Snapshot differential backup with an HTTPS connection
You can use a secure HTTPS connection for the backup-archive client to communicate with a NetApp filer during a snapshot differential backup.
The HTTPS protocol is enabled on NetApp filers by default and cannot be disabled.
When you run a snapshot differential backup, the backup-archive client establishes an administrative session with a NetApp filer. The filer credentials, such as the filer host name or IP address, the user name that is used to connect to the filer, and the filer password, are stored locally on the backup-archive client. This information must be transmitted to the filer to establish the authenticated administrative session. It is important to use a secure connection because authenticating the administrative filer session requires the client to transmit the filer password in clear text.
To establish a secure connection by using the HTTPS communication protocol, you must use the snapdiffhttps option whenever you run a snapshot differential backup. Without the snapdiffhttps option, the backup-archive client can establish filer sessions only with the HTTP protocol, which would require HTTP administrative access to be enabled on the filer. With the snapdiffhttps option, you can establish a secure administrative session with the NetApp filer regardless of whether HTTP administrative access is enabled on the NetApp filer.
The following restrictions apply to snapshot differential backups with HTTPS:
- The HTTPS connection is used only to securely transmit data over the administrative session between the backup-archive client and the NetApp filer. The administrative session data includes information such as filer credentials, snapshot information, and file names and attributes that are generated by the snapshot differencing process. The HTTPS connection is not used to transmit normal file data that is accessed on the filer by the client through file sharing. The HTTPS connection also does not apply to normal file data transmitted by the client to the Tivoli® Storage Manager server through the normal Tivoli Storage Manager client/server protocol.
- The snapdiffhttps option does not apply to vFilers because the HTTPS protocol is not supported on the NetApp vFiler.
- The snapdiffhttps option is available only by using the command-line interface. It is not available for use with the backup-archive client GUI.
Running a snapshot differential backup with an HTTPS connection
When you run a snapshot differential backup, you can use the snapdiffhttps option to create a secure HTTPS connection between the backup-archive client and the NetApp filer.
