Issues when accessing or restoring files from copied or moved stubs (.stub.url) in SharePoint Online

Problem

When a stub (.stub.url file) is copied or moved to another location or restored back from Recycle Bin in SharePoint Online (SPO) the user may encounter the following issues while downloading and/or restoring in Alta SaaS Protection (ASP) :

Issue 1: The corresponding file is not available in the new location in ASP Content Tab 

Issue 2: If an end user tries to initiate a restore from the stub from SPO, the restore may fail. The Restore dashboard for that restore will display the following error: 
There was an error restoring the file from the stub. Check if the '/sites/ABC/List/ sales-sample-data.docx' is present in SharePoint. The stub file may have moved from the original location. Retry the restore from the VASP Administration portal.

Issue 3: For restores initiated from the ASP Administration Portal, depending on the options selected, the stub file in SharePoint may not be replaced by the original file from ASP. 

Issue 4: The file in ASP may not be accessible using the corresponding ASP stub in SPO (see below) or may not be seen in the End-User Portal if the user does not have permission to access the original file in ASP. 

Error Message

Either of the following error messages can be observed when trying to restore or download a file in ASP from a copied or moved stub (e.g., filename.stub.url) in SPO:

• There was an error restoring the file from the stub. Check if the '/sites/ABC/List/ sales-sample-data.docx' is present in SharePoint. The stub file may have moved from the original location. Retry the restore from the VASP Administration portal.
   
• You do not have the required permissions to access this item (ItemID) in Stor ID {storID}. Click here for more details or contact your administrator to review the permissions for this item located at {admin portal content page url} 
  
  
   
• The currently authenticated principal ('Principal Name’, ID: {Principal ID}) does not have access to item ID {ItemID} in stor ID {storID} . Your administrator can review the permissions on the item in ASP at – {admin portal content page url}. For more information please refer to : https://www.veritas.com/content/support/en_US/article.100072851
  
  

Cause

In SharePoint, stub files may have been moved or copied to another folder, library, subsite or site. 

Solution

Check if the stub movement feature is enabled.  If the feature is disabled, request Support to enable it.

If the stub movement feature is enabled, these errors are expected for moved/copied stubs in the SharePoint site until backup task copies the data to a new location in ASP and updates the moved/copied stub in SPO.  
Ensure the destination SharePoint site/location which has the copied/moved stub is configured for backup.  Then, wait for the backup task to copy the corresponding item in ASP and update the stub in SPO to refer to the newly copied item. 

Notes:

• Ensure SPO configuration is not restricting the backup task to update stubs in SharePoint site. 
• Incremental backup may not detect stub copied in SPO before deploying CASP the stub movement feature in CASP. This will require a full backup task run to copy the items in CASP and update the stub. 

If the destination SharePoint site, where stub is moved or copied cannot be configured for backup in CASP, then stub access/restore from the SharePoint site may not work. Follow details given below to identify backed up file in CASP and restore it.

Issue 1: Check if the corresponding file in ASP can be located by browsing the Content tab to its original location (if already known) or using search (the user will have to remove the .stub.url from the file name).  If there is difficulty locating the content, please contact Technical Support.  Once located, files can be downloaded or restored using the ASP Administration Portal or End-User Portal, depending on the user's permissions from the original location. 

Issue 2: In this case, the Administration Portal restore can be used to perform a redirected restore. See details below. 

Issue 3: For restores initiated from the ASP Administration Portal, depending on the options selected, the stub file in SPO may not be replaced by the original file from ASP. 

Depending on the use case, ASP supports the redirected restore of files to another SPO location. In all cases, the Suppress ‘Removed from source’ check box should not be selected.

If a single stub needs to be restored:

If only the stub needs to be restored back to its file in the locations where it was moved to:

• Select the file in the ASP Content tab from its original location 
• Clear the Suppress ‘Removed from source’ check box, if the option is available. 
• Select the Restore only stubbed items check box. 
• Select the Restore all versions check box, if required. 
• Select the parent folder at the destination where the stub has been moved. It should have the same name (except where it ends with .stub.url). 
• Perform the restore. 

Notes:

• If the user is restoring the file to the destination document library having a stub with the same name, then the stub will be replaced with the original file. 
• The file will not be restored to the destination if the Restore only stubbed items option is selected, and the corresponding stub file is not available at the destination. 

If a folder containing stubs must be restored:

If a folder containing the stubs was moved to a different location and only the stubs in that moved folder need to be restored: 

• Select the folder in the ASP Content tab from its original location. 
• Clear the Suppress ‘Removed from source’ check box, if the option is available. 
• Select the Restore only stubbed items check box. 
• Select the Restore all versions check box, if required. 
• For the destination, select the parent folder of the destination folder containing the stubs which have been moved. 
• Perform the restore 

Notes:

• If the user is restoring the file to the destination document library having a stub with the same name, then the stub will be replaced with the original file. 
• Only those stubs at the destination will be restored whose paths match within the selected sub-hierarchy of the source folder. 
• The file will not be restored to the destination if the Restore only stubbed items option is selected, and the corresponding stub file is not available at the destination on the same path as the source. 

If just the file needs to be restored to the original/different location:  

• Select the file in the ASP Content tab from its original location. 
• Clear the Suppress ‘Removed from source’ check box, if the option is available. 
• Select the parent folder at the destination where the restore needs to be done. 
• Perform the restore. 

 
Issue 4:  User has not required permission to access the item at the original location in ASP.  Follow the steps given above to restore the file from the ASP Administration Portal.