NetApp ONTAP ─ put it all on the shelves
NetApp ONTAP Cloud is a software subscription solution. NetApp ONTAP storage combines client data management with a powerful enterprise-level data warehouse software solution. Over the past year, ONTAP versions 9 and 9.2 have been described in sufficient detail and detail. However, there is a certain lack of basic information about the technologies themselves, ─ especially for new users. Their brief description is given in this article.
Before turning to technical details, it is curious to consider some versions of the origin of ONTAP itself. In his NetApp community, someone, hiding behind the nickname NetApp_Staff, chose to laugh it off, although, as you know, in every joke ... That's how he explained the origin of the term .
“Data ONTAP is a kind of acronym. Some acronyms are just pretty. Clearly, the goal is always to invent a particular word, and in many cases they are chosen almost at random. Something like that happened with ONTAP.
The acronym itself made no sense. Moreover, Data ONTAP was inspired by ... beer. The idea was that the data should flow freely, ─ just like beer from a barrel pierced by a tap.
We, at NetApp, like the name, ─ because it perfectly describes how people think about data. They should be there when you need them. ” Add to this that “on tap” also means “ready for immediate use or use; at hand. "
In the comments on this explanation, someone knowledgeable noticed that it was custom in the company’s office to drink a mug or two on Fridays. But, seriously, some wrote that the acronym stands for “Open Network Technology for Appliance Products”.
There was also a version related to the fact that the company symbol (NTAP) is part of ONTAP. Well, that is unlikely. But, since we mentioned the ticker, let's take a look at the NetApp stock price for the entire period after their initial issue.
It's hard to find a more stable company than NetApp. From March 2001 to the present, she did not experience significant shocks.
The Cloud Storage Environment (CSE) on ONTAP Cloud provides the following features.
- Non-destructive, two-node support and high availability counteracts unplanned cloud storage failures.
- Used storage systems NAS and SAN, with support for NFS, CIF and iSCSI.
- Technologies of data deduplication, thin volumes (thin provisioning) and data compression are used.
- Zero-impact NetApp Snapshot technology almost instantly backs up data without requiring additional storage resources.
- NetApp SnapMirror technology integrates hybrid cloud environments by linking on-premises FASs to the ONTAP Cloud.
- Advanced data management tools (OnCommand Management Suite) and their monitoring (OnCommand Insight) are managed from OnCommand System Manager.
- The availability of applications is ensured by their copying through special “availability zones” (availability zones).
How ONTAP Cloud works on AWS
ONTAP Cloud computing and storage resources ─ version of the Data ONTAP virtual machine. It is designed to run on top of Amazon Elastic Cloud Compute (EC2) in various compute instances. See here for more details . In Russian-language IT literature, tracing paper is often used. On Amazon Web Services, they are defined as follows.
Amazon EC2 Instance Types. Amazon EC2 provides a wide variety of instance types that are optimized for different use cases. Instance types include various combinations of components such as processor, memory, storage subsystem, and network capabilities. They allow you to select the appropriate set of resources for applications used by the client. Each type of instance includes one or more of its sizes, which allows you to scale resources in accordance with the requirements of the target workload.
The storage typically uses AWS Elastic Block Storage (EBS). EBS storage volumes create the equivalent of a Data ONTAP storage node that runs in the cloud.
ONTAP Cloud is an Amazon Machine Instance (AMI) variant that is deployed through OnCommand Cloud Manager fromAWS Marketplace *.
AWS Marketplace Homepage Fragment
AWS has cloud-based data centers in many regions around the world. The client can choose for himself the best data center and availability zone in accordance with his requirements. ONTAP Cloud is virtual and can operate in one regional data center, moving, if necessary, to another remote data center. When copying data, SnapMirror technology is used. In this case, data that is managed within the ONTAP Cloud environment is moved.
The EBS repository can be considered similar to the DAS repository for standard servers. In fact, EBS provides “raw storage capacity” for Amazon EC2 servers.
EBS has some features and capabilities that are somewhat wider than what DAS typically offer, but they are still limited and do not contain any data replication tools.
