A Bare Metal Restore type backup can capture a “snapshot” of a system, and save it on a Vault as a backup. Then if a Recovery is required, the full system is restored to the same system using the System Restore application. The actual target volume for the restore may be different. This type of recovery is often described as a Bare Metal Recovery.
Capability for Bare Metal Restore type backups is built into the Windows Agent. It is installed in the same manner as a regular Windows Agent (i.e., there is no separate installation selection for Bare Metal Restore type backup capability).
Note: Bare Metal Restore type backups use Windows Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) technology. Although VSS is enabled by default, you should make sure that it is enabled for these types of Jobs.
A Bare Metal Restore type backup is done through the regular Agent Console application, similar to other backup Jobs. A Bare Metal Restore type backup cannot be restored from Agent Console.
A special recovery application called "System Restore" performs Bare Metal Restores. It runs in the Windows Preinstallation Environment (WinPE). This application is usually available on a bootable CD/DVD, network drive, or bootable USB device. It allows you to browse to the Vault, select Bare Metal Restore type safesets, and retrieve one or more volumes from the safeset data.
Bare Metal Restore type Jobs use Vault-based licensing. The Agent will only check for a Bare Metal Restore “System Restore" license during backup. No checking will occur during the creation or modification of a Job. A version 6.02 (or later) Vault is required to supply the licensing for Bare Metal Restore type backups.