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How It Works: Mount Operations

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    Starting with v9, Veeam Backup & Replication uses a mount server for mount operations during the restore process. This is a Windows server included in the list of managed servers and assigned a certain role in backup infrastructure: during file-level restore this server mounts VM guest files directly from the backup (kept in the repository) to itself, creating a “mount point” on its file system. As a result, VM guest files appear under C:\veeamflr\<vmname> folder on the mount server and become available for browsing and granular restore.

    The key component of the mount server role is a special service responsible for mount functionality, named Veeam Mount Service. By design, this service is deployed on the following machines:

    • On Veeam backup server
    • On Veeam Backup & Replication standalone console
    • On a managed server when it is assigned the role of a mount server associated with backup repository

    How It Works: Mount Operations Note:

    If you plan to deploy both Veeam Backup & Replication server and standalone console, consider that Veeam Explorer for Microsoft SQL Server will be co-installed with both components.

    Typical usage scenarios for mount operations are as follows:

    • To provide for application item restore, VM backup is initially mounted to the machine where Veeam management console (standalone or co-installed with Veeam backup server) is deployed. This mount operation allows a user to utilize Veeam Explorer for browsing backup content and choosing the files/objects to be restored.
    • After a ‘Restore’ command is initiated (typically, to the original VM running in production environment), selected data will be obtained from the repository using one more mount operation and transferred to target. This helps to decrease traffic between this repository and target VM and speed up recovery in distributed infrastructure.
    • If a user performs application item restore via Enterprise Manager, and VM backup was created with guest indexing enabled, then just one mount operation will be performed, and the same mount point will be used for both browsing and restore. Data will be transferred between mount server and target VM.

    For restore from backups of Microsoft SQL Server VMs, Veeam Backup & Replication creates an additional mount point on the original VM, and, if necessary, on a staging Microsoft SQL Server. Mount to the staging server is used when you perform restore to a specific transaction, or if Veeam Backup & Replication does not have information about databases (for example, if you initiate restore from storage snapshots).

    To create a mount point on Microsoft Windows machines, Veeam Backup & Replication uses the iSCSI protocol. The remote machine (original VM) or staging server acts as an iSCSI initiator. The machine on which the Veeam Explorer runs acts as an iSCSI target. The iSCSI mount point is non-persistent — it is created only for duration of the restore process.