NetApp — Quick Guide

Summary

Actionable guidance for virtualization (VMware/Proxmox) and ONTAP efficiency (dedupe/compression) with DR patterns.

Virtualization (VMware / Proxmox)

• Protocols: NFSv3/v4.1 for simplicity and fast clones; iSCSI multipath for latency-sensitive DB/VMs.
• Datastores: one FlexVol per datastore; dedicated export-policy; enable volume autosize with limits.
• VMware: enable VAAI and NFSv4.1 sessions; use snapmirror-label on snapshots for DR selection.
• Proxmox: NFS with no_root_squash, tuned rsize/wsize; iSCSI with multipath and tuned host queue_depth.

Efficiency (dedupe/compress) and snapshots

• Turn on inline dedupe + inline compression on FlexVol; use storage efficiency (AFF/ASA).
• Snapshot policies: e.g., hourly 24, daily 7, weekly 4; tag snapshots for SnapMirror/backup workflows.
• Thin provisioning on; control growth with qtree quotas when sharing datasets.

DR and replication

• SnapMirror async between clusters; use snapshot labels to decide what to replicate.
• SnapVault for long retention; schedule updates after critical snapshots (post-DB-backup).
• FabricPool: tier cold blocks to S3 (on-prem/cloud) with auto or snapshot-only policies based on workload.

Kubernetes (CSI Astra Trident)

• Use Trident CSI with per-tier StorageClasses (ontap-san, ontap-nas, ontap-san-economy).
• volumeBindingMode: WaitForFirstConsumer and allowVolumeExpansion: true for online growth.
• Dedicated export-policies for Kubernetes nodes; QoS mapped to StorageClasses (gold/silver/bronze).