Posted On: Feb 4, 2022

Amazon FSx File Gateway now enables your on-premises file share users to browse and restore previous versions of files that are stored on Amazon FSx for Windows File Server file systems by the Windows Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS). This capability enables quick and easy self-service recovery of files in case of a loss due to an accident or malware.

File share users often need to recover previous versions due to errors, accidental deletions, or malware attacks. Prior to this launch, Amazon FSx File Gateway users required an administrator to provide access to Shadow Copies (snapshots) of file systems, or to restore files from backups. With this new capability, Microsoft Windows users can simply click on the Previous Versions tab in their Windows File explorer, and restore individual files, or entire directories, without help from an IT administrator. This self-service approach increases productivity and reduces administrative workload. For users to get access to the previous file versions, administrators must make sure that periodic VSS Shadow copies are configured on the file systems.

Amazon FSx File Gateway provides bandwidth-efficient, low-latency cached access to Amazon FSx for Windows File Server file systems from on-premises environments. It enables administrators to take advantage of fully managed cloud file storage, by extending Amazon FSx for Windows File Server file systems into their on-premises environment. This eliminates the costly, time-consuming management of on-premises Windows File Servers, while users benefit from all of the features of Windows file sharing.

This capability is now available on new gateways in all AWS regions. For existing gateways, this new capability will be made available during the next scheduled software update. Visit the documentation pages for AWS Storage Gateway and Amazon FSx for Windows File Server to learn more, and access the AWS Storage Gateway console to get started.