Provides tools for monitoring and managing Dell EMC PowerProtect Data Manager (PPDM) and NetWorker backup infrastructure, including system health checks, job monitoring, asset and policy management, backup triggering, activity cancellation, and SLA compliance reporting.
Click on "Deploy Server".
Wait a few minutes for the server to deploy. Once ready, it will show a "Started" state.
In the chat, type @ followed by the MCP server name and your instructions, e.g., "@ppdm-mcp-server how many backup jobs failed today?"
That's it! The server will respond to your query, and you can continue using it as needed.
Here is a step-by-step guide with screenshots.
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager, NetWorker and Data Domain as Claude Code tools ā 32 tools in one MCP server
ppdm-mcp-server lets any Claude Code session query, monitor and control your backup infrastructure in plain English:
PPDM (20 tools) ā job monitoring, on-demand and bulk backups, single-call restores, restore session tracking, schedule and policy management, SLA compliance and system health.
NetWorker (6 tools) ā savesets, clients, protection groups and on-demand saves.
Data Domain (6 tools) ā system info, filesystem capacity, DDBoost status, storage units and users.
Each system is optional. Configure only the ones you use; a tool for an unconfigured system returns an error explaining which settings are missing.
Related MCP server: mcp-cohesity
Node.js 18+
Claude Code
Network access to the PPDM, NetWorker and/or Data Domain REST APIs, with an account that can read (and, for write tools, change) the relevant objects
Register the server with Claude Code, passing the settings for the systems you use:
claude mcp add ppdm-mcp-server \
-e PPDM_HOST=ppdm.example.com -e PPDM_USER=admin -e PPDM_PASS=... \
-- npx -y ppdm-mcp-serverThe first npx start downloads the package and can take up to a minute. For instant starts, install it once with npm install -g ppdm-mcp-server and register -- ppdm-mcp-server instead.
Set environment variables with -e as above, or put them in a .env file in the directory the server starts from. .env.example lists them all.
System | Variables | Default port |
PPDM |
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NetWorker |
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Data Domain |
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Tool | What it does |
| Health status from a sample of the 10 most recent failed and running jobs |
| Failed backup jobs with asset, error and start time; filter by asset type |
| Currently running backup jobs |
| Protected assets; filter by name or type |
| Protection policies |
| Full detail for one activity |
| Every asset not backed up within a given number of hours |
Tool | What it does |
| On-demand backup of an asset with a named policy |
| On-demand backup of every asset matching a filter under a policy |
| Cancel a running activity |
| Cancel all running jobs, optionally by asset type |
| Wait for an activity to succeed, fail or be canceled, and return the result |
| Restore an asset to its original location from its most recent copy |
Tool | What it does |
| Recent restore sessions; filter by state |
| Progress, bytes restored, state and timing of one session |
| Cancel a running restore session |
Tool | What it does |
| Every policy schedule: frequency, start time, duration, enabled state |
| Change a policy stage's frequency, start time or duration |
| Disable a policy so its jobs stop running |
| Re-enable a paused policy |
Tool | What it does |
| Savesets (backup copies); filter by client |
| Savesets that didn't complete successfully |
| Registered clients |
| Full detail for one client |
| Protection groups |
| On-demand backup of a client |
Tool | What it does |
| Model, version, serial number and uptime |
| Total, used and available capacity, and percentage used |
| Whether DDBoost is enabled, and its authorized users |
| DDBoost storage units with user, quota and status |
| Create a DDBoost storage unit |
| Local Data Domain users |
Names must be unambiguous. Tools that take a policy or asset name use an exact match (ignoring case) when there is one, or a partial name that matches exactly one object. If a partial name matches several, the tool refuses and lists them, so it never acts on the wrong object. Replies always name the object that was used.
Write tools change your environment.
trigger_backup,bulk_trigger_backup,cancel_activity,bulk_cancel_jobs,restore_latest,cancel_restore,update_schedule,pause_policy,resume_policy,nw_trigger_saveanddd_create_storage_unitall take action. Claude Code asks before running a tool unless you've allowed it, so review those prompts.
How many backup jobs failed in the last 24 hours, and why?
ā get_system_health + list_failed_jobs
Back up every Kubernetes asset under the "Daily-K8s" policy and tell me when they finish.
ā bulk_trigger_backup + poll_until_complete
Restore prod-sql-01 from its latest copy and watch the restore.
ā restore_latest + get_restore_status
Is the Data Domain running low on space?
ā dd_filesystem_statsTLS verification is disabled for all three systems, because they commonly use self-signed certificates. Run the server on a trusted internal network.
