NDMP NetWorker storage node using adv_file device in a Data Domain

Hello Antonio!

I am sorry for the late reply on this - I just noticed it a few minutes ago.

I am pretty sure you can do what you would like based on the EMC Data Domain Storage System with EMC NetWorker Release 7.6.0 and earlier Best Practices Planning white paper (http://powerlink.emc.com/km/live1//en_US/Offering_Technical/Technical_Documentation/300-010-619.pdf ). Please refer to the SAN vs. NAS environments section starting on the bottom of page 11.

Please be sure to read this through and make sure this answers your question for you before making any changes to your environment.

Thank you,

Mark

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your response. I have more or less clear the information in that document. But there is no mention to NDMP adv_file devices. It refers to normal storage nodes using NAS. What I mean is to use a NFS filer as NDMP storage node using NAS instead of SAN, as the filer can mount a network filesystem using nfs.

This document also mention the options to mount an nfs share from several operating systems, but in does no mention the mount options for a filer in case it is possible.

Thanks a lot,

Antonio Toribio.

Can you clarify here Antonio, when you say "NDMP adv-file devices" do you mean you will be using that advanced file type device to backup NDMP data or that you have disk space on a filer which you would like to configure as an advanced file type device (or both)?

As far as I am aware there are no limitations on using a file type device for NDMP backups; and I know mounted NFS disks can be used for file type devices as I have used this configuration in the past so this does sound reasonable to me.

Hi again,

What I mean is a filer that mounts a DataDomain nfs share (more or less is a filer mounting a nfs share from another filer) and using this filesystem nfs mounted as adv_file type. As this adv_file device is mounted in a filer, this device must be ndmp. So the filer data will go from the filer volumes to the locally mounted nfs filesystem. Then this data would be copied through the network to DataDomain array via nfs to be deduplicated in-line.

I do not know if ndmp devices attached to a filer must be scsi only or it can be NAS attached ones.

Hope this can clarify it, maybe I do not express myself correctly. Sorry about that.

Thanks for your responses,

Antonio Toribio

Antonio, I think you may be getting confused about NDMP.

NDMP is a protocol used in the backup of filer data to a backup device controlled by NDMP which can be a tape device or a disk device and need not be connected directly to the filer.  However, locally attached disk devices are not supported with NDMP backups (only tape devices) so if you do wish to backup filer data to a disk you will need to do this via a storage node.

However, I don't believe this is what you are doing.  It sounds to me like you are using a filer to provide advanced file type disk devices for backups which are to be mounted as NFS volumes on your storage nodes to backup regular client data (file systems, application data etc).  If this is the case then these are not NDMP devices.

I'm not too sure whether DataDomain would have any impact on this; hopefully someone else will be able to add something further here.

Hi David,

This could make sense to me. The Isilon filer is able to mount shares from other filer servers, but maybe it cannot copy the data to one of these mounted shares in a similar way as it would do it using a tape drive

What I want to avoid with this configuration is to get rid of the FC tape devices and storage node, and go for 10Gb network using only the filer, Data Domain NFS share and NetWorker server. But maybe NDMP is no able to do it.

Anyway I would like to give a try, just in case

Thanks,

Antonio Toribio

If the data we are backing up is the filer data then you will be backing up using NDMP and you will not be able to mount a disk device (NFS from another file server) locally on that filer as that is a limitation of NDMP.  However, you can mount the disk device on a storage node and send the NDMP data there.

From what it sounds like, you are attempting to eliminate too much of your current environment to be successful!

Hi,

That was what I wanted to know. Whether it is a limitation of NDMP or not, based on the experience of the people more familiar with NDMP.

But think about it, wouldn't be great if you can substitute the FC or Scsi tape devices for NAS based disks, now that the 10 Gb networks are coming? In my opinion is not a huge change.

Thanks anyway to all people,

Antonio Toribio