DFS-R and Shadow Copy

John has kindly demonstrated that DFS-R is a replication technology, and that shadow copies can be enabled as a method of providing backups, I must say I’ve done a similar thing to John whilst prepping for a demo; fortunately the files were small and easily recoverable.  Shadow Copy often IMO gets over looked, it has two primary purposes:
   1. To create a rapid backup or restore point
   2. The enable you to restore individual files – which requires the Shared Folders feature
The second of the above options also has the added benefit of allowing a user connected to the server that Shadow Copies for Shared Folders is enabled on, to restore their own files.  This is something that can also be seen in DPM, imagine not having to call the helpdesk or IT support to recover files…a great time saving for the user and a cost saving for the organisation. Follow the links on John's page for more details of VSS.