Performing File-Level Recovery

In case a disaster strikes, you can recover corrupted or missing files of an Azure VM from a cloud-native snapshot or image-level backup.

You can recover files and folders from the following file systems only:

• Microsoft Windows systems — FAT, FAT32, NTFS.
• Linux systems — ext2, ext3, ext4, XFS, Btrfs.

Veeam Backup for Microsoft Azure supports file-level restore only for Microsoft Windows basic volumes.

How File-Level Recovery Works

To recover files and folders of a backed-up Azure VM, Veeam Backup for Microsoft Azure performs the following steps:

1. Launches a worker instance in either of the following Azure regions:

• To restore files and folders from a cloud-native snapshot, the worker instance is launched in the region where the source Azure VM resides.
• To restore files and folders from an image-level backup, the worker instance is launched in the region where the target storage bucket resides.

2. Attaches virtual disks of the Azure VM to the worker instance.

The disks are not physically extracted from the backup — Veeam Backup for Microsoft Azure emulates their presence on the worker instance. The source backup itself remains in the read-only state.

3. Launches the File Level Recovery for Veeam Backup browser.

The File Level Recovery for Veeam Backup browser displays the file system tree of the backed-up Azure VM. In the browser, you select the necessary files and folders to restore.

4. Saves the selected files and folders to the local machine.
5. Detaches the virtual disks from the worker instance.
6. Removes the worker instance from the Microsoft Azure environment.

How to Perform File-Level Recovery

To perform a file-level recovery, do the following:

1. Launch the File-Level Recovery wizard.
2. Select a restore point.
3. Specify a restore reason.
4. Start a restore session.
5. Download the restored files and folders.
6. Stop the recovery session.