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# A NDMP Special Characteristics

As an Oracle Secure Backup user, you do not have to be aware of NDMP in any substantive way unless you use third-party NDMP-enabled appliances. If you use Windows, Linux, or UNIX hosts with secondary storage connected through SCSI or Fibre Channel, then NDMP is basically invisible. There might be some cases, however, in which you must be aware of special NDMP characteristics.

## A.1 NDMP and IPv6

Oracle Secure Backup supports Internet Protocol v4 (IPv4), Internet Protocol v6 (IPv6), and mixed IPv4/IPv6 environments on all platforms that support IPv6. But NDMP filers and tape systems that are not running Oracle Secure Backup software must be assigned IPv4 addresses. If NDMP filers or tape system are accessed during a backup or restore operation, then the Oracle Secure Backup NDMP counterpart must also be assigned an IPv4 address.

## A.2 NDMP and Constrained Error Reporting

NDMP specifies no programmatic means for a data service to report many common errors. This restriction applies to the common `pathname` `not` `found` condition, which NDMP data services typically report as `internal` `error`. Oracle Secure Backup notes all such errors in the job transcript.

Most NDMP implementations make use of the LOG interface, which provides servers a means to report text messages to the backup application. Oracle Secure Backup records all LOG messages it receives in the job transcript.

## A.3 Limitations Using Network Appliances Data ONTAP

The NDMP data service of Data ONTAP provides for backup of directories and their contents only. You cannot explicitly back up individual files. You can restore both individual files and directory trees.

During restore operations, the Data ONTAP NDMP data service does not report the names of files and directories restored from the backup image. As a result, Oracle Secure Backup warns you that the NDMP data service did not identify whether files you requested were found.