NetApp Interview Questions

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Below mentioned are the Top Netapp Interview Questions and Answers that will help you to prepare for the Netapp Interview. Let's have a look at them.

We have categorized Netapp Interview Questions into 3 levels they are:

• Freshers
• Experienced
• FAQs

Top Netapp Interview Questions

1. How to improve the Netapp storage performance?
2. Unable to map lun to Solaris server, but Solaris server-side no issue. How to resolve the issue?
   
3. How to create the LUN for the Linux server?
   
4. How to create qtree and provide security?
5. How to copy volume filer to filer?
6. How to resize the aggregate?
   
7. How to increase the volume?
8. What is qtree?
9. What are the protocols you are using?
10. What are the steps need to perform to configure SnapMirror?

Best Netapp Interview Questions for Freshers

1. How to improve the Netapp storage performance?

There is no direct answer to this question but we shall do it in several ways.

1. If volume/lun present in ATA/SATA hard disk aggregate, then the volume can be migrated to FC/SAS disk aggregate. Either you can use flash cache to improve performance.
2. For NFS/CIFS instead of accessing from a single interface, multi-mode vif can be configured to get better bandwidth and fault tolerance.
3. Always advised keeping aggr/vol utilization below 90%.
4. Avoid doing multiple volume backups at a single point in time.
5. Aggr/volume/lun reallocation can be done to redistribute the data to multiple disks for better striping performance.
6. Schedule scrubbing and De-duplication scanning after business hours.
7. Create multiple loops and connect different types of shelf’s to each loop
8. Avoid mixing up different speeds of disk and different types of the disk in the same aggregate.
9. Always keep sufficient spare disk to replace in case of disk failure. Because reconstruction time will take more time and cause negative performance.
10. Keep the advised version of firmware/software which is recommended by Netapp.

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2. Unable to map lun to Solaris server, but Solaris server-side no issue. How to resolve the issue?

FROM THE STORAGE SIDE:

1. Verify iscsi/fcp license is added to the storage
2. Verify iscsi/fcp session is logged in from server-side use below command
3. Netapp> igroup show -v
4. Verify luns are mapped to the corresponding igroup
5. Verify whether the correct host type is mentioned while creating igroup and lun
6. Verify whether the correct iqn/wwpn number is added to igroup
7. Verify zoning is properly configured from the switch side if it is FCP protocol

3. How to create the LUN for the Linux server?

lun create –s size –t Linux /vol/vol1/lunname

4. How to create qtree and provide security?

1. Netapp>qtree create /vol/vol1/qtreename
2. Netapp>qtree security /vol/vol1/qtree unix|ntfs|mixed

5. How to copy volume filer to filer?

ndmpcopy or snapmirror

6. How to resize the aggregate?

Netapp> aggr add AggName no.of.disk

Related Article: Netapp Tutorial

7. How to increase the volume?

1. Traditional Volume
2. vol add VolName no.of.disk
3. Flexible Volume
4. vol size VolName +60g

8. What is qtree?

qtree is a Logical partition of the volume.

9. What is the default snap reserve in aggregate?

5%

10. What is a snapshot?

A Snapshot copy is a read-only image of a traditional or FlexVol volume, or an aggregate, that captures the state of the file system at a point in time.

11. What are the raid groups Netapp supporting? what is the difference between them?

Supported RAID types:

1. Raid-4
2. Raid-6
3. Raid-Dp

12. What are the protocols you are using?

Say some protocols like NFS, CIFS, ISCSI, and FCP

1. Iscsi-sending block through. iSCSI does not require a dedicated network, it will work on the existing network also. it works a TCP/IP.
2. Fcp-send through fibre medium. Required a dedicated FC network.  Performance is so high compare to the iSCSI

13. What is the iscsi port number?

3260

14. What is the difference between ndmp copy and vol copy?

1. Ndmp copy –network data management protocol(used for tape backup)
2. Vol copy – is used to transfer volume to same or another aggregate

15. What is the difference between ONTAP 7 & 8?

In ONTAP 7 the individual aggregate is limited to a maximum of 16 TB. Where ONTAP 8 supports the new 64-bit aggregate and hence the size of the individual aggregate extends to 100 TB.

16. If you were troubleshooting and wanted to look at SnapMirror log files, what is the path to these files?

/vol/vol0/etc/log/

17. Which statement describes the results of the SnapMirror resynce command?

Resynchronization finds the newest common snapshot shared by the two volumes or qtree, and removes all newer information on the storage system on which the command is run.