They provide snapshots of storage. These snapshots affect storage performance, and they also create a complete, exact copy of the storage in S3 that the customer pays for.
ONTAP Cloud Storage is a managed storage environment that uses raw EBS storage as the basis for its work. ONTAP Cloud takes over the EBS storage, manages it using the Data ONTAP storage OS and, in addition to the actual storage, provides the following additional features.
- Use of several protocols (NFS, CIF, iSCSI).
- Data Protection ─ Snapshot copies, SnapMirror, SnapVault.
- Storage efficiency ─ Data deduplication, compression, thin provisioning. These features can reduce the number of EBS storage units to buy.
- Management ─ Unified Manager, System Manager, WFA, Insight and others ...
- FlexClone technology.
How FlexClone Technology Works
NetApp Snapshots uses zero-copy technology. It involves operations in which the processor does not perform the task of copying data from one memory area to another. The term is used to describe technologies that help reduce the number of copies between intermediate buffers. See here for more details .
NetApp Snapshots have no effect on performance. Copies only store change data, minimizing the amount of storage consumed.
ONTAP Cloud includes SnapMirror replication software that enables data movement between Data ONTAP placements. Data can be moved from one availability zone to another.
For this, the client needs to have other Data ONTAP environments in the secondary availability zone. This secondary location may be another ONTAP Cloud placement, or it may be a NetApp Private Storage location.
SnapMirror can be used to move data between Data ONTAP platforms, including the directions “data center to cloud”, “cloud to data center” and “between clouds” (or “between cloud regions”).
How it works NetApp Cloud ONTAP
OnCommand Cloud Manager provides a simple, wizard-based interface for deploying and monitoring Storage Virtual Machines on Cloud ONTAP and NetApp Private Storage
OnCommand Cloud Manager enables you to manage your hybrid cloud storage environment, including ONTAP Cloud and clustered platforms on Based on Data ONTAP.
It simplifies the operational management of the “Data Fabric”, including the configuration, support and monitoring of each data storage node, both virtual devices and real physical hardware.
Actually, OnCommand Cloud Manager implements the deployment environment for ONTAP Cloud, which offers installation with a few clicks of the mouse and automatically selects and assigns cloud resources for each case.
Deploying ONTAP Cloud, Cloud Manager uses AWS credentials to select the EC2 virtual machine and EBS storage that match the client’s request.
Various types of AWS credentials include passwords, access keys, multi-factor authentication, key pairs, certificates. See here for more details .
ONTAP Cloud can only be deployed through Cloud Manager. It processes all actions taken to ensure that all AWS resources, ─ both computing and storage, ─ are properly assigned to a specific ONTAP Cloud deployment. Attempting to deploy ONTAP Cloud by any other method will result in a failure from the very beginning.
Cloud Manager is the central point of control for the cloud hybrid environment and can manage the clustered ONTAP environment, regardless of its location. It can work both in the AWS cloud and on-premise in the data center on the client’s site.
There are two main differences between ONTAP Cloud versions, and they depend on how the software was received and installed. OnCommand Cloud Manager is available as AMI on the AWS Marketplace (the AMI version is being deployed for EC2 cloud), or can be downloaded from the NetApp Support website. Cloud Manager is available to NetApp customers for free.
Cloud Manager can be used with any clustered platform based on Data ONTAP. It provides configuration, management and monitoring for this environment, but it requires the deployment of ONTAP Cloud and includes advanced features that apply only to ONTAP Cloud (such as installation, purchasing cloud resources, setting up a network to work in the cloud, etc.). Cloud Manager also manages the SnapMirror relationship between ONTAP Cloud and on-premises FAS solutions.
ONTAP Cloud is available on the AWS Marketplace in several purchase options. You can pay it on an hourly basis with a prepayment (pay-as-you-go), or buy a subscription from NetApp.
