To convert a FlexVol volume SnapMirror relationship to a FlexGroup volume SnapMirror relationship in ONTAP, you must first convert the destination FlexVol volume followed by the source FlexVol volume.

About this task

FlexGroup conversion is supported only for asynchronous SnapMirror relationships.
Conversion time depends on several variables. Some of the variables include:
- CPU of the controller
- Utilization of CPU by other applications
- Amount of data in the initial Snapshot copy
- Network bandwidth
- Bandwidth used by other applications

Before you begin

The FlexVol volume that is being converted must be online.
The source FlexVol volume in the SnapMirror relationship must not be the source volume for multiple SnapMirror relationships.

Beginning with ONTAP 9.9.1, fanout SnapMirror relationships are supported for FlexGroup volumes. For more information, see Considerations for creating SnapMirror cascade and fanout relationships for FlexGroups.
The operations and configurations on the FlexVol volume must be compatible with the conversion process.

An error message is generated if the FlexVol volume has any incompatibility and the volume conversion is aborted. You can take corrective actions and retry the conversion.

Steps

Verify that the SnapMirror relationship is healthy:

snapmirror show

Only XDP type mirror relationships can be converted.

Example:

cluster2::> snapmirror show
                                                                       Progress
Source            Destination Mirror  Relationship   Total             Last
Path        Type  Path        State   Status         Progress  Healthy Updated
----------- ---- ------------ ------- -------------- --------- ------- --------
vs0:src_dpv DP   vs2:dst_dpv  Snapmirrored
                                      Idle           -         true    -
vs0:src_xdp XDP  vs2:dst_xdp  Snapmirrored
                                      Idle           -         true    -

Verify whether the source volume is compatible for conversion:
1. Log in to the advance privilege mode:
  set -privilege advanced
2. Verify the conversion process:
  volume conversion start -vserver <src_svm_name> -volume <src_vol> -check-only true
  Example:
  volume conversion start -vserver vs1 -volume src_vol -check-only true
  You must rectify all errors before converting the volume.

Convert the destination FlexVol volume to FlexGroup volume.

Quiesce the FlexVol SnapMirror relationship:

snapmirror quiesce -destination-path <dest_svm:dest_volume>

Example:

cluster2::> snapmirror quiesce -destination-path vs2:dst_xdp

Start the conversion:

volume conversion start -vserver <dest_svm> -volume <dest_volume>

Example:

cluster-1::> volume conversion start -vserver vs2 -volume dst_xdp

Warning: After the volume is converted to a FlexGroup, it will not be possible
to change it back to a flexible volume.
Do you want to continue? {y|n}: y

[Job 510] Job succeeded: SnapMirror destination volume "dst_xdp" has been successfully converted to a FlexGroup volume.
You must now convert the relationship's source volume, "vs0:src_xdp", to a FlexGroup.
Then, re-establish the SnapMirror relationship using the "snapmirror resync" command.

Convert the source FlexVol volume to FlexGroup volume: `

volume conversion start -vserver <src_svm_name> -volume <src_vol_name>

Example:

cluster-1::> volume conversion start -vserver vs0 -volume src_xdp

Warning: Converting flexible volume "src_xdp" in Vserver "vs0" to a FlexGroup
         will cause the state of all Snapshot copies from the volume to be set
         to "pre-conversion". Pre-conversion Snapshot copies cannot be
         restored.
Do you want to continue? {y|n}: y
[Job 57] Job succeeded: success

Resync the relationship:

snapmirror resync -destination-path dest_svm_name:dest_volume

Example:

cluster2::> snapmirror resync -destination-path vs2:dst_xdp

After you finish

You must ensure that when the source FlexGroup volume is expanded to include more constituents, the destination volume is also expanded.