Patch verions affecting bi-directional SnapMirror

[chalupskys]

I just received a FAS3210 with 8.0.1p3 preinstalled and it will be replicating to and from a FAS2040 that has 8.0.1.  Will SnapMirror error out if we attempt to mirror back and forth between the two versions, separated by the patch releases?

[lovik_netapp · Accepted solution]

You can use snapmirror between minor/patch releases and it will not be any problem, no need to match the exact version between them.

[chalupskys]

Thank you.  Over the evening I also ran across TR3446 which clarifies it on page 10, table 1.

SnapMirror volume replication is block-for-block replication; it transfers the file system verbatim.

Therefore earlier major releases of Data ONTAP cannot understand file system transfers from a later

major release. Data ONTAP 7.2 and 7.3 and 8.0 are examples of three different major release versions.

Data ONTAP 7.3.3 and 7.3.5 are examples of same major release but different minor releases. Table 1

shows version restrictions for volume SnapMirror.

Table 1) Volume SnapMirror version restrictions.

Volume SnapMirror Source      Volume SnapMirror Destination      Replication Possible?

Data ONTAP 7.2                      Data ONTAP 7.3                              Yes

Data ONTAP 7.3                      Data ONTAP 7.2                              No

Data ONTAP 7.3.x                   Data ONTAP 7.3.y                           Yes

Data ONTAP 8.0.x                   Data ONTAP 8.0.y                           Yes