18. What are the steps need to perform to configure SnapMirror?

The SnapMirror configuration process consists of the following four steps:

1. Refer Topic
2. Install the SnapMirror license on the source and destination systems:
3. license add
4. On the source, specify the hostname or IP address of the SnapMirror destination systems you wish to authorize to replicate this source system.
5. options snapmirror.access host=dst_hostname1,dst_hostname2
6. For each source volume or qtree to replicate, perform an initial baseline transfer. For volume SnapMirror
7. restrict the destination volume first: vol restrict dst_vol
8. Then initialize the volume SnapMirror baseline, using the following syntax on the destination:
9. snapmirror initialize -S src_hostname:src_v
10. oldst_hostname:dst_vol
11. For a qtree SnapMirror baseline transfer, use the following syntax on the destination:
12. snapmirror initialize –S src_hostname:/vol/src_vol/src_qtree
13. dst_hostname:/vol/dst_vol/dst_qtree

19. While doing baseline transfer you’re getting an error message. What are the troubleshooting steps you’ll do?

1. Check both the hosts are reachable by running the “ping” command
2. Check whether the TCP port 10566 & 10565 are open from the firewall
3. Check whether the snapmirror license is installed in both filers

20. Explain the different types of replication modes..?

1. The SnapMirror Async mode replicates Snapshot copies from a source volume or qtree to a destination. It will support to replicate more than 800Kms Long. volume or qtree. Incremental updates are based on a schedule or are performed manually using the snapmirror update command. Async mode works with both volume SnapMirror and qtree SnapMirror.
2. SnapMirror Sync mode replicates writes from a source volume to a destination volume at the same time it is written to the source volume. SnapMirror Sync is used in environments that have zero tolerance for data loss. it will note support more than 300Kms long.
3. SnapMirror Semi-Sync provides a middle-ground solution that keeps the source and destination systems more closely synchronized than Async mode, but with less impact on performance.

21. How do you configure multiple paths in Snapmirror?

1. Add a connection name line in the snapmirror.conf file
2. /etc/snapmirror.conf
3. FAS1_conf = multi (FAS1-e0a,FAS2-e0a) (FAS1-e0b,FAS2-e0b)

22. Explain how De-Duplication works?

In the context of disk storage, De-duplication refers to any algorithm that searches for duplicate data objects (for example, blocks, chunks, files) and discards those duplicates. When duplicate data is detected, it is not retained, but instead, a “data pointer” is modified so that the storage system references an exact copy of the data object already stored on the disk. This De-duplication feature works well with datasets that have lots of duplicated data (for example, full backups).

23. What is the command used to see the amount of space saved using De-duplication?

df –s

24. Command used to check progress and status of De-duplication?

sis status

25. How do you set up the Snapvault Snapshot schedule?

pri> snapvault snap sched vol1 sv_hourly 22@0-22

1. This schedule is for the home directories volume vol1
2. Creates hourly Snapshot copies, except 11:00 p.m.
3. Keeps nearly a full day of hourly copies

26. What is metadata?

Metadata is defined as data providing information about one or more aspects of the data

1. Inode file
2. Used block bitmap file
3. Free block bitmap file
    

27. How do you shut down filer through RLM?

ssh “rlm ip address”
RLM_Netapp> system power on

28. After creating LUN (iSCSI) & mapped the LUN to a particular igroup, the client not able to access the LUN. What are the troubleshooting steps you take?

1. Check whether IQN number specified is correct
2. Check whether the created LUN is in “restrict” mode
3. Check the iscsi status
4. Un-map and map the LUN once again
5. Check Network connectivity communication

29. In CIFS how do you check who is using most?

cifs top

30. What is VServer?

A Vserver is defined as a logical container that holds the volumes. A 7 mode vfiler is called a vserver in Clustered mode.  

31. What is a junction path?

This is a new term in cluster mode and this is used for mounting. Volume junctions are a way to join individual volumes together into a single, logical namespace to enable data access to NAS clients.

32. How to check cifs performance statistics.?

cifs stat

Netapp Interview Questions for Experienced

33. What do you do if a customer reports a particular CIFS share is responding slow?

1. Check the r/w using “cifs stat” & “sysstat -x 1”.
2. If disk & cpu utilization is more then the problem is with the filer side only.
3. CPU utilization will be high if more disk r/w time, i.e., during tape backup & also during scrub activities.

34. What is the diff bet the cf takeover and cf force takeover?

If partner shelf power is off, if you try to take over it will not take. if you do as force using (-f) it will work

35. What is LIF?

LIF ( Logical interface) :
As the name suggests it's a logical interface that is created from the physical interface of NetApp controllers.

36. What are infinite volumes?

NetApp Infinite Volume is a software abstraction hosted over clustered Data ONTAP

37. What is the difference between NAS & SAN?

The main difference between NAS and SAN is that NAS is Ethernet-based while SAN is Fabric-based.

1. NAS- Network Attached Storage
2. It enters data on file level and develops space to host in the form of the folder of shared networks.
3. SAN- Storage Area Network
4. It enters data on block level and develops space to host in the form of a disk.

38. What is Network Attached Storage (NAS)?

Network Attached Storage is nothing but hard disk storage, which is having its own network address and not being attached to the computer department, which serves applications to a user’s of network’s workstation. Both application files and programming can be served faster, this is done by removing management and storage access from the department server because they are not competing for the resources of the same processor. The NAS device is assigned an IP address and attached to the local area network. The file request is sent to the NAS file server by the main server. NAS consists of multi-disk RAID systems, software for mapping and configuring file locations to the NAS, and hard disk storage.

