Volume Shadow Copy backup or VSS is a backup service that is used to copy open files in Windows 2003. This enables automatic backup for shared folders. It is also known as the poor man’s version control. One of the main services it provides is to retrieve older copies of files with the twclient. It is widely used as a recycle bin for network shares.
It is very simple to configure a volume shadow copy backup service. The unique thing is that it works only for shared folders. A single click on ‘create now’ button makes you an instant shadow copy of your shares. Select the drive of which you want to create the backup and then click on settings button to configure the particular drive. It is ideal to use a separate storage for the shadow for high performance and fault tolerance. Thus even a hard drive failure can be easily restored using the updated backup in the shadow copy.
The main clients in the volume shadow copy backup are called the twclients. Initially you have to share the folder of which the shadow is to be created with the new client. A memo is sent to the users about how to install the client. The easier way to install a twclient is through a Software Group Policy. You can retrieve a previous version of file by selecting the ‘previous version’ tab from the file.
VSS must be enabled whenever you need to use the Windows 2003’s backup. VSS is referred as a hidden jewel of Windows server 2003 as this is one of the least known features of Windows 2003. One of the limitations of this service is that it is active only if Windows is functional. This does not support restoring of large number of files as it enables only a single file to be restored at a time.
