Supported and unsupported scenarios in DPM
Updated: October 5, 2016
This topic summarizes some of the common support information you might need when deploying and maintaining Data Protection Manager (DPM) 2012.
Installation and deployment issues
Storage issues
Deduplication issues
Client and server protection issues
Data protection issues
Exchange protection issues
SharePoint protection issues
SQL Server protection issues
Hyper-V and virtual machine protection issues
Installation and deployment issues
DPM deployment options
Issue: DPM can be installed in physical and virtual environments.
More information: DPM 2012 can be installed as follows:
As a standalone physical server—DPM can’t be deployed in a physical cluster, but you can manage multiple DPM servers from a single location using Central Console in Operations Manager.
As an on-premises virtual machine—You can deploy DPM as a Hyper-V virtual machine as a single server or virtual machine cluster. You install DPM in the same way as a physical installation. Read Install DPM as a virtual machine on an on-premises Hyper-V server.
As an Azure virtual machine—From DPM 2012 R2 Update 3 onwards you can install DPM as an Azure virtual machine. There are a number of restrictions in this deployment. Read more in Install DPM as an Azure virtual machine
As a Windows virtual machine in VMWare—From DPM 2012 R2 Update 5 onwards you can install DPM on a Windows virtual machine in a VMWare environment. In this configuration DPM can protect Microsoft workloads that are all running as Windows virtual machines in VMWare.
System Center 2012 – DPM can’t be installed on servers running Windows Server 2012
Issue: Operating system not supported.
Workaround: Install System Center 2012 SP1 in order to get DPM running on a server running Windows Server 2012.
System Center 2012 – DPM with SP1 can’t be installed on servers running Windows Server 2012 R2
Issue: Operating system not supported.
Workaround: Install System Center 2012 R2 in order to get DPM running on a server running Windows Server 2012 R2.
Sharing a library between different DPM versions isn’t supported
Issue: Different versions of DPM (for example DPM 2012 SP1 and DPM 2012 R2) can’t function as clients sharing the same library.
Workaround: None. All DPM servers sharing a library must be running the same version of DPM.
Upgrading System Center 2010 – DPM directly to System Center 2012 - DPM with SP1 or R2 isn’t supported
Issue: Upgrade isn’t supported.
Workaround: You’ll need to upgrade to System Center 2012 - DPM first.
DPM doesn’t run on the Turkish language version of Windows 2012 operating systems
Issue: No language support
Workaround: None
DPM 2010 and later versions can’t run on a server running a 32-bit operating system
Issue: Operating system limitation.
Workaround: Install on 64-bit only. For a full list of system requirements, see System Requirements for DPM in System Center 2012.
In-place upgrade of the operating system on a server running DPM isn’t supported
Issue: In-place upgrade isn’t supported.
Workaround: Do the following:
Make a backup of the DPM database. You can use the DPMBackup.exe tool to do this. This tool does the following:
Creates a mount point of the backup shadow copies of each replica volume on the DPM server, in the folder Program Files\Microsoft Data Protection Manager\DPM\Volumes\ShadowCopy\.
Creates database backups of the DPM database (DPMDB.mdf) and the Report database (ReportServer.mdf).
The tool is located on the DPM server in the folder Program Files\Microsoft Data Protection Manager\DPM\bin. In order to run the tool the SQL Server 2012 SP1 management tools must be installed on the DPM server. The installation file for these is located at \SCDPM\SQLSVR2012SP1\SQLManagementStudio_X64_ENU.EXE on the DPM installation media. Note that .NET 3.5 is required before installing these tools.
Make a note of the DPM version and the last update that was installed.
Uninstall DPM. Keep replica data.
Upgrade the operating system and ensure that the DPM storage pool disks are imported.
Install DPM 2012 SP1 or R2.
Restore the DPM database using Dpmsymc –restore DB.
Run DPMSync – Sync to create new mount points.
Run a consistency check to get data sources into a green state.
Underscore not supported in SQL Server name
Issue: If you specify a remote SQL Server that has an underscore in the name during DPM installation, the installation might fail.
Workaround: Specify a SQL Server name that doesn’t include the underscore (“_”) character.
NTFS compression isn’t supported on DPM volumes
Issue: NTFS not supported.
Workaround: None
Renaming the DPM server isn’t supported
Issue: Renaming not supported.
Workaround: None
Moving the DPM server domain isn’t supported
Issue: Moving the DPM server to a different domain after deployment isn’t supported.
Workaround: None
DPM on a domain controller can only protect local data sources
Issue: Deployment not supported.
Workaround: If you want to install the DPM protection agent on other computers in order to protect them, don’t install DPM on a domain controller.
