IT Technology News and Progent Business Solutions

Microsoft has published Data Protection Manager 2010 (DPM 2010), an advanced backup-and-recovery solution built specifically for protecting Windows servers and workstations. System Center Data Protection Manager 2010 allows continual,transparent backup of physical and virtual systems to local or off-site hard disks as well as off-line backup to tape, and permits fast, easy restoration of whole servers or single files. Data Protection Manager's hard disk backup delivers the performance and dependability you need to protect your critical business data without disrupting network availability, while DPM's tape compatibility makes long-term archiving expenses low and helps ensure compliance with contractual or legal data retention mandates.

Many small companies still depend on obsolete, tape-centric backup and recovery solutions. In the event of a major IT breakdown, this can lead to significant revenue loss because of extended system downtime and, possibly, lost data. Tape-based backup procedures are vulnerable because tape media is subject to wear and tear and requires a tightly controlled warehousing environment. Microsoft recorded a 17% failure incidence when using tape to archive their in-house production servers. Mag tape is also slow. Because of this, backup processes require periodic server downtime, recovery snap shots are commonly spaced apart by days rather than minutes, and the restore process is long and tricky.

DPM resolves these problems by using fast, reliable disk systems for online backup and relegating tape to long-term archiving. The speed of disks permits continual non-disruptive backup, reduces recovery point intervals to as little as 15 minutes, and substantially cuts recovery time. For improved disk system dependability, Data Protection Manager supports disk clustering and fault-tolerant storage arrays. Innovations with DPM 2010 include support for Windows 2008 Hyper-V R2 virtual machines and CSV, the ability to restore individual files, database availability group (DAG) support for Exchange 2010, enhanced integration with SharePoint Server, and full data protection during a Live Migration procedure.

How Progent's Microsoft Engineers Can Help You Deploy Data Protection Manager 2010
Progent's Microsoft Gold-certified consultants can assist you to evaluate the costs and benefits of DPM 2010 and can help you in all phases of DPM integration. Progent can help you:

• Define your protection targets and create a backup policy to meet them
• Design a cost-effective wide area network topology to support System Center Data Protection Manager
• Configure Windows Server 2008, Microsoft SQL Server, Exchange Server, and SharePoint to work with DPM 2010
• Configure Storage Pools
• Calculate and reserve disk storage for backup
• Plan tape rotation and administration
• Install DPM Protection Agents on systems inside and outside your network firewall
• Maximize backup and recovery performance

Other DPM-related Consulting and Support Available from Progent
Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE network experts can assist your company to design a robust network infrastructure that is economical to deploy and simple to maintain and that offers maximum uptime and protection. Progent's CISSP-ISSAP security experts can help your company to create and test a business continuity strategy that is economically sensible for your situation, ensures security for your sensitive corporate information, and reduces downtime in the event a catastrophic IT failure.

Call or Email Progent for Support from a Microsoft-Certified DPM 2010 Expert
If you wish to ask Progent about consulting help for DPM 2010 solutions, call 1-800-993-9400 or refer to Contact Progent.