Restoring and Downloading SharePoint Data

Topic

This article discusses how to restore and download SharePoint Online data.

Environment

NinjaOne SaaS Backup
NinjaOne SaaS Backup + Archiving

Description

With SharePoint Online, you can restore:

Entire sites, subsites, or individual file folders
Data from any point in time since the backup began
Data to the same site or any other site within the same tenant

Intelligent Restore enhances the restoration process by speeding up recovery and prioritizing critical items. The system performs tasks concurrently, optimizing upload speed with SQLite databases and dividing tasks between planner and worker components. Items modified within the last 90 days are prioritized for faster restoration.

Index

Restoring SharePoint Data
Downloading SharePoint Data
Downloading a Single Subsite
Downloading Selected Folders and Files in a Subsite
FAQs
Known Limitations

Restoring SharePoint Data

Log in and Select the Site

In the End-User Portal, click Dashboard.
Click the SharePoint tab, locate the desired site, and click Restore.
A banner explaining Intelligent Restore with a link to the in-app FAQ will appear. Click Learn More About Intelligent Restore for additional details, or proceed directly to configure the restore setup.

Select Restoration Options

Restore Date and Time: Choose a date and time from the three backups done daily.
Destination: Choose to restore to the original site or another site in the same tenant.
- Restore Method:
  - Default Folder: Restores data to the original folder.
  - Create New Folder: Restores data to a new folder in the selected site.
Advanced Options: Specify actions for file conflicts (e.g., when a file with the same name already exists in the destination).

Conduct the restore

Click Start Restore, confirm details, and proceed. You can monitor the restore's progress under System Status → Restores in your dashboard.

Downloading SharePoint Data

You can download entire sites, subsites, or specific folders and files for offline use.

Log into the End-User Portal and navigate to the dashboard.
Click the SharePoint tab and place your cursor over the site. To download the entire site, click Download. Or specify download options using the following criteria:
- Backup Date: Select the date to download the site as it existed at that time.
- Backup Time: Choose the specific backup version (backups occur three times daily).
- Subsites: Select any subsites to include in the download.
Click Generate Download. A confirmation will appear. Click Yes, Continue to start the download. You can monitor the download status under System Status → Downloads in your dashboard.

Downloading a Single Subsite

From the dashboard, expand the main site and click Download next to the specific subsite.
Follow the steps under Downloading SharePoint Data, above, to choose options and generate the download.

Downloading Selected Folders and Files in a Subsite

Click the subsite to open it, then select the desired folders and files and click Restore.
Follow the steps under Downloading SharePoint Data, above, to choose options and generate the download.

FAQs

Does Intelligent Restore always succeed?

Success is not guaranteed due to factors such as corrupted files, Microsoft API limitations, or network issues.

Can I cancel an ongoing restore?

Yes, go to System Status → Restore, click the kebab menu, and select Cancel.

How will I know if Intelligent Restore is active?

During Intelligent Restore, a notification banner and in-app FAQ link appear, along with email updates and progress bars for both Intelligent and Overall Restore statuses.

What if the data needed is over 90 days old?

The system prioritizes data by modification date, with the first 25% as Intelligent Restore and the remainder as Overall Restore.

Common Restore Scenarios:

Intelligent and Overall Restore: Some data is modified within 90 days. Older data is prioritized based on the recent modification.
Only Intelligent Restore: All items must be modified within 90 days, and fewer than 1,000 items must be restored.

Known Limitations

Due to limitations with the API used when backing up and restoring SharePoint Lists, there are cases where NinjaOne SaaS Backup cannot fully restore certain column types with 100% accuracy

Column type	Limitation
Default value set by formula, (calculated column)	While the data can be captured in the backup, it cannot be restored since the API will not allow writing of values and not formulae.
Column validation	This is not returned by the API and so cannot be backed up.
Choice styling	This is not returned by the API and so cannot be backed up.
Hyperlink, location, and managed metadata columns	The API does not provide information regarding the column type, so the data is restored as text. For Managed Metadata, we can restore the display name.
Lookup	We cannot restore this as a lookup column because the source list is not accessible from other sites. Therefore, it is restored as a text column, and the addendum "_converted" is added to the column name to differentiate it from the original. NinjaOne SaaS Protection only restores the main lookup column; columns generated from the Add additional columns from source option will not be restored.
Person	All columns can be restored (except the show profile photos option). However, some values cannot be restored if the person is not a member of the site. The system will try to create a new column and restore the data as text, and will add "_converted" to the column name.
Task outcome	The original layout cannot be restored

Due to Microsoft prohibiting data uploads to site pages, we are not able to restore them. NinjaOne will back up the data, and it can be downloaded from SharePoint, but it cannot be restored directly to Site Pages.