Administrator Guide
– Restore
– Replication
Supported Virtual Tape Library Access Protocols
The DR Series system supports the following virtual tape library (VTL) tape access protocols.
• Network Data Management Protocol (NDMP)
• Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI)
NDMP
The Network Data Management protocol (NDMP) is used to control data backup and recovery between primary and
secondary storage in a network environment. For example, a NAS server (Filer) can talk to a tape drive for the purposes
of a backup.
You can use the protocol with a centralized data management application (DMA) to back up data on file servers running
on different platforms to tape drives or tape libraries located elsewhere within the network. The protocol separates the
data path from the control path and minimizes demands on network resources. With NDMP, a network file server can
communicate directly to a network-attached tape drive or virtual tape library (VTL) for backup or recovery.
The DR Series system VTL container type is designed to work seamlessly with the NDMP protocol.
iSCSI
iSCSI
or Internet Small Computer System Interface is an Internet Protocol (IP)-based storage networking standard for
storage subsystems. It is a carrier protocol for SCSI. SCSI commands are sent over IP networks by using iSCSI. It also
facilitates data transfers over intranets and to manage storage over long distances. iSCSI can be used to transmit data
over LANs or WANs.
In iSCSI, clients are called
initiators
and SCSI storage devices are
targets
. The protocol allows an
initiator
to send SCSI
commands (
CDBs
) to the
targets
on remote servers. It is a storage area network (SAN) protocol, allowing organizations
to consolidate storage into data center storage arrays while providing hosts (such as database and web servers) with
the illusion of locally attached disks. Unlike traditional Fibre Channel, which requires different cabling, iSCSI can be run
over long distances using existing network infrastructure.
iSCSI is a low-cost alternative to Fibre Channel, which requires dedicated infrastructure except in FCoE (Fibre Channel
over Ethernet). Note that the performance of an iSCSI SAN deployment can be degraded if not operated on a dedicated
network or subnet
The VTL container type is designed to work seamlessly with the iSCSI protocol. For details, see the topic, Creating
Storage Containers.
DR Series System Hardware and Data Operations
Data is stored and resides on the Dell DR Series DR4X00 and DR6X00 hardware appliance systems (two-rack unit (RU)
appliances), which have DR Series system software pre-installed.
The DR Series system hardware consists of a total of 14 drives. Two of these drives are 2.5-inch drives that are
configured as a Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) 1 on the RAID Controller, and this is considered to be
volume 1. On the DR4000 system, these drives are internal; while in the DR4100, DR6000, DR4300e, DR4300, and DR6300
systems, these drives are accessible from the rear of the appliance. The data that is being backed up is stored on the 12
virtual disks that reside on the DR Series system. The DR Series system also supports additional storage in the form of
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