NetWorker: Active Directory GLR fails to restore attributes of an Object which was moved

NetWorker Module for Microsoft (NMM) backs up Active Directory (AD) objects. This is called granular level backup and restore.  

The issue happens when NMM fails to restore attributes of an object which was moved from its original AD path to a new path. 

The path is the Distinguished Name (DN) in Active Directory.  

For example:
 

The restore of Active directory attributes of object "CN=UserNameX" is failing. 
The reason is because this object at the time of backup had a DN like
"CN=UsernameX,OU=OU123,OU=Admin,DC=domain,DC=com"

Some time after the backup completes, that same object is moved in AD to new path like
"CN=UsernameX,OU=Decommissioned,DC=domain,DC=com"


Message:
>>>>    the Object does not exist in the Active directory, so its attributes cannot be restored. please try to reanimate it. 


NOTE
Since the object has not been deleted, it is not present in Deleted Items of Active Directory and cannot be reanimated.

NMM Active Directory granular backup and restore feature behavior and Active Directory limitations cause this issue to occur.
NMM can restore objects or attributes of objects that were backed up, however there are some restrictions.

 

Tombstone lifetime restriction—When an Active Directory object is deleted, the object is retained in a Deleted Objects
container or tombstone. If you need the deleted object, you should recover the tombstone object instead of creating a new
object because data, such as the Security Identifier (SID) and the Globally Unique Identifier (GUID), are stored with the
tombstone object. This data is critical for additional data recoveries, such as reclaiming assigned group permissions.

Objects in tombstone are deleted when they reach the tombstone lifetime age for the domain. The lifetime age is 180 days for Windows. 
After an object is deleted from the tombstone, it cannot be recovered. This is an Active Directory restriction.
The tombstone lifetime is a configurable attribute of a Windows domain.

Moved or renamed objects—If objects are moved or renamed, but not deleted from Active Directory, 
those objects cannot be restored even if they are successfully backed up. 
Those objects are not stored in the deleted storage database (tombstone) so they cannot be restored.

• Do not move an Active Directory object to a new path in Active Directory once the object has been backed up. This causes restore failures.
• If Windows updates have not been performed, schedule an update as soon as possible.  This includes updates to the .Net Framework.

• Move the current object in AD back to the original location.
• Then test restore of the attributes of that object.