What's New in VSS in Windows Vista
Windows Vista introduces the following changes to the Volume Shadow Copy Service.
Note that all changes for Windows Vista also apply to Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista with Service Pack 1 (SP1).
New VSS Interfaces
IVssDifferentialSoftwareSnapshotMgmt2
New VSS Classes
New VSS Enumerations
Existing VSS Enumeration Modifications
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VSS_BACKUP_SCHEMA enumeration
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Added values:
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VSS_BS_AUTHORITATIVE_RESTORE
VSS_BS_INDEPENDENT_SYSTEM_STATE
VSS_BS_RESTORE_RENAME
VSS_BS_ROLLFORWARD_RESTORE
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VSS_COMPONENT_FLAGS enumeration
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Added values:
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VSS_CF_NOT_SYSTEM_STATE
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_VSS_VOLUME_SNAPSHOT_ATTRIBUTES enumeration
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Added values:
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VSS_VOLSNAP_ATTR_NO_AUTORECOVERY
VSS_VOLSNAP_ATTR_NOT_TRANSACTED
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VSS Event Tracing and Logging
- The VSS trace file can now be located on any local volume. On versions of Windows prior to Windows Vista, the VSS trace file could not be located on a volume that was in the shadow copy set.
- Many event log entries have been reworded to make them clearer.
- All VSS event log entries now contain context information.
VSS Error Reporting
- Descriptions of all VSS error codes can now be retrieved by calling the FormatMessage function with the FORMAT_MESSAGE_FROM_HMODULE flag specified in the dwFlags parameter.
- The VSS error code messages are contained in vsstrace.dll. A handle to this module must be specified in the lpSource parameter.
Excluding Files from Shadow Copies
Applications or services can use the FilesNotToSnapshot registry key to specify files to be deleted from newly created shadow copies. For more information, see Excluding Files from Shadow Copies.
Backup and Restore Application Compatibility
Developers of backup and restore applications need to be aware of certain new features in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. For an application compatibility checklist, see Application Compatibility for Backup and Restore.