What Volume Shadow Copy Backup Is and Why You Need It

Volume Shadow Copy backup software is the sort of utility that uses the VSS technology that allows you to make backup copies or snapshots of data on a specific volume, even if the data is locked. Starting from the 7th version, Handy Backup uses VSS perfectly well.

The Volume Shadow Copy technology requires NTFS as a file system and can be implemented as a Windows service called Volume Shadow Copy (or Volume Snapshot Service, or Shadow Copy, or what we already heard it to be, VSS).

VSS Service for Hot Backup

One of the most popular reasons to go for a Volume Shadow Copy backup software solution is getting the advantage of hot backup.

Hot backup is copying data even if it is currently actively used and updated.

Say, we have an MS SQL Server. We do surely want those MS SQL Server backups to be hot. Because getting the database off-line, stopping the service, and hence losing time is something we don’t like and our company is not really happy about (since making things quick is out business attitude).

Even if the backup is not about servers and databases, the need to copy a file processed by some applications is a rather common one.

How to Back up Locked and Blocked Files

If you ever tried to copy files locked or blocked by an application files, you would have a chance to see an error message like “The process cannot access the file because another process has locked a portion of the file”. In a situation like that, the VSS service for backup is exactly what you need.

For flawless copying of locked files, you only need to verify that these services are enabled:

• Volume Shadow Copy
• Microsoft Software Shadow Copy Provider

Using a right Volume Shadow copy backup software solution, you have the whole power of snapshots making both services working for you.

VSS Service for Backup

The featured software has a history of being an effective tool for Volume Shadow Copy backup of specific data types (for example, several previous versions allowed you to make VSS backup of MS Exchange 2010 actual databases instead of the entire volume they are stored to). Handy Backup 7 brought the power of VSS backup for all types of data.

Volume shadow copy backup software is the right choice if you want to protect data on the fly. Try the hot feature of hot backup with the market’s finest solution!