NetAppOverview

Universal AFF and FAS
Installation
Visual glossary

The visual glossary contains more than 50 terms
and acronyms that you encounter in this course,
together with definitions, illustrations, and
references.
Most glossary terms and acronyms are used in the
storage industry. Those entries in the glossary that
are specific to NetApp are identified as such.
Words in green are terms and acronyms that have
their own entry in the glossary.
About the visual glossary

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contents
Alternate control path (ACP) Horizontal cabling PDU
All Flash FAS (AFF) Hot swap or hot replace PCM or PCB
Block IOPS PSU
Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) IOXM Rack unit (U)
Command-line interface (CLI) ISI RAID
Cluster LOADER prompt RAID DP
Cluster interconnect Maintenance mode RAID-TEC
Dead on arrival (DOA) MPHA RCF
Drive shelf Multipath RMA
Fabric-attached storage (FAS) Netapps SAS
Fault tolerance Node SATA
Filer Nondisruptive Shelf stack
FRU NSE SPOF
GA release NVMe SSD
Gibibyte and other multiples of bytes NVMEM and NVRAM Storage controller
HA interconnect ONTAP software Storage system
HA pair P release U
HDD Parity WAFL

An Ethernet-based secondary (out-of-band)
connection to the drive shelves that is used to
send control commands to the I/O modules
(IOMs). Used with 3Gb and 6Gb SAS IOMs.
SAS3 shelves with 12Gb IOMs use an in-band
control path to send commands over the same
shelf cables that are used to send data to and
from the drives.
Alternate control path (ACP)
References
https://community.netapp.com/t5/ONTAP-
Discussions/Alternate-Control-Path-in-depth-
information/td-p/1265
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An ONTAP based storage system that boots the
ONTAP all-flash “personality” and that contains
only solid-state drives (SSDs) that are internally or
externally attached.
Can be distinguished from FAS systems by the
silver-colored bezel.
All Flash FAS (AFF)
References
https://www.netapp.com/data-storage/all-flash-
documentation/#:~:text=NetApp%20%C2%AE%20All%20
Flash%20FAS%20%28AFF%29%20is%20a,integrated%2
0data%20protection%2C%20multiprotocol%20support%2
C%20and%20nondisruptive%20operations Table of contents

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Block storage is a storage scheme in which each
volume acts as a separate hard drive, configured
by the storage administrator. Data is stored in
fixed-size blocks. A unique address (inode) serves
as the metadata that describes each block.
Block
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_(data_storage)
Logical blocks (LB) – 512 bytes
Physical block (PB) – 4096 bytes
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The Baseboard Management Controller (BMC)
provides remote management capabilities,
including console redirection, AutoSupport, sensor
monitoring, logging, and power control.
It also extends AutoSupport functionality by
sending additional system event alerts. The
AutoSupport settings are used for sending these
alerts through email over the BMC LAN interface.
Baseboard Management Controller (BMC)
References
https://www.techopedia.com/definition/15941/baseboard-
management-controller-bmc
https://kb.netapp.com/Advice_and_Troubleshooting/Data_Storage
_Systems/FAS_Systems/What_is_a_Baseboard_Management_C
ontroller_(BMC)_and_how_do_I_use_it%3F
1GbE e0M and
Baseboard Management
Controller (BMC)
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The ONTAP command-line interface (CLI)
provides a command-based view of the
management interface. You enter commands at
the storage system prompt, and command results
are displayed as text.
The ONTAP CLI is like the system shells in Linux
and UNIX operating systems.
Command-line interface (CLI)
References
https://docs.netapp.com/ontap-
9/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.netapp.doc.dot-cm-
sag%2FGUID-DD81D296-184D-4779-8031-
B24286D6CD52.html
::> storage disk show -fields initiator
disk initiator
------- -----------
1.20.0 0d,4a,0d,4a
1.20.1 0d,4a,0d,4a
1.20.2 0d,4a,0d,4a
1.20.3 0d,4a,0d,4a
1.20.4 0d,4a,0d,4a

