Which interface you should use

The following table lists common tasks that management applications might perform, along with recommendations on which interface sets to use. These are explained in detail later.

Task to be performed

Interface to be used

Monitor and manage a NetApp storage system using the NetApp proprietary interface

ONTAPI

Backup and data migration

NDMP

Monitor and manage NetApp storage systems using a standards-based interface

SMI-S

Network and overall system health monitoring and storage system discovery

SNMP

Command-line tasks not covered by any other API

Telnet and rsh

On-demand virus scanning

VPolicy

Manage standard CIFS features, such as shares, directories, and file permissions

Win32 API