39. What is Storage Area Network (SAN)?

SAN is a special purpose high-speed network,  which connects various kinds of data storage devices with data servers on behalf of the users of larger networks. SAN supports retrieval and archival of data, restore and backup, disk mirroring, sharing of data, and data migration from one device to another. SAN is a part of the overall network of resources of computing for an enterprise. It can incorporate subnetworks with NAS systems.

40. How to improve the Netapp storage performance?

1. If volume/lun present in ATA/SATA hard disk aggregate, then the volume can be migrated to FC/SAS disk aggregate.
   For NFS/CIFS instead of accessing from a single interface, multi-mode vif can be configured to get better bandwidth and fault tolerance.
2. Always advised keeping aggr/vol utilization below 90%.
3. Avoid doing multiple volume backups at a single point in time.
4. Aggr/volume/lun reallocation can be done to redistribute the data to multiple disks for better striping performance.
5. Schedule scrubbing and deduplication scanning after business hours.
6. Avoid connecting different types of shelf in the same loop.
7. Avoid mixing up different speeds of disk and different types of the disk in the same aggregate.
8. Always keep sufficient spare disk to replace in case of disk failure. Because reconstruction time will take more time and cause negative performance.
9. Keep the advised version of firmware/software which is recommended by Netapp.
10. Better to have near-store functionality to avoid backing up data from the source filer.

41. What is an HBA?

HBA is a Host Bus Adapters that are needed to connect the server to the storage.

42. What is storage virtualization?

Storage virtualization is the process of uniting multiple devices of network storage into a single storage unit.

43. Did you ever do ontap upgrade? From which version to which version and for what reason?

Yes, I have done ontap upgrade from version 7.2.6.1 to 7.3.3 due to a lot of bugs in the old version.

44. How do you create a lun?

lun create -s -t

45. How do you monitor the filers?

Using DFM(Data Fabric Manager) or also using SNMP you can monitor the filer. Using any monitoring systems like .i.e.Nagios

Netapp FAQs

46. What are the prerequisites for a cluster?

1. cluster interconnect cable should be connected.
2. shelf connect should be properly done for both the controllers with Path1 and Path2
3. cluster license should be enabled on both the nodes
4. Interfaces should be properly configured for failover
5. the cluster should be enabled

47. What is zoning?

It is a managed service of fabric that can be used to create logical subsets of devices within a SAN. It allows portioning of resources for access control and management purpose.

48. Explain the different types of replication modes?

1. SnapMirror semi-sync: It offers a middle ground solution that keeps the destination and source systems more synchronized than the Async mode, but it will focus less on performance.
2. SnapMirror Sync mode: At the same time, It performs a write function from a source volume to a destination volume. This mode is used in a case,  where there is zero-tolerance for data loss.
3. SnapMirror Async mode: It transfers snapshot copies from either qtree or source volume to a destination. Using the snapmirror update command, rising updates are performed manually or based on a schedule. It performs with both Qtree snapmirror and volume snapmirror.

49. What are the raid groups Netapp supporting? what is the difference between them?

Raid_dp(double parity,diagonal parity) ,raid4(striping&dedicated parity)

50. What is the difference between ndmp copy and vol copy?

1. Ndmp copy –network data management protocol(used for tape backup)
2. Vol copy – is used to transfer volume to same or another aggr

HTTP://NETAPPLINES.BLOGSPOT.IN/2012/05/COMPARISON-OF-VOL-COPY-NDMPCOPY-AND.HTML

51. What are the steps need to perform to configure SnapMirror?

The SnapMirror configuration process consists of the following four steps:

1. Install the SnapMirror license on the source and destination systems: license add
2. On the source, specify the hostname or IP address of the SnapMirror destination systems you wish to authorize to replicate this source system.
   options snapmirror.access host=dst_hostname1,dst_hostname2
3. For each source volume or qtree to replicate, perform an initial baseline transfer. For volume SnapMirror,
   restrict the destination volume first: vol restrict dst_vol
   Then initialize the volume SnapMirror baseline, using the following syntax on the destination:
   snapmirror initialize -S src_hostname:src_v
   oldst_hostname:dst_vol
   For a qtree SnapMirror baseline transfer, use the following syntax on the destination:
   snapmirror initialize –S src_hostname:/vol/src_vol/src_qtree
   dst_hostname:/vol/dst_vol/dst_qtree
   d) After the initial transfer completes, set the SnapMirror mode of replication by creating the
   /etc/snapmirror.conf file in the destination’s root volume.

For reference:

HTTP://NETAPPLINES.BLOGSPOT.IN/2012/01/SNAPMIRROR-SCHEDULE-CONFIGURATION.HTML
HTTP://NETAPPLINES.BLOGSPOT.IN/2011/11/SNAPMIRROR-PRIMARY-CONF.HTML
HTTP://NETAPPLINES.BLOGSPOT.IN/2011/11/SNAPMIRROR-SECONDARY-CONF.HTML

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52. what is a degraded mode? If you don’t have parity for failed disks then?

If the spare disk is not added within 24hours, then the filer will be shut down automatically to avoid further disk failures and data loss.

53. Which two cp types would indicate a busy storage system?

1. cp_from_log_full
2. cp_from_cp