BlueXP tiering is the NetApp service specifically designed to address this scenario. It automatically identifies and moves inactive ("cold") data blocks from a high-performance on-premises ONTAP system, such as an AFF, to a lower-cost object storage tier in the cloud or on-premises (NetApp StorageGRID). This process frees up valuable space on the primary flash storage for active data. The tiered data remains transparently accessible to users and applications, as ONTAP maintains pointers to the data's new location in the object store. This provides a cost-effective solution for managing data across its lifecycle without disrupting access.

B. Cloud Volumes ONTAP: This is a full ONTAP instance running in a public cloud, used for primary workloads or disaster recovery, not a service for tiering data from an on-premises system.

C. BlueXP backup and recovery: This service creates point-in-time backup copies of data for protection and recovery purposes. It does not provide transparent, live access to inactive data within the primary volume.

D. BlueXP edge caching: This solution (formerly Global File Cache) caches active data at remote offices to accelerate file access for distributed teams, rather than tiering inactive data off a central system.

1. NetApp BlueXP tiering documentation, "What is BlueXP tiering?": "BlueXP tiering frees up space on your high-performance on-premises ONTAP clusters by tiering inactive data to low-cost object storage. The data is still accessible from your cluster—you don't need to make any changes to your applications."

Source: NetApp Product Documentation. Retrieved from: https://docs.netapp.com/us-en/bluexp-tiering/concept-overview.html

2. NetApp BlueXP backup and recovery documentation, "What is BlueXP backup and recovery?": "BlueXP backup and recovery is a backup and restore service that's integrated with BlueXP. It delivers backup and restore capabilities for application-consistent data protection of your ONTAP and other data."

Source: NetApp Product Documentation. Retrieved from: https://docs.netapp.com/us-en/bluexp-backup-recovery/concept-overview.html

3. NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP documentation, "What is Cloud Volumes ONTAP?": "Cloud Volumes ONTAP is a software-only storage appliance that runs the ONTAP data management software in AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud."

Source: NetApp Product Documentation. Retrieved from: https://docs.netapp.com/us-en/bluexp-cloud-volumes-ontap/concept-overview.html

4. NetApp BlueXP edge caching documentation, "What is BlueXP edge caching?": "BlueXP edge caching provides a software-only solution that you deploy in your remote offices to enable real-time access to centralized data."

Source: NetApp Product Documentation. Retrieved from: https://docs.netapp.com/us-en/bluexp-edge-caching/concept-overview.html