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Backing Up a DPM server

Updated: January 15, 2013

Applies To: System Center 2012 SP1 - Data Protection Manager

To back up a primary DPM server using a secondary DPM server

  1. On the secondary DPM server, install a protection agent on each primary DPM server that you want to protect. No restart is required.

  2. You can use an existing protection group or create a new protection group for the primary DPM servers. The following items can be protected from a primary DPM server on which is protection agent is installed and which is configured for protection:

    • The databases in the instance of SQL Server on the primary DPM server

    • All volumes on the primary DPM server (Shares will not be visible separately)

    • All replicas on the primary DPM server.

  1. Each of these data sources can be selected as a protection group member. At a minimum, you should select the databases, the \Program Files\Microsoft System Center 2012\DPM\DPM\Config folder, and the \Program Files\Microsoft System Center 2012\DPM\Scripting folder.

    noteNote
    You cannot exclude file name extensions from protection for a replica.

  2. On the Select Data Protection Method page, you can select short-term disk-based protection and long-term tape-based protection, or just short-term disk-based protection. Selecting only short-term tape-based protection or only long-term tape-based protection is unavailable when a primary DPM server is a member of a protection group.

  3. Complete the Create New Protection Group Wizard with the desired protection options.

    noteNote
    If a replica is selected as a member of the protection group and you select short-term disk-based protection, you must specify a synchronization frequency; the option to synchronize just before a recovery point will be unavailable. We recommend that you synchronize every 24 hours.

Using non-Microsoft software

The optimal way to use non-Microsoft software to archive the DPM replicas and databases is to use backup software that is specifically designed to work with DPM. The principal advantages of software that supports DPM are:

  • The archived data is organized in a way that makes restore operations intuitive and comparatively simple

  • The number of steps involved in archive and restore operations are minimized

The following procedures provide general instructions for archiving DPM databases and replicas when using backup software that supports DPM. For instructions on using the backup software, see the documentation for the backup software.

To back up databases by using DPM-enabled backup software

  1. In the console tree of the backup program, browse to \Program Files\Microsoft System Center 2012\DPM\DPM\DPMDB, and select the DPMDB folder.

  2. Select the media to which you want to back up the database.

  3. Start the backup.

To back up replicas by using DPM-enabled backup software

  1. In the console tree of the backup program, expand DPM server.

  2. Select the computer whose replicas you want to archive or the individual protected volumes.

  3. Select the backup type.

  4. Select the media to which you want to back up the files.

  5. Start the backup.

Using software that supports VSS

If your backup software supports VSS, you can back up data directly from the replicas at \Program Files\Microsoft System Center 2012\DPM\DPM\Volumes\Replica; however, you must ensure that the software does not modify data on the replica volumes. For example, if you are using Windows Backup to archive data, use only the “copy” backup type.

To verify that the backup types for that software that will not modify data on the replica volumes, consult the documentation for your backup software or contact the vendor.

You must back up the database for both the DPM database and the Report database. The following procedures provide general instructions for archiving DPM databases and replicas when using backup software that does not support DPM but does support VSS. For instructions on using the backup software, see the documentation for the backup software.

To back up databases by using backup software that supports VSS

  1. In the console tree of the backup program, browse to Microsoft System Center 2012\DPM\DPM, and select the DPMDB folder.

  2. Select the media to which you want to back up the databases.

  3. Start the backup.

noteNote
Some VSS-enabled backup software does not have a SQL VSS Requester for backing up SQL Server databases through the VSS infrastructure and the MSDE VSS Writer. In that situation, use the procedure for backing up databases with non-VSS-enabled backup software.

To back up replicas by using VSS-enabled backup software

  1. In the console tree of the backup program, browse to \Microsoft System Center 2012\DPM\DPM\Volumes\Replica\ on the DPM server.

  2. Select the computer for the replicas you want to archive or the individual protected volumes.

  3. Select the backup type.

    ImportantImportant
    Consult your backup software documentation or contact the software vendor to determine which backup types will not modify the replica data.

  4. Select the media to which you want to back up the files.

  5. Start the backup.

Using software that does not support VSS

If your backup software does not support VSS or DPM, you must use DPMBackup, a command-line tool, to create backup shadow copies of the replicas and database backups of the DPM database, and then use the backup software to archive the backup shadow copies and database backups to tape.

Use DPMBackup to prepare files for backup when using non-VSS-enabled backup software. DPMBackup is a command-line tool included with DPM that performs the following tasks:

  • Creates and mounts backup shadow copies of each replica volume on the DPM server.

  • Creates database backups of the DPM database.

DPM creates a mount point of the backup shadow copies of the replicas on the DPM server in the folder \Program Files\Microsoft System Center 2012\DPM\DPM\Volumes\ShadowCopy\. The backup shadow copies of the replicas are organized by computer.

You can configure either your tape backup program or Windows Scheduler to run DPMBackup before the tape backup program runs. The amount of time that DPMBackup requires to create the backup shadow copies and database backups depends on factors such as disk and database activity, but as a guideline, you can expect the tool to take approximately 2 minutes per replica volume to complete the operation.

The DPMBackup.exe program is stored on the DPM server in the folder \Program Files\Microsoft System Center 2012\DPM\DPM\bin. DPMBackup requires Administrator rights on the DPM server.

The backup shadow copies created by DPMBackup are read-only copies of the replica volumes, and can be archived as you would archive a file system. Because the backup shadow copies of the replicas are mounted, you must configure your tape backup software to traverse mount points.

You must back up the database for the DPM database. The following procedures provide general instructions for archiving DPM databases and replicas when using backup software that does not support DPM or VSS. For instructions about using the backup software, see the documentation for the backup software.

To back up databases by using backup software that does not support DPM or VSS

  1. Run DPMBackup.exe -db

    You can run the DPMBackup tool manually, or configure your backup program to run it automatically.

  2. In the console tree of the backup program, browse to \Program Files\Microsoft System Center 2012\DPM\DPM\Volumes\ShadowCopy\Database Backups. The file name of the DPM database backup is DPMDB.bak. The default file name of the Report database backup is ReportServer.bak.

  3. Select the media to which you want to back up the databases.

  4. Start the backup.

To back up replicas by using backup software that does not support DPM or VSS

  1. Run DPMBackup.exe –replica. You can run the DPMBackup tool manually, or configure your backup program to run it automatically.

  2. In the console tree of the backup program, browse to \Program Files\Microsoft System Center 2012\DPM\DPM\Volumes\ShadowCopy\. The backup shadow copies of the replicas are organized by computer.

  3. Select the shadow copies that you want to back up.

  4. Select the backup type.

  5. Select the media to which you want to back up the files.

  6. Start the backup.

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For additional resources, see Information and Support for System Center 2012.

Tip: Use this query to find online documentation in the TechNet Library for System Center 2012. For instructions and examples, see Search the System Center 2012 Documentation Library.
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