NDMP restore job fails with the following message in the binary log.
Error 2008/03/19 10:54:35 411 Data Plugin Bakbone Failed to start recover on restore server: NDMP_ILLEGAL_ARGS_ERR
Backups created on the problem server would not restore complete volumes or folders but would restore an individual file. This is the case when restoring to the original location or when using the relocate option to another volume.
Backups from another identical filer with the same Ontap version, would compelte successfully.
When using the “options” command from the command prompt we can see the following NDMP parameters
ndmpd.access all
ndmpd.authtype challenge
ndmpd.connectlog.enabled off
ndmpd.enable on
ndmpd.ignore_ctime.enabled off
ndmpd.offset_map.enable off
ndmpd.password_length 16
ndmpd.preferred_interface disable
"NDMP_ILLEGAL_ARGS_ERR" means that a protocol version (or option) suggested by the client (backup software) is not supported or enabled on the server (Filer).
In this particular case, changing the parameter “ndmpd.offset_map.enable” to "on" with the following command helped:
options ndmpd.offset_map.enable on
This enables us to create the backup index with the correct file/directory attributes and Inode information.
In order for the restore to work, the "ndmpd.offset_map.enable" needs to be "on" at the time of backup in order for DAR to work.
Also the filer must support DAR and the option enabled if it is to be used for a restore.
