DELL POWERPROTECT

DATA MANAGER
MICROSOFT SQL
INTEGRATION

PARTICIPANT GUIDE

PARTICIPANT GUIDE
 Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page i

Table of Contents

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration ................ 5

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration Introduction ............................ 6

PowerProtect Data Manager with Microsoft SQL Integration

Overview.................................................................................................... 7

PowerProtect Data Manager with Application Integration Overview ..................................... 8

PowerProtect Data Manager with Microsoft SQL Integration Features ............................... 10
PowerProtect Data Manager with Microsoft SQL Integration Features ............................... 15
PowerProtect Data Manager with Microsoft SQL Integration Requirements ....................... 17

Configuring Microsoft SQL Database Backups with Application

Direct Workflows .................................................................................... 19

Microsoft SQL Database Application Direct Protection Overview ....................................... 20

Microsoft SQL Database Application Direct Protection Overview ....................................... 21
Microsoft SQL Database Application Direct Protection Prerequisites ................................. 22
Install and Register Microsoft Application Agent Procedures ............................................. 24
Add Microsoft SQL Database Credentials and Discover Microsoft SQL Database
Procedures ........................................................................................................................ 28

Back Up Microsoft SQL Database with Application Direct Workflows32

Add Centralized Protection Policy ...................................................................................... 33

Add Centralized Protection Policy Procedures ................................................................... 34
Start Centralized Protection Policy from PowerProtect Data .............................................. 39
Start Centralized Protection Policy from PowerProtect Data Manager Procedures ............ 40
Enable Multi-Stream Backups for SQL Protection Policy.................................................... 44
Add Self-Service Protection Policy ..................................................................................... 46
Add Self-Service Protection Policy Procedures .................................................................. 47

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page ii © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Plug-In ............................................................ 52
Back Up Microsoft SQL Database with Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Plug-In
Procedures ........................................................................................................................ 54
Application Direct Backup Command ................................................................................. 59
Back Up Microsoft SQL Database with Application Direct Command Procedures .............. 62

Restore Microsoft SQL Database with Application Direct Workflows 66

Microsoft SQL Database Restore ....................................................................................... 67

Restore Microsoft SQL Database from Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Plug-In
Procedures ........................................................................................................................ 68
Centralized Restore of Microsoft SQL Database Application Direct Workflows .................. 72
Centralized Restore of Microsoft SQL Database Application Direct Workflows .................. 74
Centralized Restore of Microsoft SQL Database from PowerProtect Data Manager
Procedures ........................................................................................................................ 75
Application Direct Restore Command ................................................................................ 80
Restore Microsoft SQL Database with Application Direct Command Procedures ............... 82

Configuring Microsoft SQL Database Backups with VM Direct

Workflows ............................................................................................... 86

Microsoft SQL Database Application-Aware (VM Direct) Protection Overview ................... 87

Microsoft SQL Database Application-Aware (VM Direct) Protection Overview ................... 89
Microsoft SQL Database Application-Aware (VM Direct) Protection Prerequisites ............. 91
Add and Register VMware vCenter Server......................................................................... 93
VM Direct Engine Overview ............................................................................................... 94

Back Up Microsoft SQL Database with VM Direct Workflows ............. 95

Add Application Aware Protection Policy ............................................................................ 96

Add Application Aware Protection Policy Procedures ......................................................... 97
Start Application-Aware Protection Policy from PowerProtect Data Manager ................... 102
Start Application-Aware Protection Policy from PowerProtect Data Manager Procedures 103

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page iii

Restore Microsoft SQL Database with VM Direct Workflows ............ 106

Microsoft SQL Database Restore ..................................................................................... 107

Restore Microsoft SQL Database from Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Plug-In
Procedures ...................................................................................................................... 108
Centralized Restore of Microsoft SQL Database VM Direct Workflows ............................ 112
Centralized Restore of Microsoft SQL Database VM Direct Workflows ............................ 114
Centralized Restore of Microsoft SQL Database VM Direct Procedures .......................... 115

Course Completion ................................................................................................ 121

You Have Completed This Content .................................................................................. 122

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page iv © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL
Integration

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 5

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration
Introduction

Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:

→ Summarize how PowerProtect Data Manager integrates with Microsoft SQL.
→ Describe PowerProtect Data Manager with Microsoft SQL configuration
steps for Application Direct workflows.
→ Back up and restore Microsoft SQL database with PowerProtect Data
Manager Application Direct workflows.
→ Describe PowerProtect Data Manager with Microsoft SQL configuration
steps for VM Direct workflows.
→ Back up and restore Microsoft SQL database with PowerProtect Data
Manager VM Direct workflows.

Tip: If available, resources such as job aids, reference guides, and

other supplementary materials can be accessed by clicking the Menu

button and navigating to the Resources tab.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 6 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

PowerProtect Data Manager with Microsoft SQL
Integration Overview

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 7

PowerProtect Data Manager with Application Integration
Overview

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager is a data management solution for database

applications, Kubernetes clusters, VMware virtual machines, and file systems (AIX,
Linux, and Microsoft Windows File systems). PowerProtect Data Manager offers
database administrators (DBA) self-service data protection and restoration through
Application Direct (formerly DD Boost for Enterprise Applications). Along with data
protection, PowerProtect Data Manager provides data management services
including compliance, governance, security, visibility, and analytics for data under
management.

PowerProtect Data Manager supports Application Direct is integrated into

the following application agents to PowerProtect Data Manager to
protect database application: protect databases with the following
benefits:

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 8 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Microsoft Application Agent1 Application Integration2

Database Application Agent3 Optimized Data Mobility4

Oracle RMAN Agent5 Protection Storage Integration6

1 The Microsoft Application Agent is a backup and recovery application agent that is
designed specifically for Microsoft applications.
PowerProtect Data Manager with Microsoft Application Agent supports the
Microsoft SQL database and Microsoft Exchange database backup and recovery.
2 Application Direct leverages the native application tools to empower application

owners to protect their data directly to protection storage (PowerProtect DD

Appliances), using the same familiar tools.
3 The Database Application Agent is a backup and recovery application agent that

is designed specifically for enterprise applications.

PowerProtect Data Manager with Database Application Agent supports SAP HANA
database backup and recovery.
4 Application Direct uses PowerProtect DD Boost as the data mover allowing only

unique data to be sent over the network to the protection storage (PowerProtect
DD Appliances).
5 The Oracle RMAN Agent is a backup and recovery application agent that is

designed specifically for Oracle databases.

PowerProtect Data Manager with Oracle RMAN Agent supports Oracle database
backup and recovery.
6 Database administrators and application owners can integrate PowerProtect DD

Appliances protection storage with their applications native backup tools.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 9

PowerProtect Data Manager with Microsoft SQL Integration
Features

PowerProtect Data Manager with Microsoft Application Agent supports the

following Microsoft SQL databases protection features:

Centralized Protection Policy

When PowerProtect Data Manager administrators create a centralized protection

policy for the Microsoft SQL database, the policy enables the PowerProtect Data
Manager to manage the entire life cycle of the data protection operations for the
Microsoft SQL databases.

The following data protection attributes are specified when the centralized
protection policy is created:

• Application Type
• Purpose
• Assets
• Backup Start and End Time
• Schedule
• Service Level Agreement (SLA)

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 10 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

Self-Service Protection Policy

When PowerProtect Data Manager administrators create a protection policy for the
Microsoft SQL database, the Self-Service Protection policy enables the data owner
to perform the manual backup operation from the command-line interface.

