Friday, November 9, 2012

HOTFIX: Hotfix rollup package 7 for System Center Data Protection Manager 2010

This article describes the issues in Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM) 2010 that are fixed in hotfix rollup package 7 for System Center DPM 2010.
This hotfix rollup resolves the following issues:

  • When a Microsoft SharePoint site collection name contains a space, SharePoint item-level recovery fails in System Center Data Protection Manager 2010.
    For more information about this issue, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

    2755678 SharePoint item-level recovery fails when the site collection name contains a space in System Center Data Protection Manager 2010

  • After you rename a SharePoint site in System Center Data Protection Manager 2010, you cannot restore the site.
    For more information about this issue, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

    2763004 System Center Data Protection Manager 2010 is unable to restore SharePoint after renaming a site

  • In System Center Data Protection Manager 2010, the SharePoint Recovery Point Status report displays incorrect data.
    For more information about this issue, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

    2763010 System Center Data Protection Manager 2010 SharePoint Recovery Point Status Report shows stale data

Source and Download link

Friday, April 6, 2012

DPM reporting fails (after server reinstall)

Reinstallation of DPM with the same server name and database. For instance in the case of hardware replacement. Could lead to failing reports on the DPM server.

Error

An error occurred during client rendering.

An error has occurred during report processing. (rsProcessingAborted)

Cannot create a connection to data source 'DLS'. (rsErrorOpeningConnection)

Cannot open database "DPMDB" requested by the login. The login failed. Login failed for user ‘%servername%\DPMR$%servername%.

Cause
After recovery of the DPM server to new hardware. The account ‘%servername%\DPMR$%servername%. doesn’t have the correct mappings for the DPM database.

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Solution

  1. Connect to the MSDPM2010 instance using SQL management dtudio
  2. Expand Security then expand Logins; right-click %servername%\DPMDBReaders$%servername% and select properties
  3. Select User Mapping in the left pane; in the upper right pane, under "Users mapped to this login:" verify DPMDB is selected; In lower right pane, ensure db_datareader and public are both selected; click OK

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  • An error has occurred during report processing. (rsProcessingAborted)
    • Cannot impersonate user for data source 'DPMReporterDataSource'. (rsErrorImpersonatingUser)
      • Log on failed. Ensure the user name and password are correct. (rsLogonFailed)
        • Logon failure: the user has not been granted the requested logon type at this computer

To resolve this error, you must ensure that the DPMReport account has the Allow log on locally user right.

To assign the Allow log on locally user right to the DPMReport account:

  1. In Administrative Tools, open Local Security Policy.

  2. Under Security Settings, expand Local Policies, and then click User Rights Management.

  3. In the details pane, right-click Allow log on locally and then right-click Properties.

  4. In the Allow log on locally Properties dialog box, click Add User or Group.

  5. In the Select Users, Computers, or Groups dialog box, click Locations, click the name of the DPM server, and then click OK.

  6. In the Select Users, Computers, or Groups dialog box, enter DPMReport, and then click OK.

  7. In the Allow log on locally Properties dialog box, click OK.

  8. In the details pane, right-click Deny log on locally and then right-click Properties.

  9. If the DPMReport account is listed, select DPMReport and then click Remove

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Microsoft Online Backup Service

With the release of Windows 8, Microsoft will launch a new online backup service. Code name Cloud Base Windows Backup. The new cloud based service for Windows Server “8”, which backs up your server’s files and folders to the cloud.

Windows Server “8” uses the downloadable Microsoft Online Backup Agent Windows Server Backup interface to offer this service..

Most important features

Feature Description
Simple configuration and management Microsoft Online Backup Service integrates with the  Windows Server Backup utility. Which provides a familiar interface.
Block level incremental backups Just like DPM, MS online backup is offering block level incremental. Only the changed blocks need to be replicated
Data compression, encryption and throttling The Microsoft Online Backup Agent ensures that data is compressed and encrypted on the server before being sent to the Microsoft Online Backup. Data is always stored encrypted in the cloud.
Data integrity is verified in the cloud. Automatically checked for integrity once the backup is done
Configurable retention policies for storing data in the cloud The retention range for the data can be configured from the client or by PowerShell.

Application data support
According to the information available this service offers only protection for files and folders. There is no support for application data yet. Therefore this is not a solution for Active directory, Exchange, SQL or Sharepoint backups.

Steps to get started

  • First step is to register and create a passphrase to encrypt the backups from the server
  • Set backup schedule. What should be in the backup, when should the backup run, for how long should the data be available?
  • Start the backup. This can be done manual or by the set schedule.

