A Dynamic Disk Pool (DDP) in a NetApp E-Series storage array requires a minimum of 11 physical drives for its initial creation. This requirement is fundamental to the DDP architecture, which allocates the drive space for user data, distributed parity, and reserved capacity for reconstruction and preservation. The system uses these 11 drives to establish the initial pool structure, ensuring there is enough capacity to begin operations and maintain data protection and availability in the event of a drive failure. Attempting to create a DDP with fewer than 11 drives will result in an error in SANtricity System Manager.

A. 12: While a DDP can be created with 12 drives, this is not the minimum number required by the SANtricity operating system.

B. 8: Eight drives are insufficient to meet the architectural requirements for data, parity, and reserved capacity needed to initialize a DDP.

C. 3: Three drives are a common minimum for traditional RAID 5, but this quantity is far below the minimum needed for a Dynamic Disk Pool.

1. NetApp E-Series SANtricity 11.7 System Manager

Online Documentation: In the section "Create volume group or disk pool

" the prerequisites state

"For a dynamic disk pool

you need at least 11 drives of the same media type and security type."

2. NetApp Technical Report TR-4090

"Dynamic Disk Pools on NetApp E-Series": In Section 3.1

"Creating a Dynamic Disk Pool

" the document specifies

"A DDP requires a minimum of 11 drives to be created." (Page 7).

3. NetApp E-Series SANtricity Command Line Interface (CLI) and API Guide

Version 11.70: The documentation for the create diskPool command implicitly requires a drive count that satisfies the minimum pool size

which is established as 11 drives in the architecture.

To enable iSCSI multipathing between a Windows host and a NetApp E-Series system, two fundamental actions are required. First, IP-based connectivity must be established. This involves configuring iSCSI IP addresses on both the E-Series controller ports (targets) and the network ports on the Windows host (initiator). Second, the NetApp SANtricity Host Utilities must be installed on the Windows host. This software package includes the necessary Device Specific Module (DSM) for Microsoft Multipath I/O (MPIO), which allows Windows to properly recognize and manage multiple paths to the E-Series storage, enabling failover and load balancing.

C. Create two VSANs on the iSCSI switches:

VSANs (Virtual SANs) are a Fibre Channel (FC) fabric technology used for zoning and isolation; the equivalent concept in an IP network for iSCSI is VLANs.

D. Install a Host Channel Adapter (HCA) on the Windows host:

Host Channel Adapters (HCAs) are network adapters used for InfiniBand technology. iSCSI uses standard Network Interface Cards (NICs) or iSCSI Host Bus Adapters (HBAs).

1. NetApp E-Series SANtricity 11.70 Express Windows Configuration Guide

Page 11

"Step 2: Install host software": "You must install the SANtricity Storage Manager host software (which includes the multipath driver) on each host that connects to the storage array. The multipath driver is required for failover protection." This supports answer B.

2. NetApp E-Series SANtricity 11.70 Express Windows Configuration Guide

Page 16

"Step 5: Configure iSCSI ports": This section details the procedure for configuring IPv4 or IPv6 addresses on the E-Series controller iSCSI ports. This supports the E-Series side of answer A.

3. NetApp E-Series SANtricity 11.70 Express Windows Configuration Guide

Page 20

"Step 7: Configure host ports": This section describes configuring the iSCSI initiator service and network ports on the Windows host

which includes IP address assignment. This supports the Windows host side of answer A.

4. TR-4684: NetApp E-Series with Microsoft Windows MPIO Best Practices

Page 6

"Windows Host Utilities": "The Windows Host Utilities install the NetApp SANtricity DSM for Microsoft MPIO. The DSM is required for multipath and failover." This re-confirms the necessity of answer B.

Brocade Web Tools is the native, embedded graphical user interface (GUI) for managing individual Brocade switches and directors running Fabric OS (FOS). It is accessed by navigating to the switch's IP address in a web browser. Web Tools provides a comprehensive set of features for configuration, zoning, monitoring, and troubleshooting a single switch. It serves as the primary graphical alternative to the command-line interface (CLI) for on-box management, offering a visual representation of the switch, its ports, and connectivity.

A. SAN Manager: This is a generic term. While NetApp has tools that manage SAN environments, it is not the name of the native Brocade switch GUI.

B. Enterprise Fabric Services: This refers to a suite of licensed advanced features within Fabric OS, such as Fabric Vision, but it is not the management tool itself.

