NS0-593 NetApp Certified Support Engineer ONTAP Specialist Question and Answers

= ONTAP Select supports REST and Ansible as automation methods. REST is the primary foundation for the automation technologies, and Ansible is a popular tool for automating ONTAP Select deployments using roles and playbooks. References = ONTAP Automation documentation, Automate ONTAP Select deployments with Ansible

= To prevent file ID conflicts in a FlexGroup volume, you need to enable 64-bit NFSv3 and NFSv4 identifiers on the SVM that hosts the FlexGroup volume. This allows the SVM to use 64-bit file system IDs (FSIDs) and file IDs, which are unique across the cluster and can accommodate a large number of files. The -v3-64bit-identifiers and -v4-64bit-identifiers parameters enable this feature for NFSv3 and NFSv4 protocols respectively. References = Editing FlexGroup volumes, Enabling 64-bit NFSv3 identifiers on an SVM, NetApp ONTAP FlexGroup volumes — Best practices and implementation guide

= The cause of the customer’s problem is that the port has an incorrect SFP inserted. According to the AutoSupport data, the node 1 has a device type of XL710 BQ, which is a 40GbE adapter that requires a QSFP+ transceiver1. However, the part number of the adapter is 111-02590, which is a 10GbE adapter that requires a SFP+ transceiver2. This mismatch prevents the link from coming up on node 1. The customer should replace the adapter with the correct one or use a compatible transceiver for the existing adapter. References = 1: NetApp Hardware Universe - X1144A 2: NetApp Hardware Universe - X1147A

The error message indicates that the access is denied for user ‘anonymous user’ (Vserver 50), from client IP 10.10.10.10 accessing resource ‘/offload-target’. This means that the application is not providing a valid user name or access key to authenticate with the ONTAP S3 server. According to the NetApp documentation1, ONTAP S3 server supports both v2 and v4 signatures, but v2 signatures are deprecated and not recommended. Therefore, the application should use v4 signatures to access the ONTAP S3 bucket. Additionally, the application should specify the bucket name in the host name, not in the resource path, as shown in the following example2:

https://bucket-name.s3-server-name.com/object-name

References = 1 ONTAP S3 Server Overview - NetApp Documentation 2 Accessing an ONTAP S3 bucket - NetApp Documentation

 According to the NetApp Knowledge Base, packet traces are stored in the /etc/log/packet_traces directory of the node hosting the LIF. This applies to ONTAP 9.10 and above systems. For ONTAP 9.2 to 9.9 systems, the procedure to capture packet traces is similar, but the command syntax is slightly different. For ONTAP pre-9.2 systems, the procedure is different and requires the use of the tcpdump command. References = How to capture packet traces on ONTAP 9.10+ systems, How to capture packet traces (tcpdump) on ONTAP 9.2 to 9.9 systems, How to capture packet traces in ONTAP pre-9.2

• The error message “wafl.cp.toolong:error” indicates that a WAFL consistency point (CP) took longer than 30 seconds to complete. A CP is a process that flushes the data from the NVRAM buffer to the disk. A long CP can cause latency and performance issues for the system1
• One possible cause for a long CP is excessive SSD load causing the wear leveling to become unbalanced. Wear leveling is a technique that distributes the write operations evenly across the SSD cells to extend the lifespan of the SSD. If some SSD cells are written more frequently than others, the wear leveling will become unbalanced and the SSD performance will degrade2
• Another possible cause for a long CP is an SSD disk performing garbage collection to create a dense data layout. Garbage collection is a process that reclaims the space occupied by invalid or deleted data on the SSD. Garbage collection can improve the write performance and storage efficiency of the SSD, but it can also consume CPU and disk resources and cause long CPs3
• A disk failing or being failed is not a likely cause for a long CP, because the system will automatically mark the disk as failed and remove it from the aggregate. The system will also initiate a disk reconstruction or a RAID scrub to restore the data protection and redundancy4
• There is no evidence that the system has SATA HDDs, so there is no reason to assume that there is excessive SATA HDD load. Moreover, SATA HDDs are usually used for secondary or backup storage, not for primary or performance-sensitive workloads5

References:

1: Are long Consistency Points (wafl.cp.toolong) normal? - NetApp Knowledge Base 2: How to troubleshoot SSD performance issues - NetApp Knowledge Base 3: How to troubleshoot SSD garbage collection issues - NetApp Knowledge Base 4: How to troubleshoot disk failures and replacements - NetApp Knowledge Base 5: ONTAP 9 - Hardware Universe - The Open Group

Here is my reasoning:

• The system node hardware unified-connect show command displays the status and configuration of the Unified Connect ports on a node1. This command can help you identify if the ports are configured correctly and if they have any errors or faults.
• The ports 0e and 0f on the AFF A300 are 10GbE ports that support both Ethernet and Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) protocols2. These ports are part of the Unified Connect feature, which enables you to use the same physical port for different protocols without requiring additional hardware3.
• If the ports are offline, it could indicate a problem with the port configuration, the cable connection, the switch configuration, or the protocol settings. The system node hardware unified-connect show command can help you troubleshoot these issues by showing you the port mode, speed, duplex, state, and error count1.
• The other commands in the options are not as helpful for troubleshooting the port issue, because they show different information that is not related to the Unified Connect feature or the port status. For example:

Here are some references that might help you:

1: system node hardware unified-connect show - NetApp 2: AFF A300 system installation - NetApp 3: Unified Connect - NetApp 4: vserver fcp wwpn-alias show - NetApp 5: storage port show - NetApp 6: vserver fcp interface show - NetApp

