I have recently updated one of our clusters to 9.3, and I cannot say enough how frustrating the new SnapMirror configuration wizard is. There are so many problems with it (vs. the previous interface that worked great from at least 2011-today) that I think I will have to go to the command line until or if changes are made. Here are the main issues I have with it:
- Volume Name Suffix REQUIRED - we have never used volume suffixes, but if we use the new GUI we are forced to have one! You cannot continue through the wizard without adding one. I suppose I could add it and then rename the destination volume after it replicates, but what a pain!
- Defaults Don't Make Sense - default settings are "Mirror and Vault", a built-in protection policy, and an hourly replication schedule. I would never use any of these, and they are different from previous defaults.
- Critical Options Buried Under "Advanced Options" - the option to change the protection policy and schedule have now been hidden under an "Advanced Options" button, requiring an additional click to change them.
That's it in a nutshell. In particular the first bullet point is grating ... something so basic as giving you the option to not have a suffix is frustrating. I feel like I basically can't use the GUI for the first time since we started using NetApp in 2011. I hope this feedback reaches NetApp developers and would be interested if anyone else agrees or disagrees. Also, does anyone know if there are improvements in 9.4 or 9.5RC1?
