Best Practices for Reliability

New System Installations

June 2001
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Use the NetApp Hardware Site
Requirements Guide
What You should install the filer in a clean, air conditioned location with sufficient
electrical power and ample space to allow good airflow for all components.

Why The filer may not operate properly if installed into an environment that does
not meet operating requirements. Environmental and site power problems can
cause unnecessary downtime.

How Review the NetApp Hardware Site Requirements Guide found in your filer
documentation. You can view this guide online on the NOW site.

Ensure that the environment you install your filer into meets the requirements
specified in the guide.
Separate redundant power
supply connections
What Connect your system's redundant power supplies to separate power circuits.

Why Redundant power supplies can protect your system from both mechanical
failures and power circuit failures.

How Ensure that sufficient power connections are available for your system (filer
head and disk shelves) and connect each power supply to a circuit that is
protected by its own circuit breaker. Use the Site Preparation Guide to
determine the amount of power required.
If you have an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), you can connect one
power cable of each head and shelf to the UPS and one power cable directly to
an unprotected outlet; or you can connect the power cables to two UPS units to
ensure continued operation in the event of a UPS failure.
Connect filer to a UPS
What Connect the filer, disk shelves, and any terminal (console) or network
equipment used to manage the filer to a UPS or line conditioner.

Why Redundant power supplies only protect your filer and related equipment from
single power supply failures. They do not protect your filer from a complete
power outage at your facility.
In the case of an extended power failure, a line-conditioning UPS can provide
power to your filer until you are able to shut down the filer gracefully. A UPS
also can prevent the filer from halting during momentary power failures.
Many UPS units have line-conditioning capabilities that provide clean power.

How Determine the amount of standby power required to support your filer, disk
shelves, console, and any network equipment (such as a terminal server used to
manage your filer remotely) for at least 15 minutes.
If your data center has an existing UPS unit and the UPS has sufficient
capacity to support the filer and its components, connect the filer and its
components to the UPS.
If your data center does not have a UPS unit, purchase a UPS unit with
sufficient capacity to support your filer and its components for at least 15
minutes.
Follow configuration guidelines
What Your filer comes with comprehensive hardware and software documentation.
Follow the configuration guidelines contained in this documentation.
Periodically review the System Configuration Guide on the NOW site for
updates to recommended hardware configurations.

Why Your filer documentation outlines supported and tested filer configurations and
environments. If you install hardware in your filer that has not been tested and
is not supported, you run the risk of causing unnecessary downtime or service
disruptions.

How Review the configuration guidelines included in your filer documentation

when you receive your filer. Periodically review the System Configuration
Guide to get up-to-date information about new supported configurations.
Ground disk shelves
What Ground your filer's disk shelves.

Why For disk storage to work reliably, your filer's disk shelves must be grounded.
The Fibre Channel StorageShelf Hardware Guide or the SCSI StorageShelf
Hardware Guide for your disk shelves contains specific grounding instructions.

How Follow the grounding instructions in the disk shelf guide that came with your
disk shelves.
Check all Fibre Channel cables
for proper installation
What Make sure all Fibre Channel cables are installed properly.

Why Improperly installed Fibre Channel cables can cause loop instability or other
errors in the Fibre Channel loop.

How Make sure the cables are

● Of the proper length

● Properly and firmly connected to both filer and shelves

● Not kinked, bent, or twisted

You can refer to the Fibre Channel StorageShelf Hardware Guide and Easy
Installation Instructions shipped with your filer for examples of proper cable
installation.
Maintain a console device
What Maintain a hardwired serial console connection to the filer's serial port.

Why If a filer stops communicating over the network, the only way to diagnose and
fix the problem is from a console device connected to the filer's serial port.
If a filer stops functioning and needs to be started with the boot or diagnostics
diskettes, a console device is necessary.

How Connect a serial console directly to the filer's serial port, or connect the filer's
serial port to a console server that can be accessed remotely through the
network, or through a console adapter.
The filer's console port has a standard DB9 male connector configured as a
DTE device. Refer to your filer Hardware Guide for more details on pinouts
and required terminal configuration settings.
Maintain hot spare disks
What Maintain sufficient hot spare disks in your disk shelves to enable the filer to
reconstruct data from failed disks.