The PowerProtect Data Manager prepares the PowerProtect environment to

accommodate manual backup operations7.

The following data protection attributes are specified when the self-service
protection policy is created:

• Application Type
• Purpose
• Asset
• Schedule (backup retention)
• Service Level Agreement (SLA)

Only the retention period can be specified in the Schedule attribute in the self-
service protection policy.

7These operations include creating a PowerProtect DD appliances user with a

password, creating a PowerProtect DD appliances Storage Unit, and enforcing the
backup data retention.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 11

Microsoft SQL Databases Discovered Automatically

After the Microsoft Application Agent is installed, launch the PowerProtect Data
Manager to approve and register the Microsoft Application Agent.

All Microsoft SQL databases will and then be discovered automatically by the
PowerProtect Data Manager.

Microsoft SQL Databases Manual and Automatic Backup

With PowerProtect Data Manager, the Microsoft SQL databases protection task
has been transferred from a backup administrator to the Microsoft SQL database
administrator (or Microsoft SQL database owner). Microsoft SQL databases can be
backed up through:

• Automatic backup by the PowerProtect Data Manager centralized protection

policy.
• Manual backup by the Microsoft SQL database administrator and governed by
the PowerProtect Data Manager self-service protection policy.

Entire Life Cycle Protection for Microsoft SQL Database

PowerProtect Data Manager performs the Microsoft SQL databases backup and
replication operations based on the protection policy and governed by the SLA.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 12 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

SQL Server Management Studio Plugin

The Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Plugin is installed on the Microsoft
SQL Server host automatically during the Microsoft Application Agent deployment.

This provides the user interface for Microsoft SQL database manual backup and
restore operations.

Application Aware Backup for Microsoft SQL Virtual Machine

If the Microsoft SQL Server is running in an ESXi virtual machine, the Application-
Aware option enables PowerProtect Data Manager to install the Microsoft
Application Agent automatically for an application-consistent backup of the
Microsoft SQL database.

The application-aware backup option requires ESXi/vSphere version 6.5, 6.7,

7.0u1, 7.0u2, 7.0u3, and VMware Tools version 10.1 or later.

Selecting the application-aware type of backup Microsoft SQL virtual machine also
enables the recovery of Microsoft SQL databases by using the Microsoft SQL
Server Management Studio plug-in.

Microsoft SQL Database Centralized Restore

The Microsoft SQL database, which is protected by PowerProtect Data Manager,

can be restored from the PowerProtect Data Manager UI using the centralized
restore workflows.

You can perform the following types of centralized restore of Microsoft SQL
database:

• Centralized restore of Microsoft SQL system database

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 13

• Centralized restore of Microsoft SQL stand-alone database
• Centralized restore of Microsoft SQL AlwaysOn Availability Group database

Centralized restore of Microsoft SQL database can be performed8 from the

Restore > Assets > SQL tab in the PowerProtect Data Manager UI.

Microsoft Clusterless AlwaysOn Availability Groups and Domain-

Independent AlwaysOn Availability Groups Support

Microsoft Application Agent supports the backup and recovery of Microsoft SQL
Clusterless AlwaysOn Availability Groups. The Microsoft Application Agent
provides both Application Direct and VM Direct backups and restores of the
Microsoft SQL Clusterless AlwaysOn Availability Groups.

Microsoft Application Agent also supports the backup and recovery of a Microsoft
Domain Independent SQL AlwaysOn Availability Group (AAG).

8You can perform a centralized restore of a full, differential, or transaction log

backup to a specified SQL host and instance.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 14 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

PowerProtect Data Manager with Microsoft SQL Integration
Features

PowerProtect Data Manager with Microsoft Application Agent support the following
two protection technologies to protect Microsoft SQL databases:

• Application Direct
• VM Direct

A Microsoft SQL Server host may only be registered to PowerProtect Data

Manager with one protection technology. Once registered, it is not possible to
change the protection policy for that Microsoft SQL Server host.

The following table lists the comparisons between the Application Direct and VM
Direct:

Application Direct VM Direct

Backup asset • SQL database • SQL virtual machine

Restore object • SQL database • SQL database

• SQL table (with • SQL table (with
ItemPoint) ItemPoint)

Scheduled backup • Centralized protection • Application Aware

is initiated through policy protection policy

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 15

Manual backup is • Centralized protection • Application Aware
initiated through policy > Protect Now protection policy >
Protect Now
• SQL database > Back Up
Now • SQL VM > Back Up Now
• SQL Server Management
Studio Plug-in (Microsoft
app agent for Application
Direct)
• ddbmsqlsv command
• T-SQL script

Restore is initiated • Centralized restore • Centralized restore

through
− Restore > Assets > − Restore > Assets >
SQL > Restore SQL > Restore
• SQL Server Management • SQL Server Management
Studio Plug-in (Microsoft Studio Plug-in (Microsoft
app agent for Application app agent for VM Direct)
Direct) • msagentrc command
• ddbmsqlrc command
• T-SQL script

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 16 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

PowerProtect Data Manager with Microsoft SQL Integration
Requirements

The following Microsoft SQL Server versions are supported by the PowerProtect
Data Manager 19.10:

• SQL Server 2019 CU 16 (64-bit)

• SQL Server 2017 CU 28 (64-bit)
• SQL Server 2016 SP3 (64-bit)
• SQL Server 2014 SP3 (32-bit, 64-bit)
• SQL Server 2012 SP4 (32-bit, 64-bit).

PowerProtect Data Manager with Microsoft Application Agent supports all Microsoft
SQL Server Editions such as Standard, Enterprise, Express, Workgroup, and Web.

PowerProtect Data Manager 19.10 supports the following PowerProtect DD

appliances:

• PowerProtect DD Operating System (DDOS): 6.2.0 and later.

• PowerProtect DD Management Center (DDMC): 6.2.0 and later.
• PowerProtect DD Virtual Edition (DDVE): 4.0 and later.

− DDVE 4.0 corresponds to DDOS 6.2.

Important: The latest PowerProtect Data Manager compatibility

information is available at E-Lab Navigator.

Important: Ensure all clocks on the Microsoft SQL Server host,

PowerProtect Data Manager virtual appliance, and domain controller
are time-synced to the NTP server.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 17

 Warning: PowerProtect Data Manager operations do not support
hosts with a mix of 32-bit and 64-bit Microsoft SQL Server instances.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 18 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

Configuring Microsoft SQL Database Backups with
Application Direct Workflows

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 19

Microsoft SQL Database Application Direct Protection
Overview

Microsoft Application Agent installation options

The Microsoft Application Agent, through Application Direct workflow, integrates

with PowerProtect Data Manager to protect Microsoft SQL databases. Microsoft
Application Agent uses Microsoft SQL Virtual Device Interface (VDI) to perform the
online application-consistent backup of the Microsoft SQL databases.

The Microsoft Application Agent supports two protection technologies, Application

Direct backup and VM Direct backup. A Microsoft SQL Server host may only be
registered to PowerProtect Data Manager with one protection technology. Once
registered, it is not possible to change the protection policy for that Microsoft SQL
Server host.

The Microsoft application agent enables the Microsoft SQL database administrators
to protect and restore the Microsoft SQL database on the Microsoft SQL Server
host. PowerProtect Data Manager integrates with the Microsoft application agent to
check and monitor backup compliance against the protection policies, and
PowerProtect Data Manager also enables scheduling for centralized backups.

