NDMP, or Network Data Management Protocol, is a protocol

Communications protocol

A communications protocol is a system of digital message formats and rules for exchanging those messages in or between computing systems and in telecommunications...

 invented by the NetApp

NetApp filer

In computer storage, NetApp filer, known also as NetApp Fabric-Attached Storage , or NetApp's network attached storage device are NetApp's offering in the area of Storage Systems. A FAS functions in an enterprise-class Storage area network as well as a networked storage appliance...

 and Legato

EMC Legato NetWorker

EMC NetWorker is a suite of enterprise level data protection software that unifies and automates backup to tape, disk-based, and flash-based storage media across physical and virtual environments for granular and disaster recovery. Cross-platform support is provided for Linux, Windows, Macintosh,...

 companies, meant to transport data between NAS

Network-attached storage

Network-attached storage is file-level computer data storage connected to a computer network providing data access to heterogeneous clients. NAS not only operates as a file server, but is specialized for this task either by its hardware, software, or configuration of those elements...

 devices and backup

Backup

In information technology, a backup or the process of backing up is making copies of data which may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form is back up in two words, whereas the noun is backup....

 devices. This removes the need for transporting the data through the backup server itself, thus enhancing speed and removing load from the backup server.

Most contemporary commercial, multi-platform backup software

Backup software

Backup software are computer programs used to perform backup; they create supplementary exact copies of files, databases or entire computers. These programs may later use the supplementary copies to restore the original contents in the event of data loss....

, such as Amanda

Advanced Maryland Automatic Network Disk Archiver

Amanda, previously known as Advanced Maryland Automatic Network Disk Archiver is an open source computer archiving tool that is able to back up data residing on multiple computers on a network...

, CA ARCserve, EMC Networker, EMC Avamar, Symantec Netbackup and Backup Exec (since v11d), CommVault Simpana, IBM Tivoli, Hitachi Data Systems (HDS), Quest Software NetVault and others support this protocol.

External links

• NDMP the Open Standard web site
• List of backup software with NDMP support
• TechTarget --- NDMP definition