Home > Data Protection > PowerProtect Data Manager > Dell PowerProtect Data Manager: Dynamic NAS Protection > Overview
Network attached storage (NAS) is an IP-based file-sharing storage device that is attached to a local area network (LAN). NAS can serve various clients and servers over an IP network. A NAS device uses its own operating system and integrated hardware and software to deliver a range of file-service needs.
NAS is widely used for its simplicity, ease of use, and outstanding performance. With its simple use come challenges regarding data protection. For years, NAS and backup vendors have used the NDMP protocol to protect NAS data. The NDMP protocol has its own limitations, such as manual slicing of a NAS share to achieve multistream backup, limited number of parallel streams, and periodic full backups. Customers also face challenges to protect their growing amounts of data and to back up this data within their specified backup windows.
Dynamic NAS Protection with PowerProtect Data Manager addresses customer challenges of protecting evolving NAS environments. Unlike NDMP-based solutions, Dynamic NAS Protection is a NAS-vendor-agnostic solution. With Dynamic NAS Protection, customers can overcome the challenges with the NDMP protocol.
Protecting NAS assets with Data Manager is a non-NDMP solution. Dynamic NAS Protection uses the NAS Protection Engine for backup and recovery orchestration. This solution is easy to use and provides automatic discovery, orchestration, and management through the Data Manager UI. With its snapshot technology and intelligent slicing, Data Manager protects NAS data efficiently within the required backup window.
This solution addresses some of the challenges to Dynamic NAS Protection with the following capabilities: