You can use SnapCenter to clone a Windows file system backup. If you want a copy of a single file that was mistakenly deleted or changed, then you can clone a backup and access that file in the clone.

Before you begin

You should have prepared for data protection by completing tasks such as adding hosts, identifying resources, and creating storage virtual machine (SVM) connections.
You should have a backup of the file system.
You should ensure that the aggregates hosting the volumes should be in the assigned aggregates list of the storage virtual machine (SVM).
You cannot clone a resource group. You can only clone individual file system backups.
If a backup resides on a virtual machine with a VMDK disk, SnapCenter cannot clone the backup to a physical server.
If you clone a Windows cluster (for example, a shared LUN or a cluster shared volume (CSV) LUN), the clone is stored as a dedicated LUN on the host that you specify.
For a cloning operation, the root directory of the volume mount point cannot be a shared directory.
You cannot create a clone on a node that is not the home node for the aggregate.
You cannot schedule recurring clone (clone lifecycle) operations for Windows file systems; you can only clone a backup on demand.
If you move a LUN that contains a clone to a new volume, SnapCenter can no longer support the clone. For example, you cannot use SnapCenter to delete that clone.
You cannot clone across environments. For example, cloning from a physical disk to a virtual disk or vice versa.

About this task

The SCRIPTS_PATH is defined using the PredefinedWindowsScriptsDirectory key located in the SMCoreServiceHost.exe.Config file of the plug-in host.

If needed, you can change this path and restart SMcore service. It is recommended that you use the default path for security.

The value of the key can be displayed from swagger through the API: API /4.7/configsettings

You can use the GET API to display the value of the key. SET API is not supported.
For SnapLock enabled policies, for ONTAP 9.12.1 and below version, if you specify a Snapshot copy locking period, the clones created from the tamper proof Snapshot copies as part of restore will inherit the SnapLock expiry time. Storage admin should manually cleanup the clones post the SnapLock expiry time.

Steps

In the left navigation pane, click Resources, and then select the appropriate plug-in from the list.
In the Resources page, select File Systems from the list.
Select the host.

The topology view is automatically displayed if the resource is protected.
From the resources list, select the backup that you want to clone, and then click the clone icon.

In the Options page, do the following:

For this field…	Do this…
Clone server	Choose the host on which the clone should be created.
“Auto assign mount point” or “Auto assign volume mount point under path”	Choose whether to automatically assign a mount point or a volume mount point under a path. Auto assign volume mount point under path: The mount point under a path enables you to provide a specific directory in which the mount points will be created. Before you choose this option, you must verify that the directory is empty. If there is a backup in the directory, the backup will be in an invalid state after the mount operation.
Archive location	Choose an archive location if you are cloning a secondary backup.

For this field…

Do this…

Clone server

Choose the host on which the clone should be created.

“Auto assign mount point” or “Auto assign volume mount point under path”

Choose whether to automatically assign a mount point or a volume mount point under a path.

Auto assign volume mount point under path: The mount point under a path enables you to provide a specific directory in which the mount points will be created. Before you choose this option, you must verify that the directory is empty. If there is a backup in the directory, the backup will be in an invalid state after the mount operation.

Archive location

Choose an archive location if you are cloning a secondary backup.

In the Script page, specify any prescripts or postscripts you want to execute.

The prescripts or postscripts path should not include drives or shares. The path should be relative to the SCRIPTS_PATH.
Review the summary, and then click Finish.
Monitor the operation progress by clicking Monitor > Jobs.