According to the hourly model, a purchase is made directly from the AWS Marketplace and consists of ONTAP Cloud software fees, support, and AWS resources. In the subscription model, the customer buys a six-month or yearly subscription from a NetApp sales representative and then activates the subscription and support through Cloud Manager to gain access to ONTAP Cloud. This approach is called BYOL (Bring Your Own License). Amazon in this case only bills for the use and uptime of EC2 and EBS resources.
ONTAP Cloud can be launched every time there is a need for its work. With an hourly scheme, the client pays only for the real time of his work in ONTAP Cloud and can always be disconnected if it is not necessary.
However, if you need to maintain your current data, payment is always charged, ─ otherwise the data will be lost. That is, in the subscription model, the client pays for long-term data management, but only for the actually used AWS resources when ONTAP Cloud is running. The ONTAP Cloud options available to the user are as follows.
Cloud ONTAP Service Purchase Models
- Explore. Delivers the full power of Data ONTAP in a preconfigured solution for applications requiring relatively small resources. Provides up to 2TB of storage capacity. Corresponds to M4.XL and M3.XL instances for EC2.
- Standard . Delivers the full power of Data ONTAP with flexible performance and resources. Has wider application support and up to 10 TB capacity. Corresponds to M4.2XL, M3.2XL, and R3.XL instances for EC2.
- Premium . Provides the full power of Data ONTAP for high-resource applications. Supports up to 368 TB of capacity. Corresponds to R3.2XL instance for EC2.
- High Availability (HA) . In an HA configuration, ONTAP Cloud supports up to 360 TB.
- BYOL . In this configuration, ONTAP Cloud has advanced options, supports up to 360TB and all types of EC2 instances ─ M3.XL, M3.2XL, R3.XL, R3.2XL, M4.XL and M4.2XL.
ONTAP Cloud Explore and Standard are full versions of NetApp ONTAP. The purchase includes many of the main and most important features of Data ONTAP features (SnapShot Copies, FlexClone volumes, SnapMirror data replication, data deduplication, etc.). Also included are OnCommand Cloud Manager and NetApp Software Support Plan.
ONTAP Cloud High Availability (HA) is an ONTAP Cloud version that can be configured as a two-node solution in the cloud.
If you need an indestructible environment for applications to work, ONTAP Cloud HA allows you to build a two-node solution with support for failover technology. It supports the operation of the storage in case of an unplanned failure of one of the nodes, as well as planned (for example, when upgrading the system without stopping it).
For the price, contact netapp@muk.ua
What does Data ONTAP mean?
Before turning to technical details, it is curious to consider some versions of the origin of ONTAP itself. In his NetApp community, someone, hiding behind the nickname NetApp_Staff, chose to laugh it off, although, as you know, in every joke ... That's how he explained the origin of the term .
“Data ONTAP is a kind of acronym. Some acronyms are just pretty. Clearly, the goal is always to invent a particular word, and in many cases they are chosen almost at random. Something like that happened with ONTAP.
The acronym itself made no sense. Moreover, Data ONTAP was inspired by ... beer. The idea was that the data should flow freely, ─ just like beer from a barrel pierced by a tap.
We, at NetApp, like the name, ─ because it perfectly describes how people think about data. They should be there when you need them. ” Add to this that “on tap” also means “ready for immediate use or use; at hand. "
In the comments on this explanation, someone knowledgeable noticed that it was custom in the company’s office to drink a mug or two on Fridays. But, seriously, some wrote that the acronym stands for “Open Network Technology for Appliance Products”.
There was also a version related to the fact that the company symbol (NTAP) is part of ONTAP. Well, that is unlikely. But, since we mentioned the ticker, let's take a look at the NetApp stock price for the entire period after their initial issue.
It's hard to find a more stable company than NetApp. From March 2001 to the present, she did not experience significant shocks.
What is ONTAP Cloud?
The Cloud Storage Environment (CSE) on ONTAP Cloud provides the following features.
- Non-destructive, two-node support and high availability counteracts unplanned cloud storage failures.
- Used storage systems NAS and SAN, with support for NFS, CIF and iSCSI.
