Service Pack 1 for DPM 2006 is now available. It is interesting that SP1 was released after the beta for Version 2. I didn’t test yet DPM 2006 Version 2, but it is still on my to-do-list. The new features of DPM 2006 SP1 might be of interest for you, if you already work with Microsoft’s backup software:

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I was quite surprised when I found out about this today. I didn’t expect that Microsoft Data Protection Manager (DPM) will support backups of Exchange, Sharepoint and SQL Server before 2008. I tested DPM 2006 thoroughly and wrote an article about it in the German print magazine iX. Although I like Microsoft’s Continuous Data Protection (CDP) solution, I found several shortcomings.

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I just added a new tool to my collection of CDP tools for Exchange. Atempo LiveServe for Microsoft Exchange supports Continuous Data Protection with brick level backups. Unfortunately, they don’t have a demo version ready for download. There is “trial link” on their web site, but after filling out the form, I only got a message telling me that a sales representative will contact me with download instructions. I made similar experiences with the other CDP tools in the list. So far I was only able to test Lucid8 DigiVault. The other vendors seem to be a bit shy.

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Some days ago, I posted a list of backup tools for Microsoft Exchange supporting Continuous Data Protection (CDP). Meanwhile, I tested Lucid8 DigiVault, a CDP solution that is easy to manage and an interesting option for bigger companies.

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Continuous Data Protection (CDP) for Exchange might be more important than for your file servers, since mail and groupware data usually changes more often than any other documents. Like many replication tools, CDP solutions promise to backup data continuously. However, CDP tools allow you to restore data to an arbitrary point in time. This post lists some CDP tools for Microsoft Exchange.

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I am a fan of continuous data protection (CDP). Sooner or later, I think, all backup programs will support it. Most of the specialized CDP tools are quite expensive though. I stumbled upon Autobackup2, an easy-to-use CDP program that only costs 20 dollars.

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Yesterday, I discussed the Microsoft’s Data Protection Manager’s (DPM) advantages over traditional disk-based backup software. However, DPM also has some disadvantages. Some of these shortcomings are related to the fact that DPM is a CDP solution; or to the fact that it is just version 1.0.

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This article is part of the series about continuous data protection (CDP). In the first article I introduced the concept of CDP. I recommend reading the article first, before you continue. This article discusses Microsoft Data Protection Manager 2006 as one example of a CDP system. Today, I will focus on its advantages over traditional disk-based backup systems. In the next article of this series I will talk about the disadvantages. I recently published an article about the DPM in the German magazine iX. My German readers can get the complete review there.

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This article gives a short introduction to Continuous Data Prodection (CDP) and has some links for further reading. CDP is a relatively new and promising backup technology.

This article is the first of a series about Continuous Data Protection (CDP), I intend to write. In my view, the future of all backup systems belongs to CDP. In this introduction, I will try to explain the concept of CDP. A review of some popular CDP solutions will come later.

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