Does XCP supports ODX (MS offloaded data transfer)?

[pedro_rocha]

Hello,

I am trying to improve a file copy between two shares in an ONTAP environment. Read about ODX on ONTAP docs (https://docs.netapp.com/ontap-9/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.netapp.doc.cdot-famg-cifs%2FGUID-1323806A-F37B-46AF-B123-E40FCD362B33.html&cp=13_9_6_3).

It does not mention XCP (xcp.netapp.com) but I was wondering if XCP supports ODX (even robocopy supports).

Regards,

Pedro Rocha.

[parisi]

XCP doesn't really come into play with  ODX. All XCP does is copy via SMB.

ODX kicks in when you copy on the same ONTAP system, so XCP should be able to leverage ODX, provided ODX would kick in without XCP as well.

[pedro_rocha]

Hello!

Thanks for the answer.

The doubt came out because of this statement in the documentation:

"The application that performs the data transfer must be written to support ODX."

Then it lists several tools like robocopy, powershell copy commands, and etc. Since XCP is not listed I thought it strange. Also neither XCP doc nor TR-4863 states anything about ODX.

But I believe in you being who you are. Maybe the doc needs some updates...

Regards,

Pedro

[parisi]

Robocopy and other utilities don't do anything special to enact ODX. They just copy. ONTAP figures out based on file locations and SMB options whether to use ODX.

I don't think XCP needs anything special here, as it just leverages SMB. I'd suggest reaching out to ng-xcp-support@netapp.com if you're unsure or if it's not working for you.

[pedro_rocha · Accepted solution]

Hello,

I opened a support case but still no answer. So I went back to the old robocopy.

Did some testing and found that with different parameters, robocopy sometimes used ODX and sometimes not.

How did I find it: network usage with some parameters was low and copy was 3-4x faster than with XCP ou even robocopy with the "wrong" parameters.

In my case, I don't need to run incrementals, so only one copy is sufficient. The following robocopy command was the fastest copy I could get:

robocopy SOURCE DESTINATION /MIR /COPY:DATSOU /w:1 /r:1 /mt:128

*using /B parameter seemed to make robocopy not using ODX

SMB v3 and ODX enabled on the vserver.

source/dest vols deduped (ODX requirement)

Regards,

Pedro

[pedro_rocha]

Hello,

Support has answered and XCP do not support ODX at this time. They said there is a Request for Enhancement ticket open to follow this feature.

Regards,

Pedro

[parisi]

Interesting. I thought XCP would just piggy back on the client SMB stack. Good to know!