Why When a disk fails, your filer uses a hot spare disk to reconstruct the failed
disk's data. Your filer runs in degraded mode until the failed disk is
reconstructed on a hot spare disk. While your filer is running in degraded
mode, it is subject to data loss if a second disk fails before the first failed disk
is reconstructed. It is very important for hot spare disks to be available so that
failed disks can be reconstructed automatically.
Network Appliance recommends keeping at least one hot spare disk for each
disk size and disk type installed in your filer. This allows the filer to use a disk
of the same size and type as a failed disk when reconstructing a failed disk. If a
disk of the same size is not available, the filer uses the next largest available
spare disk.
Note: If a spare disk is not available for reconstruction when a disk fails, the
filer runs in degraded mode for 24 hours or until a suitable spare disk is added
to the system.

How Purchase sufficient spare disks and keep them installed in your disk shelves.
Example: If your filer has a combination of 9-GB, 18-GB, and 36-GB drives,
you should have at least one 9-GB, one 18-GB, and one 36-GB drive installed
as hot spares.
Note: In a cluster configuration, each filer must have its own set of hot spare
disks. Filers in a cluster cannot use their partner's hot spare disks to reconstruct
their failed disks.
Maintain spare
power supplies
What Maintain spare power supplies.

Why The redundant power supplies in your filer and disk shelves ensure continued
operation in if a power supply fails. If you experience a power supply failure,
you need to replace the failed power supply as quickly as possible so that your
equipment is not be affected if the remaining power supply fails.

How Purchase and maintain at least one spare power supply for your filer and disk
shelves.
If a disk shelf power supply fails, you can hot swap it with a spare power
supply.
If a filer power supply fails on a C720 or F720, you must power off the filer to
replace the failed power supply. On all other filer platforms, you can hot swap
the power supply.
Install spare NICs
What Install redundant NICs.

Why A single NIC is a potential single point of failure. If the NIC fails, your users
cannot access data on the filer.

How As a rule of thumb, you should have one spare NIC on hand for each type of
interface card. If possible, install the spare NICs into supported slots in the
filer so they can be brought online quickly.
Example: Your filer contains the following networking interfaces:
● One onboard 10Base-T/100Base-Tx Ethernet interface

● One quad-port 10Base-T/100BaseTX Ethernet card

● One Gigabit Ethernet card

Your filer is configured to use the onboard interface, two ports on the quad
card, and the Gigabit Ethernet card.
To provide spare NICs, you should order and install two additional NICs:
● One quad-port 10Base-T/100Base-TX Ethernet card

● One Gigabit Ethernet card

This configuration would handle the following scenarios with a minimum of

disruption to your clients:
● If the onboard interface fails, you can configure another interface on
either of the other Ethernet cards with the same IP address and bring that
interface online.
● If the quad Ethernet card you are using fails, you can configure the other
quad Ethernet card and bring it online.
● If the Gigabit Ethernet card you are using fails, you can bring the
standby Gigabit Ethernet card online.
If you use a redundant NIC as described above without utilizing a virtual
interface (VIF), you might need to unmount and remount your UNIX clients to
resolve stale file handles. For more information on VIFs, see Determine when
to use VIFs.
Use autosupport
What Configure autosupport to send information automatically to NetApp Technical Support and your own
support staff.

Why The autosupport feature sends information to NetApp Technical Support and the filer's administrators
when your filer encounters errors and when it reboots. NetApp Technical Support monitors autosupport
mail to identify problems before they cause downtime. For example, if NetApp Technical Support
receives an autosupport e-mail indicating that a disk has failed, and you have a contract that supplies
four-hour hardware replacement, a replacement disk will be delivered to your site within four hours
without your having to contact Network Appliance.
In order to make the automatic replacement and notification process more reliable, be sure to include a
name, address, phone number, and pager number for your site contact so that NetApp Technical Support
can contact your support personnel quickly if a problem is detected; a lack of specific contact
information is the most common reason for delay in addressing autosupport-initiated customer service
activities..

