HP ProLiant ML310 G3 1TB, Administration Manual

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1 Data Protection Storage Server
This chapter describes the features and uses of Data Protection Manager (DPM) and identi fi es several
Microsoft resources for planning and operating 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 recovery are obtained through replication, synchronization, and shadow copy creation.
Each enabled server can protect up to 6 TB of data from as many as 30 fi le servers.
Various data sources are collected into protection groups to manage this data. Replicas, or copies of
protected data on a single volume, are created and ef fi ciently placed in a storage pool on the Data
Protection Storage Server.
Through the synchronization process, each replica is updated regularly with changes made to the data
sources. Between synchronizations, a fi le agent on the protected fi le server records changes in a
synchronization log. At the scheduled or manual synchronization time, changes in the synchronization log
are moved to a transfer log on the Data 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 veri fi cation.
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 maximum of
64 shadow 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 Protection Storage Server is a NAS appliance that enhances your current backup strategies
by leveraging the functionality of Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM). The Data
Protection Storage Server sits between the fi le servers and the tape library, and can store up to 64 fi le
snapshots. Users can then restore these backups without the help of an administrator.
Bene fi ts
A Data Protection Storage Server offers the following bene fi ts:
• Easy implementation—The Data Protection Storage Server arrives at your site preinstalled with
DPM, and precon fi gured with optimized 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
questions.
• Operational simplicity—The Data Protection Storage Server is intuitive and allows users to
restore fi les without the help of an IT department. To restore a fi le, right-click the folder from
the Microsoft dialog box or Explorer, and then use the Properties window to restore the fi le
from previous version.
• Fast and reliable—Disk-to-disk backup is a fast, secure, and reliable medium. It offers near
continuous data protection in much less time than tape backups.
HP ProLiant ML310 G3 Data Protection Storage Server
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