DPM can’t use SQL Server running on a domain controller
Issue: Database deployment not supported.
Workaround: If you want to use a remote instance of SQL Server as your DPM database, ensure that the SQL Server instance isn’t running on a domain controller.
Moving protected servers with DPM secondary servers
Moving protected servers between DPM servers that are under secondary protection isn’t supported. To illustrate this we have the following:
Server1
Server2
DPM1 acting as primary DPM server
DPM2 acting as another primary DPM server
DPM3 acting as secondary server for DPM1 and DPM2
Where:
Server1 is protected by DPM1
Server2 is protected by DPM2
DPM3 is a secondary server for DPM1 and DPM2 (and thus protects Server1 and Server2.
The following occurs:
Scenario 1
DPM1 fails or is removed from the infrastructure.
You now want to protect Server1 with DPM2 (with DPM3 acting as the secondary server).
Scenario 2
DPM1 fails or is removed from the infrastructure.
You now want to protect Server1 with DPM3.
Both of these scenarios are unsupported. You can only select one of the following options:
Option 1—Use the “Switch Protection” option on DPM3 for Server1, and leave DPM3 in this mode going forward. Note that in this scenario you can’t add secondary protection for Server1 on another DPM server when you’re using switched protection mode.
Option 2—Rebuild DPM1 with the same name and restore the DPM database. This allows DPM to resume primary protection.
Option 3—Move protection for Server1 to a new DPM server (DPM4) that DPM3 doesn’t know about.
Storage issues
Using a virtual disk (.vhd/.vhdx) in the DPM storage pool is supported in DPM 2012 R2 only
Issue: Storage scenario not supported.
Workaround: Install System Center 2012 R2 - DPM.
You can’t use Storage Spaces for the DPM disk storage pool
Issue: Storage Spaces unsupported.
Workaround: None
References to old tape libraries aren’t removed from the DPM database
Issue: Obsolete tape library are still enumerated and listed in DPM PowerShell cmdlets such as get-dpmlibrary.
Workaround: None
Virtual tape library support
Issue: Are virtual tape libraries supported?
Workaround: Virtual tape libraries configured with a virtual fibre channel adapter are only supported if you’re running Data Protection Manager 2012 R2 UR3 or later with certified hardware. For a current list of supported hardware see Compatible Tape Libraries for System Center 2012 DPM. To check if your tape library is supported by the virtual fibre channel adapter, please contact your tape hardware vendor and ask them to Verify tape library compatibility.
DPM does not support MPIO/DSM for tape libraries
Issue: This configuration is not supported.
Workaround: Move your tape libraries to a separate fabric, and use a dedicated host bus adapter(HBA).
USB or removable drives can’t be used in the DPM storage pool
Issue: USB and removable storage such as Firewire.
Workaround: None. This isn’t supported due to a limitation with Windows dynamic disks.
Data on CSVs
Issue: DPM only supports the protection of Hyper-V virtual machines on Cluster Shared Volumes (CSVs). Protecting other workloads hosted on CSVs isn’t supported.
Workaround:::
Deduplication issues
Deduplicated volumes support
Issue: Deduplication support for DPM depends on operating system support.
| Operating system of protected server | Operating system of DPM server | DPM version | Dedup support |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows 2012 | Windows Server 2012 | DPM 2012 with SP1, DPM 2012 R2 | Y |
| Windows 2012 | Windows Server 2012 R2 | DPM 2012 R2 | Y |
| Windows Server 2012 R2 | Windows Server 2012 R2 | DPM 2012 R2 | Y |
| Windows Server 2012 R2 | Windows Server 2012 | DPM 2012 with SP1, DPM 2012 R2 | N |
Workaround: Use within support limitations.
Windows deduplication isn’t always supported on volumes hosting .VHD or .VHDX files
Issue: Dedupe support
Workaround: Deploy DPM as virtual machine.
You can enable deduplication for DPM storage when it runs in a Hyper-V virtual machine and stored backup data to VHDs in shared folders on Windows File Servers with data deduplication enabled. For more information about this scenario read Deduplicate DPM storage.
Dedup file system can’t be protected to a secondary DPM server
Issue: After a dedup file system is protected by a primary DPM server, it can’t be protected to a secondary DPM server.
Workaround: None.
Item-level recovery not supported
Issue: If you’re protecting virtual machines that contain deduped volumes, you can’t perform Item level recovery (ILR) from those VHD/VHDX files.
Workaround: Restore the .VHD/VHDX file that contains the deduped volume to a Windows 2012 R2 server that has the Data Deduplication role installed. Mount the .VHD file in disk management, and copy out the desired files.
