Is your Tape Drive certified to work with DPM?

SysCnt-DPM Windows2008_R2Certified

No – it isn’t certified for DPM.  But not for the reasons that you might think.

Microsoft does publish a list of devices that have been tested with DPM at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/dpm/cc678583.aspx.

However, this does not mean that those devices are certified to work with DPM.  It means that they have been tested for use with DPM.  And here is a key point – they were tested by the hardware vendor.

Microsoft does have a certification program, but it is the Certified for Windows logo program at http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/winlogo.   One of the great things about the Microsoft Windows ecosystem is that if you run software that is tested for Windows on hardware that is tested for Windows, then the intention is that it all works together.  This is a far cry from my first days in backup (1992) when every backup vendor had to create its own tape drivers to work with their own backup software.  I am sure that there will be some kind folks out there that point out some exceptions to this interoperability goal (and there likely are a few), but the industry really has come a very long way. 

 

Microsoft does not test tape hardware for use with DPM

Sure, there are a few key hardware partners that we have long-term relationships with, so we encourage and request them to test their more popular models with DPM.  But in the end, we provide a test program to any and all tape hardware manufacturers, for them to run themselves. It is up to the individual hardware companies as to which models that they choose to test, as well as with what driver revisions. Upon completion, they send a notification with their hardware and driver versions to a Partner Program Manager within the DPM team – and our hardware list is updated.

In my experience over the last four years, I have found that almost anything that is “Certified for Windows Server” (2008 or 2008 R2) and that registers itself as a “Tape Device” or a “Medium Changer” in the Windows Device Manager will usually work with DPM. In fact, when you go to the DPM UI => Management Tab =>, Tapes Subtab and click refresh – that is where DPM goes to discover the new hardware. There are exceptions, but the key to remember is that the device list is just a list of what the hardware companies have chosen to test with and then reported back to Microsoft.

If you find that your tape device is “Certified for Windows Server” (2008 or 2008 R2) but does not seem to behave correctly with DPM, and you have verified that DPM is otherwise operating correctly via our support teams, then please let us know at dpmtlts@microsoft.com; so that we can prompt a conversation with those vendors.

If the tape device that you want to use with DPM is not yet on our list, then we encourage you to please contact your representative at the tape drive manufacturer and ask them to run the DPM test program on that model.

As always, though, the best test as to whether any software or hardware is suitable for your environment (certified or not) is to test it yourself.

Thanks for reading

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