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Hi Folks,

Got a question about a primarily Linux Commvault install environment

If all your Media Agents & VSA's (& COmmServe) are Linux, Do you need a Windows equivalent to a FREL (File Recovery Enabler for Linux)?

I know Windows can’t natively read most Linux file systems, but my understanding is that Linux systems generally have native ability to mount/open Windows NTFS.

 

I've also never seen any option for specifying a Windows FREL equivalent in the system

I have not tried it myself, but I think this is what you’re after: 

NTFS Live Browse for Restores Using a Linux MediaAgent (commvault.com)


Hi ​@Stuart Walker , 

 

I personally have seen this work in customer's environments where there are no Window media agents and purely uses the Linux MA on the caveat that they are on a newer feature release. 

 

Given that you have provided the information around Commserver is a Linux OS, it's assumed that you have a recent feature release or at least 11.34+ which shouldn't be a problem. 


We only use FREL access nodes and we do not run into issues. There are some known caveats, but those are limited and we are clear about it towards our customers. The main pitfall is the ability to perform a live browse on volumes formatted with ReFS fs and dynamic disks, those really require an access node running Windows. The challenge for Commvault to deliver a FREL based on Windows is mainly licensing. 


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