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NDMP configuration overview

Contributors netapp-aoife netapp-forry netapp-thomi

You can quickly configure an ONTAP 9 cluster to use the Network Data Management Protocol (NDMP) to back up data directly to tape using a third-party backup application.

If the backup application supports Cluster Aware Backup (CAB), you can configure NDMP as SVM-scoped or node-scoped:

  • SVM-scoped at the cluster (admin SVM) level enables you to back up all volumes hosted across different nodes of the cluster. SVM-scoped NDMP is recommended where possible.

  • Node-scoped NDMP enables you to back up all the volumes hosted on that node.

If the backup application does not support CAB, you must use node-scoped NDMP.

SVM-scoped and node-scoped NDMP are mutually exclusive; they cannot be configured on the same cluster.

Note Node-scoped NDMP is deprecated in ONTAP 9.

Learn more about Cluster Aware Backup (CAB).

Before configuring NDMP, verify the following:

  • You have a third-party backup application (also called a Data Management Application or DMA).

  • You are a cluster administrator.

  • Tape devices and an optional media server are installed.

  • Tape devices are connected to the cluster through a Fibre Channel (FC) switch and not directly attached.

  • At least one tape device has a logical unit number (LUN) of 0.