# 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 s torage 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