MetroCluster Manuals ( CA08871-401 )
Required MetroCluster IP components and naming conventions
The following are restrictions in ONTAP 9.12.1 and earlier:
When planning your MetroCluster IP configuration, you must understand the required and supported hardware and software components. For convenience and clarity, you should also understand the naming conventions used for components in examples throughout the documentation.
Supported software and hardware
The hardware and software must be supported for the MetroCluster IP configuration.
When using ETERNUS AX series, all controller modules in the MetroCluster configuration must be configured as ETERNUS AX series.
Hardware redundancy requirements in a MetroCluster IP configuration
Because of the hardware redundancy in the MetroCluster IP configuration, there are two of each component at each site. The sites are arbitrarily assigned the letters A and B, and the individual components are arbitrarily assigned the numbers 1 and 2.
ONTAP cluster requirements in a MetroCluster IP configuration
MetroCluster IP configurations require two ONTAP clusters, one at each MetroCluster site.
Naming must be unique within the MetroCluster configuration.
Example names:
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Site A: cluster_A
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Site B: cluster_B
IP switch requirements in a MetroCluster IP configuration
MetroCluster IP configurations require four IP switches. The four switches form two switch storage fabrics that provide the ISL between each of the clusters in the MetroCluster IP configuration.
The IP switches also provide intracluster communication among the controller modules in each cluster.
Naming must be unique within the MetroCluster configuration.
Example names:
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Site A: cluster_A
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IP_switch_A_1
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IP_switch_A_2
-
-
Site B: cluster_B
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IP_switch_B_1
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IP_switch_B_2
-
Controller module requirements in a MetroCluster IP configuration
MetroCluster IP configurations require four or eight controller modules.
The controller modules at each site form an HA pair. Each controller module has a DR partner at the other site.
Each controller module must be running the same ONTAP version. Supported platform models depend on the ONTAP version:
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In ONTAP 9.7 and later versions, new MetroCluster IP installations on ETERNUS HX series are supported.
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In ONTAP 9.7 and later versions, controller modules configured for ADP are supported.
Controller models limited to four-node configurations
These models are limited to four in a MetroCluster configuration.
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ETERNUS AX2100
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ETERNUS AX2200
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ETERNUS HX2200
For example, the following configurations are not supported:
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An eight-node configuration consisting of eight ETERNUS AX2200 series.
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An eight-node configuration consisting of four ETERNUS AX2100 series.
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Two four-node MetroCluster IP configurations each consisting of ETERNUS AX2200 series and sharing the same back-end switches.
You can configure two separate four-node MetroCluster IP configurations with the same back-end switches if the second MetroCluster does not include any of the above models.
Example names
The following example names are used in the documentation:
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Site A: cluster_A
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controller_A_1
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controller_A_2
-
-
Site B: cluster_B
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controller_B_1
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controller_B_2
-
Gigabit Ethernet adapter requirements in a MetroCluster IP configuration
MetroCluster IP configurations use a 40/100 Gbps or 10/25 Gbps Ethernet adapter for the IP interfaces to the IP switches used for the MetroCluster IP fabric.
Platform model |
Required Gigabit Ethernet adapter |
Required slot for adapter |
Ports |
|---|---|---|---|
ETERNUS HX6100, ETERNUS AX4100 and ETERNUS AC4100 |
X1146A |
Slot 1 |
e1a, e1b |
ETERNUS AX4100 and ETERNUS HX6100 |
X1116A |
Slot 1 |
e1a, e1b |
ETERNUS HX2200, ETERNUS AX1200 and ETERNUS AX2100 |
Onboard ports |
Slot 0 |
e0a, e0b |
ETERNUS AX2200, and ETERNUS AC2100 |
Onboard ports |
Slot 0 |
e0c, e0d |
Pool and drive requirements (minimum supported)
Eight SAS disk shelves are recommended (four shelves at each site) to allow disk ownership on a per-shelf basis.
A four-node MetroCluster IP configuration requires the minimum configuration at each site:
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Each node has at least one local pool and one remote pool at the site.
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At least seven drives in each pool.
In a four-node MetroCluster configuration with a single mirrored data aggregate per node, the minimum configuration requires 24 disks at the site.
In a minimum supported configuration, each pool has the following drive layout:
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Three root drives
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Three data drives
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One spare drive
In a minimum supported configuration, at least one shelf is needed per site.
MetroCluster configurations support RAID-DP and RAID4.
Drive location considerations for partially populated shelves
For correct auto-assignment of drives when using shelves that are half populated (12 drives in a 24-drive shelf), drives should be located in slots 0-5 and 18-23.
In a configuration with a partially populated shelf, the drives must be evenly distributed in the four quadrants of the shelf.
