The customer has two primary requirements: creating application-consistent backups for an Oracle database and offloading these backups to the cloud.

NetApp SnapCenter is the solution for the first requirement. It integrates directly with Oracle databases using a dedicated plug-in to quiesce the application, ensuring that snapshots are transactionally consistent and viable for recovery.

NetApp FabricPool addresses the second requirement. It automatically tiers inactive (cold) data blocks from a high-performance AFF aggregate to a lower-cost cloud object store. Data blocks belonging exclusively to older snapshot copies are considered cold and are tiered, effectively offloading the backup data to the cloud while maintaining seamless access.

B. Flash Pool: This technology creates a hybrid aggregate using SSDs and HDDs on-premises for performance caching; it does not involve cloud tiering.

D. FlexClone: This feature creates space-efficient, writable copies of volumes for development or testing, not for creating primary backups or offloading them to the cloud.

1. NetApp Technical Report 4614: SnapCenter Best Practices.

Section 3.1, "SnapCenter Plug-in for Oracle Database," states, "The SnapCenter Plug-in for Oracle Database is a host-side software suite that enables application-consistent data protection for Oracle databases on NetApp storage." This confirms SnapCenter's role in application-consistent backups.

2. NetApp Technical Report 4598: FabricPool Best Practices with ONTAP.

Section 5.1, "Backup and Archive," explains, "FabricPool is an excellent technology for reducing the cost of storing long-term backups on-premises... When snapshots are created for backup purposes, the data blocks associated with those snapshots can be tiered to the cloud tier." This validates FabricPool for offloading backups.

3. NetApp ONTAP 9.11.1 Documentation, "Data protection using FabricPool."

The documentation states, "You can use FabricPool to tier Snapshot copies to the cloud tier... When you create a Snapshot copy of a volume in a FabricPool aggregate, the Snapshot copy is stored on the performance tier. The data in the Snapshot copy is tiered to the cloud tier when it becomes cold." This directly supports using FabricPool to offload snapshot-based backups.