How to change SVM host name

[FGS]

Hi,

Need to change SVM host name on a production system. There are instructions on how to do it. Can someone from NetApp help me. Currently, using Data OnTab 8.3.0

Thanks

[rwelshman]

Use the vserver rename command.

[FGS]

Cannot find the "rename" at the Cluster or Node level. Please let me know the CLI syntax and from where to invoke it, i.e. from node or cluster.

Thanks

[rwelshman]

What do you see when you run "vserver ?" in the cluster mgmt?

What is the SVM used for?

[SeanHatfield]

Renaming the SVM simple enough:

vserver rename -vserver <oldname> -newname <newname>

But if its runnings CIFS, and what you really want is to change the cifs server name, that is much more involved.

See the cifs server name with:

vserver cifs show

The Server Name is the name of the computer account in AD.  Changing the Server Name is disruptive.  There are often better ways to handle it, but it really depends on the situation.

[FGS]

Sean,

I have old virtual servers hosting the company data, this equipment needs to be sunset. I have new virtual servers on NetApp running fine but needs to be renamed exactly as the old virtual servers. 

I plan to power down the old virtual servers and rename the new SVMs to old SVMs

When I CLI: vserver cifs show

In my instant "vserver" and "Server Name" are same. I assume that the vsername appears in the DNS on Active Directory.

If I change the vserver name to old names by CLI. On the MS AD Server remove the old DNS Static entry for old vservers and create new DNS entry with the old name but with its associate new IP address.

Would this give me a transparent cut over to the new NetApp with old vserver names?

Thanks

[SeanHatfield]

The transparent way is to join the new controllers to the old cluster, vol move everything, rehome the lifs, and evict the old controllers.  Same SVM, new gear.  Sounds like its too late for that though.

So what I'm laying out here only applies to a CIFS vserver.  Disregard all of this if we aren't talking CIFS.

If you really want to rename your CIFS vserver from an AD perspective, you must record all of your share configuration, delete the cifs service, recreate the CIFS service with the new name, then repopulate your share configuration.  You can plan/script all of that, but its somewhat involved.  This blog post may be useful: https://whyistheinternetbroken.wordpress.com/2015/05/01/techusing-powershell-to-back-up-and-restore-cifs-shares-in-netapps-clustered-data-ontap/

Another option is to keep the old AD name, set a netbios alias on the vserver for the new name, add a DNS alias (CName), and set the service principal name (SetSPN) in AD.  More touch points in AD, but you don't have to rebuild your shares.

[FGS]

I would like to have the old AD name on the new NetApp SVM. You write: to set a netbios alias on the vserver for the new name. Do you mean that there is netbios alias option on NetApp Vserver?

Also, need to understand the need to set the service principal name (SetSPN) in AD, in this case. 

Thanks

[SeanHatfield]

Netbios aliases became available around 8.3.  

vserver cifs show -fields netbios-aliases
vserver cifs add-netbios-aliases ?
vserver cifs remove-netbios-aliases ?

That may be good enough for your use case.  Otherwise to get kerberos working for those aliases, create CNAME records for each alias in DNS pointing to the A record of the real hostname, then use the setspn utility to configure the service principal name for each alias.

[Aravind]

Hi Sean,

In the above post you have menitoned that  to change cifs server name , the share configuration needs to be recreated.

is it the same case with ontap 9.1 , as i tested in lab on ontap 9  it didnt require any recreatin of cifs shares or configuration after the cifs server was renamed.