ONTAP version 9.10.1P11 vs. 9.12: Which is the right choice for my production cluster?

NikRamak

I'm facing a tech dilemma that's leaving me feeling like a fish out of water. My production cluster of 2x AFFA200 and 2x FAS8200 is currently running on ONTAP version 9.10.1P11, which is the latest patch in the 9.10 version. However, the department is keen on upgrading to the latest ONTAP version 9.12 or at the least n-1 version (9.11), and I'm struggling to explain why we should prioritize security and stability over new features ( I have nt gone through the release notes to understand what 9.11 and 9.12 has to offer) . Upgrading to a new version is like jumping into the deep end without checking the water first, and can cause compatibility issues and disruptions. So, my fellow tech enthusiasts, is it reasonable to stick with the current version if there are no specific features needed from the new version? How can I explain this to the customer without sounding like a wet blanket? Or am i being unreasonable. What security features or performance improvements to see with upgrading to 9.11 or 9.12?

EWILTS_SAS

In general, NetApp releases are very stable.  I've even (unwillingly!) run an RC release in large-scale production without a single bug that wasn't also present in the prior release.

I personally wait until at least P3 before considering an upgrade.  We just upgraded to 9.11.1P6 (our first upgrade from 9.10).  We'll start to consider 9.12 in the summer timeframe and see what the track record is.

We have a large environment with thousands of NFS clients.

There is generally lots of goodness in each new release.  For example, 9.12 will give you another 5% of usable space on your AFF nodes for free and there's an automated space balancing process when converting FlexVols to FlexGroups.  That doesn't mean I want to be an early adopter though.