How Configuring autosupport with FilerView

1. Select Autosupport or Configure Autosupport from the Filer tree.
2. Set Autosupport Enabled to Yes.
3. Enter one or more names of SMTP mail hosts under the Mailhosts: column.
4. Enter the e-mail name for an administrator under the From: column.
5. Enter autosupport@netapp.com under the To: column.
6. If you want one or more administrators to receive copies of the full e-mail sent to autosupport,
enter their e-mail address under the To: column.
7. If you want one or more administrators to receive summary information when e-mail is sent to
autosupport, enter their e-mail addresses under the Note to: column.
Configuring autosupport from the command line
Enter options autosupport commands to configure autosupport.
Command Description
options autosupport.enable on Turns
autosupport
on
options autosupport.mailhost hostname1, ..., hostname5 Specifies the
names of up
to five
SNMP mail
hosts that the
filer can use
to send
autosupport
e-mail
options autosupport.to autosupport@netapp.com, ..., address5 Specifies
NetApp
Technical
Support and
up to four
additional
e-mail
addresses
that receive
autosupport
e-mail
messages
options autosupport.noteto address1, ..., address5 Specifies up
to five
e-mail
addresses
that receive a
note
whenever an
autosupport
message is
sent
options autosupport.from name@domain Specifies
contact
information
for an
administrator
that NetApp
Technical
Support can
contact when
an
autosupport
message
indicates the
need for
action to be
taken

Refer to the System Administrator's Guide for additional information on configuring autosupport.
Identify multiple name servers
What Provide pointers to two or more servers if your filer is configured to use DNS,
NIS or WINS name servers.

Why If a filer is configured to access only a single name server and that server
becomes unavailable, the filer may deny users access to its file systems or
respond to requests slowly.

How During initial setup

With the setup command

The setup command prompts you to enter the IP addresses of up to three

servers. Provide the addresses of at least two servers.

With the Setup Wizard

The Setup Wizard forms contain fields to enable you to enter the IP addresses
of up to two servers. Provide the addresses of two servers.

After initial set up

From FilerView

1. Select Name Service or Manage DNS, NIS Name Service from the
Network tree to modify the DNS server information.
2. Select Config or Configure > General Setup from the CIFS tree to
modify the WINS server information.

From the command line

1. Edit the /etc/resolv.conf file in the filer's root volume to specify the
names and IP addresses of the name servers.
2. Enter the following commands to specify the DNS domain name and to
enable DNS:
options dns.domainname domainname
options dns.enable on
domainname is the DNS domain name.
Refer to the System Administrator's Guide for more information on adjusting
these configuration settings after your filer is set up.
Limit root
volume size
What Limit the size of the root volume to two disks.

Why Limiting the size of the root volume to two disks, which is the smallest
possible RAID group size, reduces the amount of downtime if the volume
needs to be restored from tape.
For filers that are configured in high-availability environments, Network
Appliance recommends that you separate the root volume from the volumes on
which you store data .

How During initial setup with the Setup Wizard

When you use the Setup Wizard to set up a new filer, the root volume is
created automatically as a two-disk volume.

During initial setup with the setup command

When you use the setup command to set up a new filer, the default size for the
root volume is two disks. The setup command provides an option for creating a
larger root volume. When you are presented with the volume size option,
select the default volume size of two disks.

After initial setup

If your filer has been set up already, complete the following steps to create a
root volume with two disks.
1. Use FilerView or the vol command to create a new volume with two
disks.
2. Create an /etc directory in the new volume.
3. Copy the contents of the /etc directory from the original root volume to
the new volume.
4. If the current root volume is storing user data, home directories, or Web
pages that are being served via the HTTP protocol, move the files to
other volumes.
5. Use FilerView or the vol options volume_name root command
 to set the new volume as the root volume; volume_name is the name
you assigned to the new volume.
6. Reboot the filer.
The data that was on the original root volume is still available under the
original volume name.
Limit root
volume access
What Do not permit the root volume to be used to store user data.

