DPM 2010 Backup Client Computer Protection
Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM) 2010 allows you to protect client computers - desktops and laptops. Backup administrators can centrally configure data protection for the desktops and laptops in their environment. Additionally, administrators can give their end users the ability to define and manage their own backups. DPM 2010 enables end users to perform their own recoveries by leveraging the Previous Versions feature in Windows.
The client computers you are protecting may not be connected continuously to the network so there are some fundamental changes in the way DPM manages protection for client computers as compared to how it protects file servers.
Client computers will not be connected to the network at all times and the number of protected client computers can be much larger than the number of protected file servers. These scenarios have resulted in the following changes about how DPM 2010 manages client computer protection.
- The administrator can configure protection for the client computer that they want to protect. We recommend that administrators use software distribution mechanisms such as System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) to install and configure the DPM agent.
- DPM will not automatically start a job to back up a client computer. The client computer polls the DPM server at 15 minute intervals and obtains the backup schedule that the administrator specifies for the protection group. The client computer starts the backup according to the schedule, or by user demand. Alternatively, the end user can start a backup at any time from the DPM Client UI.
- DPM will not show alerts for client computers that usually appear on protected servers. These alerts pertain to failures of individual jobs. For example, a synchronization failure alert will not appear for the DPM administrator to act upon for any of the failed synchronizations. This is because client computers are designed to retry the synchronization in the event of a failure. However, DPM 2010 allows you to configure DPM to alert the end user if a client computer has not been backed up for a predefined number of days that the administrator defined when they created the protection group.
DPM can perform backups on client computers even if they are connected using a virtual private network (VPN) connection. For example, a user can connect the client computer to the corporate network from their home using a VPN connection.
DPM 2010 protects client computers that are connected to the LAN and wireless connected computers. For client computers that are continuously connected to the network, ensure that the LAN network bandwidth is available to DPM. We recommend that you have a minimum network bandwidth of 256 Kilobits per second (kbps) available for computers that are connected to the LAN.
Islam Gomaa
Islam@IslamGomaa.com