The Microsoft application agent needs to be installed on a Windows Microsoft SQL

Server host by using the install wizard and the PowerProtect Data Manager
administrator must approve (register) the Microsoft SQL Server host from
PowerProtect Data Manager UI. After the Microsoft SQL Server host was
successfully approved (registered), the Microsoft SQL instances and databases
can be discovered and scheduled for backups.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 20 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

Microsoft SQL Database Application Direct Protection
Overview

Microsoft app agent (Application Direct) plug-in

The Microsoft Application Agent installation also includes other software

components that are required for self-service backup and restore of the Microsoft
SQL database, including the Microsoft Application Agent SQL Server Management
Studio (SSMS) plug-in and ItemPoint for Microsoft SQL granular restore.

The Microsoft Application Agent SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) plug-in is
called Microsoft app agent (Application Direct) on the SQL Server Management
Studio toolbar and it is used for the following operations:

• Backup of Microsoft SQL databases.

• Restore of Microsoft SQL databases.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 21

Microsoft SQL Database Application Direct Protection
Prerequisites

To perform Microsoft SQL database Application Direct protection, ensure that a

Microsoft SQL Server environment meets the following prerequisites before the
administrator installs the Microsoft application agent:

• Install the following software components on the Microsoft SQL Server host:
− .NET Framework 4.0
o For Microsoft SQL table-level recovery (with ItemPoint), install .NET
Framework 4.5.
− Download the Microsoft Application Agent software package from the
System Settings > Downloads in the PowerProtect Data Manager UI
banner. Then transfer the Microsoft Application Agent software package to
the Microsoft SQL Server host.
• Log in to the Microsoft SQL Server host as an administrator to install the
Microsoft application agent.
• To deploy the Common Language Runtime (CLR) assembly, ensure that you
have administrator access to the Microsoft SQL Server host and master
database. If the Microsoft SQL Server host is running in a domain, ensure that
you have access as a Domain administrator.
• Ensure that the sysadmin and public Microsoft SQL Server Roles are set, as
required to integrate the Microsoft SQL Server host with the PowerProtect Data
Manager and to facilitate the discovery of assets with the correct size.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 22 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Grant the sysadmin role

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 23

Install and Register Microsoft Application Agent Procedures

Install and register the Microsoft Application Agent to PowerProtect Data Manager
environment:

Step One

Transfer the Microsoft Application Agent file to the Microsoft SQL Server host.

Configure installation options

Extract the .zip file and run the .exe file to start the installation wizard.

On the Configure Installation Options page, select, and specify the following
options:

• Data Paths: Select Application Direct

• SQL Server: Select SSMS Plug-in
• Common Core Components: Select PowerProtect Data Manager
• PowerProtect Data Manager Registration: Specify the FQDN for the
PowerProtect Data Manager virtual appliance

Step Two

On the CLR assembly deployment wizard page, select the authentication option
with User name and Password to deploy the CLR Assembly.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 24 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 CLR assembly deployment

Step Three

Log in to PowerProtect Data Manager. From the left navigation pane, select
Infrastructure > Asset Sources.

Locate the Microsoft SQL option box, click Enable Source.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 25

 Enable asset source

Step Four

From the left navigation pane, select Infrastructure > Application Agents.

Select the Microsoft SQL Server host from the list (Status displays Awaiting
Approval) and click Approve to register the Microsoft SQL Server host.

Approve and register Microsoft SQL Server host

Step Five

After a few minutes, the Status of the Microsoft SQL Server host displays
Registered.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 26 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Microsoft SQL Server host is registered successfully

Lab Exercise: Go to the Install and Register Microsoft Application

Agent section of the Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL
Integration On-Demand Lab for practice.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 27

Add Microsoft SQL Database Credentials and Discover
Microsoft SQL Database Procedures

To add Microsoft SQL database credentials, the administrator specifies the

operating system credentials for the Microsoft SQL database host. Ensure that
these credentials have the permissions to perform the Microsoft SQL Server
backup and restore operations.

PowerProtect Data Manager UI can be used to add the Microsoft SQL database
credentials and discover the Microsoft SQL databases.

Step One

Log in to the PowerProtect Data Manager. From the left navigation pane, select
Infrastructure > Asset Sources > SQL tab.

Select the wanted Microsoft SQL Server host and click Edit Credentials.

Edit Microsoft SQL credentials

Step Two

Enter a name for the credentials and specify the User Name and the Password to
access the Microsoft SQL database.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 28 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Add Microsoft SQL credentials

Step Three

Select Infrastructure > Asset Sources > SQL tab.

Select the Microsoft SQL Server host and click Discover.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 29

 Discover Microsoft SQL assets

Step Four

The discovery process might take a few minutes. Once it completes, the Discovery
Status displays OK.

Microsoft SQL assets are discovered successfully

Step Five

Select Infrastructure > Assets > SQL tab, all Microsoft SQL databases are listed.

Microsoft SQL databases assets are discovered

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 30 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Lab Exercise: Go to the Add Microsoft SQL Database Credentials
and Discover Microsoft SQL Databases section of the Dell
PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration On-Demand
Lab for practice.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 31

Back Up Microsoft SQL Database with Application
Direct Workflows

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 32 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

Add Centralized Protection Policy

The centralized protection policy enables PowerProtect Data Manager to centrally

manage the entire life cycle of Microsoft SQL database protection operations.
When the centralized protection policy is created, the following data protection
attributes can be specified:

Attributes in the Description

centralized protection
policy

Assets Specify the PowerProtect Data Manager assets that

must be protected. This is the Microsoft SQL
database.

Protection storage Select a PowerProtect DD system and storage unit.

Backup schedule Specify the frequency of the backup operation

recurrence, the backup operation start and stop time,
and the retention period for the backup data.

SLA Select the wanted SLA to associate with the

centralized protection policy.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 33

Add Centralized Protection Policy Procedures

Add a centralized protection policy from the PowerProtect Data Manager:

Step One

Log in to the PowerProtect Data Manager.

From the left navigation pane, select Protection > Protection Policies.

Click Add.

Add centralized protection policy

Step Two

Select Microsoft SQL as Type and specify the name for the protection policy.

Specify the name and type for the centralized protection policy

Step Three

Select Centralized Protection as the purpose for the protection policy.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 34 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

Click Set Credentials to set up the Microsoft SQL credentials.

Select Centralized Protection as protection policy purpose

Step Four

Select the Microsoft SQL server credentials.

Select Microsoft SQL login credentials

Step Five

Select the Microsoft SQL databases to protect.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 35

 Select Microsoft SQL databases assets to protect

Step Six

On the Primary Backup pane, click Add to add primary backup.

Add primary backup

Step Seven

On the Add Primary Backup page, select New on Storage Unit.

Specify other schedule attributes, such as backup level and occurrence, backup
retention, backup start and end time.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 36 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Select new storage unit and specify backup schedule

Step Eight

On the Options page, select additional options for the backup policy.

Select additional backup options

Step Nine

Review the centralized protection policy settings, click Finish to create the
centralized protection policy.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 37

 Review centralized protection policy settings

From the left navigation pane, click Jobs > Protection Jobs to verify that the
centralized protection policy completes successfully.

Centralized protection policy completes successfully

Lab Exercise: Go to the Add Centralized Protection Policy section of

the Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration On-
Demand Lab for practice.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 38 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

Start Centralized Protection Policy from PowerProtect Data

Once a centralized protection policy is added, you can perform a manual backup by
using the Protect Now option from the Protection > Protection Policies page.

The Protect Now option on the Protection Policies page allows administrators to
start a manual backup operation to backup assets that are selected in the
designated protection policy.

