SharePoint 2010 offers new metadata features including tags, social bookmarks, and content ratings. These new types of metadata are stored in the service applications that reside outside of the content database. For example, content ratings reside in the Managed Metadata Service application. You can also create custom service applications and store metadata in them. You should make sure to back up all of your service applications to ensure that all metadata is protected.

Since metadata is stored outside of the content database, it cannot be restored using Granular Recovery Technology (GRT). You can, however, use GRT to restore SharePoint data with metadata attached to it. As long as the metadata resides in the same service application, SharePoint maintains the link between the two items.

Table: SharePoint Server 2010 and SharePoint Foundation 2010 components lists the SharePoint Server farm or the SharePoint Foundation components that you can back up and restore with NetBackup for SharePoint.