Data protection options

About data protection

Data protection means backing up data and being able to recover it. You protect the data by making copies of it so that it is available for restoration even if the original is no longer available.

Why data needs protection

Reasons that businesses need data backup and protection systems include the following:

To protect data from accidentally deleted files, application crashes, data corruption, and viruses
To archive data for future use
To recover from a disaster

Methods of protecting data

Depending on your data protection and backup needs, Data ONTAP offers a variety of features and methods to ensure against accidental, malicious, or disaster-induced loss of storage system data. This guide describes how to use Data ONTAP to back up and recover data from tape. See the Online Backup and Recovery Guide for information about how to use Data ONTAP features like SnapMirror® software to protect data.

Data Protection Feature	Description
Tape backup `dump` and `restore` commands	Tape backup and restore. The `dump` and `restore` commands allow you to back up storage system Snapshot copies to tape. The `dump` command takes a Snapshot copy of the volume and then copies that data to tape. Because the Snapshot copy, not the active file system, is backed up to tape, the storage system can continue its normal functions while the tape backup takes place. See Chapter 2, Tape Drive Management, Chapter 3, Data Backup to Tape, and Chapter 4, Data Restoration from Tape.
NDMP support	Support for tape backup management of the storage system by third-party applications that use the Network Data Management Protocol (NDMP). Data ONTAP also provides an NDMP copy command that you can use to carry out NDMP-compliant backups and restores. Security login restricts access to NDMP operations. See Chapter 5, Using NDMP Services.

Data Protection Feature

Description

Tape backup dump and restore commands

Tape backup and restore.

The dump and restore commands allow you to back up storage system Snapshot copies to tape. The dump command takes a Snapshot copy of the volume and then copies that data to tape. Because the Snapshot copy, not the active file system, is backed up to tape, the storage system can continue its normal functions while the tape backup takes place.

See Chapter 2, Tape Drive Management, Chapter 3, Data Backup to Tape, and Chapter 4, Data Restoration from Tape.

NDMP support

Support for tape backup management of the storage system by third-party applications that use the Network Data Management Protocol (NDMP).

Data ONTAP also provides an NDMP copy command that you can use to carry out NDMP-compliant backups and restores. Security login restricts access to NDMP operations.

See Chapter 5, Using NDMP Services.