How to Configure Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS)

Volume Shadow Copy Service

Friends today I am going to share a piece of information with you. Information regarding How to Configure Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS). Well you might wonder why? Because in recent days somebody (I don't know who is he) come to my office sit on computer for some official work and change my entire very very important project file. This catastrophe happens to me before my presentation day. So I did what I did to create my presentation once again and then I realize I have to do something. Something very important. Then I Configure Volume Shadow Copy Service or VSS and Now I want you to configure this if you have sensitive information because this is really big deal. You could save your valuable data and most important your valuable time. So first of all What is Volume Shadow Copy Service or VSS? Let's look at it....

Volume Shadow Copy Service is a feature of Windows Server operating system that enables you to maintain previous version of files on a server. If you accidentally edit or delete any file (which is configured with VSS) then in this scenario you can access or retrieve your original file.

Volume Shadow Copy Service was first added to Microsoft Windows XP. It can only create temporary snapshots, used for accessing stable on-disk version of files that are opened for editing. This version of Volume Shadow Copy Service is used by NTBackup. But we are here looking Volume Shadow Copy Service of Windows Server 2012.

Volume Shadow Copy Service is different than regular backup. Regular backup is on demand or scheduled one. Although you can schedule the backup in Volume Shadow Copy Service also. You can set size limit too in Volume Shadow Copy Service. Volume Shadow Copy Service is different backup technology other than regular backup because you can’t backup Documents, Files or Shared folders. You can only implement Volume Shadow Copy Service on an entire drive. Yes, on an entire drive.
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Also View: Add Multiple Servers in Server Manager
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There are some requirements for Configuring Volume Shadow Copy Service.

• You need Windows Server Operating System.
• You need a Drive for Backup.
• You need at least 300 MB free space to create a shadow copy.

Let’s Configure Volume Shadow Copy Service

After completing the above requirements, we are going to use the following procedure to Configure Volume Shadow Copy Service.

• Log on to Windows Server 2012 with Administrator account or an account with Administrative privileges.
• Open File Explorer. The File Explorer window appears. (Or My Computer by hitting Windows + E keys)
• Right-click a volume and, from the shortcut menu, select Configure Shadow Copies. The Shadow Copies dialog box will appear.

  

  Volume Shadow Copy Service

• In the Select a Volume box, choose the volume for which you want to enable Shadow Copies. By default, when you enable Shadow Copies for a volume, the system uses the following settings:

1. The system stores the shadow copies on the selected volume.
2. The system reserves a minimum of 300 MB of disk space for the shadow copies.
3. The system creates shadow copies at 7:00 A.M. and 12:00 P.M. every weekday.

• To modify the default parameters, click Settings to open the Settings dialog box.
• In the Storage Area box, specify the volume where you want to store the shadow copies.
• Specify the Maximum Size for the storage area or choose the No Limit option. If the storage area becomes filled, the system begins deleting the oldest shadow copies.
• Click Schedule to open the Schedule dialog box. By using the controls provided, you can modify the existing Shadow Copies tasks, delete them, or create new ones, based on the needs of your users.
• Click OK twice to close the Schedule and Settings dialog boxes.
• Click Enable. The system enables the Shadow Copies feature for the selected volume and creates the first copy in the designated storage area.
• Close File Explorer.

After you complete this procedure, you can restore previous versions of files on the selected volumes from the Previous Versions tab on any file or folder’s Properties sheet.