A NDMP Usage Notes

As an Oracle Secure Backup user, you do not have to be aware of NDMP in any substantive way except when you use third-party NDMP-enabled appliances. If you use Windows, Linux, or Solaris hosts with SCSI-connected or Fibre Channel-connected secondary storage hardware, then NDMP is basically invisible. There may be some cases, however, in which you need to be aware of the following behavior.

Constrained Error Reporting

NDMP specifies no programmatic means for data services to report many common errors. This restriction applies to a popular condition, "pathname not found," which NDMP data services typically report as "internal error." Oracle Secure Backup notes all such errors in the job transcript.

Most NDMP implementations make use of the LOG interface, which provides servers a means to report text messages to the backup application. Oracle Secure Backup records all LOG messages it receives in the job transcript.

Backing Up Individual Files

Some NDMP data services provide only for backup of directories and their contents; you cannot explicitly back up individual files. You can restore both individual files and directory trees. This situation applies to Network Appliance's Data Ontap.

Restored File Reporting

During restore operations, some NDMP data services do not report the names of files and directories restored from the backup image. As a result, Oracle Secure Backup warns you that the NDMP data service did not identify whether files you requested were found. This situation applies to Network Appliance's Data Ontap.