NinjaOne Backup — Mounting an Image to the Cloud for File-Level Recovery
Audience: T2 Use when: You need to recover specific files from an image backup without performing a full bare metal restore — or when a full restore would take too long and only a few files/folders are needed.
What Cloud Mount Is
Cloud Image Mount allows NinjaOne to mount an image backup revision as a virtual disk in the cloud, then browse and download individual files from it — without touching the physical machine or performing a full restore. It's granular recovery from an image backup.
When to use cloud mount instead of full restore:
- Only a few files or folders are needed from a server image
- The original machine is still running — you just need older versions of specific files
- A full bare metal restore would take hours but you only need one database file
- You need to verify a backup contains specific data before committing to a restore
Prerequisites
- The device must have cloud image backup enabled and at least one successful cloud backup
- Cloud mount works on cloud revisions only — local NAS-only revisions cannot be cloud-mounted
- The technician needs NinjaOne console access with backup management permissions
Step 1 — Navigate to Cloud Mount
- NinjaOne → find the device → Backup tab → Manage
- Select the Image Backup plan
- Find the revision to mount → click the ... or actions menu → Mount to Cloud
- NinjaOne will begin preparing the cloud mount — this takes 2–10 minutes depending on revision size
Step 2 — Browse and Download Files
Once mounted:
- NinjaOne displays a file browser for the mounted image
- Navigate to the files/folders needed
- Select files → Download
- Files download as a ZIP to the technician's browser
The mount session is temporary — it will expire after a period of inactivity (typically 24 hours). Download what you need before the session expires.
Step 3 — Transfer Files to the Destination
After downloading from the cloud mount:
- Copy the downloaded files to the target location on the device (via RMM terminal, remote desktop, or direct file copy)
- Verify the files are intact and the application can read them
- Document in the Halo ticket: which files, which revision, where restored to
Common Use Cases at Dental Sites
| Scenario | What to Mount |
|---|---|
| Dentrix document was accidentally deleted | Server image → C:\Dentrix\ or document store path |
| A specific patient image was overwritten | Server image → CS Imaging or DEXIS data path |
| SQL database file recovery without full restore | Server image → find the .mdf/.ldf files; restore and attach to SQL |
| Config file was changed and needs reverting | Server image → application config path |
Limitations
- Cloud mount is read-only — you can browse and download, not write back directly
- Very large files (multi-GB database files) will take time to download via the browser
- Only available for cloud revisions — if the site has cloud-only or hybrid backup and the cloud leg succeeded, cloud mount is available
- Maximum file size for individual download is 5 TB per NinjaOne's limits