HP ProLiant DL100 G2 Data Protection Storage Server administration guide (June 2006)

1 Data Protection Storage Server
This chapter describes the features and uses of Data Protection Manager (DPM) and identifies several
Microsoft resources for planning and op erating this solution on HP ProLiant Data Protection Storage
Servers.
DPM description
Microsoft
®
System Center Data Protection Manager is a software application designed for storage
servers running the Standard or Enterprise Editions of Windows
®
Storage Server 2003. Disk-based data
protection and recover y are ob tained through replication, synchronization, and shadow copy creation.
Each enabled server can protect up to 6 TB of data from as many as 30 file servers.
Various dat
a sources are collected into protection groups to manage this data. Replicas, or copies of
protected d
ata on a single volume, are created and efficiently placed in a storage pool on the Data
Protection Storage Server.
Through the synchronization process, each replica is updated regularly with changes mad e to the data
sources. Between synchronizations, a file agent on the protected file server records changes in a
synchroni
zation log. At the scheduled or manual synchroniza tion time, changes in the synchronization log
are moved t
o a transfer lo g on the D ata Protection Storage Server, and then applied to the replicas.
Should a replica ever become inconsistent with its data source, a synchronization with consistency check
can be initiated to repair the replica by performing a block-by-block verification.
DPM uses the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) of the storage server operating system to create
shadow copies of the replicas. These point-in-time snapshots are stored on the storage server and can
be accessed by users to recover previous versions of the protected data. DPM can store a ma ximum of
64 shado
w copies for each volume in a protection group. When storage limits are reached, the oldest
shadow copies are automatically deleted when new shadow copies are created.
Data Protection Storage Server
The Data P rotection Storage Server is a NAS appliance that enhances your current backup strategies
by leveraging the functionality of Microsoft System Center Data Protection Ma nager (DPM). The Data
Protection Storage Server s its between the file servers and the tape library, and can store up to 64 file
snapshots. Users can then restore these backups without the h elp of a n administrator.
Benefi
ts
A Data Protection Storage Server offers the following benefits:
• Easy implem entation—The Data Protection Storage Server arrives at your site preinstalled with
DPM, and preconfigured with optim ized storage settings. All you do is plug the server into your
Modular Smart Array (if applicable) and run the DPM mini-setup to answer some environmental
ques
tions.
• Operational simplicity—The Data P rotection Storage Server is intuitive and allows users to
restore files without the help of an IT department. To restore a file, right-click the folder from
the M icrosoft dialog box or Explorer, and then use the Properties window to restore the file
fr om previous version .
• Fast and reliable—Disk-to-disk backup is a fast, secure, and reliable medium. It offers near
co
ntinuousdataprotectioninmuchlesstimethantapebackups.
HP ProLiant DL100 G2 Data Protection Storage Server 13