Why Prohibiting user data storage on the root volume ensures that the volume has sufficient space to
store logs and other system data, and prevents unauthorized access to the filer's configuration files.
When your filer is set up initially, the root volume (named vol0) is automatically exported. If you
specified an adminhost during setup, root volume is exported to the adminhost; if you did not
specify an adminhost during setup, the root volume is exported to all hosts. When CIFS is set up,
two shares are created automatically: C$ and HOME. You need to modify these configurations to
limit access to administrators only.

How To limit access by NFS clients

● Use UNIX permissions to control access to directories.
● Use NFS export options to prevent NFS clients from mounting the root volume.
The following is an example of the default NFS exports file when no adminhost is specified
during setup:
#Auto-generated by setup Fri Feb 2 23:38:38 GMT 2001
/vol/vol0 -anon=0
/vol/vol0/home
The following is an example of a recommended NFS export file; adminhost is the hostname of the
administrator's computer:
/vol/vol0 -root=adminhost,access=adminhost

To limit access by CIFS clients

Use CIFS ACLs and Share permissions to limit access to the root volume to the filer's
administrators.
The following is an example of the default CIFS shares on the root volume (Data ONTAP 5.3.x):
Name Mount Point Description
---- -------------- -----------
HOME /vol/vol0/home Default Share
Everyone / Full Control
C$ /vol/vol0 Remote Administration
BUILTIN\Administrators / Full Control
The following is an example of the recommended CIFS shares on the root volume:
Name Mount Point Description
------ ----------- -----------
C$ /vol/vol0 Remote Administration
BUILTIN\Administrators / Full Control
Determine when to use VIFs
What Determine when a virtual interface (VIF) can be used in your environment and
configure your filer and network equipment to support VIFs.

Why A single NIC is a single potential point of failure. If the NIC fails, your clients
will not be able to access data on the filer. Therefore, it is a good idea to install
redundant NICs in your filer.
In addition to redundant NICs, you can configure VIFs to provide additional,
transparent fault tolerance. If configured correctly, VIFs allow one interface to
take over for a failed interface with no manual intervention.
The VIF will respond to both a complete hardware failure of one of the NICs
and a link failure on one of the interfaces.
For example, if the switch to which one interface is connected fails, and the
other interface is attached to a different switch, the VIF will allow the other
interface to take over communications for the failed link.

How ● Purchase at least two network adapters of the same type.

● Purchase network switches from vendors that support VIFs or
EtherChannel Trunking. Install both cards in supported slots in the filer.
● Configure the filer and the switch to be attached to the filer. For the best
fault tolerance, attach each VIF to a different switch.
You can find more information about configuring VIFs in the System
Administrator's Guide and on the NOW site. The NOW site also has a list of
switches that have been tested to work with NetApp VIF technology.
Configure the Snapshots feature
What Use the Snapshot feature for online backup to reduce planned downtime and to
enable users to restore deleted files.

Why Snapshots provide a copy-on-write, online, read-only backup image of a file

system. When snapshots are available online, users frequently can restore lost
files without system administrator intervention. File recovery from online
snapshots enables an application to resume operations after several seconds of
file or directory copy time, as opposed to what is frequently 30 minutes to
several hours when tape media recovery is used. The files and directories in a
snapshot are more up to date than could ever be accomplished with nightly
tape archival operations.
You can use an individual snapshot as the source for creating the archived tape
images. Using the snapshot image as the source enables users to continue to
access their files while archiving to tape media takes place.

How Up to 31 separate snapshots can be maintained for each volume. (The exact
number depends on the version of Data ONTAP your filer is running.) You
can configure snapshots to occur at specific hours of the day, and on a daily,
weekly, and monthly basis.

Configuring snapshots with FilerView

Select Snapshot Config from the Disks tree or Snapshots > Configure from the
Volumes tree.

Configuring snapshots from the command line

Use the snap sched command to define a schedule for automatic snapshots.
Refer to the Data Protection Guide for complete information on scheduling
snapshots.

