BlueXP Ransomware Protection leverages the underlying scanning and data analysis engine of BlueXP Classification. To detect a potential ransomware attack, the service must first be able to scan file shares and analyze user activity for anomalies, such as rapid, widespread file encryption. Enabling BlueXP Classification on the Cloud Volumes ONTAP (CVO) working environment is the mandatory first step, as it provides the core technology required for the ransomware protection feature to function and identify threats.

A. BlueXP Tiering Feature: This feature is for data lifecycle management, moving inactive data to lower-cost object storage, and is not a prerequisite for ransomware detection.

B. BlueXP Copy and Sync: This service is used for replicating or synchronizing data between different storage systems and is independent of the ransomware protection feature.

C. BlueXP Observability: This provides monitoring, health, and performance metrics for the storage environment but does not provide the file-level scanning needed for ransomware protection.

1. NetApp BlueXP Documentation: Get started with ransomware protection.

Reference: In the "Steps" section, the first instruction states: "Enable BlueXP classification on the working environment if it's not already enabled." The document further clarifies, "BlueXP's ransomware protection feature uses BlueXP classification's technology to scan your volumes to detect evidence of a ransomware attack." This directly establishes Classification as the prerequisite.

2. NetApp BlueXP Documentation: Ransomware protection.

Reference: Under the "How it works" section, it is explained that the feature "uses the BlueXP classification service to scan your volumes" to detect potential attacks. This reinforces that the classification service is the foundational component.