File Classification Infrastructure

Windows Server 2008 R2 includes a new feature called the File Classification Infrastructure (FCI). The FCI enables administrators to create classification policies that can be used to identify files and tag or classify files according to properties and policies defined by the file server administrators. FCI can be managed by using the File Server Resource Manager console and allows for file server administrators to identify files and classify these files by setting specific FCI property values to these files based on the folder they are stored in and/or based on the content stored within the file itself. When a file is classified by FCI, if the file is a Microsoft Office file, the FCI information is stored within the file itself and follows the file wherever it is copied or moved to. If the file is a different type of file, the FCI information is stored within the NTFS volume itself, but the FCI information follows the file to any location it is copied or moved to, provided that the destination is an NTFS volume hosted on a Windows Server 2008 R2 system. More information on FCI is detailed later in this tutorial.

Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS)

Windows Server 2003 introduced a file system service called the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS). The VSS enables administrators and third-party independent software vendors to take snapshots of the file system to allow for faster backups and, in some cases, point-in-time recovery without the need to access backup media. VSS copies of a volume can also be mounted and accessed just like another Windows volume if that should become necessary.

Shadow Copies of Shared Folders

Volume shadow copies of shared folders can be enabled on Windows volumes to allow administrators and end users to recover data deleted from a network share without having to restore from backup. The shadow copy runs on a scheduled basis and takes a snapshot copy of the data currently stored in the volume. In previous versions of Windows prior to Windows Server 2003, if a user mistakenly deleted data in a network shared folder, it was immediately deleted from the server and the data had to be restored from backup. A Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, or Windows Server 2008 R2 NTFS volume that has shadow copies enabled allows a user with the correct permissions to restore deleted or overwritten data from a previously stored shadow copy backup. It is important to note that shadow copies are stored on local volumes and if the volume hosting the shadow copy becomes inaccessible or corrupted, so does the shadow copy. Shadow copies are not a replacement for backups and should not be considered a disaster recovery tool.

Volume Shadow Copy Service Backup

The Volume Shadow Copy Service in Windows Server 2008 R2 also provides the ability for Windows Backup and third-party software vendors to utilize this technology to improve backup performance and integrity. A VSS-compatible backup program can call on the Volume Shadow Copy Service to create a shadow copy of a particular volume or database, and then the backup can be created using that shadow copy. A benefit of utilizing VSSaware backups is that the reliability and performance of the backup is increased as the backup window will be shorter and the load on the system disk will be reduced during the backup.