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 QoreStor 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 Creating a VTL type container .
Fibre channel
Fibre Channel (FC) is a high-speed network technology primarily used to connect computer data storage to servers in storage area networks (SAN) in enterprise storage. Fibre Channel networks are known as a Fabric because they operate in unison as one big switch. Fibre Channel mainly runs on optical fiber cables within and between data centers. Virtual tape libraries (VTLs) can ingest data over a Fibre Channel interface, which enables seamless integration with many existing backup infrastructures and processes.
The QoreStor VTL container type is designed to work seamlessly with the FC interface. With FC, QoreStor can direct attach to NAS filers or Fibre Channel switches and supports SAN devices.
A FC VTL container on a QoreStor system supports multiple initiators, making it possible for the VTL to be shared across multiple clients of a Data Management Application (DMA).
VTL and DR Series specifications
This topic describes key specifications of VTL support in QoreStor.
- Supported VTL Types — QoreStor supports two types of virtual tape libraries.
- Standard emulation of StorageTek L700 library
- Quest OEM version of the StorageTek L700 library
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NOTE: The Quest type VTL is supported only with VeritasBackup Exec and Netbackup data management applications (DMAs). |
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NOTE: Refer to the documentation for your specific QoreStor version, which includes DMA best practices whitepapers and the latest QoreStor Interoperability Guide, for a complete list of the supported DMAs. Visit the following site and select your specific QoreStor to download documentation: support.quest.com/qorestor. |
- Number of Tape Drives — Each tape library contains 10 tape drives of the type IBM-LTO-4 (‘ULT3580-TD4’)
- Tapes or Media Sizes— Each library initially is created with 60 slots housing 60 tape media of the default size of 800GiB, which is the equivalent of an LTO4 tape.
You can add additional tapes to the library as needed by editing the container in the GUI or by using the following CLI command:
vtl --update_carts –-name <name> –-add --no_of_tapes <number>NOTE: For more information about using the CLI, see the QoreStor Command Line Interface Reference Guide.
A library can only contain tapes of the same size. For example, if the library is originally created with 10 tapes of size 10GB, additional tapes of size 10GB can only be added.
The table below details the tape size and capacity configurations supported by each QoreStor installation type.
Table 9: Supported tape configurations per installation mode Tape Large installation Standard installation Cloud-Optimized installation Size Max number of slots supported Size Max number of slots supported Size Max number of slots supported LTO-4 800GB 2000 800GB 1000 800GB 500 LTO-4 400GB 4000 400GB 2000 400GB 1000 LTO-4 200GB 8000 200GB 4000 200GB 2000 LTO-4 100GB 10000 100GB 5000 100GB 2500 LTO-4 50GB 10000 50GB 5000 50GB 2500 LTO-4 10GB 10000 10GB 5000 10GB 2500 - Maximum Number of DMAs or Initiators Supported — A tape library can be accessed by one DMA or iSCSI initiator at a time.
NOTE: A Fibre Channel (FC) VTL container on a QoreStor system supports multiple initiators, making it possible for the VTL to be shared across multiple clients of a DMA.