NetBackup Granular Recovery leverages Network File System, or NFS, to read individual objects from a database backup image. Specifically, the NetBackup client uses NFS to extract data from the backup image on the NetBackup media server. The NetBackup client uses "Client for NFS" to mount and access a mapped drive that is connected to the NetBackup media server. The NetBackup media server handles the I/O requests from the client through NBFSD.

NBFSD is the NetBackup File System (NBFS) service that runs on the media server. NBFSD makes a NetBackup backup image appear as a file system folder to the NetBackup client over a secure connection.

Network File System, or NFS, is a widely recognized, open standard for client and server file access over a network. It allows clients to access files on dissimilar servers through a shared TCP/IP network. NFS is typically bundled with the host operating system. NetBackup uses Granular Recovery Technology (GRT) and NFS to recover the individual objects that reside within a database backup image, such as:

Multiple NetBackup agents that support GRT (for example, Exchange, SharePoint, and Active Directory) can use the same media server.