Client and server protection issues
Support parameters for protecting computers running client operating systems with DPM 2012
Issue: The following protection scenarios are supported:
Windows 8.1 clients can be protected with DPM 2012 R2 or DPM 2012 with SP1.
Windows 8 clients can be protected with DPM 2012, DPM 2012 SP1, and DPM 2012 R2.
Windows 7 clients can be protected with DPM 2012, DPM 2012 SP1, and DPM 2012 R2.
Windows Vista with SP2 clients can be protected with DPM 2012, and DPM 2012 SP1.
Windows Vista or Windows Vista with SP1 clients can be protected with DPM 2012 only.
Windows XP SP2 clients can be protected with DPM 2012 only.
Workaround: Ensure you’re running the right version of DPM.
Support for protecting computers running server operating systems with DPM 2012
Issue: The following protection scenarios are supported:
Windows Server 2012 R2 can be protected with DPM 2012 R2 only.
Windows Server 2012 or 2012 with SP1 can be protected with DPM 2012 R2, and DPM 2012 SP1.
Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1, Windows Server 2008 R2 can be protected with DPM 2012, DPM 2012 SP1 and DPM 2012 R2.
Windows Server 2008 and Storage Server 2008 can be protected with DPM 2012 R2 running Update Rollup 2 or later, DPM 2012 SP1, and DPM 2012.
Windows 2003 Server with SP2, Windows 2003 Server R2, Windows 2003 Server R2 with SP2 can be protected with DPM 2012 R2 running Update Rollup 2 or later, DPM 2012 with SP1, And DPM 2012.
Workaround: Ensure you’re running the right version of DPM.
DPM can’t protect SOFS shares
Issue: DPM can’t protect shares on SOFS.
Workaround: Ensure shares you want to protect aren’t located on SOFS.
Data protection issues
Protection might fail when changing the path of a data source
Issue: When you protect a shared folder, the path to the shared folder includes the logical path on the volume. If you move the shared folder, protection will fail. In addition if you change the path of a protected data source on a volume that uses the Encrypting File System (EFS) and the new file path exceeds 5120 characters, data protection will fail.
Workaround: If you must move a protected shared folder, remove it from its protection group and then add it to protection after the move. For an encrypted volume ensure that the new file path of the protected data source uses fewer than 5120 characters.
Change the domain of a protected resource
Issue: You can’t change the domain of a protected computer and continue protection without disruption. In addition you can’t change the domain of a protected computer and associate the existing replicas and recovery points with the computer when it is re-protected.
Workaround: We recommend that you don’t change the domain of a protected computer. If you must change the name of a protected computer, then first remove the data sources on the computer from protection. Then protect the data source on the computer after it has a new name.
Change the time zone of a protected resource
Issue: You can’t change the domain of a protected computer and continue protection without disruption. In addition you can’t change the domain of a protected computer and associate the existing replicas and recovery points with the computer when it is re-protected.
Workaround: We recommend that you don’t change the domain of a protected computer. If you must change the name of a protected computer, then first remove the data sources on the computer from protection. Then protect the data source on the computer after it has a new name.
Change the name of a protected resource
Issue: Ensure you update the time zone correctly if you change it for a protected resource.
Workaround: DPM automatically identifies the time zone of a protected computer during installation of the protection agent. If a protected computer is moved to a different time zone after protection is configured, ensure that you change the computer time in Control Panel. Then update the time zone in the DPM database.
Some data types aren’t supported
Issue: DPM doesn’t support the following data types:
Hard links
Reparse points, including DFS links and junction points
Mount point metadata—A protection group can contain data with mount points. In this case DPM protects the mounted volume that is the target of the mount point, but it doesn’t protect the mount point metadata. When you recover data containing mount points, you’ll need to manually recreate your mount point hierarchy.
Data in mounted volumes within mounted volumes
Recycle Bin
Paging files
System Volume Information folder. To protect system information for a computer you’ll need to select the computer’s system state as the protect group member.
Non-NTFS volumes
Files containing hard links or symbolic links from Windows Vista.
Files with any of the following combinations of attributes:
Encryption and reparse
Encryption and Single Instance Storage (SIS)
Encryption and case-sensitivity
Encryption and sparse
Case-sensitivity and SIS
Compression and SIS
Workaround: None
Limitations on protecting computers in workgroups and untrusted domains
Issue: DPM caqn protect workloads in the same domain as the DPM server, or in child and trusted domains. You can also protect the following workloads in workgroups and untrusted domains using NTLM or certificate authentication:
SQL Server
File Server
Hyper-V
These workloads can be running on a single server or in a cluster configuration.