Creating snapshots manually

Enter the following command at the console:

snap create volume_name snapshot_name
volume_name is the name of the volume for which you want a snapshot
created.
snapshot_name is a unique name for the snapshot.
Determine the best RAID group
size
What Determine and configure the correct RAID group size for your environment.
Network Appliance recommends a RAID group size of 14 disks for RAID groups that contain 9-GB,
18-GB, or 36-GB drives. If you are using drives larger than 36-GB, Network Appliance recommends
that you set the RAID group size to 8 disks.
Data ONTAP 5.3.x has a default RAID group size of 14 disks. Data ONTAP 6.x has a default RAID
group size of 8 disks. Depending on the types and sizes of disks used in your filer, and on the version
of Data ONTAP your filer is running, you may need to modify the RAID group size.
These recommendations are based on balancing the amount of time it takes to reconstruct a failed
disk with the performance characteristics of a RAID group. If you want to ensure quicker RAID
reconstruction times, you can decrease the RAID group size further.

Why The default RAID group size is based on the amount of time it takes to reconstruct a disk after a disk
failure. Reducing the amount of time to reconstruct a disk reduces the likelihood of a double disk
failure.

How Note: You cannot set a RAID group size for a volume that is smaller than the current number of disks
in the RAID group.

To change the RAID group size with FilerView

1. Run FilerView.
2. Select Manage from the Volumes tree.
3. Click Modify for the volume you want to change.
4. View the current RAID group size.
5. Enter the new RAID group size for the volume.
6. Click Apply to save your changes.

To change the RAID group size from the command line

Run the vol status -v command to check the current default RAID group size setting on your
filer.
Run the vol options volume_name raidsize size command to set the volume's RAID
group size. volume_name is the name of the volume and size is the new size for the RAID group.
The following example shows the RAID group sizes for two volumes before and after the RAID
group size is changed; the example would not work if vol0 already had more than eight disks in its
RAID group:
filer> vol status -v
Volume State Status Options
vol0 online normal root, nosnap=off, nosnapdir=off,
minra=off, no_atime_update=off,

raid group 0: normal
filer> vol options vol0 raidsize 8
filer> vol status -v
Volume State Status
vol0 online normal
raid group 0: normal
raidsize=14, nvfail=off,
checksum_blocks=default(off)
Options
root, nosnap=off, nosnapdir=off,
minra=off, no_atime_update=off,
raidsize=8, nvfail=off,
checksum_blocks=default(off)
Use diagnostics diskettes
What Run diagnostics when
● You install a new filer.

● You install new hardware in a file.

● You suspect you filer has a hardware problem.

Your filer ships with a set of diagnostics diskettes. You can download the
latest diagnostics from the NOW site.

Why Running hardware diagnostics when you first install a filer gives you a
baseline status for the filer and gives you experience using the diagnostics
tools.
Running diagnostics when you install new hardware in a filer enables you to
determine that the new hardware has not affected the filer's operation
negatively.
Running diagnostics when you suspect your filer has a hardware problem can
help you determine whether a problem exists.

How 1. Download the diagnostics software image and the Diagnostics User's
Guide from NOW.
2. Read the Diagnostics Users Guide.
3. Create a diagnostics diskette from the software image.
4. Insert the diskette into your filer's diskette drive.
5. From a console or terminal server, halt and restart the filer.
6. When the console displays the Diagnostics Monitor and the Enter Diag,
Command or Option prompt, enter the following command:
all
The name and results of each test appear on the console as the
tests are run. The diagnostics stop if a problem occurs so that you
can pinpoint where the error occurs.
What Run diagnostics when
● You install a new filer.

● You install new hardware in a file.

● You suspect you filer has a hardware problem.

Your filer ships with a set of diagnostics diskettes. You can download the
latest diagnostics from the NOW site.

Why Running hardware diagnostics when you first install a filer gives you a
baseline status for the filer and gives you experience using the diagnostics
tools.
Running diagnostics when you install new hardware in a filer enables you to
determine that the new hardware has not affected the filer's operation
negatively.
Running diagnostics when you suspect your filer has a hardware problem can
help you determine whether a problem exists.

