Planning for End-User Recovery

Published : April 8, 2005 | Updated : August 17, 2005

End-user recovery enables end users to independently recover data by recovering previous versions of their files. End users can recover previous versions through shares on file servers, through DFS Namespaces, or by using a command on the Tools menu of Microsoft® Office 2003 applications.

Enabling end-user recovery requires configuring the schema of the Active Directory® directory service, enabling the end-user recovery feature on the DPM server, and installing the shadow copy client software on the client computers.

Important

For information about domain controller requirements for end-user recovery, see “Domain Controller Requirements for End-User Recovery” in the “Planning a Deployment” chapter of this guide.

For information about maintaining security when you enable end-user recovery, see “Maintaining Security for End-User Recovery,” also in the “Planning a Deployment” chapter of this guide.

Configuring Active Directory

Configuring Active Directory to support end-user recovery involves four operations:

• Extending the schema

• Creating a container

• Granting the DPM server permissions to change the contents of the container

• Adding mappings between source shares and shares on the replicas

DPM administrators who are both schema and domain administrators in the Active Directory domain can complete these steps with a single click in DPM Administrator Console. DPM administrators who are not schema and domain administrators can complete these steps by directing a schema and domain administrator to run the DPMADSchemaExtension tool.

The DPMADSchemaExtension tool is stored on the DPM server in the folder Microsoft Data Protection Manager\DPM\End User Recovery. A user who is both a schema and domain administrator can run the tool on any computer running Windows Server 2003 that is a member of the domain in which the DPM server is deployed. The administrator must specify the name of the DPM server when he runs the tool.

For a detailed discussion of how Active Directory must be configured to support end-user recovery, see the DPM 2006 Operations Guide (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=46363).

For instructions for configuring Active Directory for end-user recovery, see “Enabling End-User Recovery” in the “Configuring DPM” chapter of this guide.

Installing the Shadow Copy Client Software

Before end users can begin independently recovering previous versions of their files, the DPM shadow copy client software must be installed on their computers. If a client for Shadow Copies for Shared Folders is present on the computer, the client software must be updated to support DPM.

The shadow copy client software can be installed on computers running Windows® XP operating system with Service Pack 2 (SP2) or later, and Windows Server 2003 with or without SP1.

Table 3.4 shows the locations from which you can download the shadow copy client software for each supported operating system.

Table 3.4   Locations for Downloading Shadow Copy Client Software

Install the client software on users’ workstations by using your usual software distribution method; for example, Group Policy Software Installation, Microsoft® Systems Management Server, or shared folders. If your users will install the client software on their own workstations, instruct them to copy the Setup program to any location on their computer, double-click the file name or icon, and then follow the instructions in the wizard.