To leverage version-flexible SnapMirror replication, you must use a relationship of type XDP (Cross-cluster Data Protection). The relationship type is defined only when the SnapMirror relationship is created and cannot be modified later. Therefore, to switch an existing DP (Data Protection) relationship to XDP, the administrator must first delete the original DP relationship and then create a new one, explicitly specifying the -type as XDP. This process enables replication between clusters running different supported versions of ONTAP software.

A. ONTAP does not automatically convert SnapMirror relationship types during a software upgrade. This change requires explicit administrative action to avoid unintended replication behavior.

B. The snapmirror resync command is used to re-synchronize data for an existing broken relationship, but it does not have an option to change the relationship's fundamental type.

C. This action is the opposite of the goal. A DP-type relationship is version-dependent, whereas an XDP-type relationship is required for version-flexible replication.

1. NetApp ONTAP 9.12.1 Documentation, "Data protection with SnapMirror," Section: "Transition from SnapMirror DP to SnapMirror XDP."

This section explicitly states the procedure: "You can transition from a SnapMirror DP relationship to a SnapMirror XDP relationship by deleting the SnapMirror DP relationship and then creating a SnapMirror XDP relationship between the source and destination volumes."

2. NetApp ONTAP 9.12.1 Documentation, "ONTAP commands," snapmirror create manual page.

The command syntax shows that the -type {DP|XDP|LS} parameter is set at the time of creation. It is not listed as a modifiable parameter in the snapmirror modify command, confirming that the type cannot be changed on an existing relationship.

3. NetApp Technical Report TR-4015, "SnapMirror Configuration and Best Practices Guide for ONTAP 9," Section: "SnapMirror Version-Independent Relationships."

This report details that "Version-independent SnapMirror relationships are also known as XDP relationships... If you want to convert a DP relationship to an XDP relationship, you must delete the DP relationship and create a new XDP relationship." This confirms the required procedure.