- Technologies of data deduplication, thin volumes (thin provisioning) and data compression are used.
- Zero-impact NetApp Snapshot technology almost instantly backs up data without requiring additional storage resources.
- NetApp SnapMirror technology integrates hybrid cloud environments by linking on-premises FASs to the ONTAP Cloud.
- Advanced data management tools (OnCommand Management Suite) and their monitoring (OnCommand Insight) are managed from OnCommand System Manager.
- The availability of applications is ensured by their copying through special “availability zones” (availability zones).
How ONTAP Cloud works on AWS
ONTAP Cloud computing and storage resources ─ version of the Data ONTAP virtual machine. It is designed to run on top of Amazon Elastic Cloud Compute (EC2) in various compute instances. See here for more details . In Russian-language IT literature, tracing paper is often used. On Amazon Web Services, they are defined as follows.
Amazon EC2 Instance Types. Amazon EC2 provides a wide variety of instance types that are optimized for different use cases. Instance types include various combinations of components such as processor, memory, storage subsystem, and network capabilities. They allow you to select the appropriate set of resources for applications used by the client. Each type of instance includes one or more of its sizes, which allows you to scale resources in accordance with the requirements of the target workload.
The storage typically uses AWS Elastic Block Storage (EBS). EBS storage volumes create the equivalent of a Data ONTAP storage node that runs in the cloud.
ONTAP Cloud is an Amazon Machine Instance (AMI) variant that is deployed through OnCommand Cloud Manager fromAWS Marketplace *.
AWS Marketplace Homepage Fragment
AWS has cloud-based data centers in many regions around the world. The client can choose for himself the best data center and availability zone in accordance with his requirements. ONTAP Cloud is virtual and can operate in one regional data center, moving, if necessary, to another remote data center. When copying data, SnapMirror technology is used. In this case, data that is managed within the ONTAP Cloud environment is moved.
ONTAP Cloud vs. Ebs
The EBS repository can be considered similar to the DAS repository for standard servers. In fact, EBS provides “raw storage capacity” for Amazon EC2 servers.
EBS has some features and capabilities that are somewhat wider than what DAS typically offer, but they are still limited and do not contain any data replication tools.
They provide snapshots of storage. These snapshots affect storage performance, and they also create a complete, exact copy of the storage in S3 that the customer pays for.
ONTAP Cloud Storage is a managed storage environment that uses raw EBS storage as the basis for its work. ONTAP Cloud takes over the EBS storage, manages it using the Data ONTAP storage OS and, in addition to the actual storage, provides the following additional features.
- Use of several protocols (NFS, CIF, iSCSI).
- Data Protection ─ Snapshot copies, SnapMirror, SnapVault.
- Storage efficiency ─ Data deduplication, compression, thin provisioning. These features can reduce the number of EBS storage units to buy.
- Management ─ Unified Manager, System Manager, WFA, Insight and others ...
- FlexClone technology.
How FlexClone Technology Works
NetApp Snapshots uses zero-copy technology. It involves operations in which the processor does not perform the task of copying data from one memory area to another. The term is used to describe technologies that help reduce the number of copies between intermediate buffers. See here for more details .
NetApp Snapshots have no effect on performance. Copies only store change data, minimizing the amount of storage consumed.
Data Protection on ONTAP Cloud
ONTAP Cloud includes SnapMirror replication software that enables data movement between Data ONTAP placements. Data can be moved from one availability zone to another.
For this, the client needs to have other Data ONTAP environments in the secondary availability zone. This secondary location may be another ONTAP Cloud placement, or it may be a NetApp Private Storage location.
SnapMirror can be used to move data between Data ONTAP platforms, including the directions “data center to cloud”, “cloud to data center” and “between clouds” (or “between cloud regions”).
Oncommand cloud manager
How it works NetApp Cloud ONTAP
OnCommand Cloud Manager provides a simple, wizard-based interface for deploying and monitoring Storage Virtual Machines on Cloud ONTAP and NetApp Private Storage
OnCommand Cloud Manager enables you to manage your hybrid cloud storage environment, including ONTAP Cloud and clustered platforms on Based on Data ONTAP.