 FlexGroup requires CIFS shares to use the Continuously Available Feature, which enables transparent failover and recovery of SMB sessions in the event of a node failure or takeover. This feature is only supported by Windows 8 and later clients, and some printers and scanners may not support it either. Therefore, these older Windows XP clients and some printers and scanners are unable to access a FlexGroup over CIFS. References = Supported and unsupported configurations for FlexGroup volumes, NetApp ONTAP FlexGroup volumes — Best practices and implementation guide (page 24)

= The FIFO message before NMI is useful for investigating the issue because it shows the state of the system before the non-maskable interrupt (NMI) was triggered by the L2 watchdog timeout. The FIFO message contains information about the CPU registers, the stack pointer, the instruction pointer, and the last executed instructions. This can help identify the cause of the system hang or deadlock that led to the watchdog reset. The other FIFO messages are not useful because they show the state of the system after the reset or shutdown, which may not reflect the original problem. References = https://kb.netapp.com/onprem/ontap/hardware/Handling_L2_Watchdog_Resets_on_the_FAS8200_and_AFF_A300_platforms

https://docs.netapp.com/us-en/ontap-metrocluster/install-ip/task_sw_config_restore_defaults.html

= The NetApp sanlun command is a tool that returns information about the LUNs mapped to your host, multipathing, and information necessary to create initiator groups. It is part of the Linux Unified Host Utilities package, which also includes other tools to manage NetApp storage, such as failover policies and physical paths. To run the sanlun command, you must install the Host Utilities package on your Linux host. The other options are not relevant for this scenario, as they are either not required or not compatible with the Linux host. References = Install Linux Unified Host Utilities 7.1, SAN Toolkit

• Having an Essentials package enables you to convert to another licensing option. This is true because the Essentials package is a capacity-based licensing option that allows you to pay for Cloud Volumes ONTAP per TiB of capacity. You can switch to another capacity-based package or to a Keystone Flex Subscription at any time1.
• BYOL licenses are purchased directly from NetApp. This is true because BYOL stands for Bring Your Own License, which means you need to obtain a license from NetApp before deploying Cloud Volumes ONTAP systems in any cloud provider2.
• Capacity-based license packages support only single-node configurations. This is false because capacity-based license packages support both single-node and HA configurations1.
• AWS Marketplace contracts cannot be mixed with BYOL. This is false because you can mix AWS Marketplace contracts with BYOL as long as the license type matches the instance type3. References: 1: Cloud Volumes ONTAP licensing | NetApp Documentation 2: Set up licensing for Cloud Volumes ONTAP in Google Cloud - NetApp 3: Set up licensing for Cloud Volumes ONTAP in AWS - NetApp

According to the SAS cabling rules and concepts for shelves with IOM12/IOM12B modules1, one of the goals is to provide a single, easily understood universal algorithm for all SAS products and configurations. One of the rules is that of the two paths to a single disk storage stack from a single node, one should connect to the top and one to the bottom of the storage stack. This ensures maximum possible resilience and minimizes the reliance on controller takeovers. The exhibit shows that both SAS connections from one controller go to the same shelf, which violates this rule and causes the error message. This situation is not normal for a FAS2750 single-node system and can reduce reliability and availability. The cables should be reconnected according to the SAS cabling rules and the controller-to-stack cabling worksheet template for quad-pathed connectivity2. References = SAS cabling rules and concepts - shelves with IOM12/IOM12B modules, SAS cabling issue: Both SAS connections from one controller go to the same shelf, Controller-to-stack cabling worksheet template for quad-pathed connectivity.

• The question refers to a MetroCluster configuration, which is a disaster recovery solution that uses two physically separated, mirrored clusters1.
• The exhibit shows a MetroCluster switchover scenario, where Site A has experienced a disaster and Site B has taken over the tasks of Site A2.
• To return the MetroCluster to a normal state, you need to perform a MetroCluster switchback operation, which reverses the switchover and activates the original sync-source storage virtual machines (SVMs) on Site A3.
• To perform a MetroCluster switchback, you need to enter the metrocluster switchback command on the cluster that was the source of the switchover, which is Site A in this case3.
• The other options are not correct, because:
• Understanding MetroCluster data protection and disaster recovery - NetApp
• Perform IP MetroCluster switchover and switchback - NetApp
• Performing a switchback - NetApp
• High-availability configuration - NetApp

 The two throughput elements that are controlled by host applications are operation size and concurrency. Operation size refers to the amount of data that is transferred in a single I/O request, and concurrency refers to the number of I/O requests that are issued simultaneously. Both of these factors affect the throughput of a host application, as they determine how much data can be sent or received within a given time period. Larger operation sizes and higher concurrency can increase the throughput, but they may also increase the latency and resource consumption12. References: 1: NetApp Performance Analysis on Data ONTAP - Chapter 3: Host-Side Performance 2: NetApp Performance Analysis on Data ONTAP - Chapter 4: Storage System Performance

 To assign storage access to an NVMe protocol host, you need to configure the following objects:

• The NVMe subsystem, which is a logical entity that represents a group of NVMe namespaces that can be accessed by one or more hosts1.
• An NVMe LIF, which is a logical interface that provides network connectivity for the NVMe subsystem2.
• The NVMe namespace, which is a logical volume that is exposed to the host as an NVMe device1.

You do not need to configure the NVMe broadcast domain or the NVMe LUN, as these are not relevant for NVMe protocol host access. References = 1: Configuring NVMe-oF - Hitachi Vantara Knowledge 2: Basic VMware NVMe Architecture and Components