Installation and User's Guide

Typically, restores are performed from normal file backups that are storedon the Tivoli Storage Manager server outside of backup sets. This restoreapproach gives you the ability to restore the most recent backup version ofevery file. It is possible that a backup set does not contain the most recentbackup version of your files.In some cases restoring data from a backup set can be a better option thanrestoring data from normal backup files on the Tivoli Storage Managerserver. Restoring from a backup set can be a better option for the followingreasons:v A backup set restore can provide for a faster recovery because all of therequired files for restore are contained together within a smaller numberof storage volumes.v A backup set provides a point-in-time collection of files. You can restoreto a point in time rather than restoring what is currently available froma normal file-level restore from the server.v You can perform an ASR restore using a backup set volume.Restoring a backup set from the Tivoli Storage Managerserver provides alarger set of restore options than restoring from a local backup set.However, restoring from a local backup set can be preferable in somecases:v It is possible that you need to restore your data when a networkconnection to the Tivoli Storage Manager server is not available. This ispossible in a disaster recovery situation.v The local restore may be faster than restoring over a network connectionto your Tivoli Storage Manager server.A backup set can be restored from the Tivoli Storage Manager server while thebackup set volumes are available to the server, or they can be moved to the clientsystem for a local backup set restore. A backup set can be generated with orwithout a table of contents (TOC), and can contain file data or image data.The backup set can contain system state or system object data.Your ability to restore data from backup sets is restricted by the location of thebackup set and the type of data in the backup set. The command-line client canrestore some data that the GUI cannot restore, but the GUI can allow you tobrowse and choose which objects to restore. Generally, backup sets from the serverwith a TOC allow more options when restoring. However, local backup setsprovide options that are sometimes preferable to restoring from theTivoli StorageManager server.The restrictions for restoring data from backup sets using the GUI are summarizedin the following table. Each interior cell represents one combination of data typeand backup set location. For each situation, the cell indicates if you can use theGUI to restore only the entire backup set, to select objects within the backup set, orif you cannot use the GUI to restore the backup set.184 IBM Tivoli Storage Manager for Windows Backup-Archive Clients: Installation and User's Guide