Off-host backup overview
One of the principal goals of NetBackup Snapshot Manager is to move I/O processing off the primary NetBackup client to a backup agent.
Table: Type of backup agents describes the types of backup agents.
Table: Type of backup agents
Type of backup agent | Description |
|---|---|
A secondary or an alternate client performs the backup on behalf of the primary client. Compared to the other off-host methods, this approach reduces the backup I/O burden on the primary client to the greatest extent. | |
A NetBackup media server reads raw data from the client snapshot and writes it to a storage device, using mapping information that the client provides. | |
An NDMP (NAS) host performs the snapshot-only backup for Instant Recovery only. | |
Data mover: Third-Party Copy Device data mover (UNIX clients only) | A third-party copy device reads raw data from the client snapshot and writes the data to a storage device. To do so, the third-party copy device uses the command and mapping information from the client. Many kinds of devices, such as routers and disk arrays, are designed as third-party copy devices. A list of supported third-party copy devices is available. |
Use to replicate NDMP snapshots. Select this agent in a policy that uses NDMP with Replication Director. For more information about configuring a policy to use NDMP with Replication Director, see the NetBackup Replication Director Solutions Guide. | |
Virtual machine host | A VMware backup host performs backups on behalf of the virtual machines. The host can also be configured as a NetBackup primary or media server. |