Firestreamer is a software utility that enables the existing tape backup software to access a wide range of non-tape storage media, making possible long-term and off-site retention of data without the need for tape drives.

It has an impressive list of media it supports and works really well with Microsoft Data Protection Manager 2010.

For more information about Firestreamer as well as instructions how to use it visit:

http://www.cristalink.com/fs/Default.aspx

There is however, some work needed to maintain offsite backups using it. Every time you swap the drive to take it offsite you have to:

1. Unlock library door in DPM
2. Load new Firestreamer media map file
3. Lock library door in DPM

To automate this process, you can schedule a job using Task Scheduler to run 5 minutes before the backup job.

First you have to register Firestreamer dll library with the server to be able to interact with it using scripts:

C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v2.0.50727\RegAsm.exe /codebase
"C:\Program Files\Cristalink\FsChanger\FirestreamerInterface.dll"

Create folder on C: drive where you will keep your DPM scripts and copy the following file to it:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft DPM\DPM\bin\dpmshell.psc1

Create .VBS script file in your scripts folder and schedule it to run just before the backup job (this job needs elevated credentials):

Set objShell = CreateObject("Wscript.Shell")
objShell.Run("Powershell.exe -PSConsoleFile ./dpmshell.psc1 ./reload_lib.ps1")

Create reload_lib.ps1 script in the same folder. Change <DPM_NAME> and map file path to match your configuration.

$DPMLib = Get-DPMLibrary -DPMServerName "<DPM_NAME>"

Unlock-DPMLibraryDoor -DPMLibrary $DPMLib

$ctl = New-Object -com Firestreamer.Controller
$ctl.Connect()

$libraryNumber = 1
$file = "E:\map.fsmap"

$ctl.ChangerLoadMediaFromFile( $libraryNumber, $file )

Lock-DPMLibraryDoor -DPMLibrary $DPMLib

Create library media map in Firestreamer for every USB drive and save it in root of each drive (E:\map.fsmap) so every drive has a map of itself.

Task Scheduler will reload media map from drive that is plugged into the server just before the backup job, so all you have to do is to swap the drives.