Quantum NDMP PRIMER User Manual

Network Data Management

Protocol Prime

A discussion of the technology that

standardizes network backup in the enterprise

White Paper

May17, 2000 Tel: 949-856-7800 Tel: 800-248-5101

Fax: 949-856-7799

Introduction

Overview

NDMP Primer White Paper

The common goal of enterprise storage management systems is to provide centrally managed enterpr ise-wide data protec tion for users in a heter ogeneous environment. For the enterprise, the ability to backup and restore data is as obligatory as a dial tone. Unfortunately, the heterogeneous nature of the network storage environment requires backup solutions to comply with a myriad of operating system platforms and media devices. This daunting task is one of the driving forces behind the Network Data Management Protocol (NDMP), a scalable solution that defines a common architecture for backing up data located on heterogeneous file servers in the enterprise.

This white paper examines NDMP and its features and benefits. At the end of this white paper is a glossary of terms.

NDMP is an open-standard protocol for conducting network-based backup of storage devices in the enterprise. NDMP offers the first opportunity to achieve true enterprisewide heterogeneo us storage management solutions.

Currently, storage management vendors adapt (or ‘port’) their architecture to the operating systems and hardware they support. This approach results in bloated implementations strewn with layers of operating system and hardware dependencies. Organizations that use these backup solutions are forced to work around these dependencies to accommodate departmental systems across the enterprise.

NDMP is designed to address these issues by creating a “universal agent” that can be used by all centralized backup applications and file servers. This plug-and-play approach lets administrato r’s backup data thro ughout the enterprise using a ny co mbi nation of NDMP-compliant network-attached servers, backup devices and management applications. In this way, NDMP shifts the current paradigm so that backup is driven at the enterprise level while platforms can be driven at the departmental level.

By deviating from the current backup model, NDMP:

! Addresses the need for centralized control of enterprise-wide network data

management across disparate operating systems and hardware platforms.

! Minimizes network traffic, reduces costs and eliminates concessions to

departmental systems in the enterprise.

! Allows backup and network-attached storage (NAS) vendors to concentrate on

their core competencies.

! P r ovides users with an unparalleled level of choice and interoperability.

Confidential Information

The information contained in this document represents Quantum|ATL's best understanding of the features and prices of any competitive products mentioned in this document at the time of publication. Information is subject to change without notice. Quantum|ATL makes no claim regarding the accuracy of this competitive information and specifically disclaims any and all liability for loss or damages of any kind resulting from decisions made or actions taken by any party based on this information.

NDMP Primer White Paper

Answering the Challenge of Increasing Data Storage Requirements

In today’s information-rich society, spiraling amounts of information are streaming into organizations from the Internet, e-commerce sites, extranets, intranets, Unix Windows NT

-based networks, and other data-rich conduits. This avalanche of

information is causing enterprise storage to grow at phenomenal rates.

The following trends illustrate the increasing amounts of data in the workplace:

! Industry experts predict that organizations will double their storage every 12 to

18 months.

! Some e-commerce (.com) organizations are expanding their data storage

capacities by as much as 100% each month .

! According to International Data Corporation (September 1998): “Multiuser disk

storage grew significantly from approximately 10,000 trillion bytes in 1994 to approximately 116,000 trillion bytes in 1998, and will reach approximately 1,400,000 trillion bytes in 2002. This expansion is driven by the growth in dataintensive environments and applications such as the Internet, e-commerce, data warehousing, data mining, and enterprise resource planning.”

and

! A recent report by Strategic Research estimated the cost of managing storage to

be over 10 times the initial cost of the storage device itself.

! According to Dataquest, the worldwide RAID storage market for the UNIX and

Windows NT operating platforms was approximately $15.0 billion in 1998 and is expected to grow at an annual compound rate of 22% to a pproximately $39.8 billion by 2003.

With these daunting statistics, today’s enterprise requires a comprehensive, centralized, and simplified solution for backing up data residing on disparate operating systems and NAS devices (or dedicated file server “appliances”). To address these issues efficiently and effectively, backup solutions must:

! Support backup of all operating systems and media device platforms used for

storing data in the enterprise.

! Be scalable.

! Meet or exceed an organization’s performance expectations and requirements.

NDMP meets the strategic need to centrally manage and control distributed data, while minimizing network traffic. As an embedded protocol, NDMP separates the data path and the control path so network data can be backed up locally and yet managed from a central location.

