Sharepoint : Restoration and Limits

Restoration Limitations

This section outlines limitations of "Veeam Explorer for Microsoft SharePoint".

• When Veeam Explorer for Microsoft SharePoint is installed on a server where Veeam Backup & Replication and Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 are installed, notification settings inherit the global notification settings of Veeam Backup & Replication.
• Restoration via PowerShell Direct, VIX API, or vSphere Automation API is not supported.
• Restoring backed-up Microsoft SharePoint data to another Microsoft organization can only be done to a target SharePoint organization with a version earlier than the restored backups.

General restoration limitations:

If Veeam Explorer for Microsoft SharePoint is part of a standalone installation of Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365, restoration from Veeam Backup & Replication backups is not possible by default. To enable this feature, install the Enterprise or higher edition of Veeam Backup & Replication on the machine.

Status Restoration Limitations:

• If a document or item was in "Check Out" status at the time of backup, the latest item version will not be restored to the target SharePoint but will be available for viewing only. Previous versions, if any, will be restored.
• If the action "Declare this item as a record" was initially applied to a list item, this status will not be retained upon restoration, and the restored item will adopt the status defined by the target list or library's content approval workflow.
• The original "On Hold" status will not be restored.

Restoration of Documents, Libraries, and Lists:

• SharePoint list versioning settings are not retained during restoration.
• Restoration of "Generic List" and "Pages Library" may fail with the error "No content type 'XXX' found in web YYY".
• The "Created by" field for restored documents is updated with the account performing the restoration.
• Some values of discussion list ratings are not restored.
• Unsupported SharePoint lists, particularly hidden lists, are not visible in Veeam Explorer for Microsoft SharePoint after a site backup and cannot be exported. For more information, see the documentation on unsupported SharePoint lists.
• [For restoration from Veeam Backup & Replication backups] Restoration of values in custom columns is not supported for folders and document sets.

Restoration of List Items:

When restoring a list item, Veeam Explorer for Microsoft SharePoint operates as follows:

• Deletes the existing item.
• Creates a new version of the item using backup data.
• Checks if the item is declared as a record.
• If the check is successful, the process ends.
• Otherwise, the created version is deleted, and the item's versions are restored sequentially.

This logic results in the following specifics for list item restoration:

• If a column in a list or list items is used as a lookup column in a dependent list, restoring an item from the source list will delete associated items in the dependent list.
• If a lookup column in the dependent list has "Cascade Delete" relationship behavior, restoring an item from the source list may delete items in the dependent list due to Microsoft’s implementation.

To avoid this issue, disable the enforced relationship behavior. Alternatively, you can restore the SharePoint database using Veeam Explorer for Microsoft SQL Server or restore the SharePoint server VM to the desired state using a recovery option from Veeam Backup & Replication.

Additional limitations to be considered:

• If a lookup column in the dependent list has "Restrict Delete" relationship behavior, restoration of the item will fail with Veeam Explorer for Microsoft SharePoint.
• If an .ASPX page references an item by ItemID, this reference may fail upon restoration (as the item will be recreated with a new ItemID).
• If a list item cannot be deleted (e.g., the site’s homepage), all versions of the item will be restored sequentially without deletion, adding them to the version history.
• Items restored in the "Issue" list receive a new IssueID.
• Restoration of the "Time Card" list is not supported.

Restoration of list items with links (attachments):

• If a retention policy is set to automatically declare items as records in the target list or library, only the latest version of the item will be restored, and the target retention policy settings will apply to the restored item (Record Declaration). However, links (attachments) will not be restored.
• List items initially marked with the action "Declare this item as a record" will not be restored.

Restoration of Polls:

Limitations for restoring polls, questions, and responses:

• Poll items can be restored to a new poll automatically created by Veeam Explorer for Microsoft SharePoint at the specified location, rather than the deleted poll. If a poll is created manually, items cannot be restored to it.
• A poll can be restored to an existing target poll only if the target poll includes at least one identical question stored in the content database.
• If a poll question was not fully answered in the source poll, the response status in the target poll will be set to "Completed" after restoration.
• When restoring a single response to a poll, the target response item with the same number will be deleted, and the restored item will be placed in the target poll after the last numbered response.

Site Restoration:

• SharePoint sites marked with a red cross on the symbol indicate that there is an empty area in the template, and supported content is available in the subsites.
• When restoring site collections, ensure that the collections exist in the target location; Veeam Explorer for Microsoft SharePoint does not create site collections.
• Before restoring team sites for an organization tenant using app-only modern authentication, ensure the user account used for authorization has access to the root SharePoint site of this organization.
  During the restoration of team sites, Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 does not restore team site owners or members of Microsoft 365 groups.
• To restore SharePoint site pages, note that Veeam Explorer for Microsoft SharePoint does not support the restoration of items not stored in the SharePoint content database (such as pages and items based on default SharePoint templates), except for data from Wiki Content (text and images) stored in the database. Pages containing only text and images can be restored and displayed correctly.
• If a SharePoint site includes a hidden list, it will not appear in Veeam Explorer for Microsoft SharePoint after a site backup and therefore cannot be restored.
• Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 cannot restore a SharePoint site from a private channel to another location. Restoration to its original location is not supported if this SharePoint site was deleted from the Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 infrastructure.
• During the restoration of team sites, Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 does not restore team site owners or members of Microsoft 365 groups.