Smart connector for network data management protocol (NDMP) backups

1. A method of performing a Network Data Management Protocol (NDMP) backup comprising:

collecting, into a report database, a plurality of attributes associated with a filer, and a plurality of attributes associated with a backup application;

storing, in a rule database, a plurality of rules specifying one or more backup configuration settings to be applied when a rule is satisfied;

receiving, from the backup application, a request to perform the backup of a dataset stored on the filer to a backup storage;

fetching, from the report database, attributes associated with the filer and backup application relevant to the backup of the dataset;

evaluating a rule, from the rule database, against the attributes fetched from the report database and associated with the filer and backup application;

based on the evaluating, generating a configuration setting for the backup; and

instructing the filer to perform the backup of the dataset according to the generated configuration setting.

2. The method of claim 1 comprising:

fetching, from the report database, a first attribute specifying whether or not a customer of the filer has licensed an option for the filer that allows backing up from a snapshot;

evaluating a first rule specifying snapshot backups when a value for the first attribute specifies that the customer has licensed the option allowing backing up from a snapshot;

if the value for the first attribute indicates that the customer has licensed the option, generating a configuration setting for the backup indicating that the backup should be performed by creating a snapshot for the backup; and

if the value for the first attribute indicates that the customer has not licensed the option, generating a configuration setting for the backup indicating that the backup should be performed without the creating a snapshot for the backup.

3. The method of claim 1 comprising:

fetching, from the report database, a first attribute specifying a number of parallel NDMP backup streams supported by the filer;

fetching, from the report database, a second attribute specifying a number of parallel NDMP backup streams supported by the backup application;

determining a maximum number of parallel NDMP backup streams based on the first and second attributes; and

generating a configuration setting for the maximum number of parallel NDMP backup streams, the maximum number of parallel NDMP backup streams thereby being supported by both the filer and backup application.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of attributes associated with the filer comprises a version number of the filer, and the plurality of attributes associated with the backup application comprises a version number of the backup application.

5. The method of claim 1 comprising:

storing in the rule database first and second rules, wherein the first rule comprises a first range of dataset sizes, and specifies a first backup configuration setting to be applied when a size of a dataset to be backed up falls within the first range,

wherein the second rule comprises a second range of dataset sizes, and specifies a second backup configuration setting to be applied when the size of the dataset to be backed up falls within the second range,

wherein the first range is different from the second range, and

wherein the first backup configuration setting is different from the second backup configuration setting.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the first backup configuration setting comprises a first number of parallel backup streams, and the second backup configuration setting comprises a second number of parallel backup streams, different from the first number of parallel backup streams.

7. A system for performing a Network Data Management Protocol (NDMP) backup, the system comprising:

a processor-based system executed on a computer system and configured to:

collect, into a report database, a plurality of attributes associated with a filer, and a plurality of attributes associated with a backup application;

store, in a rule database, a plurality of rules specifying one or more backup configuration settings to be applied when a rule is satisfied;

receive, from the backup application, a request to perform the backup of a dataset stored on the filer to a backup storage;

fetch, from the report database, attributes associated with the filer and backup application relevant to the backup of the dataset;

evaluate a rule, from the rule database, against the attributes fetched from the report database and associated with the filer and backup application;

based on the evaluation, generate a configuration setting for the backup; and

instruct the filer to perform the backup of the dataset according to the generated configuration setting.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the processor-based system is configured to:

fetch, from the report database, a first attribute specifying whether or not a customer of the filer has licensed an option for the filer that allows backing up from a snapshot;

evaluate a first rule specifying snapshot backups when a value for the first attribute specifies that the customer has licensed the option allowing backing up from a snapshot;

if the value for the first attribute indicates that the customer has licensed the option, generate a configuration setting for the backup indicating that the backup should be performed by creating a snapshot for the backup; and

if the value for the first attribute indicates that the customer has not licensed the option, generate a configuration setting for the backup indicating that the backup should be performed without the creating a snapshot for the backup.

