Overview
x360Recover now has support for backup and recovery of Microsoft Windows ReFS (Resilient Filesystem) volumes.
Initial Release Version and Support
Starting with Agent version 3.13.0 and Appliance version 17.3.0, backup and recovery of ReFS is now supported.
This initial release has some limitations and restrictions that will be addressed in upcoming releases. Notably, File and Folder recovery directly from Appliances and Vault (i.e. ‘Mount’) is not yet supported. The Linux backend on the Appliance / Vault does not natively support mounting ReFS volumes. This limitation will be removed in Q1 2026 with upcoming updates.
Requirements
Backup of ReFS volumes requires agent version 3.13.0 or higher. Existing protected systems running 2.x versions of the agent will need to be upgraded to 3.x to support backup of ReFS volumes.
For instructions on upgrading your protected systems to agent 3.x, see Upgrading to Agent 3.x.
Important: It is not recommended to upgrade existing systems to Agent 3.x unless you have a specific need for 3.x only features. Due to differences in the way backup data is stored between 2.x and 3.x, upgrading from 2.x to 3.x will trigger a new full image of the Windows system volume.
Currently these are the only features that require 3.x agents:
- Backup for NAS devices
- Backup of ReFS volumes
- Local Cache repositories greater than 10TB*
*Agent 2.x fully supports Local Cache repositories but due to 32-bit memory limitations the practical maximum cache size is about 10TB.
Limitations
All versions of ReFS from Windows 2012 through the latest Windows releases are supported for backup. Be aware that OLDER versions of Windows cannot mount or access NEWER versions of ReFS. i.e. you cannot mount a Server 2025 ReFS volume on Server 2016, etc.
ReFS Boot Volumes are not yet supported. You can backup ReFS system volumes but Virtualization is not yet supported.
ReFS Recovery Options
All normal recovery operations are supported with ReFS volume except for Mount operations on Appliances or Vaults, including:
- Virtualization
- Disk Exports
- iSCSI exports
- Bare Metal Restore (including Incremental Bare Metal recovery)
- Recovery Center
Restore Files and Folders on ReFS Volumes
Use Recovery Center
Recovery Center can mount ReFS volumes directly from Appliances and Vaults, with or without Local Cache. Note that the version of Windows running Recovery Center matters! Older versions of Windows cannot mount Newer versions of ReFS. Attempting to mount incompatible filesystems will result in inaccessible Raw volumes.
Use iSCSI
On local Appliances, you may export recovery points via iSCSI and attach disks directly to a Windows system for recovery.
Use Virtual Disk Exports
ReFS volumes are fully supported by disk Exports. You may export any virtual disk format from an Appliance or Vault, download the image to a Windows system and mount the volume for recovery.
Note: Full support for mounting ReFS volumes is planned for 2026 Q1.