Shadow Copies for Shared Folders Tools and Settings

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Shadow Copies for Shared Folders Tools and Settings

In this section

  • Shadow Copies for Shared Folders Tools

  • Shadow Copies for Shared Folders Registry Entries

  • Shadow Copies for Shared Folders WMI Classes

  • Network Ports Used by Shadow Copies for Shared Folders

  • Related Information

Shadow Copies for Shared Folders Tools

The following tools are associated with Shadow Copies for Shared Folders.

VSSadmin.exe: Volume Shadow Copy Service Administrative Tool

Category

Windows Server 2003 operating system tool

Version compatibility

Runs on computers running the Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 operating systems.

Displays current volume shadow copies and all installed shadow copy writers and providers in the command window. The Windows Server 2003 version of this command contains more parameters than the one that is in Windows XP.

To find more information about VSSadmin.exe, see “Command Line References” in the Tools and Settings Collection.

VolPerf.exe: Shadow Copy Performance Counters

Category

Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit tool

Version compatibility

Runs on computers running any of the Windows Server 2003 operating systems.

Enables administrators to use System Monitor to monitor their shadow copies.

To find more information about Volperf.exe, see “Resource Kit Tools” in the Tools and Settings Collection.

VolRest.exe: Shadow Copies for Shared Folders Restore Tool

Category

Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit tool

Version compatibility

Runs on computers running the Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 operating systems.

Searches for and restores previous file versions from shared folders that are protected by the Shadow Copies for Shared Folders feature. With VolRest, administrators can browse or restore previous versions of one or multiple files that are stored on a server where Shadow Copies for Shared Folders has been enabled.

To find more information about Volrest.exe, see “Resource Kit Tools” in the Tools and Settings Collection.

Shadow Copies for Shared Folders Registry Entries

The following registry entries are associated with Shadow Copies for Shared Folders.

The information here is provided as a reference for use in troubleshooting or verifying that the required settings are applied. It is recommended that you do not directly edit the registry unless there is no other alternative. Modifications to the registry are not validated by the registry editor or by Windows before they are applied, and as a result, incorrect values can be stored. This can result in unrecoverable errors in the system. When possible, use Group Policy or other Windows tools, such as Microsoft Management Console (MMC), to accomplish tasks rather than editing the registry directly. If you must edit the registry, use extreme caution.

Parameters

The following registry entry is located under \HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters.

DisableDownLevelTimewarp

Registry path

\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters\DisableDownLevelTimewarp

Version

Runs on computers running the Windows Server 2003 operating system.

This registry entry enables or disables support for Shadow Copies for Shared Folders on clients running the Windows 2000 operating system.

Set the value of the DisableDownLevelTimewarp registry key to 0 (zero) to enable Shadow Copies for Shared Folders from clients running Windows 2000. Set the value of the DisableDownLevelTimewarp registry key to 1 (one), the default, to disable Shadow Copies for Shared Folders from clients running Windows 2000.

VOLSNAP

The following registry entry is located under \HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\VOLSNAP.

MinDiffAreaFileSize

Registry path

\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\VOLSNAP\MinDiffAreaFileSize

Version

Windows Server 2003

Controls the initial size of the shadow copy storage area for each shadow copy. The MinDiffAreaFileSize registry key uses the REG_DWORD data type.

The MinDiffAreaFileSize registry key specifies the minimum size of the shadow copy storage area. The default size of the shadow copy storage area is 300 MB, and the maximum size is 3 gigabytes (GB). For an accurate setting, specify a value that is a multiple of 300 MB. Otherwise, the next multiple of 300 MB will be used. A value of 300 is equal to 300 MB, and a value of 3,000 is equal to 3 GB.

Shadow copies might not function correctly if the value of the MinDiffAreaFileSize registry key is larger than the maximum size of the shadow copy storage area. Before you change this registry entry, run the vssadmin list shadowstorage command. Make sure that the shadow copy storage area is larger than 300 MB or that the shadow copy storage area is larger than the value that is set in the registry. Also, make sure that you have at least 300 MB of free space on the shadow copy storage volume.

Shadow Copies for Shared Folders WMI Classes

The following table lists and describes the WMI classes that are associated with Shadow Copies for Shared Folders.

WMI Classes Associated with Shadow Copies for Shared Folders

Class Name Namespace Version Compatibility

Win32_ShadowBy

\root\cimv2

Windows Server 2003 family

Win32_ShadowContext

\root\cimv2

Windows Server 2003 family

Win32_ShadowCopy

\root\cimv2

Windows Server 2003 family

Win32_ShadowDiffVolumeSupport

\root\cimv2

Windows Server 2003 family

Win32_ShadowFor

\root\cimv2

Windows Server 2003 family

Win32_ShadowOn

\root\cimv2

Windows Server 2003 family

Win32_ShadowStorage

\root\cimv2

Windows Server 2003 family

Win32_ShadowVolumeSupport

\root\cimv2

Windows Server 2003 family

Win32_Volume

\root\cimv2

Windows Server 2003 family

For more information about these WMI classes, see the WMI SDK documentation on MSDN.

Network Ports Used by Shadow Copies for Shared Folders

Shadow Copies for Shared Folders uses the following network ports.

Network Ports Used by Shadow Copies for Shared Folders

Service Name Description Port Used

Server Message Block (SMB)

Required for Shadow Copies for Shared Folders

TCP 138, 139, 445

DCOM/Remote Procedure Call (RPC)

Required for remote management using WMI.

TCP 135, dynamic

The following resources contain additional information that is relevant to this section.