Get Started with DPM
Updated: May 13, 2016
Applies To: System Center 2012 SP1 - Data Protection Manager, System Center 2012 - Data Protection Manager, System Center 2012 R2 Data Protection Manager
This content provides information to help you get started with System Center 2012 – Data Protection Manager (DPM).
In this article:
Supported and unsupported scenarios in DPM
What is Data Protection Manager (DPM)?
System Center 2012 – Data Protection Manager (DPM) is an enterprise backup system. Using DPM, you can back up (copy) data from a source location to a secondary target location. If the original data is unavailable because of planned or unexpected issues, you can restore the data from the secondary location. You can use DPM to back up application data from Microsoft servers and workloads, and to back up file data from servers and client computers. You can create full backups, incremental backups, differential backups, and bare-metal backups to completely restore a system.
Here’s a screen shot of the DPM console:
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System requirements for DPM
Before you install System Center 2012 – Data Protection Manager (DPM), make sure that the computer you use for your DPM server, and all the computers and applications you want to protect, meet or exceed the minimum hardware, software, and network requirements.
System requirements for System Center 2012 R2 DPM
The following is a summary of system requirements, with links to more information for each version.
DPM Server:
NOTE: For more information about System Center 2012 R2 hardware requirements, see:
Hardware Requirements for System Center 2012 R2
| System Center 2012 R2 servers | Processor (min) | Processor (rec) | RAM (min) | RAM (rec) | Hard drive space (min) | Hard drive space (rec) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DPM Server | 1 GHz dual-core CPU or faster | 2.33 GHz quad-core CPU | 4 GB | 8 GB | 3 GB | 3 GB |
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Operating systems | Windows Server 2012 R2, Datacenter and Standard editions Windows Server 2012, Datacenter and Standard editions Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1, Standard and Enterprise editions |
| Installation prerequisites | Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 Windows Installer 4.5 or later versions Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Windows PowerShell 3.0 Windows Single Instance Store (SIS) Microsoft Application Error Reporting NOTE: Setup automatically installs these if they aren’t already installed. |
| SQL instance | For the DPM database, DPM requires a dedicated instance of the 64-bit version of SQL Server 2012, SQL Server 2008 R2, or SQL Server 2008 R2 SP1, Enterprise or Standard Edition. During setup, you can choose to have DPM Setup install SQL Server 2008 R2 on the DPM server, or you can specify that DPM use a remote instance of SQL Server. Supported versions: SQL Server 2012 with SP2 Standard or Enterprise 64-bit SQL Server 2012 with SP1 Standard or Enterprise 64-bit SQL Server 2012 Standard or Enterprise 64-bit SQL Server 2008 R2 with SP2 Standard or Enterprise 64-bit SQL Server 2008 R2 with SP1 2012 Standard or Enterprise 64-bit |
| Limitations | You can install DPM on the operating system volume or on a different volume. DPM is designed to run on a dedicated, single-purpose server. Don’t install DPM on: - A domain controller - A server running the Application Server role - An Operations Manager Management server - A server running Exchange - A server running on a cluster node DPM isn’t supported on any version of Turkish language Windows Server. |
More Info: Preparing your environment for System Center 2012 R2 Data Protection Manager (DPM)
System requirements for System Center 2012 SP1 - DPM
| System Center 2012 R2 servers | Processor (min) | Processor (rec) | RAM (min) | RAM (rec) | Hard drive space (min) | Hard drive space (rec) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DPM Server | 1 GHz dual-core CPU or faster | 2.33 GHz quad-core CPU | 4 GB | 8 GB | 3 GB | 3 GB |
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Operating systems | Windows Server 2012 R2, Datacenter and Standard editions Windows Server 2012, Datacenter and Standard editions Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1, Standard and Enterprise editions |
| Installation prerequisites | Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 with Service Pack 1 (SP1) Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Windows PowerShell 2.0 Windows Installer 4.5 or later versions Windows Single Instance Store (SIS) Microsoft Application Error Reporting NOTE Setup automatically installs these if they aren’t already installed. |