How 1. Download the diagnostics software image and the Diagnostics User's
Guide from NOW.
2. Read the Diagnostics Users Guide.
3. Create a diagnostics diskette from the software image.
4. Insert the diskette into your filer's diskette drive.
5. From a console or terminal server, halt and restart the filer.
6. When the console displays the Diagnostics Monitor and the Enter Diag,
Command or Option prompt, enter the following command:
all
The name and results of each test appear on the console as the
tests are run. The diagnostics stop if a problem occurs so that you
can pinpoint where the error occurs.
Register on NOW
What Create an account on the NetApp on the Web (NOW) site.

Why NOW provides access to the NetApp Knowledgebase, technical assistance and
documentation, subscriptions, new software releases, tools and utilities, and
more.
NOW also enables you to maintain information about your service contracts
and installed products, submit RMAs, track orders, and check the status of
support cases.
You must register on NOW to get access to new releases of Data ONTAP,
firmware, and technical documentation.

How 1. Point a browser at

http://now.netapp.com/Self-Service/Start/Register.asp.
2. Fill in the forms with your e-mail address, your contract information, a
filer serial number or system ID, a login ID, and a password.
You will receive a temporary guest account, which provides limited access to
NOW. You will receive a confirmation of your NOW login ID within 24
hours. After your login ID is confirmed, you have full access to NOW when
you use your login ID.
Remove failed disks quickly
What When a disk fails, remove it from the disk shelf as soon as possible. Return the
failed disk to Network Appliance after you receive the replacement drive.

Why A failed disk can cause disruptions in a Fibre Channel loop or SCSI chain that
may result in apparent double disk failures or other downtime.

How 1. Physically remove the failed disk from your disk shelf.

If you are not running autosupport, request a replacement disk via an

RMA. You can request a replacement on the NOW site or by phoning
NetApp Technical Support.
2. If you are running autosupport and have the required entitlements, you
should receive a replacement disk automatically without requesting an
RMA.
3. When you receive your replacement disk, install it in the disk shelf to
provide a hot spare disk. Follow the steps outlined in the Field Service
Guide to replace failed disks.
4. Return the failed disk to Network Appliance.
Check Drive Seating Regularly
What Check drive seating regularly.

Why Drives can walk forward in the disk shelves if there are excessive vibrations in
the disk shelves. If a drive becomes unseated, the filer may mark the drive as
bad or the drive may start to cause errors on the Fibre Channel loop. An
unseated drive also can cause an apparent double disk failure that can cause the
filer to panic.

How Press firmly on the front of each disk drive casing. If the drive was unseated
you will hear a click as the drive is reseated and locked into position.
Read hardware flyers
What Read flyers distributed with NetApp hardware and follow the instructions they
contain.

Why New drives and newly supported hardware often require specific software
releases and firmware updates to function properly.
Reading the flyers ensures that you are aware of the minimum software or
firmware requirements for any hardware you receive.

How When you receive a new piece of hardware, open the top of the box and look
to see if there is a flyer on top of the hardware. If you see a flyer, read it.
If you have any questions or concerns about a new piece of hardware, check
the NOW site or contact NetApp Technical Support.
Upgrade to General Availability
Release
What Upgrade to the latest General Availability release of Data ONTAP software.

Why Network Appliance releases new versions of the Data ONTAP software
regularly. After a period of time that allows for customer feedback, a new
version of Data ONTAP becomes the General Availability release.
By running the General Availability release of Data ONTAP, you ensure that
your organization benefits from new features and bug fixes.

How Follow the upgrade instructions in the Data ONTAP documentation.

Maintain boot & diagnostics
diskettes
What Maintain a current set of boot and diagnostics diskettes in case you need them.

Why Boot diskettes enable you to boot your filer when something prevents the filer
from booting from the system disks. A diagnostics diskette enables you to
troubleshoot problems with your filer when it will not boot.
Boot and diagnostics diskettes are not always forward compatible with new
releases. Avoid the discovery that your boot or diagnostics diskettes are out of
date when you need them by making a current set of diskettes whenever you
upgrade the version of Data ONTAP that is installed on your filer.

How To create a set of boot diskettes

Follow the instructions in the Data ONTAP documentation.