All above options are also available using Powershell

Recovering data
To recover data use the Microsoft Online Backup Service feature. As part of the Recover Data Wizard, you can choose the volume from where data needs to be restored and the date and time of the data to be restored.

Integration with System Center Data Protection Manager
The current release has no integration with SCDPM. Microsoft does not offer cloud storage for DPM.

Beta sign-up
You can sign up for the beta at: http://connect.microsoft.com/onlinebackup

Read more at Source:

Monday, April 2, 2012

System Center 2012 (Data Protection Manager) released

The System Center 2012 suite released and available for download today.

The suite will be officially announced at the Microsoft Management Summit on April 18th NZ time

This includes Virtual Machine Manager, App Controller, Operations Manager, Configuration Manager, Service Manager, Data Protection Manager, and Orchestrator, and all can be installed with the new Unified Installer.

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If you have access to the Volume Licensing portal, TechNet subscriptions etc. the Suite should be available now for you to download.

Source: http://blogs.technet.com/b/nmercer/

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

System Center 2012 DPM Central Console in action

Introduction
The manageability is something that Microsoft has paid extra attention to in the new version of DPM. In the previous versions local logon was needed for all GUI based management. Especially in environments with multiple DPM servers this is pretty inefficient. To change this Microsoft has introduced the Central console in to DPM 2012. The cool thing about this is that the DPM central console is built on top of the System Center Operations Manager console. Many admins are using this console already to monitor their environment and now can use it for DPM administration as well.

Installation
For demo we use System center 2012 Operations Manager. During RTM this option will also be available for SCOM 2007 R2.

Before we can start the installation we need to import the DPM Management pack to Operations Manager.

  • Microsoft.SystemCenter.DataProtectionManager.2011.Discovery.mp
  • Microsoft.SystemCenter.DataProtectionManager.2011.Library.mp

When completed we logon to the Operations Manager management server and start the setup from the DPM2012 media. Then select the DPM Central Console.
In the next screens we accept the license agreement and the setup starts.clip_image001

In this case we install the central console server-side and client-side on the same server. This way we can start the central console directly from the management server. You can also install the DPM Central-client side on a workstation (with the Operations console installed) for remote administration.clip_image003

The setup will also install the DPM remote console and the DPM Management shell.
The installation is now completed

Start Central Console
The DPM Central console is integrated to the Operations Manager console. Start Operations Manager to work with the central console. The screen below provides an overview of all the options.

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At first it looks like a normal management pack. But the power of the new DPM management pack comes from the integration with the DPM remote console. This allows you to take direct action. Let’s take it to the test.

First we select monitoring (A) section in the console.

Alert View (B)
The alert view provides an overview of all DPM related alerts and also an overview per category.

The Backup Alerts contains all alerts related to backup issues like recovery point creation, replica synchronization, disk backup and tape backup alerts.

The Infrastructure Alerts folder shows alerts about the DPM Infrastructure, like Disk Infrastructure, Protected computers and the Tape infrastructure.
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For this example we take a disk backup related alert. The message below shows that the allocated disk space for recovery points is not sufficient anymore. When this happened in the past you would need to logon to the affected DPM server and modify the disk space locally.
image

With the central console you can take direct action from the Operations Manager console using the Action Task panel (F) and the DPM tasks (G).
For this alert we select Take recommended action.
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It will open the modify disk allocation screen. Here we can adjust the disk allocation directly from the central console. We enter the correct values for the replica and recovery point volume.image

And the action is in progress…..
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After a few seconds the action is complete. Without the need to logon to the DPM server.image

State view (C)
The State view shows the health state per component. You can view the status of the DPM servers, Protected servers, Portion groups, Disk or Tape drives
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In the example below we select the status of the Protect machines. This provides you with a single interface on the DPM protection status of all servers in your environment. Again there is no reason to logon to the local DPM servers. This will be available for all you DPM 2010 and DPM 2012 servers.
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Scope Console
A scoped DPM console is a remote DPM console which only shows alerts and actions related to the selected protected machine.
We select troubleshoot protected server in the action panel to open the scoped console.
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The console shows now only the options and alerts related to this protected machine
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Other Tasks available in the Central console
Some of the other available tasks you can perform using the Central console

  • Resume tape or disk backup after a failure.
  • Run Consistency Check on a protection
  • Create a recovery point
  • Inventory tape library

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Conclusion
The new central console for DPM adds the much needed single managed interface to DPM. Especially for environment with multiple DPM servers this is a welcome added feature. It is also a next step in the integration of the System center products to a suit.

