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WindowSecurity.com - The beta of Microsoft's new Data Protection Manager (formerly called Data Protection Server) is now available to the public. DPM brings disk-based backup and recovery to enterprise networks as part of Microsoft's new System Center product umbrella that also includes Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) and Systems Management Server (SMS).
In this two part article, we show you how to install and configure DPM and evaluate how this newest member of Microsoft's System Center product umbrella can be integrated into your overall security strategy.
Pre-installation considerations
You can download the DPM beta software from the Microsoft Web site. The beta version is good for 270 days (approximately nine months). The final release is scheduled for the second half of 2005.
Hardware requirements for DPM are hefty:

• 1 GHz or faster processor is recommended.


• 1 GB of RAM is recommended (512 minimum).


• Total of 1.2 GB of disk space is needed, and you must have at least two physical disks installed (one to be dedicated to the storage pool).

The download itself is about 685 MB. If you prefer, you can order the beta on CD. You'll have to pay shipping and handling based on your location (to ship to Dallas, the charge was $6.48). There are four CDs, which include DPM itself and all the prerequisite software (agent, client, SQL Server and SQL Reporting Services).
You need an NTFS partition on which to install DPM. This should not be the partition on which the system files are located.
Installing the DPM Server
DPM can be installed on Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1, or on Windows Storage Server 2003 SP1. It requires an Active Directory domain to store access control lists and security settings for files and folders. When you install DPM in the domain, the schema is modified to contain configuration settings for the recovery client.
Note:
If the Server 2003 computer on which you install DPM is a member of a Windows 2000 domain, you have to enable schema modifications on the domain controller. Instructions are here: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=285172.
There are three parts to installation:

• Install the DPM server software on the DPM server.


• Install the agent software on the servers whose data you want to protect with DPM (Windows 2000 SP4, Server 2003 or Storage Server 2003).


• Install the end-user recovery client on Windows XP and Server 2003 clients to allow users to access previous versions (shadow copies) of their files. You'll also need to install a hotfix to enable end-user recovery. See Microsoft's Knowledge Base article 895536 for information on obtaining and installing the hotfix.