A NetApp can use its own dump command to write tapes, in which case the 
drive must be direct attached to the NetApp.  All our older NetApps used 
this, with backups run on a schedule on the NetApp.  They used tape 
stackers.

Once you move to using NetBackup with NDMP, you can backup using NDMP to 
any NDMP target - that can be the NDMP tape handler in the NetApp for a 
local attached drive (maybe SAN attached), or it can be the "NDMP Mover 
Agent" provided by NetBackup, on a server that has a tape drive attached 
(that drive does have to be dedicated to the NDMP mover agent, so you 
still end up with a dedicated drive); or you can use devices like the 
Quantum P-series with the NDMP agent on the GbE interfaced drives. 

As I understand it Veritas are working to allow the NDMP Mover Agent to 
understand SSO, so the drive can be shared.  That is not a feature in any 
released version, and you would have to talk to Veritas to see if this is 
even planned.

On your second point, if you go to the NetApp NOW site and look into the 
product configurator pages, you will see that there are different part 
numbers for:

HBAs for connecting the NetApp's own disks.
HBAs for connecting tapes
HBAs to act as targets if you use the NetApp in FC mode, i.e. as a block 
stoareg device.

So there are definitely separate and different HBAs for tape.  Current 
ones are dual-port, I think QLogic.  There is a limit how many you can fit 
in a filer, and so there is also a limit how many tape drives you can use 
- though I guess the filer CPU may run out before you fill the pipe.  That 
means that there is a limit what you can backup in one night, which is a 
lot less than what you can attach to a filer.

William D L Brown


veritas-bu-admin AT mailman.eng.auburn DOT edu wrote on 24/03/2005 14:48:45:

> 
> I was told by Veritas that the Netapps Filer must write to the tape 
drive I/O
> via it's own dump/restore commands and thus would need to have physical 
access
> to the tape drive.  NDMP is a protocol whereby file inode info is sent 
over
> tcp/ip to the Netbackup master catalog, and the data is written by the 
NDMP
> client.
> 
> We are in the process of setting up Netapps Filers and are also getting
> conflicting info (from Netapps) about whether we will need fiber cards 
in the
> Filer dedicated to the Tape Library (or Tape SAN) for use with NDMP
> 
> 
> Chris.
> 
> 
>  
>  
>  
> 
> 
>  
>  
>                                                           To: 
> brounb AT adi-limited DOT com, veritas-bu AT mailman.eng.auburn DOT edu 
>               "David Turner" <Dturner AT manh DOT com>           cc:  
>               Sent by:                                    Subject: 
> RE: [Veritas-bu] Remote NDMP to master (5.1) server - dedicated drive 
>               veritas-bu-admin AT mailman DOT eng.auburn.        needed?  
>               edu  
>  
>               24 Mar 2005 09:14 AM  
>  
>  
> 
> 
> 3yrs ago I was having similar issues which were never resolved. I ended
> up dedicating a drive and it has been working ever since.
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: veritas-bu-admin AT mailman.eng.auburn DOT edu
> [mailto:veritas-bu-admin AT mailman.eng.auburn DOT edu] On Behalf Of Broun,
> Bevan
> Sent: Wednesday, March 23, 2005 4:56 PM
> To: veritas-bu AT mailman.eng.auburn DOT edu
> Subject: [Veritas-bu] Remote NDMP to master (5.1) server - dedicated
> drive needed?
> 
> Hi all
> 
> Im getting conflicting information from veritas on the need to have a
> dedicated drive for ndmp backup. The scenario is:
> 
> netapp filer backed up over tcp/ip to tape library scsi attached to the
> windows 5.1 master.
> 
> Ive been told that a dedicated drive was needed. I then had this looked
> into and was told it wasnt. (now Im trying to get it working).
> 
> TIA
> 
> BB
> _______________________________________________
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> 
> _______________________________________________
> Veritas-bu maillist  -  Veritas-bu AT mailman.eng.auburn DOT edu
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> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
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>