topic Re: Disk shelf not fully populated. in ONTAP Hardware

Disk shelf not fully populated.

khalidAnwar — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 14:36:38 GMT

Hi ,

I found that few of disk shelves are not fully populated. While checking under: Shelfcount check:

It looks like some slots may be empty. As per calculations, 40 disks are 'absent'.

1. Is it a concern if a disk shelf is not fully populated.

2. Is there be any impact(ex: performance impact or environmental )

Regards,

Khalid Anwar

Re: Disk shelf not fully populated.

NAYABSK — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 08:35:29 GMT

Hi Khalid,

1. Is it a concern if a disk shelf is not fully populated.

Empty disk slots are absolutely ok as customer buy disks based on their requirements and budget. We have customers who populate disk shelf half and subsequently buy when they required.

May i know what disk shelf in question here as per your query of 40 DIsks Missing i think it is either DS4486 (48 disks per shelf) or DS460C (60 disks per shelf).

2. Is there be any impact(ex: performance impact or environmental )

What you have is what you get, I mean if you have 8 disks in an aggregate you will get desired performance of 8 disks. Definetly more spindle more performance

Ex:- If i deploy an application on a aggregate of 8 disks vs a disk of 29 disks definetly 29 disks is faster as more disks for your READ and WRITE operations.

Thanks

Nayab

Re: Disk shelf not fully populated.

sgrant — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 09:27:24 GMT

Hi Khalid,

The only other thing I would add is to watch for any temperature warning messages.

By not having a disk in the slot it can affect the airflow of the shelf, which may mean the cooling is not quite as effective. Normally empty slots have a blanking plate to restore the air flow as designed.

Cheers,

Grant.