NetApp ONTAP Backup & Data Protection — SnapVault, SnapCenter, SnapMirror & NDMP
Backup on ONTAP is richer than a snapshot schedule: SnapVault gives disk-to-disk retention tiers, SnapCenter coordinates application-consistent backups, NDMP covers tape, and SnapMirror handles replication. The rule that ties it together: a copy you have never restored is not a backup. These guides cover design, scheduling, retention math, and restore drills with real commands.
ONTAP backup & restore (SnapVault & NDMP)
SnapVault tiers, NDMP to tape, backup policies, restore procedures and verification.
SnapMirror async replication fundamentals
DP/XDP types, policies, schedules, lag math, seeding, failover and resync runbooks.
SnapMirror active sync
Active-active synchronous replication for zero RPO workloads.
SnapCenter overview
Application-consistent backup orchestration for databases and VMs.
Copy-on-write & snapshots
How ONTAP snapshots work under the hood: WAFL copy-on-write, reserves, delete semantics.
SnapLock WORM compliance
Immutable WORM retention for regulated backup archives.
SVM DR guide
Disaster recovery at the SVM level with SnapMirror.
Snapshot retention planner
Interactive calculator: retention windows, snapshot count, reserve sizing, generated CLI.
SnapMirror estimator
Estimate transfer times and bandwidth for SnapMirror relationships.
Backup & restore troubleshooting
SnapVault/NDMP/SnapCenter failures: jobs stuck, restores failing, retention not applying.