Review DPM 2007 features to determine whether this is the right solution for your data protection and recovery needs. For more information, see the following:

• The Microsoft Data Protection Manager Web site (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=33686)
  
  
• Introducing DPM (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=91846) in the DPM 2007 Planning Guide
  
  
• White papers and technical resources on the Data Protection Manager technical resources Web site (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink?/LinkId=80438)
  
  

Plan your network topology, your hardware configuration, your data protection infrastructure, and your disaster recovery methodology. For more information, see the following:

• Planning for DPM Deployment (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=91848) in the DPM 2007 Planning Guide
  
  
• Planning Protection Groups (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=91849) in the DPM 2007 Planning Guide
  
  
• Planning the DPM Server Configuration (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=91850) in the DPM 2007 Planning Guide
  
  

Verify that your network infrastructure, the DPM server, and the protected computers meet the system requirements for protecting your data. DPM provides an integrated setup wizard that installs both DPM and the prerequisite software. For more information, see the following:

• Software Requirements in DPM Help
  
  
• Installing DPM (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=91851) in the DPM 2007 Deployment Guide
  
  

To start protecting data, you must add disks or tapes to the storage pool, install protection agents, and create protection groups. For the most benefit, configure optional DPM features such as end-user recovery, reporting, and e-mail subscriptions for reports and alert notifications. For more information, see the following:

• Protected Computer Requirements (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=91851) in the DPM 2007 Deployment Guide
  
  
• How to Install a Protection Agent in DPM Help
  
  
• Setting System Options in DPM Help
  
  
• Using Reports in DPM Help
  
  
• Configuring DPM (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=91852) in the DPM 2007 Deployment Guide
  
  

Create protection groups, select data sources for protection, modify protection options, modify disk and tape allocation, synchronize replicas, and create shadow copies to meet your ongoing data protection requirements. For more information, see the following:

• Protecting Data in DPM Help
  
  
• Planning Protection Groups (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=91849) in the DPM 2007 Planning Guide
  
  

Browse or search for recoverable data, recover data, create manual shadow copies, and enable end-user recovery. For more information, see the following:

• Recovering Data in DPM Help
  
  

Monitor data protection activity, job status, and error conditions in DPM, and when necessary, take action to resolve issues. If you have multiple DPM servers, you can monitor them centrally in Microsoft Operations Manager by deploying the DPM Management Pack. For more information, see the following:

• Monitoring Alerts in DPM Help
  
  
• Monitoring Jobs in DPM Help
  
  
• Managing DPM Servers (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=91853) in the DPM 2007 Operations Guide
  
  
• The DPM 2007 Management Pack Guide on the MOM 2005 product documentation Web site (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=66735)
  
  

Add and remove disks and tapes; install, update, and uninstall agents; perform routine maintenance tasks; and manage network configuration changes that affect the DPM server and the protected computers. For more information, see the following:

• Managing Disks in DPM Help
  
  
• Managing Tapes in DPM Help
  
  
• Managing Protection Agents in DPM Help
  
  
• Managing Protected File Servers and Workstations (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=91854) in the DPM 2007 Operations Guide
  
  
• Managing Protected Servers Running Exchange in the DPM 2007 Operations Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=91855)
  
  
• Managing Protected Servers Running SQL Server (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=91856) in the DPM 2007 Operations Guide
  
  
• Managing Protected Servers Running Windows SharePoint Services (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=91857) in the DPM 2007 Operations Guide
  
  
• Managing Protected Virtual Servers (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=91858) in the DPM 2007 Operations Guide
  
  
• Configuring DPM (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=91852) in the DPM 2007 Deployment Guide
  
  

Evaluate and optimize the performance of the DPM server and the protected computers. To improve performance, isolate performance degradations and use existing tools and options, such as network bandwidth usage throttling and on-the-wire compression. For more information, see the following:

• Managing Performance (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=91859) in the DPM 2007 Operations Guide
  
  
• Optimizing Performance in DPM Help
  
  
• Using Reports in DPM Help
  
  

Plan and deploy a solution for archiving the DPM databases and replicas to tape. Archiving DPM to tape enables you to rebuild a DPM server in the event of a catastrophic hardware or software failure. For more information, see the following:

• Disaster Recovery (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=91860) in the DPM 2007 Operations Guide
  
  

Find solutions when you encounter problems during the course of day-to-day operations and when performing administrative tasks. For more information, see the following:

• The DPM 2007 Troubleshooting Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=91860)
  
  
• The Error Code Catalog (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=91861) appendix in the DPM 2007 Troubleshooting Guide
  
  

Concepts