Re: [PVE-User] Proxmox Backup Server (beta)

[Thomas Lamprecht <t.lamprecht@proxmox.com>]

On 15.07.20 23:36, Daniel Bayerdorffer wrote:
>>>
>>> Is it possible to read files inside a vm backup, without restoring it first ?
>>> (Don't have check vma format recently, but I think it was not possible because of out of orders blocks)
>>
>> There's support for block and file level backup, CTs are using a file level
>> backup, you can then even browse the backup on the server (if it's not encrypted)
>>
>> As said, there's a block backend driver for it in QEMU, Stefan made it with
>> Dietmar's libproxmox-backup-qemu0 library. So you should be able to get a backup
>> as block device over NBD and mount it, I guess. (did not tried that yet fully
>> myself).
> 
> 
> I'm still wrapping my head around some of the concepts here. So sorry for the simple questions.
> 
> The above is not quite clear. Can we do file by file restore from the backups and/or archives?

The important thing to understand is that the Proxmox Backup Server can do two different
types of backup:
1) File-level backup, used for container and host backups
2) Block-based backup, used for VMs and optional any raw block device backup

You can restore on a file level for file-based directly.
You cannot do so yet for block-level. But, a you can get the block device state
from any backup, and boot a VM with that attached (as readonly) from there you
then have file access - while the basics are here, the easy integration is still
missing.

> If so, will that work on a Windows VM backup? I.E. Can I restore a file in a Windows VM?

No, not yet, but windows file-level based support is also planned.
Then you could backup from inside the VM and have file level restore or do it
from outside and have the restore full backup or use a VM to do file-level
restore.

Hope that helps.

cheers,
Thomas