NetWorker: How to Perform Azure VM Snapshot Restore from Command-Line

Summary: This article provides an overview of how to perform an Azure Virtual Machine (VM) snapshot restore from the command-line. This can be useful for performing an Azure VM restore if the NetWorker Web User Interface (NWUI) is inaccessible. ...

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Instructions

The NetWorker Azure VM Snapshot Integration Guide provides information about the nsrazure_recover command. NetWorker documentation is available at the Dell Support NetWorker Product Page.

The purpose of this article is to help mitigate the need for an Azure VM restore when the NetWorker Web User Interface (NWUI) is inaccessible or not presenting valid VM backups. To perform Azure VM restores from NWUI, see: NetWorker: How to perform Azure VM snapshot restore from NWUI

Prerequisites:

  1. A valid VM backup must be available on the NetWorker server. This can be obtained with the NetWorker mminfo -avot command. Example:
azure-nve:~ # mminfo -avot
volume        type   client           date     time         size ssid      fl   lvl name
….
azure_nve.local.dddefault.003 Data Domain azure-nve.local 08/13/25 15:47:03 31 GB 4171033528 cb full DD-PERF:azure-ubuntu:azure-ubuntu_OsDisk_1_cf93159d6205414baa8593901a918d3a
azure_nve.local.dddefault.003 Data Domain azure-nve.local 08/13/25 15:47:04 33 GB 4154256312 cb full DD-PERF:azure-ubuntu:azure-ubuntu_DataDisk_0
NOTE: make note of the Save Set ID (SSID) value. The SSID must be marked browsable (cb). If the save set is not valid (cE), it cannot be used for restore.
The type of recovery is depending on the save set selected.
  • VM Restore: In order to perform a VM (Image Restore), you must specify the SSID of the VM's OsDisk save set. This option allows you to recover the SSID as a new VM.
  • Disk Restore: If the SSID shows the disk as "DataDisk," you must specify an existing VM in the recover command syntax.
NOTE: If the disk shows as OsDisk, but is appended with a jobId_TimeStamp it is a disk from a previous restore attempt (Example: azure-ubuntu_OsDisk_1234_1755183890). During a restore this disk would be treated as a DataDisk and cannot be performed as a new VM, it must be recovered to an existing VM. See: NetWorker: nsrazure_recover fails "Target VM must already exist for a single disk recovery."
  1. Identify the Azure storage account required for the restore. 
  2. Identify the target Azure vNet and subnet required for the restore.
NOTE: Consult with the Azure administrator to get the required Azure fields.

Performing the Restore:

Open an elevated prompt on the NetWorker server.

The general syntax for the VM restore:

nsrazure_recover [-D OPTIONAL_DEBUG_LEVEL_1-9] -S SSID -N 'SUBSCRIPTION_NAME' -R 'RESOURCE_GROUP_NAME' -A 'STORAGE_ACCOUNT_NAME' -V 'RECOVER_VM_NAME' -E 'RESOURCE_GROUP_NAME:VNET_NAME' -T 'SUBNET_NAME'
Options Description
-N Specifies the resource name to use to connect to Azure - This option is mandatory.
-A Specifies the storage account to use during recovery - This option is mandatory.
-L Specifies the region of the created VM - This option is derived from the information that is collected during the backup.
-R 

Specifies the resource group to use to connect to Azure.
-S 

Specifies the Save Set ID (SSID) used for the restore.
-V

Specifies the name of the recovered VM.
-E

Specifies the vNet that the recovered VM uses.
-T

Specifies the Subnet that the recovered VM uses.
NOTE: Closing the command-line sessions cancels the job. To prevent TMOUT settings on Linux from closing the restore, use the prefix the command with nohup and end it with &. This runs the command in the background. Even if the session is closed, the restore runs in the background. No output is seen in the command session. 

 

The recovery session can be monitored from command-line using nsrwatch.

While the job is running, the log can be found under:

  • Linux: /nsr/logs/adhoc/adhoc-job-JOBID
  • Windows (Default): C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\logs\adhoc\adhoc-job-JOBID

Completed or failed to recover logs are moved to:

  • Linux: /nsr/logs/adhoc/nsrazure_recover/
  • Windows (Default): C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\logs\adhoc\nsrazure_recover

Additional Information

Potential errors if wrong SSID, storage account, vNet, or Subnet are used:

Affected Products

NetWorker

Products

NetWorker Family
Article Properties
Article Number: 000353199
Article Type: How To
Last Modified: 05 Dec 2025
Version:  4
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