Credentials are read from environment variables and never logged.
git clone https://github.com/Moodswing9/ppdm-mcp-server.git
cd ppdm-mcp-server
npm ci
npm run build # compile to dist/
npm run dev # run from source
npm test # build, then run the tests (no network access needed)See CONTRIBUTING.md and CHANGELOG.md.
ppdm-alert-bot ā PPDM and NetWorker alerts to Slack, Teams, PagerDuty and email
networker-ppdm ā Claude Code plugin with slash commands for DR orchestration and anomaly detection
ppdm-watch ā real-time terminal monitoring dashboard
ppdm-es-troubleshooter ā Elasticsearch diagnostic tool
Portfolio: moodswing9.github.io
Cancel all currently running PPDM jobs, optionally filtered by asset type.
Inputs: asset_type.
Trigger on-demand backup for all assets matching an optional filter under a named policy.
Inputs: policy_name (required), asset_name, asset_type.
Cancel a running PPDM activity.
Inputs: activity_id (required).
Cancel a running PPDM restore session by ID
Inputs: sessionId (required).
Create a new DDBoost storage unit on Data Domain.
Inputs: name (required), user (required), quota_gib.
Check whether DDBoost is enabled on Data Domain and list authorized DDBoost users.
Inputs: no named parameters.
Get Data Domain filesystem capacity ā total, used, available in GiB and used percentage. Use to check if DD is running low on space.
Inputs: no named parameters.
List DDBoost storage units on Data Domain ā name, assigned user, quota, and status.
Inputs: no named parameters.
List local users configured on Data Domain.
Inputs: no named parameters.
Get Data Domain system information ā model, version, serial number, and uptime.
Inputs: no named parameters.
Get full detail for a specific PPDM activity by ID.
Inputs: activity_id (required).
Get full status of a specific restore session by ID ā includes percent complete, bytes restored, state, and timing
Inputs: sessionId (required).
Report SLA compliance ā which assets have not been backed up within the required window.
Inputs: hours.
Get an overall health summary for the PPDM environment.
Inputs: no named parameters.
List protected assets in PPDM. Filter by name or type.
Inputs: name, type, limit.
List failed backup jobs from PPDM. Returns asset name, type, error, and start time.
Inputs: limit, asset_type.
List protection policies configured in PPDM.
Inputs: name.
List PPDM restore sessions ā filter by state (RUNNING, COMPLETED, FAILED) or leave blank for all recent sessions
Inputs: filter.
List currently running backup jobs in PPDM.
Inputs: asset_type.
List all PPDM protection policy schedules ā frequency, start time, duration, and enabled state.
Inputs: no named parameters.
Get detailed information for a specific NetWorker client by ID.
Inputs: client_id (required).
List NetWorker clients registered on the server.
Inputs: name.
List NetWorker savesets that did not complete successfully.
Inputs: limit.
List NetWorker protection groups (policies).
Inputs: name.
List NetWorker savesets (backup copies). Filter by client name.
Inputs: limit, client_name.
Trigger an on-demand backup for a NetWorker client.
Inputs: client_id (required).
Disable (pause) a PPDM protection policy ā jobs will not run until resumed.
Inputs: policy_name (required).
Poll a PPDM activity until it reaches a terminal state (SUCCEEDED, FAILED, CANCELED). Returns the final activity record. Use after trigger_backup to await completion.
Inputs: activity_id (required), timeout_mins, interval_secs.
Restore an asset to its original location from the most recent copy ā single call, no manual copy browsing needed.
Inputs: asset_name (required).
Re-enable a paused PPDM protection policy ā scheduled jobs will resume on the next window.
Inputs: policy_name (required).
Trigger an on-demand backup for an asset using a named protection policy.
Inputs: asset_name (required), policy_name (required).
Update the schedule of a PPDM protection policy stage ā change frequency, start time, or duration.
Inputs: policy_name (required), frequency, start_time, stage_index, +1 more.
Recent tool additions, removals, and schema changes observed during successful MCP inspections.
Loading tool schema changelogā¦
Scored across 32 tools
Most tools target a clearly distinct resource and action, and the dd_/nw_ prefixes help separate product domains. Minor overlap exists between dd_ddboost_status (authorized DDBoost users), dd_list_users (local users), and dd_list_storage_units (assigned user), which could cause some misselection.
The set mostly follows a verb_noun pattern (list_assets, trigger_backup, cancel_restore, update_schedule), with product prefixes dd_ and nw_ for Data Domain and NetWorker tools. PPDM tools are unprefixed while the other two domains are prefixed, which is a minor deviation rather than a chaotic mix.
32 tools is heavy and exceeds the typical 3ā15 well-scoped range, though the surface spans three distinct systems (PPDM, NetWorker, Data Domain). The count is defensible for a multi-product backup administration server, but several tools could be consolidated.
PPDM coverage is fairly strong, including backup, cancel, polling, restore sessions, schedules, SLA, and health. However, there are notable gaps: NetWorker has no restore or cancel operation, and Data Domain lacks delete/update storage unit and user management, leaving some lifecycle operations incomplete.
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