9. The system of claim 7 wherein the processor-based system is configured to:

fetch, from the report database, a first attribute specifying a number of parallel NDMP backup streams supported by the filer;

fetch, from the report database, a second attribute specifying a number of parallel NDMP backup streams supported by the backup application;

determine a maximum number of parallel NDMP backup streams based on the first and second attributes; and

generate a configuration setting for the maximum number of parallel NDMP backup streams, the maximum number of parallel NDMP backup streams thereby being supported by both the filer and backup application.

10. The system of claim 7 wherein the plurality of attributes associated with the filer comprises a version number of the filer, and the plurality of attributes associated with the backup application comprises a version number of the backup application.

11. The system of claim 7 wherein the processor-based system is configured to:

store in the rule database first and second rules, wherein the first rule comprises a first range of dataset sizes, and specifies a first backup configuration setting to be applied when a size of a dataset to be backed up falls within the first range,

wherein the second rule comprises a second range of dataset sizes, and specifies a second backup configuration setting to be applied when the size of the dataset to be backed up falls within the second range,

wherein the first range is different from the second range, and

wherein the first backup configuration setting is different from the second backup configuration setting.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the first backup configuration setting comprises a first number of parallel backup streams, and the second backup configuration setting comprises a second number of parallel backup streams, different from the first number of parallel backup streams.

13. A computer program product, comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium having a computer-readable program code embodied therein, the computer-readable program code adapted to be executed by one or more processors to implement a method comprising:

collecting, into a report database, a plurality of attributes associated with a filer, and a plurality of attributes associated with a backup application;

storing, in a rule database, a plurality of rules specifying one or more backup configuration settings to be applied when a rule is satisfied;

receiving, from the backup application, a request to perform the backup of a dataset stored on the filer to a backup storage;

fetching, from the report database, attributes associated with the filer and backup application relevant to the backup of the dataset;

evaluating a rule, from the rule database, against the attributes fetched from the report database and associated with the filer and backup application;

based on the evaluating, generating a configuration setting for the backup; and

instructing the filer to perform the backup of the dataset according to the generated configuration setting.

14. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein the method comprises:

fetching, from the report database, a first attribute specifying whether or not a customer of the filer has licensed an option for the filer that allows backing up from a snapshot;

evaluating a first rule specifying snapshot backups when a value for the first attribute specifies that the customer has licensed the option allowing backing up from a snapshot;

if the value for the first attribute indicates that the customer has licensed the option, generating a configuration setting for the backup indicating that the backup should be performed by creating a snapshot for the backup; and

if the value for the first attribute indicates that the customer has not licensed the option, generating a configuration setting for the backup indicating that the backup should be performed without the creating a snapshot for the backup.

15. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein the method comprises:

fetching, from the report database, a first attribute specifying a number of parallel NDMP backup streams supported by the filer;

fetching, from the report database, a second attribute specifying a number of parallel NDMP backup streams supported by the backup application;

determining a maximum number of parallel NDMP backup streams based on the first and second attributes; and

generating a configuration setting for the maximum number of parallel NDMP backup streams, the maximum number of parallel NDMP backup streams thereby being supported by both the filer and backup application.

16. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein the plurality of attributes associated with the filer comprises a version number of the filer, and the plurality of attributes associated with the backup application comprises a version number of the backup application.

17. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein the method comprises:

storing in the rule database first and second rules, wherein the first rule comprises a first range of dataset sizes, and specifies a first backup configuration setting to be applied when a size of a dataset to be backed up falls within the first range,

wherein the second rule comprises a second range of dataset sizes, and specifies a second backup configuration setting to be applied when the size of the dataset to be backed up falls within the second range,

wherein the first range is different from the second range, and

wherein the first backup configuration setting is different from the second backup configuration setting.

18. The computer program product of claim 17 wherein the first backup configuration setting comprises a first number of parallel backup streams, and the second backup configuration setting comprises a second number of parallel backup streams, different from the first number of parallel backup streams.