NetApp Storage Architecture Lecture

Overview

• Focus on NetApp ONTAP software architecture
• Key components: Aggregates, Volumes, Qtrees, LUNs, and SVMs

Components

Disks and Aggregates

• Disks: Physical hard drives
• Aggregates: Collection of physical drives
  • RAID Groups: Attribute of aggregates determining data and parity disk distribution
  • System Manager GUI: Pages for disks and aggregates, but not RAID groups

Volumes

• Lowest level where clients access data
• Contained within aggregates
• Can have single or multiple volumes in an aggregate

Qtrees (Quota Trees)

• Optional component
• Mainly used for configuring quotas
• Appear as folders in volumes for clients

LUNs (Logical Unit Numbers)

• Specific to SAN protocols (not used for NAS)
• Mandatory for SAN usage
• Can reside in volumes or qtrees

Storage Virtual Machines (SVMs)

• Used for secure multi-tenancy
• Previously known as Vservers
• System Manager GUI: Page for SVMs
• Command Line: Referred to as Vservers
• Allows multiple logical systems on a single physical system
• Secure isolation between different tenants (e.g., different departments)

SVM Architecture

• Cluster Level: Disks and aggregates managed globally
  • Efficient sharing of physical capacity
• SVM Level: Volumes, qtrees, LUNs, namespace, IP addresses, and administrators
  • Dedicated and isolated resources per SVM
  • Separate SVMs for secure data access and management

SVM Use Cases

• Multi-departmental storage isolation
• Separate client access protocols (e.g., iSCSI and NFS)
• Cloud providers for different customers

Additional Resources

• Free eBook for hands-on practice with NetApp storage
• NetApp storage complete course for in-depth learning

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• Reminder: Detailed coverage of each component will be provided in subsequent lectures.