System Center Data Protection Manager 2007 Frequently Asked Questions

A. Microsoft Data Protection Manager 2007 is a full featured data protection product designed to protect Microsoft Applications and the Windows Server System. Data Protection Manager (DPM) is designed to be the new standard for Windows data protection -- delivering continuous data protection for Microsoft application and file servers using seamlessly integrated disk and tape media. DPM enables rapid and reliable recovery through advanced technology for enterprises of all sizes.

A. The mission of DPM 2007 is to provide the best backup and recovery experience for the Windows Server System and for Microsoft applications by reducing the cost and complexity of backing up Windows servers and Microsoft Applications.

A. DPM 2007 can be used to natively protect the following Operations systems and Applications. White paper solutions are available for a number of other applications on the DPM website.

• Windows Server 2003
• Windows Server 2003 R2
• Windows Storage Server (Storage Server 2003, Storage Server R2, WUDSS)
• Windows Longhorn Server
• Windows XP SP2 (support limited to machines with persistant network connectivity)
• Windows Vista (support limited to machines with persistant network connectivity)
• Microsoft Exchange Server (2003 and 2007)
• Microsoft SQL Server (2000 and 2005)
• Microsoft SharePoint (MOSS 2007 and WSS 3.0)
• Host Based Virtual Server Protection

A. DPM 2007 is the next version of DPM 2006 and it builds on the same technology which made DPM 2006 such an effective disk based backup product.

A. In addition to its new features, DPM 2007 continues to offer the same features and advantages found in DPM 2006.

A. Some of the new features Data Protection Manager 2007 will include:

• Support for Microsoft Exchange Server (2003 and 2007), including advanced configurations such as Exchange Server 2007 Cluster Continuous Replication (CCR) and Local Continuous Replication (LCR) clusters.
• Ability to restore Exchange Server at the Database, Storage Group, or Mailbox level.
• Support for Microsoft SQL Server (2000 and 2005), including advanced configurations such as SQL 2005 mirrored clusters. DPM 2007 also supports shortened SQL backup windows without the need for costly compression solutions.
• Support for Microsoft SharePoint (MOSS 2007 and WSS 3.0).
• Zero data loss recovery for Microsoft applications
• Shorter backup windows and smaller full backups thanks to patented Express Full technology
• Efficient use of existing infrastructure, including reduced space requirements for Backup to Disk thanks to innovative data De-Duplication technology.
• Enables end users to do their own recoveries and integrates the End User Recovery experience into windows. Recoveries are as simple a right mouse click!
• Advanced System Recovery tools, including support for bare metal recovery.

A. DPM 2007 saves time and money in the following ways:

• Enables faster backups and recoveries
• Reduces and even eliminates the backup window
• Enables end users to do their own recoveries, freeing up time for the IT pro
• Automates the scheduling of backups with SLA based policies.
• Advanced monitoring which only alerts IT pros if an actionable error occurs
• Efficiently uses standard hardware through innovative de-duplication technology, reducing the volume of disk needed, and providing disk based backup at a fraction of the cost of proprietary hardware solutions
• Customers can consolidate both disk and tape based backup infrastructure onto Data Protection Manager 2007, reducing the number of backup and recovery applications and managing both disk and tape from a single interface.

A. There are two common ways that customers will deploy DPM 2007:

• Data Center or Central Office – Customers can use DPM 2007 within their data centers or central offices to manage both disk and tape backups across their Microsoft environment.
• Remote/Branch Office backup – Customers can backup remote or branch office servers over the WAN to a central DPM 2007 site.

A. DPM 2007 includes highly integrated support for both Disk and Tape media in a number of common deployment topologies.

• Disk-to-Disk – Data can be moved from the source disk to the DPM attached secondary disk using a very efficient block level replication solution.
• Disk-to-Disk-to-Tape – Once data is on DPM attached secondary disk, it can be moved to DPM attached tape media where it is written using the industry standard MTF format. Data transfer rates capable of saturating an LTO3 drive are supported.
• Disk-to-Tape – In cases were the customer does not require secondary disk backup, data can be moved directly to DPM attached tape drives.

