Services
Applies to: Forefront Protection Manager 2010, Forefront Protection 2010 for SharePoint
Microsoft Forefront Protection 2010 for SharePoint (FPSP) services are the features that run on the SharePoint server and control all back-end functionality of FPSP. The following table describes the services used by FPSP.
| FPSP Service | Default Startup Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
Microsoft Forefront Server Protection Controller |
Automatic |
Acts as the server feature that FPSP connects to for monitoring. Coordinates all real-time, scheduled, and on-demand scanning activities. If you change the startup type to anything other than Automatic, FPSP may not scan properly. |
Microsoft Forefront Server Protection Controller for SharePoint |
Manual |
Acts as the agent responsible for communicating with the Microsoft SQL Server databases. Runs under the account entered during the install process. On SharePoint Server 2010, this service is always started. On SharePoint Server 2007, this service is started before a scan request occurs, but there may be a delayed start compared to SharePoint Server 2010. |
Microsoft Forefront Server Protection Eventing |
Manual |
Processes FPSP events, including incidents logging, quarantine logging, and notifications. |
Microsoft Forefront Server Protection Mail Pickup |
Manual |
Delivers messages generated by FPSP for mail delivery, such as notifications. This service is always started automatically. If this service is disabled, no notifications are generated. |
Microsoft Forefront Server Protection VSS Writer Service
The Microsoft Forefront Server Protection VSS Writer Service provides added functionality for backing up and restoring FPSP through the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) framework.
The Microsoft Forefront Server Protection VSS Writer Service is installed automatically. It must be running when the VSS application requests a backup or restore. To configure the service, use the Microsoft Windows Services applet. The service installs on all operating systems but is only required on server systems.
When running, FPSP locks and has exclusive access to the data files. When the Microsoft Forefront Server Protection VSS Writer Service is not running, backup programs running on Windows do not have access to the data files, and backups must be performed using regular FPSP backup and restore procedures. For more information, see Backing up and restoring the product.
Use the Microsoft Forefront Server Protection VSS Writer Service to permit Windows backup programs to copy FPSP data files while FPSP is running.
Important
Before using the VSS Writer Service restore functionality, stop all Microsoft Forefront Server Protection services, and then restart the Microsoft Forefront Server Protection VSS Writer Service.
About VSS
The VSS is a set of COM APIs that implements a framework to allow volume backups to be performed while applications on a system continue to write to the volumes. The VSS provides a consistent interface that allows 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 backups on running systems, particularly servers, without unduly degrading the performance and stability of the services they provide. For more information on the VSS, see your Windows documentation.
Required permissions
The Microsoft Forefront Server Protection VSS Writer Service must run under the Local System account.
Features
The Microsoft Forefront Server Protection VSS Writer Service supports:
Full backup and restore of configuration settings, all quarantined items, and malware, and filtering incidents
Online backups
The Microsoft Forefront Server Protection VSS Writer Service does not support:
Restoring to another location
Online restores
Differential backup and restores