Summary
After upgrading VBR on Windows from 13.0.1.180 to 13.1.1.18, Veeam Explorer for Microsoft Active Directory can no longer browse AD content from a backup. The same file opens correctly in 13.0.1.x Explorers.
Symptoms (13.1.1.18)
- The database loads and the object count is correct, but the domain tree collapses within about a second.
- With "Advanced Features" enabled, the tree shows only six identical "Integrated DNS" nodes. No Users and Computers, GPOs or Configuration partition.
- An LDAP search (&(objectCategory=person)(objectClass=user)) returns no results.
Test material
- A Windows Server 2022 DC, backed up as a Proxmox VM. I extracted the Windows\NTDS folder from the backup.
- esentutl /mh reports Clean Shutdown, Log Required 0-0, with a valid checksum.
- The same file mounts with dsamain and is fully readable in ADUC (localhost:10389).
What I tested
1. Same VBR server VM, restored on a separate host from a backup taken the day before the upgrade (Explorer build 13.0.1.180): the tree shows Users and Computers and Group Policy Objects correctly, with the same ntds.dit.
2. A different site running Explorer 13.0.1.2067: full tree (Users and Computers, GPOs, Integrated DNS, Configuration Partition).
3. Three independent environments on 13.1.1.18, including a lab: same failure on all.
4. On 13.1.1.18 it makes no difference whether I use Add Database or the restore point, the Start menu or the console, "Run as administrator", a local console session instead of RDP, or different admin accounts.
Same OS, same account, same file: the only variable is the Veeam build.
Status
I'm opening a support case with Veeam and will update this thread with the case number and outcome. I haven't found a public KB or release note about this in 13.1.1.18 (KB4738).
Workarounds
- dsamain + ADUC (read-only, local LDAP port) to browse the database.
- An Explorer from 13.0.x on an isolated VM to open the extracted ntds.dit.
Has anyone else seen this on 13.1.1.18, or been given a hotfix?