C. Device Manager: This was a component within the larger Brocade Network Advisor (BNA) management platform, used to launch an element manager, not the native, on-board GUI.

1. Broadcom Inc.

Brocade Fabric OS Administration Guide

9.1.x

FOS-91x-ADMIN-GUIDE

Page 371

Chapter 15 "Brocade Web Tools": "Brocade Web Tools is an embedded graphical user interface (GUI) that enables you to monitor and manage single switches and fabrics. You can perform most of the switch management tasks from Web Tools that you can from the command-line interface (CLI)."

2. NetApp

TR-4080 SAN Configuration Guide

Page 18

Section 2.3.1 "Brocade Switch Initial Setup": "After the IP address is set

you can access the switch through a web browser by entering the IP address. This action launches the Brocade Web Tools management interface." This document

relevant to NetApp environments

explicitly identifies Web Tools as the tool for initial GUI-based configuration.

When expanding an existing Dynamic Disk Pool (DDP), SANtricity enforces specific rules to maintain data integrity and pool consistency. The new drives must have a compatible security type; for example, you cannot mix Full Disk Encryption (FDE) drives with non-encrypting drives within the same pool. Additionally, the new drives must have a capacity that is equal to or greater than the capacity of the smallest drive currently in the DDP. If a larger capacity drive is added, only a portion of its capacity equivalent to the other drives will be utilized by the pool.

C. if the drives are from the same manufacturer: This is not a requirement. As long as the drives are qualified for the E-Series system and meet other criteria, they can be from different manufacturers.

D. if the drives have the same firmware level: While recommended for consistency, this is not a strict prerequisite. SANtricity manages drive firmware and can operate with drives at different compatible firmware levels.

1. NetApp E-Series SANtricity 11.70 System Manager Online Help

Section: "Add drives to a volume group or disk pool".

The documentation states: "You can add drives of the same media type

security type

and sector size. You can add drives that have a larger capacity than the existing drives in the disk pool

but the additional capacity is not used." This directly supports options A and B.

2. NetApp Technical Report TR-4768: E-Series Best Practices for Performance and Availability

Section 3.2

"Dynamic Disk Pools".

This report details DDP configuration guidelines

emphasizing the importance of matching drive attributes. It notes: "All drives in a DDP must be of the same security type (FDE

FIPS

or unsecured)." It also implicitly supports the capacity rule as a fundamental aspect of pool expansion.

3. NetApp E-Series and EF-Series SANtricity 11.80 Command Line Interface (CLI) and API Guide

Page 131

add drives to diskPool command.

The guide for the CLI command to add drives specifies the constraints for the operation

which include matching drive security and interface types. The capacity rules are an inherent part of the DDP algorithm managed by the controller.

Setting up asynchronous mirroring between two NetApp E-Series systems requires specific licensing and management prerequisites. First, the Asynchronous Mirroring premium feature must be licensed and enabled on both the primary (local) and secondary (remote) storage arrays. This ensures both systems have the necessary software capabilities to participate in the replication relationship. Second, a centralized management application, either the legacy Enterprise Management Window (EMW) or the modern SANtricity Unified Manager, must be used. This is because creating a mirrored pair is an operation that spans two independent arrays, and a centralized tool is necessary to discover, manage, and configure the relationship between them.

A. The systems require IP connectivity for iSCSI-based mirroring, but they do not need to be on the same subnet. Standard IP routing between different subnets is sufficient.

D. The secondary volume must have a capacity equal to or greater than the primary volume, but there is no requirement for the entire secondary system to have double the capacity.

1. NetApp E-Series SANtricity 11.5 Remote Mirroring Express Guide

Page 6

"Prerequisites":

"The remote mirroring premium feature must be enabled on both the local and remote storage arrays." (Supports Answer B)

"Both storage arrays must be discovered in SANtricity Enterprise Management Window (EMW) or SANtricity Unified Manager." (Supports Answer C)

"The remote storage array must have a volume of equal or greater capacity than the primary volume to act as the secondary volume." (Refutes Answer D)

2. NetApp SANtricity System Manager 11.70 Online Help

Topic: "Create mirrored pair - prerequisites":

"The Asynchronous Mirroring premium feature is enabled on both the local storage array and the remote storage array." (Supports Answer B)

"Both storage arrays are discovered in SANtricity Unified Manager." (Supports Answer C)

"An iSCSI connection exists between the two storage arrays." (This section details configuring IP ports but does not mandate the same subnet

refuting Answer A).