contains the spanned archive has been reached, you will be prompted to reinsert all the media (starting with the first) necessary to finish the cataloging process for the spanned job.

Once all media has been successfully cataloged, the Catalog column should display Found All and the Catalog State column should display Complete, and the recovery may take place like any other recovery. During the recovery of this archive file, you will be prompted to insert the media as required to complete the recovery.

Media Explorer stores cataloged media information in its database on your local hard drive for future reference. Once your files have been cataloged, you can go back and obtain this information without running the catalog operation again. To have the information available on another computer, however, you would need to run a catalog on that computer.

Using the Chunk Details Window

You can click View Chunks from the File menu to display the Chunk Details window. This window provides Media Explorer database details that may be helpful to you.

Use Media Explorer to Recover a Disaster Recovery Backup

After cataloging your media, you are ready to select the appropriate archive file entry to recover from your media.

Before You Begin

To Recover a CommServe using Media Explorer

  1. From the Display data corresponding to list, select Express Recovery. This filters the data in the catalog pane to show only the desired archive files, and instructs Media Explorer which application's rules to enforce.
  2. For a Disaster Recovery backup restore operation, select the archive file entry from the Catalog database pane for the latest Full data protection operation.
    In the Catalog Database pane:
    • Use File Name to determine the entry type
    • Use the Level information to determine backup types.
    • Use the JOB ID and Backup Time information to determine chronology.
    • Scroll right to use the App ID column to determine subclient identity.
  3. Click Restore Files.
  4. Select out-of-place restore and type in or browse the path to which you want to recover. (Disaster Recovery backup recoveries always require out-of-place restores.) You need write privileges for the destination folder for a remote computer. Click OK to continue.
  5. If data was encrypted using a pass-phrase, you are prompted to enter the pass-phrase used at the time of the data protection operation.
  6. You may be prompted to type the media password. Enter the password and click OK.
    If you do not know the media password, contact your software provider for assistance.
  7. The status bar indicates which files Media Explorer is restoring. While the data recovery operation is in progress, if the data crosses to a new tape, you may see the message:

    Insert volume with BarCode number and then click OK to continue.

    The archive file entry you selected, is recovered to the designated location.

  8. When the data recovery is done, click OK to the Restore completed successfully message.
    A file space shortage will cause the data recovery operation to fail. For information on the failure, you can go to the DrRecovery.log file which is located in the local folder containing the MediaExplorer.exe. After fixing your space problem, you can simply start over. You do not have to clear the environment.

This completes the Media Explorer data recovery operation. The files are now available and can be moved to the CommServe.

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