Volume Shadow Copy Writer Service
The Commerce Server Volume Shadow Copy Writer Service (VSS) provides added functionality for backup and restore of Commerce Server 2009 through the Windows Server System VSS framework.
Commerce Server 2009 VSS is a Windows Server System application that acts to make sure that Commerce Server 2009 application data is ready for shadow copy creation. VSS is an optional component you install. It must be explicitly enabled to run on the server and must be running at the time that the VSS application requests a backup or restore. You use the Microsoft Windows Services add-in to configure the service.
VSS helps reduce data loss by creating shadow copies of files or folders that are stored on network file shares at predetermined time intervals. Backup of these snapshots can divert the traffic from the production environment to a less busy server and minimize any downtime necessary for the production servers. Because Commerce Server 2009 maintains all application state in a database, a shadow copy of Commerce Server 2009 provides a snapshot of all the databases within a Commerce Server 2009 Web farm at a logical point in time.
Shadow copy creation through VSS is designed to be both a very fast way to create a point-in-time image for backups—on the order of seconds to a minute, depending on the amount of data—and a process that produces high fidelity images without disrupting production servers. Because shadow copy creation is non-intrusive, point-in-time copies can be made more frequently than tape backups. This reduces the time that a businesses is at risk should an outage occur.
Windows Server System Volume Shadow Copy Service
The Windows Server System VSS is a set of COM APIs that implements a framework to allow for volume backups to be performed when applications on a system continue to write to the volumes. The VSS provides a consistent interface that enables coordination between user applications that update data on disk (writers) and those that back up applications (requestors).
The VSS captures and copies stable images for backup on running systems, especially servers, without unduly degrading the performance and stability of the services they provide. For more information about the VSS, see Windows Server 2003 Help or Windows Server 2008 Help.