NDMP direct to tape on NetApp

[doomi]

Veeam does support NDMP and we can successfully add the NetApp as an NDMP server as a data source.
with NetApp it's possible to connect the tape library directly to the storage controllers with FC.
so when doing NDMP backups to tape, the data goes directly to tape without being transferred through the backup server.
some backup software are able to handle this configuration.

does this also work with Veeam?
or must the tape library be attached to the backup server? (and not directly to the NetApp)

thanks

[HannesK]

Hello,
the tape library needs to be attached to the tape server. The way you have in mind is not possible today.

Best regards,
Hannes

[doomi]

thank you for the reply!

[SmokinJoe]

the tape library needs to be attached to the tape server. The way you have in mind is not possible today.

is this a feature on the road map? This is the fastest way to stream data to the tape. We do not want to copy the data 10x before getting it to tape. I am sure NetApp may even contribute code and $ to get this completed.

Thanks,
Joe

[HannesK]

Hello,
there are currently no plans for that. NDMP is an old protocol with limited restore options and limitations when it comes to incremental backups.

If we improve things "direct to tape", then this way would include restore to any kind of NAS / filer. Being independent from hardware vendors is one of the key capabilities we always try to achieve (sure, it's not always possible, but in general that's our goal).

Best regards,
Hannes

[Hirosh]

Hi HannesK,

is it still not possible to connect the tape directly to netapp over FC for ndmp backups with Veeam? because i dont see the point if we can not connect it directly. what is the point of ndmp if we can do a file to tape backup from a sharefolder already , without even using the NDMP,right? or am i missing anything here?

[HannesK]

Hello,
correct, everything is still the same.

Yes, file-to-tape is what we suggest in general because that allows file-level restore without us reverse-engineering the Netapp data format (or the data format of any other filer with NDMP).

Best regards,
Hannes