There is no strict, hard-coded limit to the number of NEs that you can assign to a single backup policy in NFM-P. However, when a large number of NEs run scheduled backups at the same time, the activity can consume significant NFM-P server resources (CPU, memory, and disk I/O) and network bandwidth. Under those conditions, backups can take longer, may not complete within the intended backup window, or can affect overall NFM-P performance. Concurrent backups from many NEs can also generate substantial traffic on the management network and interfere with other critical operations.

When you configure NE backup policies, Nokia recommends the following practices:

• Group NEs by criteria that match your operations, such as geographical location, service type, or network segment.

• Deploy a policy with a realistic scope, monitor performance (for example, backup completion time and resource usage), and adjust the number of NEs per policy or the schedule as needed.

• Prefer several smaller, well-defined backup policies with staggered schedules over one very large policy in which all NEs back up simultaneously.

• Distribute backups across different policies and schedules to reduce peak load on management network links.

• Where practical, group NEs of similar type or with comparable configuration size, because backing up a large NE with a complex configuration typically takes longer and uses more resources than backing up a small NE with a minimal configuration.