Resolving file restoration challenges in Windows guest VMs on RHEL 7-based servers

This article is for Zmanda EBR version 5.0

Problem:

Users attempting file-level recovery for VMware type sources on a backup server installed on an RHEL 7-based machine may encounter an issue where the restored files do not appear at the destination path. Despite the restoration process showing success on the monitor page in ZMC, the files fail to reflect at the specified destination.

Cause:

The root cause of this problem is identified in the absence of the libguestfs-winsupport package, which is crucial for handling Microsoft Windows guests. libguestfs returns an error specific to Microsoft Windows guests if libguestfs-winsupport is not installed. This discrepancy prevents the successful restoration of files during the file-level recovery process.

Solution:

Ensure guestmount is installed on the AE server: Execute the following command to check if guestmount is installed:
```
guestmount --version
```
The displayed version information confirms the correct installation of guestmount.
Install guestmount if not present: Depending on the Linux distribution, use the appropriate package for guestmount installation:
- Ubuntu/Debian: libguestfs-tools
- OpenSuse: guestfs-tools
- CentOS / Fedora: libguestfs-tools-c
Set up the LIBGUESTFS_BACKEND: After installing libguestfs-tools-c (for CentOS/Fedora), execute the following command:
```
export LIBGUESTFS_BACKEND=direct
```
This ensures the installation of the guest mount utility on your server.
Install 'libguestfs-winsupport' package: Finally, install the necessary package for Microsoft Windows support:
```
libguestfs-winsupport
```

Follow these steps to ensure successful file restoration during Windows guest VM file-level recovery on a server with RHEL 7 distribution.