Issue: Windows file compression combined with netapp snapshots and deduplication

[ANISH5225]

Hi,

I have a Windows 2008 virtual machine(Hypervisor = ESX) .I will call it Server A. It is connected to an RDM lun on Netapp FAS. RDM lun is configured as 😧 drive on Server A. Capacity of 😧 drive = 800gb

DOT Version: 8.1.4P9 7-Mode

On the netapp volume holding the RDM lun, we have snapshots scheduled. Also, deduplication is enabled for the volume.

Volume autogrow enabled upto a max of 1.2t

Now we have an issue wherein a user(User A) has enabled windows file and folder compression on the 😧 drive of Server A.The compression process kept running throughout the night. Now all the netapp volume snapshots have grown drastically and volume autogrow is triggerred multiple times.

Overnight the netapp volume has grown to its max size. At this point the mistake was detected and User A's session on Server A was killed. This stopped the volume growth on netapp.

Now we have a netapp volume of size 1.2t which is 98% utilized. Volume snapshots consuming more than 300 gb. Can someone please suggest how can I reclaim the extra storage consumed at netapp device by the "file and folder compression" process.

If I go to the properties of 😧 drive and uncheck "Compress this drive to save disk space", what will be the effect on storage? Will the netapp volume starts growing again due to the decompression process?

Finally, sorry for the long post..

Thank You

Anish M

[ekashpureff]

Anish -

Delete the snapshots on the volume to free up the space.

They are probably not consistent snapshots if they were scheduled rather than taken using SnapDrive from the host.

I hope this response has been helpful to you.

At your service,

Eugene E. Kashpureff, Sr.
Independent NetApp Consultant http://www.linkedin.com/in/eugenekashpureff
Senior NetApp Instructor, FastLane US http://www.fastlaneus.com/
(P.S. I appreciate 'kudos' on any helpful posts.)

[ANISH5225]

Hello Eugene, 

Thanks for your reply.

Unfortunately deleting snapshots is not an option. They are consistent snapshots created via snapdrive. And we have a customer requirement of retaining 7 days of snapshots.

Do we have any other means to overcome this?

Thanks

Anish

[ekashpureff]

Anish -

Grow the volume and wait for those snapshots to age out .

I hope this response has been helpful to you.

At your service,

Eugene E. Kashpureff, Sr.
Independent NetApp Consultant http://www.linkedin.com/in/eugenekashpureff
Senior NetApp Instructor, FastLane US http://www.fastlaneus.com/
(P.S. I appreciate 'kudos' on any helpful posts.)