Confidential Information

NDMP Primer White Paper

Answering the Challenges of Network Backup

Backup is an issue that affects the following solution providers:

! Server vendors

! Backup software vendors

! Backup device vendors

! Tape library (jukebox) vendors

Backup also effects users who demand best-of-breed solutions for their particular requirements. User demands can best be filled by defining, promoting and adopting an open-standard network-backup protocol within the backup community. Agreeing to support a well defined, standard network protocol allows solution providers to create products that interoperate with all other products that adhere to the same standard. As a result, vendors can eliminate interoperability efforts and concentrate on their core competencies. For this reason, an increasing number of solution providers are turning to NDMP to provide centrally managed, enterprise-wide data protection solutions for users in heterogeneous environments.

The following table summarizes the key challenges faced by vendors and users, and shows how they are met by standardizing on NDMP.

Category The Challenge NDMP’s Answer

File Server Vendor

Backup Software Vendor

NAS Vendor

To meet customer demands, file server vendors must support a wide range of backup media devices and backup software applications. To achieve this, file server vendors work with other vendors and develop proprietary APIs to ensure interoperability with backup hardware and software. These ancillary development and support efforts impact development and support cycles that could be used to develop new features and improve performance.

To ensure complete compatibility and interoperability with various platforms and versions, vendors must expend large amounts of time, manpower, and expertise. These requirements lengthen product development timelines, and redirect resources from feature enhancements and support to compatibility assurance.

Because NAS devices are dedicated appliances designed to optimize file service, they do not usually support backup software solutions. Also,

erforming NFS (or CIFS)

Standardizing on NDMP allows vendors to focus on performance enhancements, without concern for backup or interoperability. It also eliminates the need to divert valuable resources fo r developing APIs.

Standardizing on NDMP minimizes the need for cross-platform porting and allows vendors to focus on improving features and functions. It also shortens product development timelines, allowing vendors to improve their products’ time-to-market schedules.

NDMP provides a direct disk-to-tape backup path right out of the box, eliminating installation procedures, network traffic, and the overhead

Confidential Information

NDMP Primer White Paper

Category The Challenge NDMP’s Answer

mounts of their file systems and backing up over the network is inefficient and is a time and resource consuming activity.

associated with NFS Mount. This also eliminates much of the traditional server overhead associated with backup operations.

Tape Library Vendor

The heterogeneous nature of the enter prise requires vendors to ensure their tape devices work with a myriad of operating systems and media devices.

NDMP standardizes the interface by leveraging the SCSI-2 interface or allowing for network-attached tape devices.

Users

The enterprise is extremely heterogeneous. Operating systems are routinely upgraded and there is a broad range of backup media devices and technologies. Backup software solutions must be fully compliant with all platforms on which the data is stored and with the media devices being used.

Standardizing on NDMP provides users with plug-and-play solutions for their heterogeneous environments. Users can choose the servers, backup devices, and backup software solutions be st suited for their net wor k environment, with interoperability assured.

Comparing Conventional and NDMP Architectures

To appreciate the NDMP standard, it is important to understand the complexities involved with enterprise backup.

The current procedure for backing up data on enterprise servers involves copying data stored in file systems to a backup device, such as tape in a tape library. The backup software controls the data being backed up and manages the database or catalog of the data being backed up. Individual backup software vendors implement their own protoco l s to manage this data transfer. Therefore, a lthough this architecture remains constant, the system calls differ by software package and, sometimes, by server platform. Also, the data format on tape varies from vendor to vendor.

NDMP is an open network protocol that standardizes the functional interfaces used for data transfers conducted during the backup-and-resto re process. With NDMP, vendors follow common interfaces for common architecture data transfers. In this way, file system data is copied from the file system to the backup device using a common interface, regardless of the platform or device. Similarly, control or file meta data (such as index data) uses common commands to be passed to and from the backup software, regardless of the software package being utilized.

Because NDMP integrates with a standard “dump” backup program on the NDMP server, the data format on tape is consistent no matter which backup vendor is acting as the NDMP client. In traditional backup systems, by contrast, each backup application writes its own proprietary format to tape.

Figures 1 and 2 compare the common backup architecture using NFS or CIFS with NDMP-based backup. In figure 1, file systems on the Network Appliance™ (NetApp

) filers are backed up to the backup server by first being mounted (via NFS or CIFS), creating a lot of overhead and heavy traffic on the LAN. This traditional method does not use NDMP.

Confidential Information

+ 10 hidden pages