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Free Webcast: Whats New in DPM 2012

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Microsoft DPM MVP Robert Hedblom will be hosting a free webcast covering what the new features are in DPM 2012. Here is the information from his blog: Interested in DPM? Want to know the new features in DPM2012? At the 13/10 1PM GMT+1 I will host a webcast (Live meeting) that addresses the new features … Read more

Backup Academy: VMware & Hyper-V backup certification

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Today I became Backup Academy Certified in VMware & Hyper-V backup. Backup Academy is an online training and certification resource created and powered by Veeam. Veeam is a virtualization backup software company. Backup Academy has an online certification test that you can take it is much like other certifications requiring 70% or higher score to … Read more

DPM Admin Console on Client Computers

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DPM 2012 Beta is out. One of the new features of DPM 2012 is that you can install the DPM Administrator Console on other servers or workstations and manage your DPM 2012 and even DPM 2010 servers remotely without having to logon to the DPM server. The cool part is that you can manage existing DPM 2010 servers. This is done through applying a hotfix to your DPM 2010 server and installing the console on your workstation or server from the DPM 2012 beta software.

In this blog post we are going to walk through setting this up. It is a simple two step install installing the hotfix on the DPM 2010 server first and then the console on the workstation. Here is the process:

First download the DPM 2010 Interoperability patch for DPM 2012 Beta hotfix (DataProtectionManager2010-KB2581742) and DPM 2012 Beta.

Copy the DPM 2010 Interoperability patch hotfix for DPM 2012 Beta  to your DPM 2010 server.

Make sure your DPM 2010 is all up to date. Once DPM 2010 is up to date install the beta hotfix.

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Open up DPM 2010 after the hotfix and verify it is still working.

Now the DPM 2010 server is ready lets install the console on the client machine.

Here are the steps:

Navigate to the DPM 2012 Beta install and chose 32 or 64Bit depending on what your workstation is.

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Launch the DPM 2012 Beta install on your local workstation.

Select “DPM Central Console” to begin.

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Mark Inactive Protected Data Active in DPM

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I have seen issues on DPM forums where others have recovered from DPM failures and their protected data becomes inactive or other issues such as the data suddenly becoming inactive on its own placing the data in a category named “Inactive protection for previously protected data”. It is not clear how to mark protected data … Read more

Hyper-V Live Migration Not working

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I recently setup a Hyper-V cluster on Windows Server 2008 R2. Live Migration & failover would not work. Quick Migration would work. I also could only see the  CSV (Cluster Shared Volume) on one NODE at a time.  I then noticed this error in the cluster event logs: Cluster Shared Volume ‘Volume1’ (‘Cluster Disk 2’) … Read more

Blue Screen of Death when booting Hyper-V VHD in VirtualBox

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 I had some virtual machines running on Hyper-V. I wanted to run some of these on VirtualBox for mobility reasons. VirtualBox supports running Virtual Machines from VmWare or Hyper-V. VirtualBox can boot VHD’s (Virtual Hard Disks) directly. You do not need to convert the virtual hard drive format. I copied the VHD’s too %systemdrive%:\Users\USERNAME\.VirtualBox\HardDisks on … Read more

How to set up a backup plan for your Windows Server

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One of the most important tasks for a systems admin is that of backing up data to protect against loss. A well thought out backup plan can help ensure that all eventualities are covered and that your company can continue operating no matter what kind of disaster may occur. There are several aspects you should incorporate into your backup plan. This article should help guide you on how it’s done, regardless of what software or hardware solution you use.

  • Identify what to back up

If you want to back up everything then you are going to need plenty of tapes, or perhaps a disk backup system, and much more time than you’re likely to afford. Focus instead on the critical data that cannot be recreated and that the business cannot do without. Rank it by priority so that if you need to restore, you would know what to restore first. Create a spreadsheet or a table and review it with the business stakeholders and data owners to ensure that everyone agrees with what is being backed up and in what order it should be restored.

  • Identify when to back it up

Backups take time, consume bandwidth and may have problems with open files. Businesses with large databases, or whose operations run around the clock, may not be able to complete a full backup given an entire weekend. Set up multiple schedules based on the business schedule. Plan database backups around other activities like indexing, and ensure that maintenance windows work around the backup schedule.

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