More info
This video DPM 2012 – Centralized Management : Troubleshooting using Scoped DPM Console shows how you can use the Troubleshooting Experience from the Central Console to isolate a failure and related backup jobs, backup items and servers from your overall backup environment.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

System Center (DPM) 2012 CTP for Windows Server "8" Beta support

The CTP enables the Data Protection Manager component's repository and agents to run on Windows Server ‘8” as well as providing protection in Windows Server “8” environments. The CTP also adds protection for new features in Windows Server “8”:

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  • Hyper-V Virtual Machines on Cluster Shared Volumes 2.0 (CSV2.0)
  • Hyper-V Virtual Machines on remote SMB share
  • Files on De-Duplicated Volumes

More and download here

Monday, March 5, 2012

Monday, February 20, 2012

Data Protection Manager 2010 Overview Poster

The Data Protection Manager (DPM) 2010 Overview poster was made to give an overview and quick reference to DPM's components, architecture, and DPM protection scenarios. It consists of system requirements, licensing, architecture, supported workloads, storage types, design quest.

image

Authors:

Yegor Statsev Microsoft DPM MVP
Sean O Farrell www.seanofarrelll.blogspot.com
Steve Buchanan www.buchatech.com

Download: http://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/Data-Protection-Manager-e1835980
Source: http://blogs.technet.com/

Thursday, February 16, 2012

How Microsoft Does IT..

It is always interesting to read how Microsoft manages its own IT. Not for the last reason is because Microsoft is one of the world's largest companies. This is not (only) a commercial story, but also provides a inside to the Microsoft IT infrastructure,

Client Protection and migration to DPM2010 - Technical Case Study
How Microsoft Information Technology (IT) used System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM) 2010 to create a client-server data backup and recovery solution.

Figure 3: Topology of DPM 2010 client pilot program
Providing Client-Server Backup and Recovery at Microsoft with System Center Data Protection Manager 2010

Reducing Operational Costs, Improving Storage Utilization, and Increasing Scalability – Technical white Paper
This white paper is written specifically for enterprise technical decision makers, technical architects, and deployment managers who are considering deploying Data Protection Manager 2010. It is based on the experience of Microsoft,

Figure 1. Comparison of Average SQL Server Resources Protected per DPM Server
Protecting Server Data with Data Protection Manager 2010

Protecting Client Data at Microsoft with System Center Data Protection Manager 2010 - Technical White Paper
As part of an ongoing effort to provide a comprehensive end user data management strategy for the company, Microsoft Information Technology (Microsoft IT) worked closely with the System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM) 2010 product team on a five-month pilot deployment of the DPM 2010 client. The success of the pilot led to Microsoft IT's adoption of the DPM 2010 client as a supported backup and restore solution. DPM has become part of Microsoft IT's Client Corporate Data Management service portfolios.

Figure 9: Incident rate for DPM 2010 client support calls
Protecting Client Data at Microsoft with System Center Data Protection Manager 2010

Video: Managing Client Data Backup, Storage and Management at Microsoft
In this video, learn how Microsoft IT manages client data backup, storage and management with an emphasis on IntelliMirror Folder Redirection (User State Virtualization), System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM) for Client data backup, and Virtual File Storage (VFS) service.



Managing Client Data Backup, Storage and Management at Microsoft

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

EUR not working in combination with DFS

It is not possible for users to restore (their own) files using EUR in situations where DFS (Distributed File System) is in place for the file servers.

Users receive the error message: "There are no previous versions available."

Cause
Previous versions of a file or of a folder in a DFS share are not listed if you access the share through a nested DFS link from a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2.

Hotfix

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft for the following Operating Systems.
  • Windows 7
  • Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1)
  • Windows Server 2008 R2
  • Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1)
The hotfix is available using this Support link: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;2466048

Our experience
The support article describes that this issue only occurs when you try to access the share by DFS name. <\\DFS\fileshare> When you access the share by the file server name it should work. <\\fileserver\fileshare>. However we experienced the issue also when accessing the share using the server name. Both issues where solved by the hotfix.

More info about End User Recovery (EUR)

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Replica inconsistent and insufficient disk space on BMR (Bare Metal Recovery) Backup

The problem is that sometimes the BMR backup "Bare Metal Recovery" is not working properly and fails with the message "Replica inconsistent" caused by "insufficient disk space".
Cause:
DPM 2010 does not calculate the size of BMR data source, but assumes 30 GB for all servers. Admins should change the value as per the size of BMR backups expected on their environments.

Read more

Monday, January 23, 2012

Windows Anti-Virus Exclusion List

One place on the web where you can find an updated list of ALL the AV exclusions you might want to configure for Windows Server.