To use the Protect Now option on the Protection Policies page, the protection
policy must be enabled, and the protection policy purpose must be one of the
following:

• Crash Consistent
• Centralized Protection
• Application Aware

Important: The protection policy purpose must not be Exclusion or

Self-Service Protection.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 39

Start Centralized Protection Policy from PowerProtect Data
Manager Procedures

Start a centralized protection policy manually from the PowerProtect Data

Manager:

Step One

From the left navigation pane, select Protection > Protection Policies.

Select the Centralized Protection policy that you created

(CentralizedProtection_SQL), click Protect Now.

Protect Now the centralized protection policy manually

Step Two

On the Assets Selection page, select the All Assets option.

Select assets for the backup

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 40 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

Step Three

On the Configuration page, keep the CentralizedProtection_SQL protection policy

settings:

• Backup Now

− Select backup type: Full

− Retain for: 3 Days

Specify backup configuration

Step Four

On the Summary page, review the configuration settings.

Click Protect Now to start the backup.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 41

 Review Protect Now backup settings

Step Five

From the left navigation pane, select Jobs > Protection Jobs. The centralized
protection policy completes successfully in a few minutes.

The centralized protection policy completes successfully

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 42 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Lab Exercise: Go to the Start Centralized Protection Policy from
PowerProtect Data Manager section of the Dell PowerProtect Data
Manager Microsoft SQL Integration On-Demand Lab for practice.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 43

Enable Multi-Stream Backups for SQL Protection Policy

PowerProtect Data Manager allows the administrators to set up the parallelism

value (stripe) which controls the number of parallel streams that the Microsoft
Application Agent uses to write the backup data to the PowerProtect DD appliance.
To enable the multistream Microsoft SQL databases backup for a centralized
protection policy, you can set up the parallelism value in the PowerProtect Data
Manager UI.

For PowerProtect Data Manager, four is the default stripe value for Microsoft SQL
databases full and differential backups and one is the default stripe value for
Microsoft SQL logs backups.

For the Microsoft SQL database, the minimum supported parallelism (stripe) value
is one and the maximum supported parallelism (stripe) value is thirty-two.

Step One

From the left navigation pane, select Infrastructure > Assets > SQL tab.

Select the SQL database asset with protection policy assigned. Click Set Stream
Count from the More Actions drop-down menu.

Select Set Stream Count option to modify the stream count

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 44 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

Step Two

On the Set Stream Count page, specify the maximum number of concurrent
streams that are allocated for each backup type (Full, Differential, and Log). Click
Save.

Set Stream Count page

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 45

Add Self-Service Protection Policy

The self-service protection policy enables the data owner to perform the manual
backup operation from the command-line interface and Microsoft SQL Server
Management Studio Plugin.

The PowerProtect Data Manager prepares the PowerProtect environment to

accommodate manual backup operations, such as creating a PowerProtect DD
appliances user with a password, creating a PowerProtect DD appliances Storage
Unit, and enforcing the backup data retention.

The following data protection attributes can be specified when the self-service
protection policy is created:

Attributes in the Description

centralized protection
policy

Assets Specify the PowerProtect Data Manager assets that

must be protected. This is the Microsoft SQL
database.

Protection storage Select a PowerProtect DD system and storage unit.

Retention Only the retention period can be specified in the

schedule attribute in the self-service protection policy.

SLA Select the wanted SLA to associate with the

centralized protection policy.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 46 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

Add Self-Service Protection Policy Procedures

Add a self-service protection policy from the PowerProtect Data Manager:

Step One

Log in to the PowerProtect Data Manager. From the left navigation pane, select
Protection > Protection Policies.

Click Add.

Add self-service protection policy

Step Two

Select Microsoft SQL as Type and specify the name for the protection policy.

Select policy type

Step Three

Select the Self-Service Protection as the purpose for the protection policy.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 47

 Select policy purpose

Step Four

Select the Microsoft SQL databases to protect.

Select Microsoft SQL databases assets to protect

Step Five

On the Primary Retention pane, click Add to add primary retention.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 48 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Add policy objectives

Step Six

On the Add Primary Retention page, select New for the Storage Unit. Specify the
retention period on the Retention pane.

Add retention

Step Seven

Review the self-service protection policy, click Finish to create the self-service
protection policy.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 49

 Review self-service protection policy summary

Step Eight

From the left navigation pane, click Jobs > System Jobs to monitor the
Configuring SQL Databases task and the Performing Policy Configuration
task.

System Jobs status

Step Nine

From the left navigation pane, select Infrastructure > Storage > Protection
Storage tab.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 50 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

Select a PowerProtect DD appliance, and then select Manage Storage Units from
More Actions drop-down menu.

Click Manage Storage Units to view PowerProtect DD storage unit information

Step Ten

The Storage Unit, created by the self-service protection policy, is listed as

<Protection Policy Name>-<PowerProtect Data Manager Appliance
Name>-xxxxx.

The administrator needs to specify the storage unit name when performing the
manual backup of Microsoft SQL databases.

Storage Unit information

Lab Exercise: Go to the Add Self-Service Protection Policy section of

the Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration On-
Demand Lab for practice.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 51

Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Plug-In

Microsoft Application Agent for Application Direct

The Microsoft Application Agent integrates with the Microsoft SQL Virtual Device
Interface (VDI) to enable application owners to protect the Microsoft SQL
databases.

The Microsoft Application Agent provides a user interface (Microsoft app agent
for Application Direct) that enables the Microsoft SQL database administrators to
perform the backup and restore operation of Microsoft SQL databases through the
Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) plug-in. The plug-in is similar to
the Microsoft SQL native backup and restore user interface, and the Microsoft SQL
database administrators can use the Microsoft app agent for Application Direct
to back up and restore the Microsoft SQL databases.

With PowerProtect Data Manager, the Microsoft Application Agent supports

multiple tools to perform manual backups. Microsoft SQL database administrator
can configure and perform Microsoft SQL database backup using the following
tools:

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 52 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

• Microsoft Application Agent for SQL Server Management Studio plug-in
(Microsoft app agent for Application Direct).
• Microsoft Application Agent for Application Direct commands.
• T-SQL scripts.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 53

Back Up Microsoft SQL Database with Microsoft SQL Server
Management Studio Plug-In Procedures

Back up Microsoft SQL databases with the Microsoft SQL Server Management
Studio plug-in:

Step One

Log in to the PowerProtect Data Manager. From the left navigation pane, select
Infrastructure > Storage > Protection Storage tab.

Select a PowerProtect DD appliance, and then select Manage Storage Units from
More Actions drop-down menu.

Click Manage Storage Units to view PowerProtect DD storage unit information

Step Two

The PowerProtect DD storage unit that is created by the protection policy is listed
as <Protection Policy Name>-<PowerProtect Data Manager
Appliance Name>-xxxxx.

The administrator needs to specify the storage unit name when performing the
manual backup of Microsoft SQL databases.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 54 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 PowerProtect DD storage unit information

Step Three

From the Microsoft SQL Server host, launch the Microsoft SQL Server
Management Studio.

Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio

From the Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio toolbar, click the Microsoft
app agent (Application Direct).

Microsoft app agent for Application Direct page appears.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 55

 Microsoft app agent (Application Direct) plug-in

Step Four

On the Microsoft app agent for Application Direct page, select the Backup tab.

On the bottom of the page, in the PowerProtect DD System field, click the "..."
icon to select the PowerProtect DD appliance storage unit.

