HP ProLiant DL380 G5 Data Protection Storage Server Administration Guide (434184-001, September 2006)

1 D ata Protection Stora ge Server
This chapter describes the features and uses of D ata Protection Manager (DPM) and identifies several
Microsoft resources for planning and op erating this solution on HP ProLiant Data Protection Storage
Servers.
DPM description
Microsoft
®
System Center Data Protection Manager is a software application designed for storage
servers running the Standard or Enterprise Editions of Windows
®
Storage Server 2003. Disk-based data
protection and recovery are o b tained through replication, synchronization, a nd shadow co py creation.
Each enabled server can protect up to 6 TB of data from as many as 30 file servers.
Various dat
a sources are collected into protection groups to manage this data. Replicas, or copies of
protected d
ata on a single volume, are created and efficiently placed in a storage pool on the Data
Protection Storage Server.
Through the synchronization process, each replica is updated regularly with changes made to the data
sources. Between synchronizations, a file ag ent on the protected file server records changes in a
synchroni
zation log. At the scheduled or manual synchroniza tion time, changes in the synchronization log
are moved t
o a transfer log on the Data Protection Storage S erver, and then applied to the replicas.
Should a replica ever become inconsistent with its data source, a synchronization with consistency check
can be initiated to repair the replica by performing a block-by-block veri fication.
DPM uses the Vo lume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) of the storage server operating system to create
shadow c opies of the replicas. These point-in-time snapshots are stored on the storage server and can
be accessed by users to recover previous versions of the protected data. D PM can store a maximum of
64 shado
w copies for each volume in a protection group. When storage limits are reached, the oldest
shadow copies are automatically deleted when new s hadow copies are created.
Data Protection Storage Server
The Data Protection Storage Server is a NAS appliance that enhances your current backup strategies
by leverag ing the functionality of Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manag er (DPM). The D ata
Protection Storage Server sits between the file servers and the tape library, and can store up to 64 file
snapshots. Users can then restore these b a ckups without the h elp of an a dministrator.
Benefi
ts
A Data Protection Storage Server offers the following benefits:
• Easy implementation—The Data Protection Storage Server arrives at your site preinstalled with
DPM, and preconfigured with o ptim ized storage settings. All you do is plug the server into your
Modular Sma rt Array (if applicable) and run the D PM mini-setup to answer some environmental
ques
tions.
• Operational simplicity—The Data Protection Storage Server is intuitive and allows users to
restore files without the help of an IT department. To restore a file, right-click the folder from
the Microsoft dialog box or Explorer, and then use the Properties window to restore the file
fr om previous version.
• Fast and reliable—Disk-to-disk ba ckup is a fast, secure, and reliable m edium. It offers near
co
ntinuousdataprotectioninmuchlesstimethantapebackups.
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