To create a of diagnostics diskette

1. Download the diagnostics software image and the Diagnostics User's

Guide from NOW.
2. Read the Diagnostics Users Guide.
3. Create a diagnostics diskette from the software image.
4. Label and store the diskette where it can be located quickly and easily
when it is needed.
Have spare diskettes available
What To ensure that you can create boot and diagnostics diskettes when you need
them, keep a supply of spare diskettes on hand near your filer.

Why When you determine that you need to create new boot or diagnostics diskettes,
you do not want to have to go looking for spare diskettes.

How Purchase diskettes through your normal channels.

Monitor filer health regularly
What Monitor your filer's health regularly.

Why The Data ONTAP software monitors filer performance and provides indicators
of potential problems.
The following can indicate potential problems:
● Error events identified in the messages log file

● Reports of network errors

● Capacity issues with file systems

● CPU running at maximum capacity for extended periods of time

How ● Install SNMP monitoring tools like DataFabric manager,

ApplianceWatch, HP OpenView Network Node Manager, Tivoli, and
Multi Router Traffic Grapher (filer-mrtg, which is available on NOW).
● Regularly review the filer messages file (/etc/messages in the filer's
default volume) for errors, link failures, and Health Monitor messages.
● Configure autosupport to send automated messages to NetApp
Technical Support and to your system administrator.
● Use Health Monitor in FilerView.
● Do not let the used space in a volume exceed 90% of available capacity
for an extended period of time.
● Run the sysstat l command periodically during peak loads to see if
the filer CPU is running at maximum capacity for extended periods of
time.
● Run the netdiag command periodically to check the condition of
network interfaces and the network attached to the filer.
Maintain tape
backups
What Maintain regular tape backups of your filer's volumes.

Why Data stored on your filer is protected against loss by RAID 4 technology.
When a disk fails and a hot spare disk is available, your filer reconstructs the
failed disk's data onto a hot spare disk. RAID 4 only protects your data from a
single disk failure. If a second disk fails during data reconstruction, the data in
the volume associated with the failed disk is lost and the volume's data must be
restored from a backup.
RAID 4 technology and snapshots do not protect your data from a physical
disaster in your facility. Tape backups stored off site can ensure that you can
recover from a disaster.

How 1. Use a locally attached or network attached tape backup device, or use
the dump command or NDMP-compliant third-party software to create
backups.
2. Keep a copy of your backup tapes off site in a safe location.
Subscribe to Field Alerts
What The Field Alerts mailing list is used to provide notification of urgent product
information that may affect product performance or reliability. The
information sent to this list includes confidential material intended to be shared
with eligible customers only.

Why Subscribe to Field Alerts to ensure that you receive important information as it
becomes available.

How 1. Log in to NOW.

2. Click the Subscriptions tab.
3. Check the checkbox next to Field Alerts.
4. Click save.
5. Read e-mail from the Field Alerts mailing list as soon as you receive it,
and take action to remedy any problem that could affect your filers.
Subscribe to Bug Notifications
What The Bug Notifications mailing list is used to send a list of bugs that were made
public through Bugs Online. An e-mail is sent to the list weekly.

Why The Bugs Online feature of NOW enables you to view public information that
is available about bugs. By subscribing to the Bug Notifications mailing list,
you can receive a weekly summary of new public bugs automatically.

How 1. Log in to NOW.

2. Click the Subscriptions tab.
3. Check the checkbox next to Bug Notifications.
4. Click save.
Deal with known issues
What Evaluate each notification you receive from the Field Alerts and Bug
Notifications mailing lists to determine whether there are issues that affect
your filers. For each issue that affects your filers, take the recommended steps
as quickly as possible to remedy or work around the problem.

Why The majority of filer crashes and problems are due to bugs that are quickly
identified and fixed by Network Appliance. When hardware problems that
impact reliability are identified you will be notified. You must respond to these
notifications to maintain your filer’s reliability.

How Follow the recommendations listed in the notifications you receive. If you are
not sure that an issue affects your filers, please contact NetApp Technical
Support for assistance in determining the potential impact to your filers.