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/953.aspx

Friday, January 20, 2012

DPM 2012 Release Candidate available

This week Microsoft released the RC version of DPM2012. The RC was released as part of the Private Cloud Management Suit. This is Microsoft next step in offering a ‘all-in-one’ cloud solution, based on Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 8 and System Center.

During this web cast Microsoft launched their Private Cloud Management Suit. In this session you will see how all System Center products come to getter in one suit that allows to manage your private cloud.

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The Private Cloud Management Suit includes:

System Center 2012 App Controller

Provides a common self-service experience across private and public clouds that can help you empower application owners to easily build, configure, deploy, and manage new services.

System Center 2012 Configuration Manager Provides comprehensive configuration management for the Microsoft platform that can help you empower users with the devices and applications they need to be productive while maintaining corporate compliance and control
System Center 2012 Data Protection Manager provides unified data protection for Windows servers and clients that can help you deliver scalable, manageable, and cost-effective protection and restore scenarios from disk, tape, and off premise
System Center 2012 Endpoint Protection Built on System Center Configuration Manager, provides industry-leading threat detection of malware and exploits as part of a unified infrastructure for managing client security and compliance that can help you simplify and improve endpoint protection
System Center 2012 Operations Manager

Provides deep application diagnostics and infrastructure monitoring that can help you ensure the predictable performance and availability of vital applications and offers a comprehensive view of your datacenter, private, and public clouds.

System Center 2012 Orchestrator Provides orchestration, integration, and automation of IT processes through the creation of run books that can help you to define and standardize best practices and improve operational efficiency.
System Center 2012 Service Manager

Provides flexible self-service experiences and standardized datacenter processes that can help you integrate people, workflows, and knowledge across enterprise infrastructure and applications.

System Center 2012 Virtual Machine Manager Provides virtual machine management and services deployment with support for multi-hypervisor environments that can help you deliver a flexible and cost effective private cloud environment.

System Center 2012 Unified Installer
Starting this release  Microsoft introduced one installer for all System Center (Cloud) management products the System Center 2012 Unified Installer. With the Unified Installer it's possible to install all System Center products as once, without the need to install a single product multiple times. That way products can be installed quicker and less screens are needed to install them.

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You run the Unified Installer to deploy System Center 2012 components. After you select a System Center 2012 component to install, the Unified Installer prompts you for the prerequisites that the component requires. Then, the Unified Installer installs the component and its prerequisites.

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Licensing
The licensing for the new System Center 2012 product suite will be fully renewed. The current System Center 2010 suite contains 110 licensing items. Where the new SC 2012 will only have 2 license types. , That is for the whole suite of SC products!

  • License required only for endpoints being managed. No additional licenses are needed for management servers or SQL Server technology.
  • Consistent licensing model across editions. Processor-based license, covering up to two
    processors for server management. User- or OSE-license for client management.
  • All server management licenses (SMLs) include the same components and the ability to manage any workload. System Center 2012 SMLs will be released in two editions differentiated by virtualization rights only:

  • Datacenter: Maximizes cloud capacity with unlimited virtualization for high density private clouds
  • Standard: For lightly or non-virtualized private cloud workloads.
  • image

    Full details: Licensing & Pricing Datasheet

    Download
    The release candidate versions of all the Microsoft System center products are now available for download. Start here.

    More to read

  • Download the Microsoft Private Cloud Whitepaper
  • The Microsoft Private Cloud web site
  • Using the System Center 2012 Unified Installer
  • System Center 2012 Gets Generous Licensing Changes
  • Licensing & Pricing Datasheet
  • More to watch

  • Transforming IT with Microsoft Private Cloud
  • Video: Thought Leadership Series – Enabling Private Cloud
  • Monday, January 16, 2012

    Articles on disaster recovery (as a Service)

    My Conclusion FIT colleague Marcel van den Berg has created a posting to collect links to articles on disaster recovery and disaster recovery as a service.

    Read more

    Friday, January 13, 2012

    How does DPM choose which tape to use First.

    DPM will use free tapes before it uses expired tapes. The thinking is that once you overwrite an expired tape, it can no longer be used for recovery, so DPM favors using free tapes first. DPM always pull tapes from the highest slot number first, so a free tape in slot 8 will be used before a free tape in slot 2.
    (DPM forum by Mike J)

    Friday, January 6, 2012

    How to Troubleshoot Tape Library Sharing Configuration Issues in DPM 2010

    A TechNet post about everything you need to consider when sharing a tape library in DPM.

    Read more