Select the wanted PowerProtect DD storage unit.

Select PowerProtect DD storage unit

Step Five

On the Microsoft app agent for Application Direct page, the PowerProtect DD
System field lists the wanted PowerProtect DD appliance information.

Select the Microsoft SQL databases need to back up. Click Run to start the manual
backup of the Microsoft SQL databases.

Start manual backup of the Microsoft SQL databases

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 56 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

Step Six

A notification appears stating that the Microsoft SQL databases are backed up
successfully.

Microsoft SQL databases backup completes successfully

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 57

 Lab Exercise: Go to the Back Up Microsoft SQL Database with
Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Plug-in section of the Dell
PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration On-Demand
Lab for practice.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 58 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

Application Direct Backup Command

Administrator can use the ddbmsqlsv command to perform the manual backup of
Microsoft SQL databases from Microsoft SQL Server host.

 ddbmsqlsv command is located under C:\Program

Files\DPSAPPS\MSAPPAGENT\bin directory.

Run the ddbmsqlsv command with the following parameters to back up a stand-
alone Microsoft SQL Server:

ddbmsqlsv -c <client_name> -l {full | incr | diff} -a

"NSR_DFA_SI_DD_HOST=<server_name>" -a
"NSR_DFA_SI_DEVICE_PATH=<storage_unit_name_and_path>" -a
"NSR_DFA_SI_DD_USER=<DD_Boost_user>" [<optional_parameters>]
"<SQL_instance_and_database>"

Parameters Definition

-c <client_name> Specify the Microsoft SQL Server hostname

that contains the Microsoft SQL databases
that need to back up.

-l {full | incr | diff} Specify the backup level to perform such as

full (full), transaction log (incr), or differential
(diff). The default value is full.

-a "NSR_DFA_SI_DD_HOST= Specify the hostname of the protection

<server_name>" storage (PowerProtect DD system).

-a "NSR_DFA_SI_DEVICE_PATH= Specify the name and the path of the

<storage_unit_name_and_path>" PowerProtect DD Storage Unit, where the
backup copies are stored.

-a "NSR_DFA_SI_DD_USER= Specify the username of the DD Boost user.

<DD_Boost_user>"

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 59

<SQL_instance_and_database> Specify the Microsoft SQL instance and
databases to back up.
SQL instance and database syntax example.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 60 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

Microsoft SQL Instance and Database Syntax
Type the Microsoft SQL objects in one of the following formats:

• For Microsoft SQL Default Instance. Use one of the following formats:
− To back up the entire SQL instance, type MSSQL:

− To back up specific SQL databases, type MSSQL:<database> [MSSQL:]

<database> [...]
• For Microsoft SQL Named Instance. Use one of the following formats:

− To back up the entire SQL instance, type MSSQL$<Instance_Name>:

− To back up specific SQL databases, type

MSSQL$<Instance_Name>:<database> [...]

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 61

Back Up Microsoft SQL Database with Application Direct
Command Procedures

Back up Microsoft SQL database with Application Direct ddbmsqlsv command:

Step One

Application Direct ddbmsqlsv command requires some parameters information to

complete the backup operation, and the administrator can get those parameters
information from the Microsoft app agent Application Direct UI.

From the Microsoft app agent Application Direct UI, click the "..." icon in the
PowerProtect DD System field.

Start the Microsoft app agent Application Direct user interface

Step Two

Select the proper Storage Unit and write down the complete pathname of the
Storage Unit. The administrator might need to adjust the width of the Storage Unit
column to see the complete pathname.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 62 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Write down the complete pathname of the Storage Unit

Step Three

Write down the User name of the Storage Unit. The administrator might need to
adjust the width of the User column to see the complete username.

Write down the User pathname of the Storage Unit

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 63

Step Four

On the Microsoft SQL Server host, open the Command Prompt window and
change directory to C:\Program Files\DPSAPPS\MSAPPAGENT\bin

To back up Microsoft SQL database with application direct command, run the
ddbmsqlsv command with the following parameters:

• -c sql-2.emc.edu
• -l full
• -a "NSR_DFA_SI_DD_HOST=192.168.1.138"
• -a "NSR_DFA_SI_DD_USER=SelfServiceProtectio-ppdm-d53ad"
• -a "NSR_DFA_SI_DEVICE_PATH=/SelfServiceProtection_SQL-ppdm-d53ad"
• "MSSQL$MSSQLSERVER2:sqldb_4"

Run the ddbmsqlsv command from the Microsoft SQL Server host

Step Five

The ddbmsqlsv command completes successfully in a few minutes.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 64 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 The ddbmsqlsv command completes successfully

Lab Exercise: Go to the Back Up Microsoft SQL Database with

Application Direct Command section of the Dell PowerProtect Data
Manager Microsoft SQL Integration On-Demand Lab for practice.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 65

Restore Microsoft SQL Database with Application
Direct Workflows

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 66 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

Microsoft SQL Database Restore

The Microsoft Application Agent integrates with the Microsoft SQL Virtual Device
Interface (VDI) to enable application owners to protect the Microsoft SQL
databases.

The Microsoft Application Agent provides a user interface, the Microsoft app
agent for Application Direct that enables the Microsoft SQL database
administrator to perform the backup and restore operation of Microsoft SQL
databases through the Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) plug-in.9

With PowerProtect Data Manager, the Microsoft Application Agent supports

multiple tools to recover Microsoft SQL databases. Microsoft SQL database
administrators can configure and perform SQL database restore using the following
tools:

• Microsoft Application Agent SQL Server Management Studio plug-in (Microsoft

app agent for Application Direct)
• PowerProtect Data Manager UI (Centralized Restore)
• Microsoft Application Agent for Application Direct commands
• T-SQL scripts

9 The plug-in is similar to the Microsoft SQL native backup and restore user
interface, and Microsoft SQL database administrator can use the Microsoft app
agent for Application Direct to back up and restore the Microsoft SQL databases.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 67

Restore Microsoft SQL Database from Microsoft SQL Server
Management Studio Plug-In Procedures

Restore a Microsoft SQL database with Microsoft Application Agent SQL Server
Management Studio plug-in:

Step One

From the Microsoft SQL Server host, launch the Microsoft SQL Server
Management Studio.

Launch Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio

From the Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio toolbar, click the Microsoft
app agent (Application Direct).

Microsoft app agent for Application Direct page appears.

Microsoft app agent (Application Direct) plug-in

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 68 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

Step Two

The Microsoft app agent for Application Direct page appears. Click the
Database Restore tab and select the General page.

In the PowerProtect DD System field, click the "..." icon to select the PowerProtect
DD appliance storage unit.

Select PowerProtect DD system storage unit

Step Three

Select the PowerProtect DD appliance storage unit created by the PowerProtect

Data Manager.

Select PowerProtect DD system storage unit

Step Four

Specify the SQL Server host and SQL Server Instance information. Then select
the wanted Microsoft SQL database to restore.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 69

Verify that the Restore to SQL Server information is properly specified. Click Run
to start the restore operation.

Step Five

Microsoft SQL database restores completed successfully.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 70 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Microsoft SQL databases restore completes successfully

Lab Exercise: Go to the Restore Microsoft SQL Database from

Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio plug-in section of the Dell
PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration On-Demand
Lab for practice.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 71

Centralized Restore of Microsoft SQL Database Application
Direct Workflows

Microsoft SQL databases that are centralized restore

When Microsoft SQL databases are backed up as part of an Application Direct

workflow in the PowerProtect Data Manager protection policy, the administrator can
recover the Microsoft SQL database Application Direct backups by using the
Centralized Restore functionality in the PowerProtect Data Manager UI.

