topic 7mode - deleting snapshot on snapmirror target volumes in ONTAP Discussions

7mode - deleting snapshot on snapmirror target volumes

MohamedShehata — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 10:35:14 GMT

hello,

my filer is [NetApp Release 8.2.5 7-Mode], i am using it as backup, i have created volumes and used it as snapmirror targets but the problem is aggregate is almost full and i need to delete some snapshots from the target volumes, when i tried i recieved the error: Snapshot operation not allowed on a read-only volume, is there a way i can forcibly delete these snapshots without touching the source filer or breaking the snapmirror ?

Re: 7mode - deleting snapshot on snapmirror target volumes

jcolonfzenpr — Sat, 13 Feb 2021 20:38:25 GMT

You can try first to identify the snapshot owner:

https://kb.netapp.com/Advice_and_Troubleshooting/Data_Protection_and_Security/SnapMirror/Which_snapshots_are_deleted_automatically_and_which_ones_are_supposed_to_be_busy%3F

snap list -b <vol>

Displaying space reclaimed from deleted Snapshot copies:

https://library.netapp.com/ecmdocs/ECMP1635994/html/GUID-B5651978-AC51-4BBB-91E7-8B41937AA461.html

snap reclaimable <vol> <snapshot name>

Manual deletion of a busy or locked Snapshot copy:

https://library.netapp.com/ecmdocs/ECMP1635994/html/GUID-B681D2D9-1DDC-4BD1-A0B0-71C87B5B3386.html

I do not recommend doing this if you dont know the implications. it can break the possibility to restore from the destination in an disaster event.

Good luck!

Re: 7mode - deleting snapshot on snapmirror target volumes

paul_stejskal — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 16:22:02 GMT

One thing that can make a difference too is the snapshot size. If you have a high change rate, then consider identifying why there is a high change rate. Do you have swap/tempdb files in the same volume as the rest of the data? Do you lump your data together into a singular bucket? Having smaller buckets can help, and reduce overall snapshot size.

You'll probably need to delete space on the source to free up space on the destination unfortunately. SnapMirror locks the volume down so it can't be used until it is released.

Re: 7mode - deleting snapshot on snapmirror target volumes

mrahul — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 17:28:40 GMT

You cannot delete snapshots from SnapMirror Destination volumes without breaking the relationship and making the volume RW.