A. The common file recovery scenarios include:

• Files accidentally deleted
• Recovery by end user through Windows or Office client
• Recovery by DPM 2007 administrator through DPM administrative console
• Volumes accidentally lost due to hardware failure or corrupted due to virus
• Quick recovery from disk or tape by IT administrator at the Volume or file level
• Entire server collapses due to hardware problem (Hard drive fails, etc)
• The DPM administrator can initiate system recovery via the DPM System Recovery tool
• Disaster Recovery from data center or remote office disaster (terrorist event, explosion, fire, etc…)
• By having the DPM 2007 server offsite – data can be restored from either disk or tape to an alternative site or hardware as necessary
• Integration with tape enables recovery from offsite tape to multiple production servers at alternative locations as necessary

A. DPM 2007 provides the following benefits:

• Continuous Data Protection for Microsoft Application servers- DPM is the new standard for Microsoft application integrated continuous data protection. Providing unmatched application backup functionality and reliable lossless application recovery.
• Rapid Reliable Protection and Recovery- DPM simplifies both the protection and recovery by shortening backup and restore times and providing a seamless Windows integrated End User Recovery experience.
• Advanced technology for Enterprises of all Sizes- Patented Block Level Filter technology, integrated data de-duplication, and out-of-box encryption allow DPM to significantly reduce the infrastructure required to support production servers

A. Data Protection Manager is not a technology or feature of the operating system. It is a member of the Windows System Center family and will be a separately licensed and sold application (like SQL Server or Exchange). It is installed and runs on the Windows Server operating system or on a NAS appliance running the Windows Storage Server operating system. It does leverage innovative VSS technology built into Microsoft operating systems and applications however.

A. DPM 2007 includes many new features, listing all of which would go beyond the scope of this document. A short list of distinguishing features would include the following:

• Unmatched Exchange, SQL, and SharePoint Functionality- DPM 2007 offers integrated support for advanced Exchange and SQL cluster configurations, shorter SQL backup windows w/o the need for compression, as well as advanced SharePoint data protection options.
• Zero data loss Restores for Applications- DPM 2007 enables lossless recovery of Exchange, SQL, and SharePoint servers without the need for constant replication or synchronization by seamlessly integrating a point in time database restore with the existing application logs.
• Host Based Virtual Server Backups- DPM 2007 includes support for host based backup of Windows Virtual Server guests. Using a single host based DPM agent to provide application consistent backups of any and all guests residing on a host. DPM can protect any operating system or application via this mechanism as long as they are running on a Windows host server.
• End User Restores- Integrated Windows restore experience; file level recovery is as simple as a right mouse click. No need for cumbersome and often unreliable web interfaces.
• Shorter backup windows- Patented Block Level Filter technology shortens full backup windows by only moving changed data.
• Seamless Media Integration- DPM 2007 features seamless integration between disk and tape media, including an intelligent UI that abstracts the operator from the need to separately manage disk and tape media, an integrated restore experience for both disk and tape, and rich media management functionality.
• Enhanced media reliability- Tape read and writes process is resistant to errors resulting in consistent and reliable tape archiving.
• Advanced Data De-Duplication Technology- Patented filter technology reduces the volume of full backups by as much as 90% in typical organizations, saving disk space and reducing full backup time from hours to minutes. VSS point in time snapshots further reduce the disk volume required, while Express full backup images increase number of available restore points which can be captured.
• Decreased network footprint- Express full Backups reduce network traffic and an enhanced network throttling mechanism allows for more granular management of traffic.
• Unified Policy engine- DPM allows protection to be configured across separate platforms and applications with a single policy, allowing you to manage protection across applications from a single UI.
• SLA driven UI- Protection policies are based on intent and SLA’s creating a layer of abstraction that insulates the user from the often confusing process of scheduling individual backup jobs in order to meet an overall SLA.

A. We are currently planning to focus our efforts on protecting other members of the Windows Server and Microsoft application family. We do not currently offer native support for non-Windows environments, but will continue to listen to feedback from customers and evaluate demand for heterogeneous support for in the future. We do offer native support for non-Windows platforms and applications when they are running as guests on a Windows Host however.

A. DPM 2007 is fully supported when running natively on 64 bit operating systems. Protection of native 64 bit systems is also supported. However, this support is limited to x64 systems. DPM 2007 will not run on or protect IA64 systems.

A. DPM 2007 is able to provide a complete Microsoft Platform and Application backup solution for any size business. It has been designed to compliment Microsoft Servers and Applications in a wide range of environments.

A. Guidance on DPM Scalability can be found in the DPM Planning and Deployment guide on the DPM Technical Library. DPM scalability will vary based on the amount of data you are protecting and the frequency of daily change rate of that data.

A. Data de-duplication and Single Instance storage are two technologies which allow you to fit a large amount of data or a large number of recovery points into a small(er) amount of space. Something DPM 2007 does very well. But it would not be accurate to say that DPM uses traditional de-duplication technology to do this. DPM includes the following features which allow you to reduce the amount of backup disk required for protection.

