topic SnapDrive / Create Disk / without CIFS? in Network and Storage Protocols

SnapDrive / Create Disk / without CIFS?

igor — Thu, 05 Jun 2025 07:22:22 GMT

Hi, all!

I was wondering if it is at all possible to use SnapDrive's Create Disk functionality without using CIFS? The Installation Guide states this to be the correct procedure:

In the “Enter a Virtual Disk UNC Path to Storage System Volume or Qtree” field, type the storage system location for the LUN (\\storage1\vol1, for example). Alternatively, click Browse and navigate to that location.

This doesn't work. As I found out later on, the UNC path needs to point to a share, not a volume, located on a filer that is a part of a domain. How can this be accomplished without a CIFS licence?

Igor

Re: SnapDrive / Create Disk / without CIFS?

radek_kubka — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:12:33 GMT

You definitely don't need CIFS licence to use SnapDrive:

http://now.netapp.com/NOW/knowledge/docs/snapdrive/relsnap61/html/software/admin/GUID-F60C5199-3992-4558-A505-5F5B8ACA8465.html

Note: The iSCSI and FC licenses supplied with SnapDrive enable all the CIFS functionality necessary for using SnapDrive with the RPC transport protocol.

Regards,
Radek

Re: SnapDrive / Create Disk / without CIFS?

satishv — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:14:28 GMT

I think this is the case with older versions of Snapdrive.

The current versions don't have a dependency on CIFS.

They can work with HTTP/HTTPS or even without having to create a CIFS share.

Re: SnapDrive / Create Disk / without CIFS?

igor — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:32:54 GMT

Thanx, Radek! It's states the same for previous versions (namely, 5.0.1) in the Installation Guide. Small print. 😃

Re: SnapDrive / Create Disk / without CIFS?

tom_dewit — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:18:00 GMT

In the older snapdrive versions, CIFS was indeed the only protocol you could use to connect or create disks with snapdrive. You didn't need a CIFS license for that on the filer, just enable cifs without a license installed. NetApp allows you to create administration shares for Snapdrive without the license. Be warned that every CIFS access to the filer by Snapdrive will create a syslog entry saying you don't have a CIFS license installed. You can savely ignore them however.

In later versions of Snapdrive (since 6.0 I think) you can use RPC or HTTP to connect to the filer, which is much easier because you don't need to make CIFS shares anymore to make snapdrive work.

Grtz,

Tom

Re: SnapDrive / Create Disk / without CIFS?

igor — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:58:05 GMT

Thanx for the advice guys,

I'll test it out with a simulator and see how it goes.

Cheers!

Igor