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A cluster is a group of nodes, functioning as a
collective whole, that provide storage or compute
resources. A storage cluster appears on the data
network as a single storage system to clients and
hosts. A single system is limited in the amount of
capacity and performance that it can provide. With
a cluster, you can scale out capacity and
performance by adding more nodes.
Cluster
References
9/topic/com.netapp.doc.dot-cm-concepts/GUID-
491820A5-C86C-495F-9549-B4AEF310EEAF.html
Cluster interconnect
Management network Data network
(Ethernet, FC, or converged)

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The cluster interconnect is a private network that
connects all nodes in the cluster. This network is
used for communication between nodes and to
pass data blocks in indirect read and write
operations.
References
ONTAP 9: Introduction and Concepts
9/topic/com.netapp.nav.ic/home.html

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Dead on arrival (DOA)
In the context of a support contract, a DOA
component is any hardware component that fails
within 30 days of the ship date. After this window,
failed components are replaced through the RMA
process. The distinction is important because
DOA components are scrutinized for quality
control issues with the manufacture or shipping of
the components.

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An external enclosure containing multiple hard
disk drives (HDDs) or solid-state drives (SSDs)
that are used to expand the storage capacity of a
high-availability pair (HA pair) of storage systems.
Drive shelf
References
ONTAP 9: Introduction and Concepts
9/topic/com.netapp.nav.ic/home.html

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Fabric-attached storage (FAS)
A NetApp computer storage product that runs
ONTAP data management software. Formerly
defined as “fabric-attached storage” in reference
to Fibre-Channel arbitrated loop (FC-AL) storage
technology used by the original models.
The three types of FAS systems are classified
based on the type of storage drive or drives that
they use and their ONTAP “personality”:
• Hybrid: HDD and SSD
• All Flash FAS (AFF): only SSD
• AFF All SAN Array (ASA): only SSD and only
SAN protocols

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Fault tolerance requires the absence of a “single
point of failure.” If a system experiences a failure,
it must continue to operate without interruption
while in a degraded state.
Fault tolerance
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fault_tolerance

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Antiquated term used by storage veterans for FAS
storage system. Competitors have turned this term
into an innuendo meant to infer that ONTAP based
storage systems can manage only NAS files.
Filer
FILER

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FRU
Field replaceable unit. External or internal
hardware component that can be replaced by the
end user in case of failure and does not need to
be sent to a repair facility.
Common FRUs:
• Power supply
• Fan unit
• Hard drive or SSD
• Memory DIMM
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field-replaceable_unit
100Gbe
mezzamine
(not a FRU)
Coin cell
battery
Boot media
device
Note: PCIe subassemblies removed
System DIMMs NVDIMMs

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GA release
General-availability release. ONTAP software
version that is shipped on newly purchased
storage systems. GA releases have passed
stability testing, and technical support technicians
have been trained on new features and
functionality.
See also RC release and P release.

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A gibibyte (GiB) is a unit of measurement in
computers and similar electronic devices in the
base-2 number system. One gibibyte holds 1024
mebibytes (MiB). Some people call this number of
bytes a gigabyte. Gibibyte is the binary equivalent
to the base-10 gigabyte, which consists of 1,000
megabytes.
The table on the right shows other multiples of
bytes in the base-2 number system.
Gibibyte and other multiples of bytes
References
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibibyte

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The internal bridge or external cable that
facilitates the pairing of two ONTAP based
systems into a high-availability pair (HA pair). The
HA interconnect carries a heartbeat signal and
system state information used to initiate takeover
and giveback operations to provide nondisruptive
access to data.
HA interconnect

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A high-availability (HA) pair is two storage
systems connected to each other to provide
failover protection. Both storage controllers must
be of the same model. In an HA configuration, one
storage controller can take over its partner's
storage to provide nondisruptive access to the
data on the partner’s storage.
HA pair
References
https://library.netapp.com/ecmdocs/ECMP1552961/
html/GUID-14E3CE93-AD0F-4F35-B959-
282EEA15E597.html
HA pair controllers
Cluster
interconnect