• Volume Filter- We only move changed data, so you aren’t moving the same data over and over again between the protected server and the DPM server. This significantly cuts down on network traffic and speeds up the backup and eventually the recovery process.
• Shadow Copy- Once data is moved to the DPM server, we use VSS to create point in time recovery points. Since these recovery points consist of a replica with differential snapshots, we can make a case for de-duplication in the snapshot portion of DPM operations. Put another way, snapshots only consist of changed data. So you’re not constantly backing up duplicate data each time you take a snapshot and create a recovery point.
• Single Instance Storage- Both DPM 2007 and DPM 2006 SP1 support SIS on Windows Server 2003 R2 servers. This support allows DPM to protect servers with SIS installed. It also results in SIS being applied to the server’s data when it is stored on the DPM server. SIS support extends across all the replicas found on a given pool of storage used by a single DPM server.
• Express Full Technology- At the end of the day, all this terminology boils down to one basic question. How many recovery points can I fit in x amount of space given y as the source data size and z as the change rate. We have an extremely compelling story here thanks to the product team’s decision to store incremental backups along with full backups each time a snapshot is taken. DPM can fit over 200 recovery points in less than 10x the space of a typical 100gb exchange database with a 6% change rate. This translates into better than 20 to 1 “compression” given the definition above.

A. DPM is the new standard for Microsoft application integrated continuous data protection. Providing unmatched application backup functionality and reliable lossless application recovery through an innovative blend of point in time snapshots and application awareness. Most “traditional” replication based CDP products lack application consistancy. So while they can roll an application back to any point in time, they are generally unable to guarantee that the application will have been in a consistent state when that point in time copy was made. DPM has combined the best features of a snapshot based, application consistent backup process with the lossless recovery offered by a CDP product. This has been done by integrating application logs into VSS snapshots taken every 15 minutes. With the result being the ability to restore to the last 15 minute snapshot and then roll forward the application logs for an application consistent, zero data loss recovery of Exchange, SQL, and SharePoint. This solution has the benefits of a CDP solution (Zero Data loss recovery) and Snapshot solution (Application Consistency) with none of disadvantages typically found in either.

A. DPM uses patented volume filter technology to track and move only changed blocks within files, so you aren’t moving the same data over and over again between the protected server and the DPM server. This is done with very little overhead on the protected server. Unlike “traditional” filters which tend to increase their processor and disk requirements as the change rate increases, DPM’s volume filter has less processor overhead than the typical anti-virus application. More importantly, DPM’s volume filter does not use more resources as the change rate scales up on the protected server. DPM’s new volume filter has the same low memory and CPU impact at 100% or higher change rates that it does at a 1% change rate.

A. We fully support the Common Engineering Criteria. System Center Data Protection Manager is in full compliance with the Common Engineering criteria and we plan to further improve upon our support for these criteria in future releases.

A. We do not disclose internal forecasts. According to Gartner the backup and recovery market for Windows Systems was approximately $1.5 billion in 2005. We entered this market both for revenue opportunity and for strategic reasons relating to customer satisfaction with current third party data protection offerings for the Windows Server System family and for Microsoft Applications.

A. DPM 2007 can protect both clustered file and clustered application servers. While the DPM 2007 server cannot be clustered, it is possible to move the DPM database off of the DPM server and onto a clustered instance of SQL. This provides a high availably solution for the DPM instance by effectively making the DPM server stateless, with redundancy provided at the database level.

A. DPM 2007 includes support for host based backup of Windows Virtual Server guests. Using a single host based DPM agent to provide application consistent backups of any and all guests residing on a host. DPM can protect any operating system or application via this mechanism as long as they are running on a Windows host server.

A. No. DPM does not use RDC for replication. RDC is optimized for file workloads and is an excellent solution for simple file replication. DPM V2 uses a backup and replication engine which is optimized for both Application and File workloads. An application consistent snapshot is created on the protected server and a patented volume filter is used to identify changed blocks. These changed blocks are then moved over to the DPM server where a recovery point can be created. This replication process includes WAN optimization and reliability features such as check pointing, bandwidth throttling, and automated retries.

A. We plan to release the final version of DPM 2007 in the coming weeks. As always, meeting the high quality requirements is most important.

A. You can download evaluation softare at the following site: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=100490.

A. DPM 2006 was localized in 8 languages (JPN, FR, IT, GER, SPA, CHS, CHT, KOR) in addition to English. Beta releases of DPM 2007 will be English only, with the final release being localized in a number of languages. Targets for localization will be identified later in the development cycle and will be announced prior to release.

A. You can find the DPM 2007 system requirements at: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=101142.

A. DPM 2007 Management packs for MOM 2005 and Operations Manager 2007 will be available upon DPM 2007 release.

A. Both DPM 2007 and DPM 2006 SP1 support SIS on Windows Server 2003 R2 servers. This support allows DPM to protect servers with SIS installed. It also results in SIS being applied to the server’s data when it is stored on the DPM server.

A. You can find a list of supported tape libraries at the following site: http://www.microsoft.com/systemcenter/dpm/partners/tapelib.mspx.

A. Additional details on DPM 2007 along with links to the evaluation software can be found at the following site: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=100491.