Data ONTAP 8.0.1 Simulator available for download from NOW

[miroslav]

Hi folks,

I'm happy to announce that we have posted the simulator for Data ONTAP 8.0.1:

   http://now.netapp.com/NOW/download/tools/simulator/ontap/8.0/

There  are two zip files (one for 7-Mode and another for Cluster-Mode). We've  also updated the licenses file to include licenses for deduplication and  compression.

Couple of things to note:

1. the  Data ONTAP version string inside the simulators says "Data ONTAP  8.0.1RC3X16" instead of just "Data ONTAP 8.0.1". The code is identical  to the generally available release of Data ONTAP; the RC3X16 build is  the build that GA is based on.
2. In order to create a  Cluster-Mode cluster, you'll need to extract the contents of the zip  file twice. Rename the first one something like "DOT801-Cm1", and the  extract it again and rename it "DOT801-Cm2". Then run setup and init  within each node, run cluster create in Cm1, and run cluster join in  Cm2. For more information, please see the Cluster-Mode documentation available on the NOW site.

As  always, this Community is the best place for questions and discussions  related to the simulator. For more general questions about how to manage  Data ONTAP appliances, there may be other forums which are more  appropriate.

Thanks and take care,

Miroslav

[BrendonHiggins]

Any top tips for what to "play with" in cluster mode.  It has been a while since I have thought about it?

Bren

[miroslav]

Hi Bren,

Good question. Here's my suggestion of the Top 10 things to try:

1. Just go through the process of C-Mode setup and init.
2. Create a cluster on one of the nodes and Join the second node to the cluster on the first node
3. Create a new aggregate from the spare disks
4. Create a new Vserver
5. Configure the Vserver to serve data over NFS
6. Play around with various Global Namespace capabilities:
   • building hierarchical relationships between volume
   • unmounting a volume to hide it from the namespace
   • reconnecting the volume to a different spot in the namespace
7. Move volumes between different aggregates and nodes
8. Generate cross node traffic by mounting a network interface on one node, and doing IO to a volume that lives on the other node.
9. Connect to the Cluster Element Manager (Web GUI), play around with it, and try monitoring the system using the Cluser View dashboard. See if you can identify the cross node traffic on the network links and aggregates when you do things like volume move or access the volume from a network interface on the other node.
10. Use the C-Mode SnapMirror to create mirror volumes, replicate the volume to synchronize the mirror, and add a schedule to synchronize the mirrors on a regular basis.

Most of these are relatively basic, but if you're new to Cluster-Mode it will be a great way to get more familiar. The documentation should help. I'm not sure if there's another Community for Cluster-Mode questions, but that would be a good place to follow up if you get stuck somewhere.

Take care and hope that helps,

Miroslav

[scottgelb]

I had really good luck with the 8.0 cmode sim and will download 8.0.1 this weekend.  One thing on the cluster network I found with VMware Fusion is that you have to specify -mtu 1500 for the cluster network lif.  The default 9000 didn't work on my MacBook Pro, but when I set it to 1500 the second sim joined the cluster with no issues.

[miroslav]

Hi Scott,

Great point! I think it's possible to reconfigure the virtual networks to support jumboframes (at least in Windows), but by default the MTU should be set to 1500. It shouldn't matter for the simulator since we're not going to be breaking any speed records and the latency on the host-only virtual network should be very low.

Take care,

Miroslav

[miroslav]

Hi Bren,

Just to follow up, I noticed that there's a Cluster-Mode group on the Communities:

   http://communities.netapp.com/groups/cmode

That might be a great place to get any help on C-Mode questions.

Take care,

Miroslav

[BrendonHiggins]

Great feedback.  Have a new PC so just setting up vmworkstation (free for VCP, result) and will work my way through your list.  Will upload my method to my blog if people want to follow.

Bren

Update - Blog

http://communities.netapp.com/people/BrendonHiggins/blog/2011/01/22/data-ontap-801--cluster-mode

[storage_ergo]

Can this be installed on ESXI 4.1? I added it to my datastore , but I can't seem to add it to my inventory.

EDIT:Nevermind, lets just call it user error.

[ahorja_msufcu_org]

Unfortunately, I just created my account and I have guest only rights. I'm not able to download the simulator.

I’m learning the documentation, but cannot practice to much, what a shame.

[miroslav]

Hi ahorja.msufcu.org,

Data ONTAP 8.0.1 (and earlier) contain some 3rd-party IP that contractually obliges us to limit distribution to existing customers and partners. So for now we need users to verify that they are existing customers or partners by authenticating via their NOW account to download the simulators. We're looking to change those limitations in future versions of Data ONTAP, but for the time being you need to have a NOW account associated with a current customer or partner.