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Hard disk drive. A storage device that uses
spinning magnetized platters to store data.
Superseded by SSDs in most commercial storage
products but still common in consumer products.
Found in ONTAP based storage systems for
backup and archive because of lower cost
compared to SSDs.
HDD
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_disk_drive

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A cable management technique that strives to run
cables only at 90-degree angles. Cables are run
horizontally from the port of origin to the side of a
rack or cabinet. The cables then run vertically along
the length of the cabinet and turn 90 degrees to run
horizontally to the destination port.
The purpose of horizontal cabling is to present a
visually appealing appearance, facilitate maintenance
tasks, and provide for unrestricted airflow.
Horizontal cabling

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The ability to replace a field replaceable unit
(FRU) while a device remains online and
operational. In ONTAP based storage systems the
hot-swap FRUs are usually the drives, power
supplies, and fan units.
Hot swap or hot replace
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_swapping

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Input/output operations per second. Performance
measure that indicates how much data a storage
device can read or write in a second. The higher
the number, the better the performance. IOPS
measures random access and sequential access
to include both types of read and write operations.
IOPS
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOPS
Input/output operations per second

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I/O expansion module. In earlier enterprise-level
ONTAP based storage systems like the FAS8000
series, the IOXM occupies the bay that is
reserved for a second controller in a chassis. The
IOXM then provides additional expansion slots to
the single storage controller in the chassis.
IOXM

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Installation and Setup Instructions. A short guide
in poster, PDF, or online format that provides
instructions on how to install, cable, and perform
the cluster setup for a new storage system.
Each storage controller ships with a physical ISI
document or instructions on how to access the
ISI online.
ISI

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LOADER-A> boot_ontap
LOADER prompt
Command-line prompt for running commands
and setting system variables in the BIOS.
Precedes the installation of ONTAP software in
the boot process.
Dual-controller chassis append –A> or –B> to the
console prompt to designate the storage
controller that is being manipulated.

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The ONTAP maintenance mode is used for low-
level commands where there is only a rudimentary
kernel loaded and no drive I/O is active. The
maintenance mode contains a subset of
hardware-related ONTAP software commands.
The graphic on the right lists the commands that
are available in the maintenance mode.
Maintenance mode
References
https://kb.netapp.com/Advice_and_Troubleshooting
/Data_Storage_Software/ONTAP_OS/What_are_th
e_ONTAP_maintenance_mode_commands
Please choose one of the following:
(1) Normal boot
(2) Boot without /etc/rc
(3) Change password
(4) Clean configuration and initialize all disks
(5) Maintenance mode boot
(6) Update flash from backup configuration
(7) Install new software first
(8) Reboot node
(9) Configure Advanced Drive Partitioning
Selection (1-9)? 5

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Multipath high availability. An HA pair
configuration in which each storage controller, or
node, has two connections to each shelf or shelf
stack. The connections are referred to as the
primary path (path A) and the return path (path B).
MPHA
References
https://docs.netapp.com/platstor/index.jsp?topic=%
2Fcom.netapp.doc.hw-2700-install-
setup%2FGUID-1731706F-CDAB-49B6-870A-
D96F3C8BD734.html
Drive shelf
Node A
Node B
IOM A
IOM B SSD
Primary path (A)
Return path (B)

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A single-controller configuration where the storage
controller has two connections to each shelf or
shelf stack.
In SAN protocols, multipath refers to the two paths
to a LUN.
Multipath
Node A
Node A storage
Primary
path
Return
path

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Netapps
Netapps
A misnomer used by customers to refer to NetApp
storage systems in general. The use of the
company name to refer to NetApp storage
hardware is discouraged.

