Using NDMP

When to use native or NDMP backup

Tape backup and recovery operations of LUNs should generally only be performed on the filer for disaster recovery scenarios, applications with transaction logging, or when combined with other filer-based protection elements, such as SnapMirror and SnapVault. For information about these features, see the Data ONTAP 6.5 Data Protection Online Backup and Recovery guide.

All tape operations local to the filer operate on the entire LUN and cannot interpret the data or file system within the LUN. Thus, you can only recover LUNs to a specific point-in-time unless transaction logs exist to roll forward. When finer granularity is required, use host-based backup and recovery methods.

If you do not specify an existing snapshot when performing a native or NDMP backup operation, the filer creates one before proceeding. This snapshot is deleted when the backup is completed. When a file system contains iSCSI data, Network Appliance recommends you specify a snapshot that was created at a point in time when the data was consistent by quiescing an application or placing it in hot backup mode before creating the snapshot. After the snapshot is created, normal application operation can resume and tape backup of the snapshot can occur at any convenient time.

When to use the ndmpcopy command

You can use the ndmpcopy command to copy a directory, qtree, or volume that contains a LUN. For information about how to use the ndmpcopy command, see the Data ONTAP 6.5 Data Protection Online Backup and Recovery guide.