Administrators must perform all centralized restores from the Restore > Assets >
SQL tab from the PowerProtect Data Manager UI.
Administrators can perform a centralized restore of a full, differential, or transaction
log backup to a specific Microsoft SQL Server host and instance.
Administrators can perform the following centralized restores of Microsoft SQL
database with Application Direct workflows:
• Microsoft SQL system database
• Microsoft SQL stand-alone database
• Microsoft SQL Always On Availability Group (AAG) database
• Microsoft SQL Failover Cluster Instance (FCI) database
• Microsoft SQL Always On Failover Cluster Instance (AAG over FCI) database

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 72 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Important: Administrators cannot perform the centralized restore of a
Microsoft SQL database Application Direct backup and the centralized
restore of a Microsoft SQL Server virtual machine backup
simultaneously.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 73

Centralized Restore of Microsoft SQL Database Application
Direct Workflows

Administrators can perform a centralized restore of single or multiple databases

from the same Microsoft SQL Server host and instance. Administrators can perform
a centralized restore of the Microsoft SQL databases either to the original Microsoft
SQL Server host or to an alternate Microsoft SQL Server host with the following
requirements:

• The alternate Microsoft SQL Server host must be a Microsoft SQL Server
Application Direct machine.
• The Microsoft Application Agent software must be installed and configured on
the alternate Microsoft SQL Server host.
• Cannot restore a Microsoft SQL system database to an alternate Microsoft SQL
Server host or Microsoft SQL Server instance.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 74 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

Centralized Restore of Microsoft SQL Database from
PowerProtect Data Manager Procedures

Centralized restore of Microsoft SQL database from the PowerProtect Data

Manager UI:

Step One

Log in to the PowerProtect Data Manager. From the left navigation pane, select
Restore > Assets > SQL tab.

Navigate the Microsoft SQL database hierarchies and select the Microsoft SQL
database to restore.

Restore Microsoft SQL database from PowerProtect Data Manager

Step Two

Select the Microsoft SQL database backup copy needs to restore.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 75

 Select Microsoft SQL databases backup copy to restore

Step Three

Specify the Microsoft SQL destination host, destination SQL instance and
destination SQL database for the centralized restore.

Select Microsoft SQL database restore operation destination

Step Four

Select the file location for the Microsoft SQL database centralized restore.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 76 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Select Microsoft SQL database files restore location

Step Five

Select the Microsoft SQL database options for the centralized restore.

Select additional restore options

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 77

Step Six

Review the centralized restore settings and start the Microsoft SQL database
centralized restore.

Review the restore operation settings

Step Seven

From the left navigation pane, click Jobs > Protection Jobs to verify that the
centralized restore of Microsoft SQL database completes successfully.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 78 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Centralized restore of Microsoft SQL database completes successfully

Lab Exercise: Go to the Centralized Restore of Microsoft SQL

Database from PowerProtect Data Manager section of the
DellPowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration On-
Demand Lab for practice.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 79

Application Direct Restore Command

Administrators can use the ddbmsqlrc command to perform the manual restore of
Microsoft SQL databases from the Microsoft SQL Server host.

 ddbmsqlrc command is located under C:\Program

Files\DPSAPPS\MSAPPAGENT\bin directory.

Run the ddbmsqlrc command with the following parameters to restore (and
recover) stand-alone Microsoft SQL databases:

ddbmsqlrc -c <client_name> -S {normal | norecover | standby} -a

"NSR_DFA_SI_DD_HOST=<server_name>" -a
"NSR_DFA_SI_DEVICE_PATH=<storage_unit_name_and_path>" -a
"NSR_DFA_SI_DD_USER=<DD_Boost_user>" [<optional_parameters>]
"<SQL_instance_and_database>"

Parameters Definition

-c <client_name> Specify the Microsoft SQL Server hostname

that contains the Microsoft SQL databases
that need to back up.

-S {normal | norecover | standby} normal: Roll back uncommitted transactions

and use the database to restore the most
recent or additional transaction logs
norecover: Restore the most recent or
additional transaction logs without rolling
back uncommitted transactions.
standby: Allow the administrators to undo
committed transactions, saves the undo
actions in a standby file that enables the
administrators to reverse the restore effects,
and puts the database in the read-only
mode.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 80 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

-a "NSR_DFA_SI_DD_HOST= Specify the hostname of the protection
<server_name>" storage (PowerProtect DD system).

-a "NSR_DFA_SI_DEVICE_PATH= Specify the name and the path of the

<storage_unit_name_and_path>" PowerProtect DD Storage Unit, where the
backup copies are stored.

-a "NSR_DFA_SI_DD_USER= Specify the username of the DD Boost user.

<DD_Boost_user>"

-f Overwrites the existing SQL database with

the current database that you restore if the
names of both the SQL databases are the
same.

<SQL_instance_and_database> Specify the Microsoft SQL instance and

databases to restore.
SQL instance and database syntax example.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 81

Restore Microsoft SQL Database with Application Direct
Command Procedures

Restore Microsoft SQL database with Application Direct ddbmsqlrc command:

Step One

Application Direct ddbmsqlrc command requires some parameters information to

complete the restore operation, and the administrator can get those parameters
information from the Microsoft app agent Application Direct UI.

From the Microsoft app agent Application Direct UI, click the "..." icon in the
PowerProtect DD System field.

Start the Microsoft app agent Application Direct user interface

Step Two

Select the proper Storage Unit and write down the complete pathname of the
Storage Unit. The administrator might need to adjust the width of the Storage Unit
column to see the complete pathname.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 82 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Write down the complete pathname of the Storage Unit

Step Three

Write down the User of the Storage Unit. The administrator might need to adjust
the width of the User column to see the complete username.

Write down the User name pathname of the Storage Unit

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 83

Step Four

On the Microsoft SQL Server host, open the Command Prompt window and
change directory to C:\Program Files\DPSAPPS\MSAPPAGENT\bin

To restore Microsoft SQL database with application direct command, run the
ddbmsqlrc command with the following parameters:

• -c sql-2.emc.edu
• -S normal
• -a "NSR_DFA_SI_DD_HOST=192.168.1.138"
• -a "NSR_DFA_SI_DD_USER=CentralizedProtectio-ppdm-57136"
• -a "NSR_DFA_SI_DEVICE_PATH=/CentralizedProtection_SQL-ppdm-
57136/PLCTLP-74345b2e-55db-4509-ad6c-a7296ce53487"
• -f
• "MSSQL$MSSQLSERVER2:sqldb_3"

Run the ddbmsqlrc command from the Microsoft SQL Server host

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 84 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

Step Five

The ddbmsqlrc command completes successfully in a few minutes.

The ddbmsqlrc command completes successfully

Lab Exercise: Go to the Restore Microsoft SQL Database with

Application Direct Command section of the Dell PowerProtect Data
Manager Microsoft SQL Integration On-Demand Lab for practice.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 85

Configuring Microsoft SQL Database Backups with VM
Direct Workflows

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 86 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

Microsoft SQL Database Application-Aware (VM Direct)
Protection Overview

Application Aware protection policy

If the Microsoft SQL Server is running in an ESXi virtual machine, the application-
aware VM protection policy uses the Microsoft Application Agent to quiesce the
Microsoft SQL databases during virtual machine image backup and perform the
application-consistent backup of Microsoft SQL databases. PowerProtect Data
Manager automatically installs and configures the Microsoft Application Agent for
an application-consistent backup of the Microsoft SQL databases.