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A node is an individual storage controller in a
cluster, its storage, its network connectivity, and
the instance of ONTAP software that runs on
the controller.
A pair of interconnected nodes forms an HA
pair. One or more interconnected HA pairs form
a cluster.
Node
References
491820A5-C86C-495F-9549-B4AEF310EEAF.html
Node A
Node A
storage
Node B
Node A
Node B
storage
HA interconnect
Primary and return
storage cabling

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In a nondisruptive environment, high-availability
technology allows a takeover storage system to
assume the functions of the "failed" partner while
this partner is not functioning properly. There is a
takeover and giveback operation for each HA
node (storage system that is part of an HA pair).
Because the partner storage system fulfills service
requests during the "failed" system's upgrade, no
disruption in service is experienced by the clients.
Nondisruptive
Node A
Node A
storage
Node B
Node A
Node B
storage
Virtual node B

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NetApp Storage Encryption. ONTAP software
feature to support storage drives with built-in
encryption functionality. These drives are also
known as self-encrypting drives (SEDs).
NSE
References
https://www.netapp.com/data-protection/storage-
encryption/
Write (encrypt)/Read (decrypt)
Network
RAID
Storage
Request Response
WAFL
Cryptographic
module

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NVM Express. A high-performance, low-latency
storage interface for nonvolatile memory devices
that replaces SAS and SATA interfaces. NVMe
attaches storage to the PCIe bus, which means that
storage is directly connected to the CPUs. The
direct attachment significantly reduces latency.
NVMe
References
https://nvmexpress.org/

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Nonvolatile memory and nonvolatile RAM.
Battery-backed memory DIMMs that retain their
data during a power loss. Used in ONTAP based
systems by NetApp WAFL to temporarily cache
write data before the data is committed to the
storage drives.
NVMEM and NVRAM
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-volatile_random-
access_memory

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ONTAP is NetApp's proprietary operating system
used in storage arrays such as NetApp FAS and AFF,
ONTAP Select, and Cloud Volumes ONTAP. As of
2016, ONTAP is no longer called an operating system
but is referred to as data management software.
Formerly called Data ONTAP, Clustered Data ONTAP
(cDOT), or Data ONTAP (operating in) 7-Mode.
ONTAP software
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ONTAP#:~:text=ONTAP%20i
s%20NetApp%27s%20internal%20operating%20system
%2C%20specially%20optimized,networking%20comman
ds%2C%20and%20low-
level%20startup%20code%20from%20BSD.
Supported operating systems
Supported protocols

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Patch release. A GA release or RC release with a
patch installed to fix a software bug.
Patches generally roll up to the next RC or GA
release. For example, ONTAP 9.3.1P2 rolls up to
ONTAP 9.3.2.
NetApp recommends upgrading to the next
available GA release rather than continuing to run
on a P release.
P release

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ONTAP software and NetApp WAFL classify
drives as one of four types for RAID: data, hot
spare, parity, dParity, or tParity. The parity drives
store a computed checksum of the blocks on the
data drives. The parity checksums are used to
reconstruct corrupted or missing data blocks.
Parity
References
https://library.netapp.com/ecmdocs/ECMP1196912/
html/GUID-ED7A2BA1-F83D-4E53-B417-
1D917BCCE058.html
A2
B2
C2
A1
B1
C1
Drive 0 Drive 1
Ap
Bp
Cp
Parity
drive
Adp
Bdp
Cdp
dParity
drive
tParity
drive
Atp
Btp
Ctp
Adp

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Power distribution unit. A device fitted with
multiple outputs that are designed to distribute
electric power, especially to racks of computers
and networking equipment in a data center.
PDU
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_distribution_unit

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PCM or PCB
Processor controller module or processor
controller board. The compute component of a
storage controller that holds the CPUs and
memory DIMMs.
100Gbe
mezzamine
(not a FRU)
Coin cell
battery
Boot media
device
Note: PCIe subassemblies removed
System DIMMs NVDIMMs

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Power supply unit. Redundant component that
provides electrical power to a storage controller or
shelf. On some entry-level systems, power and
cooling are combined into a power-fan unit.
PSU
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_supply_unit_(co
mputer)

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Height measurement for equipment mounted in
19” and 23” wide rack frames and cabinets. A
single U is defined as 1 ¾” or 44.45mm. Typical
equipment heights are 1U, 2U, 3U, and 4U.
Rack unit (U)
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rack_unit

