The file search functionality allows the user to search for files and folders located on a chosen VM in a workload in one or more Backups.
The file search tab is part of every workload overview. To reach it follow these steps:
Login to the RHV-Manager
Navigate to the Backup Tab
Identify the workload a file search shall be done in
Click the workload name to enter the Workload overview
Click File Search to enter the file search tab
A file search runs against a single virtual machine for a chosen subset of backups using a provided search string.
To run a file search the following elements need to be decided and configured
Under VM Name/ID choose the VM that the search is done upon. The drop down menu provides a list of all VMs that are part of any Snapshot in the Workload.
VMs that are no longer activly protected by the Workload but are still part of an existing Snapshot are listed in red.
The File Path defines the search string that is run against the chosen VM and Snapshots. This search string does support basic RegEx.
The File Path has to start with a '/'
Windows partitions are fully supported. Each partition is it's own Volume with it's own root. Use '/Windows' instead of 'C:\Windows'
The file search does not go into deeper directories and always searches on the directory provided in the File Path
Example File Path for all files inside /etc : /etc/*
Filter Snapshots by is the third and last component that needs to be set. This defines which Snapshots are going to be searched.
There are 3 possibilities for a pre-filtering:
All Snapshots - Lists all Snapshots that contain the chosen VM from all available Snapshots
Last Snapshots - Choose between last 10, 25, 50, or custom Snapshots and click Apply to get the list of the available Snapshots for the chosen VM that match the criteria.
Date Range - Set a start and end date and click apply to get the list of all available Snapshots for the chosen VM within the set dates.
After the pre-filtering is done choose the Snapshots that shall be searched by clicking their checkbox or by clicking the global checkbox.
When no Snapshot is chosen the file search will not start.
To start a File Search the following elements need to be set:
A VM to search in has to be choosen
A valid File Path provided
At least one Snapshot to search in selected
Once those have been set click "Search" to start the file search.
Do not navigate to any other RHV tab or website after starting the File Search. Results are lost and the search has to be repeated to regain them.
After a short time the results will be presented. The results are presented in a tabular format grouped by Snapshots and Volumes inside the Snapshot.
For each found file or folder the following information are provided:
POSIX permissions
Amount of links pointing to the file or folder
User ID who owns the file or folder
Group ID assigned to the file or folder
Actual size in Bytes of the file or folder
Time of creation
Time of last modification
Time of last access
Full path to the found file or folder
Download File button (for files only)
Once the Snapshot of interest has been identified it is possible to go directly to the Snapshot using the "View Snapshot" option.
It is possible to download files directly from the results of a file search.
Downloading files through the File Search results is limited to files smaller 2GiB.
To download a file from the File Search do a File Search and wait for the results.
On the result overview utilize the download button next to the full path of the found file to start the download procedure.