When a FlexClone volume is replicated using SnapMirror, the destination volume becomes a standard, independent volume. It does not inherit the space-saving block-sharing relationship from its parent on the source cluster. This results in the destination volume consuming the full amount of space for its data, leading to significantly higher disk usage. To replicate the space efficiency of the source, the correct procedure is to replicate the parent volume to the DR site and then create FlexClone copies from the replicated parent volume on the destination cluster. This action recreates the space-efficient architecture and minimizes disk usage.

A. Consolidating volumes onto a single aggregate does not address the fundamental issue of SnapMirror creating full-size copies of the FlexClone volumes.

B. Distributing volumes across aggregates is a best practice for performance and capacity balancing, but it does not reduce the total storage space consumed.

C. SnapMirror network compression reduces the bandwidth required for replication but has no effect on the amount of storage space the data occupies on the destination cluster's disks.

1. NetApp, TR-4015: SnapMirror Configuration and Best Practices Guide for ONTAP 9.11.1, Page 31, Section 5.1, "FlexClone Volumes".

The document states: "When you replicate a FlexClone volume, the destination volume is a regular volume that is not a FlexClone volume. It consumes space for all its data... To preserve the space-saving benefits of FlexClone technology at the DR site, you can replicate the parent volume of the FlexClone volume and then create a FlexClone volume of the destination volume." This directly supports the chosen answer.

2. NetApp ONTAP 9 Documentation Center, "Replicate FlexClone volumes".

The official documentation outlines the procedure: "To preserve the space-saving benefits of FlexClone technology at the disaster recovery (DR) site, you can replicate the parent volume of the FlexClone volume and then create a FlexClone volume of the destination volume." This confirms that creating FlexClones on the DR side is the sanctioned method to maintain space efficiency.