Systems and methods to process block-level backup for selective file restoration for virtual machines
A data storage system protects virtual machines using block-level backup operations and restores the data at a file level. The system accesses the virtual machine file information from the file allocation table of the host system underlying the virtualization layer. A file index associates this virtual machine file information with the related protected blocks in a secondary storage device during the block-level backup. Using the file index, the system can identify the specific blocks in the secondary storage device associated with a selected restore file. As a result, file level granularity for restore operations is possible for virtual machine data protected by block-level backup operations without restoring more than the selected file blocks from the block-level backup data.
1. A method to restore a selected file from block-level data protection of virtual machine files without restoring blocks of data associated with other than the selected file in a data management system, the method comprising:
receiving, with a storage manager in a first computing device comprising computer hardware, an indication of a selected virtual file to restore from a file level table of virtual files associated with a virtual machine backed up by a block-level data protection operation, wherein the virtual machine is associated with a media agent and a host operating system of a host computing device having a file allocation table (FAT) comprising file information of the virtual files in an information store associated with the virtual machine;
using, with the media agent, a file index to locate transferred blocks of data in a secondary storage device that comprise at least a portion of the selected virtual file, the file index comprising file information for blocks of data transferred from the virtual machine to the secondary storage device during the block-level data protection operation, the file information comprising a location of the selected virtual file within the information store and obtained from the FAT of the host operating system during the block-level data protection operation;
automatically restoring, with the media agent, one or more transferred blocks of data in the secondary storage device that are associated with the at least the portion of the selected virtual file without restoring transferred blocks of data associated with other than the selected virtual file to create restored blocks of data;
using the file index to locate the at least the portion of the selected virtual file in the restored one or more blocks of data, automatically recreating, with the media agent, the selected virtual file from the restored one or more blocks of data to create a recreated file; and
automatically presenting, with the storage manager, the recreated file on a graphical user interface (GUI).
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the file information comprises, for each virtual file, a linked list of one or more clusters across which the virtual file is stored on the information store.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the file information comprises metadata.
4. The method of claim 1 further comprising instructing, with the storage manager, the media agent to identify, in the file index, the one or more blocks of data in the secondary storage device associated with the selected virtual file.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the file level table comprises names of the virtual files and the indication comprises the name of the selected virtual file.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the file level table comprises a listing of protected versions of each virtual file and a date of each protected version, and the indication comprises the date of the protected version of the selected virtual file.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the media agent comprises a media agent index, and the file index is associated with the media agent index.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein the media agent comprises a media agent index which incorporates the file index.
9. A system to restore a selected file from block-level data protection of virtual files without restoring blocks of data associated with other than the selected file in a data management system, the system comprising:
a storage manager in a first computing device comprising computer hardware configured to receive an indication of a selected virtual file to restore from a file level table of virtual files associated with a virtual machine backed up by a block-level data protection operation, wherein the virtual machine is associated with a media agent and a host operating system of a host computing device having a file allocation table (FAT) comprising file information of the virtual files in an information store associated with the virtual machine;
the media agent configured to use a file index to locate transferred blocks of data in the secondary storage device that comprise at least a portion of the selected virtual file, the file index comprising file information for blocks of data transferred from the virtual machine to a secondary storage device during the block-level data protection operation, the file information comprising a location of the selected virtual file within the information store and obtained from the FAT during the block-level data protection operation;
the media agent further configured to automatically restore one or more transferred blocks of data in the secondary storage device that are associated with the at least the portion of the selected virtual file without restoring transferred blocks of data associated with other than the selected virtual file to create restored blocks of data,
the media agent, using the file index to locate the at least the portion of the selected virtual file in the restored one or more blocks of data, further configured to automatically recreate the selected virtual file from the restored one or more blocks of data to create a recreated file; and
the storage manager further configured to automatically present the recreated file on a graphical user interface (GUI).
10. The system of claim 9 wherein the file information comprises, for each virtual file, a linked list of one or more clusters across which the virtual file is stored on the information store.
11. The system of claim 9 wherein the file information comprises metadata.
12. The system of claim 9 wherein the storage manager instructs the media agent to identify, in the file index, the one or more blocks of data in the secondary storage device associated with the selected virtual file.
13. The system of claim 9 wherein the file level table comprises names of the virtual files and the indication comprises the name of the selected virtual file.
14. The system of claim 9 wherein the file level table comprises a listing of protected versions of each virtual file and a date of each protected version, and the indication comprises the date of the protected version of the selected virtual file.
15. The system of claim 9 wherein the media agent comprises a media agent index, and the file index is associated with the media agent index.
16. The system of claim 9 wherein the media agent comprises a media agent index which incorporates the file index.