Data Protection Manager: Frequently Asked Questions
Published: April 13, 2005 | Updated: September 22, 2005
This FAQ answers commonly asked questions about Data Protection Manager (DPM). Click a question to view its answer. To view all the answers at one time, select the View all answers check box. space space
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About Data Protection Manager
Q. What is Data Protection Manager?
A. As the latest member of the Windows Server System family, Data Protection Manager (DPM) is a server software application that is designed from the ground up to optimize disk-based backup and recovery.
Q. Is Data Protection Manager the same thing as Data Protection Server?
A. Yes. Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager is the final product name for the product code-named "Data Protection Server" that was announced in September of 2004.
Q. Is DPM a feature of the operating system? How is it different from or similar to Windows Server 2003 or Windows Storage Server 2003?
A. Data Protection Manager is not a feature of the operating system. It is a member of the Windows Server System family and will be a separately licensed and sold server application product (like Microsoft SQL Server or Microsoft Exchange). It is installed and runs on top of the Windows Server 2003 operating system or on a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device running the Windows Storage Server 2003 operating system.
Q. What are the deployment scenarios for DPM? Will it work over a wide-area network (WAN)?
A. Customers will most commonly deploy DPM within their data centers to centralize backup to DPM or to back up remote or branch office servers over the WAN to a central DPM site.
Q. Where can I get more information about DPM?
Pricing and Licensing
Q. How will you license DPM?
A. Data Protection Manager will use the same licensing model as Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) 2005. With this model, a customer has to purchase a server license for every DPM server that is deployed and a Data Protection Management License (DPML) for every server they protect.
Q. Where can we purchase DPM?
A. DPM will be sold through all Microsoft channels including volume licensing, retail packaged product, and OEM distributions.
Q. How much will DPM cost?
A. DPM will be available to customers and partners for an estimated retail price of USD 950, which includes one DPM Server and the management licenses to protect three file servers. This price point helps make enterprise-quality technology affordable to a wider range of businesses, and allows partners to deliver a solution to their customers at a fraction of the cost of other proprietary disk-based backup appliances.
Q. Do I need to purchase a separate SQL Server license for use with DPM?
A. No. A run-time version of SQL Server is included with the purchase of DPM. This SQL Server license is for use only with DPM and can not be used as a stand-alone database or for other applications.
Trial Version
Q. Can I try DPM without registering online?
A. Yes. You can download the trial version of DPM from the Data Protection Manager Web site, and some customers will receive DPM on CDs distributed at trade shows.
Q. When does the DPM evaluation period expire?
A. The DPM evaluation software expires 120 days after installation. The Evaluation Edition of SQL Server 2000 expires 120 days after installation, and the Evaluation Edition of SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services expires 180 days after installation. For more information about the software required for the DPM installation, see the system requirements page in the Data Protection Manager site.
Setup and Requirements
Q. What languages does DPM support?
A. DPM supports Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish.
Q. What are the system requirements for running DPM?
A. See the system requirements page on the Data Protection Manager site.
Q. How can I obtain the DPM VSS Software Development Kit (SDK)?
A. To obtain the DPM Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) SDK, send an e-mail message to dpspart@microsoft.com. The software development kit will also be available for download on the Microsoft Storage Partner Extranet. You must register on that site to be able to download software.
Q. What prerequisites do I need to install before running DPM setup?
A. The DPM server must be running Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 (SP1), and Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 must be installed. When you install DPM, both the DPM application and the following prerequisite software are installed:
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 (Standard, Enterprise, or Evaluation Edition)
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 3a (SP3a)
SQL Server Hotfix 859
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services (Standard, Enterprise, or Evaluation Edition)
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services Service Pack 1 (SP1)
Q. What prerequisites does DPM install for me?
A. The DPM installation installs IIS 6.0 if it is not already installed; you may be prompted for the Windows Server 2003 CD or installation share. SQL Server 2000 (Evaluation Edition), the SQL Server 2000 service pack, SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services (Evaluation Edition), and the SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services service pack are included with the DPM software and are installed during DPM setup.
Q. Can I install the prerequisites myself?
A. Yes. In Control Panel, open Add/Remove Programs and click Add/Remove Windows Components. In the details for Application Server, select ASP.NET, enable network COM+access, and Internet Information Services(IIS) for installation.
You can also install SQL Server and SQL Server Reporting Services manually. For instructions, see the "Installing DPM" chapter in the DPM Planning and Deployment Guide.
Q. Do you support 64-bit operating systems?
A. Microsoft does not support DPM running natively on 64-bit operating systems, nor does DPM protect servers running a native 64-bit operating system. However, Microsoft does support DPM running on top of 32-bit operating systems running on 64-bit hardware architectures running in emulation mode; DPM can also protect 32-bit operating systems running on top of 64-bit hardware.
DPM and Other Products
Q. What are some of the benefits for the MOM pack for DPM?
A. The DPM Management Pack enables an administrator to centrally monitor data protection, state, health, and performance of multiple DPM computers through Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 (MOM). From the MOM Operator console, the administrator can monitor DPM and network infrastructure simultaneously, analyzing data protection failures in the context of other network failures. From the same console, the administrator can also monitor other critical applications, such as SQL Server and Exchange.
Q. How does DPM work with Microsoft Virtual Server?
A. DPM will be able to protect file servers on the guests of a host operating system. For DPM, they look just like any other file server to protect. Microsoft also anticipates that you will be able to run DPM in the guest operating system of a Microsoft Virtual Server.
Q. How will DPM support Windows Server 2003 SP1 and Windows Server 2003 R2?
A. DPM will be able to run on Windows Server 2003 with SP1 or the R2 update deployed. DPM will also be able to protect servers that have Windows Server 2003 SP1 and Windows Server R2 deployed.
Q. Do I need to purchase a separate SQL Server license for use with DPM?
A. No. A run-time version of SQL Server is included with the purchase of DPM. This SQL Server license is for use only with DPM and can not be used as a stand-alone database or for other applications.
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