NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications (NMM)

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NMM is the application module for all Microsoft applications and databases, including Exchange, MSSQL, Sharepoint, Active Directory DPM and HyperV. It leverages VSS-based backup and recovery, and can also use a proxy client to offload the resource use from the application servers themselves.

The backup process is started per usual with savegrp calling nsrexecd, which then calls nsrsnap, which spawns nsrsnap_vss_save, which calls the Powersnap application. This is where the backup takes place.

Backup types for NMM are "Instant" which means to take a snapshot using VSS, and can be done witho ro without rollover, which means to take it off to tape. It will do non-persistent rollover (no snapshot) and it will do serverless, or proxy client backup.

The recovery types are conventional, which is per normal restore from tape, and Instant, which is a recovery from a VSS snapshot.

Exchange 2007 can do Mailbox Server backup, which grabs the storage groups, mailbox database and transaction logs or individual storage group.

Exchange 2010 or 2010 DAG does the entire Mailbox Server which is all mailbox databases and t-logs or individual databases.

Exchange server will do full or incremental backup.

MSSQL 2005, 2008 and 2012 are supported since version 2.4 and there are two types of backup. VDI, or Virtual Device Integration is more flexible. It will do Full, incremental or differential backup, and recovery includes point-in-time, partial restores, redirected restores to another server.

The VSS backup is full every time and the database must be in simple recovery mode.

Sharepoint is a distributed server system, and NMM will backup Sharepoint 2007 and 2010 farms, content, database, web apps and search services. Only a full backup of Sharepoint can be taken, and individual file or object restore is only possible through 3rd party applications such as Kroll Ontrack.

Hyper-V 2008 uses VSS for backing up the management OS, or parent partition. This backs up the images (VHD) files and is best used for DR only. It is similar to the VADP image-level backup. To get individual file restore you would need to install the agent on the guest VM itself.