Workaround: If you want to protect a workload that isn’t in a trusted domain, see Back up and restore workloads in workgroups and untrusted domains for exact details of what’s supported and what authentication is required.
Short-term backup to tape isn’t supported
Issue: DPM doesn’t support short-term backup (incremental backup) to tape for workload data (Exchange, SQL Server, SharePoint, Hyper-V). Only file data (volumes, shares, folders) can be backed up incrementally.
Workaround: Use disk or a combination of disk and cloud storage (Azure Backup) for short-term backup of these workloads.
Multiple long-term tape goals that use dataset-copy jobs fail if you only have a single tape drive
Issue: DPM doesn’t support multiple long-term backup goals if you only have a single tape drive.
Workaround: Add a second tape drive to DPM or to the tape library.
Backing up data on UPDs (User Profile Disks) isn’t supported
Issue: Data on file shares hosting UPDs (User Profile Disks) can’t be protected by DPM.
Workaround: None.
Exchange protection issues
Disk-to-tape backup isn’t supported for Exchange DAG
Issue: DPM doesn’t support short-term or long-term disk-to-tape (D2T) backup for Exchange DAG workloads.
Workaround: Use disk-to-disk-to-tape (D2D2T) for Exchange DAG workload.
SharePoint protection issues
AlwaysOn not supported
Issue: From DPM 2012 R2 Update 5 onwards DPM can protect SharePoint farm SQL Server databases that have Always On enabled.
Workaround: None.
SQL Server protection issues
SQL Server 2014 support
Issue: You can protect SQL Server 2014 and SQL Server 2012 with SP2 with DPM 2012 R2 with Update rollup 4.
Workaround: Run the correct DPM version.
AlwaysOn support
Issue: AlwaysOn was introduced in SQL Server 2012. It’s supported from DPM 2012 SP1 onwards in accordance with the DPM protection support matrix.
Workaround: None.
AlwaysOn recovery to original location isn’t supported
Issue: When DPM is protecting SQL Server with AlwaysOn enabled data recovery to the original location isn’t supported.
Workaround: None.
DPM can’t protect SQL Server on scale-out file servers (SOFS)
Issue: DPM can’t protect SQL Server databases hosted on Windows Server 2012 SOFS.
Workaround: Move the SQL Server databases off the SOFS.
Hyper-V and virtual machine protection issues
Linux virtual machines backed up with file-consistent snapshots only
Issue: You can backup Linux virtual machines using DPM 2012 R2. Only file-consistent snapshots are supported.
Workaround: None.
Backup of Hyper-V servers and clusters in trusted and untrusted domains
Issue: In order to backup Hyper-V server clusters they must be located in the same domain as the DPM server or in a trusted or child domain. You can back up servers and clusters in an untrusted domain or workload using NTLM or certificate authentication for a single server, or certificate authentication only for a cluster.
Workaround: None
Backing up virtual machine data on pass-through disks isn’t supported
Issue: DPM doesn’t support the backup of virtual machine data on pass-through disks that present volumes to the virtual machine or that use a remote VHD.
Workaround: We recommend that in this scenario you use host-level backup of the VHD files using DPM, and install and agent on the virtual machine to back up data that isn’t visible on the host.
Secondary DPM protection of a Hyper-V cluster isn’t supported for a scaled-out DPM server deployment
Issue: When protecting a Hyper-V cluster using scaled-out DPM protection, you can’t add secondary protection for the protected Hyper-V workloads.
Workaround: None
Backup on Hyper-V Replica servers
Issue: Support for backup up of primary and replica (secondary) virtual machines depends on the DPM version as summarized in this table.
Host operating system support on replica (secondary/tertiary) server
| DPM version | Windows Server 2012 | Windows Server 2012 R2 |
|---|---|---|
| DPM 2012, 2012 with SP1 | Not supported | Not supported |
| DPM 2012 R2 | Not supported | Supported |
Host operating system support on primary server
| DPM version | Windows Server 2012 | Windows Server 2012 R2 |
|---|---|---|
| DPM 2012, 2012 with SP1 | Supported | Not supported |
| DPM 2012 R2 | Supported | Supported |
Workaround: Run a supported version of DPM for your scenario.
DPM and Azure
DPM as an Azure virtual machine
Issue: DPM can run as an Azure virtual machine from DPM 2012 R2 Update 3 onwards. Note:
On premise DPM Server can’t protect Azure based workloads.
DPM running on Azure as an Iaas virtual machine can protect some workloads running as Azure virtual machines. For details see the DPM protection support matrix.
DPM running as an Azure virtual machine can’t protect on-premises workloads.
Workaround: For more information about this scenario see Install DPM as an Azure virtual machine.