Sunday, May 29, 2011

NDMP: An open protocol to backup enterprise data

NDMP is an open protocol that enables backup/ restore of data in a heterogeneous environment. A real world case: You have two file servers(filer) from NetApp and EMC. And you want to backup your data without bothering about which filer you'd use.

Here NDMP comes into play. If both the filers are running an NDMP server, you can seamlessly carry out backup and restore. You just concentrate on your backup operation and leave out the details of :
- How data is stored ( you need to know data format though)
- What operating system is running on the filer
- Add/ remove a filer with no problem

Extensive information: www.ndmp.org/