An SVM serves data to clients and hosts from one or more volumes, through one or more network logical interfaces (LIFs). Volumes can be assigned to any data aggregate in the cluster. LIFs can be hosted by any physical or logical port. Both volumes and LIFs can be moved without disrupting data service, whether you are performing hardware upgrades, adding nodes, balancing performance, or optimizing capacity across aggregates.

The same SVM can have a LIF for NAS traffic and a LIF for SAN traffic. Clients and hosts need only the address of the LIF (IP address for NFS, SMB, or iSCSI; WWPN for FC) to access the SVM. LIFs keep their addresses as they move. Ports can host multiple LIFs. Each SVM has its own security, administration, and namespace.

In addition to data SVMs, ONTAP deploys special SVMs for administration:

You cannot use these SVMs to serve data. There are also special LIFs for traffic within and between clusters, and for cluster and node management.