Advantages of the new array-specific methods
The snapshot methods that are described in this chapter offer advantages over software-based methods. Note the following when choosing between the array-specific methods in this chapter and the snapshot methods that are described in other chapters of this guide.
The new array-specific methods enable a variety of snapshot capabilities that the disk arrays provide:
All data movement is within the array, saving network bandwidth.
The Instant Recovery feature of NetBackup Snapshot Manager.
The legacy array-specific methods (TimeFinder, ShadowImage, BusinessCopy) do not support Instant Recovery.
Clone and copy-on-write snapshot methods, in addition to full mirror methods (depending on the array). The legacy array methods support only mirrors.
Automatic provisioning (LUN masking) of snapshot devices on the NetBackup clients. With the legacy array-specific methods, a mirror device had to be manually provisioned before it can be used in a backup. That preconfiguration step is no longer necessary.