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Redundant Array of Independent Drives. Method
of combining multiple drives for increased
performance and fault tolerance.
RAID
References
TR-3437: Storage Subsystem Resilience Guide
https://www.netapp.com/pdf.html?item=/media/196
67-tr-3437.pdf

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RAID double parity. NetApp's proprietary
implementation of RAID that uses two parity
drives for increased fault tolerance and protection
from drive failures.
RAID DP
References
C80315DC-5EA4-4B90-8080-EF4EF61DA993.html
RAID 4 (row parity)
• Adds a row-parity drive
• Protects from drive failures and
media errors
RAID DP (double parity)
• Adds a double-parity drive to a
RAID-4 group
• Protects from two-drive failures,
drive failures and media errors,
and double media errors

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NetApp's proprietary implementation of RAID that
uses three parity drives for increased fault
tolerance and protection from drive failures.
RAID-TEC
References
9/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.netapp.doc.dot-cm-
psmg%2FGUID-488B0EC4-3B03-4566-8321-
5B8E568F34E4.html
RAID DP (double parity)
• Adds a double-parity drive to a
RAID-4 group
• Protects from two-drive failures,
drive failures and media errors,
and double media errors
RAID-TEC (triple-parity RAID,
formerly triple erasure coding)
• Adds a triple-parity drive to a RAID
DP group
• Protects from three-drive failuers,
two-drive failures and media errors,
and triple media errors

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Release candidate. A new version of ONTAP software that
has not yet met requirements for stability and numbers of
systems running the release to be qualified as general
availability (GA). RC releases are typically installed on non-
production systems by customers who want to test new
features and provide feedback.
Example: ONTAP 9.7RC2
When an RC release has achieved the stability threshold, it
is promoted to a general-availability release (GA release).
RC release

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Reference configuration file. Switch port
configuration file that is installed and applied to
network switches to configure the switch ports.
RCF
***************************************************************************
* NetApp Reference Configuration File (RCF)
*
* Switch : 3132Q-V
* Filename : 1.4-Cluster-HA-Breakout
* Date : 21-May-2019
*
* 40G Port Usage:
* Ports 1- 6: Breakout mode (4x10G) Intra-Cluster/HA Ports, VLAN
17/18, QoS/PFC ON
* Ports 7-30: 40G Intra-Cluster/HA Ports, VLAN 17/18,
QoS/PFC/ECN ON
* Ports 31-32: Intra-Cluster ISL Ports

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Return Material Authorization. Process for
dispatching and returning replacement parts.
RMA

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Serial attached SCSI. Point-to-point serial protocol
used in business-grade storage products.
SAS
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_Attached_SCSI

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Serial ATA (= advanced technology attachment).
Storage drive technology that is used in most
consumer-grade PCs.
SATA
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_ATA
PATA Power
SATA Date
SATA Power

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A group of 1 to 10 SATA, SAS, or SSD drive
shelves that are daisy-chained together by one or
more shelf-to-shelf connector cables.
Shelf stack

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Single point of failure. Any part of a system or
network that, if it fails, stops the entire system or
network from working.
See also fault tolerance.
SPOF
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_point_of_failure

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Solid-state drive. A storage drive that stores data
in flash-memory cells rather than on spinning
magnetized platters of an HDD.
SSD
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solid-state_drive
Drive Latch
Drive capacity
badge

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The computation-only component of a storage
system. Composed of a PCM or PCB, PSU, and
fan units.
Storage controller

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A data storage product consisting of a
computation component (storage controller) and a
data storage component (drives and drive
shelves). In a cluster, referred to as a node.
Storage system

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See Rack unit.
U

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Write Anywhere File Layout. NetApp’s proprietary
file system that supports large, high-performance
RAID arrays, quick restarts without lengthy
consistency checks if there is a crash or power
failure, and file system sizes that grow quickly.
WAFL
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Write_Anywhere_File_
Layout
23892-sw-WAFL.pdf (netapp.com)
Blocks and inode metadata stored along with
user data

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