SnapVault is a heterogeneous disk-to-disk data protection solution ideal for use with NearStore. A SnapVault primary system corresponds to a backup client in the traditional backup architecture. The SnapVault secondary is always a data storage system running Data ONTAP, such as a NearStore. SnapVault software protects data residing on a SnapVault primary, which can be a storage system from NetApp or a server running an operating system from leading server vendors such as Solaris, HP-UX, AIX, Windows, and Linux.