FlexGroup - Delete a FlexGroup "offline DEL"

[richard_mackerras]

Hi, I created a FlexGroup, then I decided I needed it to have the same geometry as a FlexGroup on another system. So I deleted it and recreated it. I ended up with this:

TEST-CLU10::*> vol show
Vserver Volume Aggregate State Type Size Available Used%
--------- ------------ ------------ ---------- ---- ---------- ---------- -----
LG-BML-LAB01 MediaArchive aggr1_sas_n1 online RW 50GB 47.50GB 0%
LG-BML-LAB01 MediaArchiveTest - online RW 2.44TB 2.32TB 0%
LG-BML-LAB01 MediaArchiveTest__0001 aggr3_fsas_n1 online RW 312.5GB 296.8GB 0%
LG-BML-LAB01 MediaArchiveTest__0001_1032 aggr3_fsas_n1 offline DEL 156.2GB - -
LG-BML-LAB01 MediaArchiveTest__0002 aggr3_fsas_n2 online RW 312.5GB 296.8GB 0%
LG-BML-LAB01 MediaArchiveTest__0002_1033 aggr3_fsas_n2 offline DEL 156.2GB - -
LG-BML-LAB01 MediaArchiveTest__0003 aggr3_fsas_n1 online RW 312.5GB 296.8GB 0%
LG-BML-LAB01 MediaArchiveTest__0003_1034 aggr3_fsas_n1 offline DEL 156.2GB - -
LG-BML-LAB01 MediaArchiveTest__0004 aggr3_fsas_n2 online RW 312.5GB 296.8GB 0%
LG-BML-LAB01 MediaArchiveTest__0004_1035 aggr3_fsas_n2 offline DEL 156.2GB - -
LG-BML-LAB01 MediaArchiveTest__0005 aggr3_fsas_n1 online RW 312.5GB 296.8GB 0%
LG-BML-LAB01 MediaArchiveTest__0005_1036 aggr3_fsas_n2 offline DEL 156.2GB - -
LG-BML-LAB01 MediaArchiveTest__0006 aggr3_fsas_n2 online RW 312.5GB 296.8GB 0%
LG-BML-LAB01 MediaArchiveTest__0006_1037 aggr3_fsas_n2 offline DEL 156.2GB - -
LG-BML-LAB01 MediaArchiveTest__0007 aggr3_fsas_n1 online RW 312.5GB 296.8GB 0%
LG-BML-LAB01 MediaArchiveTest__0007_1038 aggr3_fsas_n1 offline DEL 156.2GB - -
LG-BML-LAB01 MediaArchiveTest__0008 aggr3_fsas_n2 online RW 312.5GB 296.8GB 0%
LG-BML-LAB01 MediaArchiveTest__0008_1039 aggr3_fsas_n1 offline DEL 156.2GB - -
LG-BML-LAB01 MediaArchiveTest__0009_1040 aggr3_fsas_n1 offline DEL 156.2GB - -
LG-BML-LAB01 MediaArchiveTest__0010_1041 aggr3_fsas_n2 offline DEL 156.2GB - -
LG-BML-LAB01 MediaArchiveTest__0011_1042 aggr3_fsas_n2 offline DEL 156.2GB - -
LG-BML-LAB01 MediaArchiveTest__0012_1043 aggr3_fsas_n2 offline DEL 156.2GB - -
LG-BML-LAB01 MediaArchiveTest__0013_1044 aggr3_fsas_n1 offline DEL 156.2GB - -
LG-BML-LAB01 MediaArchiveTest__0014_1045 aggr3_fsas_n2 offline DEL 156.2GB - -
LG-BML-LAB01 MediaArchiveTest__0015_1046 aggr3_fsas_n1 offline DEL 156.2GB - -
LG-BML-LAB01 MediaArchiveTest__0016_1047 aggr3_fsas_n1 offline DEL 156.2GB - -

There seemed to be nothing I could do with the "offline DEL" constituent volumes.  That was Friday. Today (Tuesday) they have disappeared.

Obviously the above command is in DIAG mode. The OS is Ontap 9.5P10.

What is going on here? How long does it take for the FlexGroup offline DEL volumes to disappear?

Can I speed it up? I'm glad I thin provisioned the original volume.

I couldn't find help anywhere so I hope this helps others. 

Richard

[donny_lang · Accepted solution]

This is a result of the "volume recovery queue" functionality on ONTAP that was added in 8.3, meant to protect against accidental volume deletions. When you delete a volume, it goes into the VRQ for 12 hours by default. That value can be modified or you can manually purge volumes from it if you need to reclaim the space immediately. Here is a KB article that explains it in more detail:

https://kb.netapp.com/app/answers/answer_view/a_id/1031855/~/how-to-use-the-volume-recovery-queue-feature-in-clustered-data-ontap-8.3-