Restoring O365 archived data from tape using object storage

[vfilenko]

I was looking for some best practices/guidance on the process to restore O365 data from a VBR tape object copy. Basically to verify the data on the tape is valid. I understand the VBO services would need to be stopped for consistency. But if we're not restoring to the same S3 bucket what would be the process to verify a mailbox that was deleted could be restored that is no longer in the bucket.

Veeam Support - Case # 08044515

[Mildur]

Hi,

First, please note that this is a fully unsupported scenario: using Veeam tape backup to back up Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 repositories.
Object Storage Backup to Tape - Before you Beginn

Note

Consider the following:
- Backing up object storage repositories used by Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 to tape is not supported. The backup files produced by Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 are excluded from object to tape jobs by default. If you manually remove the exclusion and back up the data, restoring it may result in data corruption.

What you can try is restoring the entire Object Storage backup to a completely new and empty bucket on the same Target Object Storage (on-prem appliance / Online service). The entire Backup has to be restored. Every single object with the exact same metadata.
Then connect this bucket to a second VB365 server (to keep your primary backup server configuration safe) and run a rescan. Make sure your Microsoft 365 tenant is added; otherwise, the restore points won’t be available.

There’s no guarantee this will work. Also, if you use an online service (for example, Wasabi or Amazon S3), this can generate additional costs; API calls and storage fees can add up quickly.

Best,
Fabian