PowerProtect Data Manager Appliance 5.16.0.0 Microsoft SQL Server User Guide

Microsoft SQL Server application agent and File System agent coexistence

PowerProtect Data Manager Appliance supports the coexistence of the Microsoft SQL Server application agent with the File System agent on Windows.

When the Microsoft SQL Server application agent and File System agent coexist and are installed and registered to the same PowerProtect Data Manager Appliance instance, the following workflows are supported:

• For file systems, use file-based backup (FBB) instead of block-based backup (BBB), and provide a dummy exclusion filter in the protection policy.
• For Microsoft SQL Server, run a Microsoft SQL Server full backup only.

The coexistence of these agents enables you to protect the Microsoft SQL Server database with the host file system. PowerProtect Data Manager Appliance supports the following configurations for agent coexistence:

• Both agents are in managed mode (registered to PowerProtect Data Manager Appliance).

• The Microsoft SQL Server application agent is in stand-alone mode, with the File System agent registered to PowerProtect Data Manager Appliance.

  The File System agent in managed mode can coexist with the stand-alone Microsoft application agent that performs Application Direct operations on Microsoft SQL Server databases.

  PowerProtect Data Manager Appliance does not support the coexistence of the File System agent in managed mode with the stand-alone Microsoft application agent that performs Storage Direct operations.

The steps for installation and usage for each agent are the same. The supported cases table under "Application agent and File System agent coexistence" in the PowerProtect Data Manager Appliance File System User Guide provides more information about the supported use cases.