Hi,
As far as compatibility matrix is concerned, these are your choices of 3rd party software for managing NDMP backups from ONTAP 8.1 C-Mode:
- Symantec BackupExec 2012
- Symantec NetBackup 7.0, 7.5
- Quest Netvault 8.6.3
- CommVault Simpana 9.0 (despite the fact SnapProtect doesn't support C-Mode yet)
- IBM Tivoli Storage Manager 5.5-6.3
In practical terms, I *think* Symantec NetBackup may be fairly popular choice & you can find some useful hints about this, e.g this one:
https://communities.netapp.com/message/71736#71736
Regards,
Radek