+1 on the bootarg.   This bootarg is documented in the "Adding a second chassis to an existing HA pair" doc.  You would just be configuring things in reverse/opposite, if going the other way. https://library.netapp.com/ecm/ecm_get_file/ECMM1280401 ... View more

Yes, 1.2.0.7 FW along with RCF 1.2. Make sure you setup and use SSH. RCF 1.2 disables Telnet access as a security best practice. ... View more

There's a non-public bug Feature Request that allows ADP to include external shelves on FAS26xx, starting with ONTAP 9.1. If you're running ONTAP 9.2, the new Option 9 (ADP) boot menu option is the cat's meow. ... View more

Hi back,   The idea behind all of these "router redundancy" protocols is you can have multiple physical routers cooperating to provide a reliable "virtual router" gateway IP address. The protocol itself runs between the routers, only.  All the hosts (like the AFF A200) need to know is what the IP address of the virtual router/gateway is - just a configuration item when setting up the network LIFs.  ... View more

The doc link Alex pointed you to will get you going for active/passive in short order.   If you're not dealing with multiple workloads and you don't have really high network I/O demands, active/passive is a reasonable choice.  Even when active/active, you don't want to have either node handle much more than 50% of the total workloads, anyway (if you want acceptable performance when a node is down). ... View more

8 HDD's is the minimum, but you'll have a better layout with root/data partitions if you do put the SSDs in the external shelf. This will allow root aggregates to spread out to 3d + 2p + 1s partitions on each node.  ... View more

I've passed on your concerns to the Product Manager. ... View more

+1.   I can think of a couple reasons why 9.0 can't be chosen, assuming all the systems are cDOT.   FAS3240 or V3240: Not supported as of 9.0. DS14 storage shelves: Not supported as of 9.0. ... View more

Are you sure ALL of the serial numbers' models and starting ONTAP version can upgrade to 9.x? ... View more

Can the 2 node_mgm LIF's ping each other?   It looks like the wrench port on node 01 is connected to a switch, but it may not be in the correct VLAN on that switch. ... View more

Be careful... You shouldn't have to worry about the SP version. The ONTAP version you upgrade/downgrade to will automatically do the same to the SP based on the version of SP that is bundled. Also, 3.1.2P1 is exactly what you want for ONTAP 8.3.x See: http://mysupport.netapp.com/NOW/download/tools/serviceimage/support/ServiceProcessorSupportMatrix.shtml   I have to ask... why do you specifically need to run 8.3P2? Per recommended ONTAP releases at this time, 8.3.2P11 is the one you want to run for the 8.3.x ONTAP release family. https://kb.netapp.com/support/s/article/ka61A0000008aBr/Recommended-Data-ONTAP-Releases-on-the-NetApp-Support-Site ... View more

It depends on whether you want to have both nodes serving data (active-active) or you're happy relegating the 2nd node to a passive "backup" role. If active-active, you'd have one or more aggregates configured on each node. This will have a bit more "parity disk partition" tax than using all data partitions for one big aggregate, but you have more data serving performance with both nodes active.   I'd look at these docs...   Root-data partitioning concept: http://docs.netapp.com/ontap-9/topic/com.netapp.doc.dot-cm-concepts/GUID-B745CFA8-2C4C-47F1-A984-B95D3EBCAAB4.html   Manually assigning ownership of partitioned disks http://docs.netapp.com/ontap-9/topic/com.netapp.doc.dot-cm-psmg/GUID-07302AD3-F820-48F7-BD27-68DB0C2C49B5.html   Setting up an active-passive configuration on nodes using root-data partitioning http://docs.netapp.com/ontap-9/topic/com.netapp.doc.dot-cm-psmg/GUID-4AC35094-4077-4F1E-8D6E-82BF111354B0.html   I can't speak to your LUN question... but I wouldn't think it matters.  See section 5.3 here: TR-4080: Best Practices for Scalable SAN https://www.netapp.com/us/media/tr-4080.pdf ... View more

If you're willing to consider 9.2 (GA), there's a nifty new boot menu option for re-partitioning systems with "one click". From the release notes: https://library.netapp.com/ecm/ecm_download_file/ECMLP2492508   Beginning with ONTAP 9.2, a new root-data partitioning option is available from the Boot Menu that provides additional management features for disks that are configured for root-data partitioning.   If you want to stick with 9.1P5, this KB article takes you through reinitialization process.    https://kb.netapp.com/support/s/article/ka31A00000013aJ/How-to-convert-or-initialize-a-system-for-Root-Data-Data-Partitioning   Note: The KB works well for FAS (non-AFF), too. You'll just end up with root-data, not root-data-data, partitions. When it's done, each node will "own" half of the 20 disks from a container perspective, and the smaller P2 root partitions will be used to build the root aggregates (and leave 1 spare). The large P1 data partitions will be "spare" for creating data aggregates from either node, as you see fit.   ... View more

+1 for robin's comments on the P2 partitions not being balanced across node 1 and node 2.   Q1: What ONTAP version are you running?   Q2: Do you plan to run in an active-passive configuration or do you want both nodes to normally serve data from their own aggregates (active-active)?   Q3: Are you in a position to destroy the data on the system and reinitialize? It might be the fastest path to configuring the system according to best practices.   ... View more

It's perfectly fine to span across shelves. ... View more

8.1.2 is very old ONTAP software. Upgrade to the latest recommended release for your FAS model. ... View more

Yes, the Remote Support Diagnostics Tool and the Remote Support Agent component of it on the Service Processors is no longer functional. See: End of Life: Remote Support Diagnostics Tool (RSDT) and Remote Support Enterprise (RSE)   You should definitely disable the RSA feature on all of your Service Processors to save bandwidth and SP CPU cycles. See: https://kb.netapp.com/support/s/article/ka31A00000012fX/data-ontap-remote-support-evolution-how-to-enable-aod-and-disable-rsdt     ... View more

In addition to changing to the correct 10GbE SFP's, you also need to ensure that the port pair is in the correct mode: CNA mode.  By default, the ports are in FC mode.   Use the command: system node hardware unified-connect modify http://docs.netapp.com/ontap-9/topic/com.netapp.doc.dot-cm-cmpr-900/system__node__hardware__unified-connect__modify.html   Notes: The mode applies to both ports in the "pair" - for FAS2552, the port pairs are e0c/e0d and e0e/e0f (or for FC, 0c/0d and 0e/ef) After changing the mode, you must reboot the node for the change to take effect After reboot, you can verify things are set up correctly: command: system node hardware unified-connect show sysconfig or sysconfig -a: you'll see e0c and e0d in the output, now. ... View more

Hi,   You didn't mention which exact AFF model you're getting...   Based on your description of your performance bottlenecks a new AFF system should mitigate those bottlenecks, nicely.   I would request some performance modeling estimates for your new AFF system from your NetApp sales rep. ... View more