During the application-aware protection policy configuration, both the VM Direct

Agent and the Microsoft Application Agent are installed on the virtual machine. The
Microsoft Application Agent installation includes the software components that are
required for self-service restore, including the Microsoft Application Agent SQL
Server Management Studio (SSMS) plug-in and ItemPoint.

Extra steps are performed to quiesce the Microsoft SQL database before taking VM
snapshot (presnapshot steps) and then generating some additional metadata to
catalog the protected Microsoft SQL databases (postsnapshot).

The Microsoft Application Agent SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) plug-in is
called Microsoft app agent (VM Direct) on the SQL Server Management Studio
toolbar and it is used for the following operations:

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 87

 Microsoft app agent (VM Direct) plug-in

• Microsoft SQL database restore.

• Microsoft SQL table restore.
• Instant Access restore of Microsoft SQL database.

Important: This Microsoft app agent (VM Direct) plug-in does not
support VM Direct backup of Microsoft SQL databases.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 88 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

Microsoft SQL Database Application-Aware (VM Direct)
Protection Overview

PowerProtect Data Manager application-aware protection policy uses the Microsoft

Application Agent to provide advanced application-consistent protection for the
following Microsoft SQL databases workflows:

Full Backup to PowerProtect DD

When the Microsoft SQL databases application-aware protection policy starts, a

Microsoft SQL database full backup is performed during the in-guest quiesce by the
VMware Tools. When the backup is performed as part of the VMware image-level
backup, the Microsoft SQL database files are backed up as part of the VMDKs
during the VM Direct backup.

After completing the backup, the Microsoft Application Agent is automatically run
on the virtual machine to catalog the Microsoft SQL database backup on the
PowerProtect DD associated with the protection policy.

Microsoft SQL Database Transaction Log Backup

When configuring an application-aware protection policy, the Transaction log

backup option can be selected to enable the transaction logs backup for the
Microsoft SQL database instance running on the virtual machine.

The Microsoft application agent is run on the virtual machine to perform the
Microsoft SQL database transaction logs backup. Backups are written directly to
the PowerProtect DD which is associated with the protection policy.

Various Microsoft SQL Database Restore

The following objects can be restored:

• Microsoft SQL databases.

• Microsoft SQL flat file.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 89

• Microsoft SQL table-level restore.
• Microsoft SQL database Instant Access restore to the source virtual machine or
to an alternate virtual machine.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 90 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

Microsoft SQL Database Application-Aware (VM Direct)
Protection Prerequisites

To perform Microsoft SQL database Application-Aware protection, ensure that a

Microsoft SQL Server environment meets the following prerequisites:

• The Microsoft Application Agent runs under the virtual machine credentials that
are provided in the VM protection policy or virtual machine asset for installation
and data protection operations. Configure all Microsoft SQL Server instances on
the virtual machine to grant account rights for this account to perform Microsoft
SQL Server database backup and recovery operations:
− Add the account to Microsoft SQL Server logins.
− Grant the account the sysadmin role.
• Enable the UUID attribute (disk.EnableUUID=TRUE) of the Microsoft SQL
Server virtual machine in the vSphere Client.
− After the administrators set disk.EnableUUID to TRUE, ensure to reboot
the virtual machine.
• VMware ESXi/vSphere version 6.5, 6.7, 7.0u1, 7.0u2, 7.0u3, and VMware Tools
version 10.1 or later.
• The virtual machine must use SCSI disks only, and one SCSI controller
supports maximum of 7 disks.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 91

 Enable the UUID attribute
Grant the sysadmin role (disk.EnableUUID=TRUE)

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 92 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

Add and Register VMware vCenter Server

VMware vCenter Servers must be added to the PowerProtect Data Manager in

order to discover the virtual machine assets for management in the PowerProtect
Data Manager.

After the administrators add vCenter Server as Asset Sources, PowerProtect Data
Manager automatically initiates a VMware entity discovery process. The initial
vCenter Server discovery identifies all ESXi clusters, ESXi hosts, and virtual
machines within the vCenter Server.

Subsequent discovery operations are performed automatically, according to a fixed

interval, to identify any additional, or changed VMware entities since the last
discovery operation.

The administrators can also manually initiate the discovery of VMware entities at
any time from Infrastructure > Asset Sources > vCenter tab, select the vCenter
Server and click Discover.

Important: Dell PowerProtect Data Manager VM Integration course

provides detailed information.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 93

VM Direct Engine Overview

The VM Direct Engine (formerly VM Proxy) is the virtual machine data protection
solution within PowerProtect Data Manager. It enables administrators to perform
virtual machine snapshot backups in the vSphere environment and moves the
backup data to a PowerProtect DD system.

VM Direct Engine facilitates data movement. Dell Technologies recommends

deploying additional external VM Direct Engines for virtual machine backups in
environments with a large amount of data movements and concurrent protection
operations. VM Direct Engine also provides improved performance and reduces
network bandwidth utilization by using source-side deduplication.

PowerProtect Data Manager comes bundled with an embedded VM Direct Engine,

which is automatically used as a fallback proxy for performing backups and
restores when the added external VM Direct Engine fails or is disabled. Dell
Technologies recommends that the administrators deploy an external VM Direct
Engine because the embedded VM Direct Engine has limited capacities for
performing parallel backups.

Important: Dell PowerProtect Data Manager VM Integration course

provides detailed information.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 94 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

Back Up Microsoft SQL Database with VM Direct
Workflows

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 95

Add Application Aware Protection Policy

The Application-Aware VM protection policy uses the Microsoft Application Agent to

quiesce the Microsoft SQL databases during virtual machine backup and perform
the application-consistent backup of Microsoft SQL databases. PowerProtect Data
Manager automatically installs and configures the Microsoft Application Agent for
an application-consistent backup of the Microsoft SQL databases.

When the application-aware protection policy is created, the following data

protection attributes can be specified:

Attributes in the Description

application-aware
protection policy

Assets Specify the PowerProtect Data Manager assets that

must be protected. This is the Microsoft SQL virtual
machine.

Protection storage Select a PowerProtect DD system and storage unit.

Backup schedule Specify the frequency of the backup operation

recurrence, the backup operation start and stop time,
and the retention period for the backup data.

SLA Select the wanted SLA to associate with the

application-aware protection policy.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 96 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

Add Application Aware Protection Policy Procedures

Add an application-aware protection policy from the PowerProtect Data Manager:

Step One

Log in to the PowerProtect Data Manager.

From the left navigation pane, select Protection > Protection Policies. Click Add.

Add application aware protection policy

Step Two

Specify the name for the protection policy.

Specify the name and type for the application aware protection policy

Step Three

Select Application Aware as the purpose for the protection policy.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 97

Click Select One from the Host Credentials field to select the Microsoft SQL
credentials.

Select Application Aware as protection policy purpose

Step Four

Select the Microsoft SQL server login credentials.

Select Microsoft SQL login credentials

Step Five

Select the Microsoft SQL virtual machine as an asset to protect.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 98 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Select Microsoft SQL virtual machine assets to protect

Step Six

On the Primary Backup pane, click Add to add Primary Backup.

Add primary backup

Step Seven

On the Add Primary Backup page, select New on Storage Unit.

Specify other schedule attributes, such as backup retention, backup start, and end
time.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 99

 Select new storage unit and specify backup schedule

Step Eight

On the Options page, select additional options for the backup policy.

