Netbackup 7.6 Blueprints - NDMP

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The Technical Services team for Backup and Recovery have produced a number of documents we call "Blueprints".

These Blueprints are designed to show backup and recovery challenges around specific technologies or functions and how NetBackup solves these challenges.

Each Blueprint consists of:

• Pain Points: What challenges customers face
• Whiteboard: Shows how NetBackup solves the customer challenges
• Recommended Configuration: Shows recommended installation
• Do’s: Gives detailed configurations suggested by Symantec
• Don'ts: What configurations & pitfalls customers should avoid
• Advantages: Summarises the NetBackup advantages

NetBackup for NDMP is an optional NetBackup application. It enables NetBackup to use the Network Data Management Protocol (NDMP) to initiate and control backups and restores of Network Attached Storage (NAS) systems.

NDMP is a widely used protocol through which an NDMP-conformant backup application controls the backups and restores of any NDMP host that runs an NDMP server application.

NDMP architecture follows the client and server model:

• The NetBackup master or media server where NetBackup for NDMP is installed is called a NetBackup for NDMP server.
• The host where the NDMP server application resides is called an NDMP host.
• The NetBackup software is a client of the NDMP server application. NetBackup for NDMP lets NetBackup act as an NDMP client. The NDMP hosts, on the other hand, act as NetBackup clients.

NetBackup for NDMP features

• Supports the NDMP protocol versions V2, V3, and V4.
• Centralized backup policy management - Scheduling, catalog management, and other backup tasks are managed from a NetBackup master server. NetBackup for NDMP can be installed on a NetBackup master or media server.
• Support for wildcards in NDMP backup policy selections - Wildcard characters in regular expressions or directives are valid for streaming and non-streaming NDMP backups.
• Device and media management - NetBackup software provides complete management and control of the devices and media that are used for backups and restores of NDMP hosts. The NetBackup Device Configuration Wizard discovers and configures the storage devices that are attached to an NDMP host. (This function requires NDMP protocol V3 or V4.) Note that wizard-based discovery depends upon a number of device-specific features, such as SCSI inquiry and serialization, which some NAS vendors may not support. Backup data travels between the disk drives and tape drives that are directly attached to the same NDMP host. This transfer provides high-speed backup but does not slow network throughput.
• High-speed local backup of NDMP hosts - Backup data travels across the network from a disk on an NDMP host to tape on another NDMP host. This backup is referred to as a three-way backup. This data movement option requires support from the NAS/NDMP host.
• Backup of network-attached
• NDMP hosts to a tape device on another NDMP host or to advanced tape libraries with an embedded NDMP server - Backup data travels across the network from a disk on an NDMP host to tape on another NDMP host. This backup is referred to as a three-way backup. This data movement option requires support from the NAS/NDMP host.
• Backup of a network-attached NDMP host to a tape device on a NetBackup media server - Backup data travels across the network from a disk on an NDMP host to tape on a NetBackup media server. This backup is a form of three-way backup also known as remote NDMP. This feature supports NDMP V2, V3, and V4 on the NDMP hosts.
• Shared tape libraries - Tape libraries can be shared between NDMP hosts and NetBackup servers or between multiple NDMP hosts. Robotic control can be on an NDMP host or on a NetBackup server.
• Shared tape drives with the Shared Storage Option - Tape drives can be shared between servers (both NetBackup servers and NDMP hosts). This setup requires the Shared Storage Option (SSO) license. For a list of the features and software releases for each NAS vendor, for SSO support, and for the NetBackup versions that support these vendors, refer to the NetBackup 7.x hardware compatibility list
  (HCL http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH76495 )
• Snapshots of data on NDMP hosts - NetBackup can take point-in-time data snapshots on an NDMP (NAS) host without interrupting client access to data, using the NDMP V4 snapshot extension. The snapshot is stored on the same device that contains the NDMP client data. From the snapshot, you can restore individual files or roll back a file system or volume by means of Snapshot Client Instant Recovery. A NetBackup Snapshot Client license is required, in addition to the NetBackup for NDMP license. This Snapshot Client feature uses the NAS_Snapshot method and the NDMP method.
• NDMP DirectCopy - NetBackup can copy virtual tape library (VTL) images directly from the VTL to physical tape or to another VTL. This function occurs without using media server I/O resources or network bandwidth. NetBackup can copy NDMP backup images directly from one NDMP-attached tape drive to another NDMP tape drive that is attached to the same NDMP host. Note that the operation does not use media server I/O.
  Note: The VTL must have an embedded NDMP tape server.
• Direct Access Recovery (DAR) - For NDMP hosts that support DAR, this feature greatly reduces the time to restore a directory, a single file, or a small number of files.
• Path-based file history - The NDMP server can send catalog information consisting of complete path names to NetBackup. Some vendors do not support this feature. Up-to-date information is available on the vendors that support path-based history. For a list of the features and software releases for each NAS vendor, for SSO support, and for the NetBackup versions that support these vendors, refer to the NetBackup 7.x hardware compatibility list
  (HCL http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH76495)
• Support for NetBackup for NDMP servers in a NetBackup-clustered environment - The NetBackup for NDMP servers are supported in a NetBackup-clustered environment.
• Enhanced ability to run customized scripts during a backup - especially for relational databases residing on NAS devices.
• NDMP multiplexing - NDMP multiplexing enables NDMP backups to be multiplexed to Media Manager storage units. Only remote NDMP multiplexing is supported.
• NDMP to disk NetBackup can write NDMP backups to disk storage units.
• IPv6 support - NDMP supports 128-bit IPv6 address data connections in addition to the 32-bit IPv4 address data connections. NDMP data connections are made between filers or between a NetBackup media server and a filer that is used to transfer the backup image. By default the NetBackup media server is enabled for IPv6 data communication.
  Consider the following general items when using NDMP IPv6 address data connections.
  • The filer needs to be enabled for IPv6 data communication.
  • The filer vendor must support connection address extension or full IPv6.
• NDMP support for Replication Director enables NetBackup to use NDMP for the following functions: backup from snapshots, restore from snapshot backups, live browse snapshots, and restore from snapshots (for copy back method).

You can download the full Blueprint from the link below.