Data Recovery

Published : April 8, 2005 | Updated : August 17, 2005

By accessing shadow copies created on the DPM server, both administrators and end users can recover previous versions of data protected by DPM. Users can recover previous versions of individual files, or they can recover an entire data source. Because shadow copies retain the folder and file structure of protected data sources, users browse through familiar volumes, folders, and shares to recover the data they want.

Administrators recover data directly by using DPM Administrator Console. The console enables administrators to search for shadow copies of protected data by network share or by file server, volume, and path. Searches can be refined by various criteria such as range of shadow copy times.

End users recover data using a client computer that is running the shadow copy client software. Users can recover previous versions through shares on file servers, through Distributed File System (DFS) Namespaces, or by using a command on the Tools menu for Microsoft Office 2003 applications.

If Shadow Copies for Shared Folders is enabled locally on a protected file server, the end-user recovery feature of DPM works in tandem with the Windows feature. When a user attempts to access a previous version of a file, the request is first serviced on the file server. If the relevant shadow copy is available, the user accesses the previous version directly from the file server. Otherwise, the request is forwarded transparently to the DPM server, and the user recovers the previous version from the DPM server. The user’s experience in each case is identical.