Microsoft Forefront Protection 2010 for SharePoint (FPSP) services are the features that run on the SharePoint server and control all back-end functionality of FPSP. The following table describes the services used by FPSP.

FPSP Service Default Startup Type Description

Microsoft Forefront Server Protection Controller

Automatic

Acts as the server feature that FPSP connects to for monitoring. Coordinates all real-time, scheduled, and on-demand scanning activities.

If you change the startup type to anything other than Automatic, FPSP may not scan properly.

Microsoft Forefront Server Protection Controller for SharePoint

Manual

Acts as the agent responsible for communicating with the Microsoft SQL Server databases. Runs under the account entered during the install process.

The Microsoft Forefront Server Protection Controller service starts this service whenever there is a scan request. When the server is started, it is normal that this service is stopped.

The account used must be a member of the local Administrators group on the server on which SharePoint Portal Server is installed and must have system administrator rights in the SharePoint content database.

Microsoft Forefront Server Protection Eventing

Manual

Processes FPSP events, including incidents logging, quarantine logging, and notifications.

Microsoft Forefront Server Protection Mail Pickup

Manual

Delivers messages generated by FPSP for mail delivery, such as notifications. This service is started automatically whenever there is a message to be delivered. If this service is disabled, no notifications are generated.

Microsoft Forefront Server Protection VSS Writer Service

The Microsoft Forefront Server Protection VSS Writer Service provides added functionality for backing up and restoring FPSP through the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) framework.

The Microsoft Forefront Server Protection VSS Writer Service is installed automatically. It must be running when the VSS application requests a backup or restore. To configure the service, use the Microsoft Windows Services applet. The service installs on all operating systems but is only required on server systems.

When running, FPSP locks and has exclusive access to the data files. When the Microsoft Forefront Server Protection VSS Writer Service is not running, backup programs running on Windows do not have access to the data files, and backups must be performed using regular FPSP backup and restore procedures. For more information, see Backing up and restoring the product.

Use the Microsoft Forefront Server Protection VSS Writer Service to permit Windows backup programs to copy FPSP data files while FPSP is running.

Important:
Before using the VSS Writer Service restore functionality, all Microsoft Forefront Server Protection services must be stopped.

About VSS

The VSS is a set of COM APIs that implements a framework to allow volume backups to be performed while applications on a system continue to write to the volumes. The VSS provides a consistent interface that allows coordination between user applications that update data on disk (writers) and those that back up applications (requestors).

The VSS captures and copies stable images for backups on running systems, particularly servers, without unduly degrading the performance and stability of the services they provide. For more information on the VSS, see your Windows documentation.

Required permissions

The Microsoft Forefront Server Protection VSS Writer Service must run under the Local System account.

Features

The Microsoft Forefront Server Protection VSS Writer Service supports:

  • Full backup and restore of configuration settings, all quarantined items, and malware, and filtering incidents

  • Online backups

The Microsoft Forefront Server Protection VSS Writer Service does not support:

  • Restoring to another location

  • Online restores

  • Differential backup and restores