Select additional backup options

Step Nine

Review the application aware protection policy, click Finish to create the
application aware protection policy.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 100 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Review application aware protection policy settings

From the left navigation pane, click Jobs > Protection Jobs to verify that the
application aware protection policy completes successfully.

Application aware protection policy completes successfully

Lab Exercise: Go to the Add Application Aware Protection Policy

section of the Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL
Integration On-Demand Lab for practice.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 101

Start Application-Aware Protection Policy from PowerProtect
Data Manager

Once an application-aware protection policy is added, the administrator can

perform a manual backup using the Protect Now option from the Protection >
Protection Policies page.

The Protect Now option on the Protection Policies page allows the administrator
to start a manual backup operation to back up assets that are protected in the
designated protection policy.

To use the Protect Now option on the Protection Policies page, the protection
policy must be enabled, and the protection policy purpose must be one of the
following:

• Crash Consistent
• Centralized Protection
• Application Aware

Important: The protection policy purpose must not be exclusion or

self-service protection.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 102 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

Start Application-Aware Protection Policy from PowerProtect
Data Manager Procedures

To manually start an application aware protection policy from the PowerProtect

Data Manager:

Step One

From the left navigation pane, select Protection > Protection Policies.

Select the application-aware policy that was created (ApplicationAware_SQL), click

Protect Now.

Protect Now the application aware protection policy manually

Step Two

On the Assets Selection page, select the All Assets option.

Select asset for the backup

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 103

Step Three

On the Configuration page, keep the ApplicationAware_SQL protection policy

settings:

• Select Backup Now

− Select backup type: Full

− Retain For: 3 Days

Specify backup configuration

Step Four

On the Summary page, review the configuration settings. Click Protect Now to
start the backup.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 104 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Review Protect Now backup settings

Step Five

From the left navigation pane, select Jobs > Protection Jobs. The application
aware protection policy completes successfully in a few minutes.

The application aware protection policy completes successfully

Lab Exercise: Go to the Start Application Aware Protection Policy

Manually from PowerProtect Data Manager section of the Dell
PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration On-Demand
Lab for practice.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 105

Restore Microsoft SQL Database with VM Direct
Workflows

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 106 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

Microsoft SQL Database Restore

PowerProtect Data Manager with VM Direct workflow supports multiple tools to

restore Microsoft SQL databases. Microsoft SQL database administrators can
configure and perform SQL database restore using the following tools:

• Microsoft Application Agent SQL Server Management Studio plug-in (Microsoft

app agent for VM Direct).
• PowerProtect Data Manager UI (Centralized Restore).
• VM Direct command.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 107

Restore Microsoft SQL Database from Microsoft SQL Server
Management Studio Plug-In Procedures

Restore a Microsoft SQL database with Microsoft Application Agent SQL Server
Management Studio plug-in:

Step One

From the Microsoft SQL Server host, launch the Microsoft SQL Server
Management Studio.

Launch the Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio

From the Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio toolbar, click the Microsoft
app agent (VM Direct).

Microsoft app agent for VM Direct page appears.

Microsoft app agent (VM Direct) plug-in

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 108 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

Step Two

The Microsoft app agent for VM Direct page appears. Click the Database
Restore tab and select the General page.

In the PowerProtect DD System field, click the "..." icon to select the PowerProtect
DD appliance storage unit.

Select PowerProtect DD system storage unit

Step Three

Select the PowerProtect DD appliance storage unit created by the application

aware protection policy.

Select PowerProtect DD system storage unit

Step Four

Specify the SQL Server host and SQL Server Instance. Then select the wanted
Microsoft SQL database to restore.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 109

Verify the Restore to SQL Server information is properly specified. Click Run to
start the restore operation.

Select the wanted Microsoft SQL database to restore

Step Five

Microsoft SQL databases restore completed successfully.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 110 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Microsoft SQL databases restore completes successfully

Lab Exercise: Go to the Restore Microsoft SQL Database from

Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio plug-in section of the Dell
PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration On-Demand
Lab for practice.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 111

Centralized Restore of Microsoft SQL Database VM Direct
Workflows

Centralized restore of Microsoft SQL database

When Microsoft SQL databases are backed up as part of a VM Direct workflow in

the PowerProtect Data Manager application-aware protection policy, the
administrator can restore the Microsoft SQL Server virtual machine VM Direct
backups by using the Centralized Restore functionality in the PowerProtect Data
Manager UI.

Administrators must perform all centralized restores from the Restore > Assets >
SQL tab from the PowerProtect Data Manager UI.

Administrators can perform a centralized restore of a full or transaction log backup

to a specific Microsoft SQL Server host and instance.

Administrators can perform the following centralized restores of Microsoft SQL

database with Application Direct workflows:

• Microsoft SQL system database.

• Microsoft SQL stand-alone database.
• Microsoft SQL Always On Availability Group (AAG) database.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 112 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Important: Administrators cannot perform the centralized restore of a
Microsoft SQL Server virtual machine (VM Direct) and the centralized
restore of a Microsoft SQL database (Application Direct)
simultaneously.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 113

Centralized Restore of Microsoft SQL Database VM Direct
Workflows

Administrators can perform a centralized restore of single or multiple databases

from the same Microsoft SQL Server host and instance. Administrators can perform
a centralized restore of the Microsoft SQL databases either to the original Microsoft
SQL Server host or to an alternate Microsoft SQL Server host with the following
requirements:

• The alternate Microsoft SQL Server host must be a Microsoft SQL Server virtual
machine.
• The Microsoft Application Agent software must be installed and configured on
the alternate Microsoft SQL Server host.
• Cannot restore a Microsoft SQL system database to an alternate Microsoft SQL
Server host or Microsoft SQL Server instance.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 114 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

Centralized Restore of Microsoft SQL Database VM Direct
Procedures

To centralized restore Microsoft SQL database from the PowerProtect Data

Manager UI:

Step One

Log in to the PowerProtect Data Manager. From the left navigation pane, select
Restore > Assets > SQL tab.

Navigate the Microsoft SQL database hierarchies and select the Microsoft SQL
database to restore.

Restore Microsoft SQL database from PowerProtect Data Manager

Step Two

Select the Microsoft SQL database backup copy needs to restore.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 115

 Select Microsoft SQL databases backup copy to restore

Step Three

Specify the Microsoft SQL destination host, destination SQL instance and
destination SQL database for the centralized restore.

Select Microsoft SQL database restore operation destination

Step Four

Select the file location for the Microsoft SQL database centralized restore.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 116 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Select Microsoft SQL database files restore location

Step Five

Select the Microsoft SQL database options for the centralized restore.

Select additional restore options

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 117

Step Six

Review the centralized restore settings and start the Microsoft SQL database
centralized restore.

Review the restore operation settings

Step Seven

From the left navigation pane, click Jobs > Protection Jobs to verify that the
centralized restore of Microsoft SQL database completes successfully.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 118 © Copyright 2022 Dell Inc.

 Centralized restore of Microsoft SQL database completes successfully

Lab Exercise: Go to the Centralized Restore of Microsoft SQL

Database from PowerProtect Data Manager section of the Dell
PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration On-Demand
Lab for practice.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2022 Dell Inc. Page 119

Course Completion

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

© Copyright 2021 Dell Inc. Page 121

You Have Completed This Content

Click the Save Progress and Exit button in the course menu or below
to record this content as complete.
Go to the next learning or assessment, if applicable.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Microsoft SQL Integration

Page 122 © Copyright 2021 Dell Inc.