| SQL instance | For the DPM database, DPM requires a dedicated instance of the 64-bit version of SQL Server 2012, SQL Server 2008 R2, or SQL Server 2008 R2 SP1, Enterprise or Standard Edition. During setup, you can choose to have DPM Setup install SQL Server 2008 R2 on the DPM server, or you can specify that DPM use a remote instance of SQL Server. Supported versions: SQL Server 2012 with SP2 Standard or Enterprise 64-bit SQL Server 2012 with SP1 Standard or Enterprise 64-bit SQL Server 2012 Standard or Enterprise 64-bit SQL Server 2008 R2 with SP2 Standard or Enterprise 64-bit SQL Server 2008 R2 with SP1 2012 Standard or Enterprise 64-bit |
| Limitations | You can install DPM on the operating system volume or on a different volume. DPM is designed to run on a dedicated, single-purpose server. Don’t install DPM on: - A domain controller - A server running the Application Server role - An Operations Manager Management server - A server running Exchange - A server running on a cluster node DPM isn’t supported on the Turkish language version of any of the supported versions of Windows Server. |
More Info: System requirements for System Center 2012 SP1 - DPM
System requirements for System Center 2012 - DPM
| System Center 2012 R2 servers | Processor (min) | Processor (rec) | RAM (min) | RAM (rec) | Hard drive space (min) | Hard drive space (rec) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DPM Server | 1 GHz dual-core CPU or faster | 2.33 GHz quad-core CPU | 4 GB | 8 GB | 3 GB | 3 GB |
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Operating systems | Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1, Standard and Enterprise editions Windows Server 2008 R2, Standard and Enterprise editions Windows Server 2008 SP2, Standard and Enterprise editions Windows Server 2008, Standard and Enterprise editions |
| Installation prerequisites | Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 with Service Pack 1 (SP1) Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Windows PowerShell 2.0 Windows Installer 4.5 or later versions Windows Single Instance Store (SIS) Microsoft Application Error Reporting NOTE: Setup automatically installs these if they aren’t already installed. |
| SQL Instance | For the DPM database, DPM requires a dedicated instance of the 64-bit version of SQL Server 2012, SQL Server 2008 R2, or SQL Server 2008 R2 SP1, Enterprise or Standard Edition. During setup, you can choose to have DPM Setup install SQL Server 2008 R2 on the DPM server, or you can specify that DPM use a remote instance of SQL Server. Supported versions: SQL Server 2012 with SP2 Standard or Enterprise 64-bit SQL Server 2012 with SP1 Standard or Enterprise 64-bit SQL Server 2012 Standard or Enterprise 64-bit SQL Server 2008 R2 with SP2 Standard or Enterprise 64-bit SQL Server 2008 R2 with SP1 2012 Standard or Enterprise 64-bit |
| Limitations | You can install DPM on the operating system volume or on a different volume. DPM is designed to run on a dedicated, single-purpose server. Don’t install DPM on: - A domain controller - A server running the Application Server role - An Operations Manager Management server - A server running Exchange - A server running on a cluster node DPM isn’t supported on the Turkish language version of any of the supported versions of Windows Server. |
More Info: System requirements for System Center 2012 - DPM
NOTE: For DPM 2010, DPM 2007, and DPM 2006, see the following TechNet resources:
DPM 2010: DPM 2010 System Requirements
DPM 2007: DPM 2007 System Requirements
DPM 2006: DPM Server Requirements
Supported and unsupported scenarios in DPM
New DPM administrators frequently have questions about deploying DPM into various scenarios. Here’s a list of links to common scenarios, with clarification about which scenarios are supported and which are not:
DPM protection support matrix
DPM supports protection of various Microsoft and Non-Microsoft based workloads. The following resource contains detailed information about what kinds of workloads are supported. The information in this linked resource applies to System Center 2012 SP1 - Data Protection Manager, System Center 2012 - Data Protection Manager, and System Center 2012 R2 Data Protection Manager.
DPM deployment
For detailed information, see Deploy DPM
DPM support options
There are a number of resources to help you ramp up on System Center 2012 – Data Protection Manager (DPM).
For evaluation material, see Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager.
For technical documentation, see System Center Data Protection Manager TechCenter.
For troubleshooting and the latest DPM updates, search for “Data Protection Manager” in the Knowledge Base (KB).
For questions and troubleshooting visit the DPM forum.
TechNet DPM Wiki Survival Guide: System Center 2012 Data Protection Manager Survival Guide