It simplifies the operational management of the “Data Fabric”, including the configuration, support and monitoring of each data storage node, both virtual devices and real physical hardware.
Actually, OnCommand Cloud Manager implements the deployment environment for ONTAP Cloud, which offers installation with a few clicks of the mouse and automatically selects and assigns cloud resources for each case.
Deploying ONTAP Cloud, Cloud Manager uses AWS credentials to select the EC2 virtual machine and EBS storage that match the client’s request.
Various types of AWS credentials include passwords, access keys, multi-factor authentication, key pairs, certificates. See here for more details .
ONTAP Cloud can only be deployed through Cloud Manager. It processes all actions taken to ensure that all AWS resources, ─ both computing and storage, ─ are properly assigned to a specific ONTAP Cloud deployment. Attempting to deploy ONTAP Cloud by any other method will result in a failure from the very beginning.
Cloud Manager is the central point of control for the cloud hybrid environment and can manage the clustered ONTAP environment, regardless of its location. It can work both in the AWS cloud and on-premise in the data center on the client’s site.
There are two main differences between ONTAP Cloud versions, and they depend on how the software was received and installed. OnCommand Cloud Manager is available as AMI on the AWS Marketplace (the AMI version is being deployed for EC2 cloud), or can be downloaded from the NetApp Support website. Cloud Manager is available to NetApp customers for free.
Cloud Manager can be used with any clustered platform based on Data ONTAP. It provides configuration, management and monitoring for this environment, but it requires the deployment of ONTAP Cloud and includes advanced features that apply only to ONTAP Cloud (such as installation, purchasing cloud resources, setting up a network to work in the cloud, etc.). Cloud Manager also manages the SnapMirror relationship between ONTAP Cloud and on-premises FAS solutions.
ONTAP Cloud Purchase Models
ONTAP Cloud is available on the AWS Marketplace in several purchase options. You can pay it on an hourly basis with a prepayment (pay-as-you-go), or buy a subscription from NetApp.
According to the hourly model, a purchase is made directly from the AWS Marketplace and consists of ONTAP Cloud software fees, support, and AWS resources. In the subscription model, the customer buys a six-month or yearly subscription from a NetApp sales representative and then activates the subscription and support through Cloud Manager to gain access to ONTAP Cloud. This approach is called BYOL (Bring Your Own License). Amazon in this case only bills for the use and uptime of EC2 and EBS resources.
ONTAP Cloud can be launched every time there is a need for its work. With an hourly scheme, the client pays only for the real time of his work in ONTAP Cloud and can always be disconnected if it is not necessary.
However, if you need to maintain your current data, payment is always charged, ─ otherwise the data will be lost. That is, in the subscription model, the client pays for long-term data management, but only for the actually used AWS resources when ONTAP Cloud is running. The ONTAP Cloud options available to the user are as follows.
Cloud ONTAP Service Purchase Models
- Explore. Delivers the full power of Data ONTAP in a preconfigured solution for applications requiring relatively small resources. Provides up to 2TB of storage capacity. Corresponds to M4.XL and M3.XL instances for EC2.
- Standard . Delivers the full power of Data ONTAP with flexible performance and resources. Has wider application support and up to 10 TB capacity. Corresponds to M4.2XL, M3.2XL, and R3.XL instances for EC2.
- Premium . Provides the full power of Data ONTAP for high-resource applications. Supports up to 368 TB of capacity. Corresponds to R3.2XL instance for EC2.
- High Availability (HA) . In an HA configuration, ONTAP Cloud supports up to 360 TB.
- BYOL . In this configuration, ONTAP Cloud has advanced options, supports up to 360TB and all types of EC2 instances ─ M3.XL, M3.2XL, R3.XL, R3.2XL, M4.XL and M4.2XL.
ONTAP Cloud Explore and Standard are full versions of NetApp ONTAP. The purchase includes many of the main and most important features of Data ONTAP features (SnapShot Copies, FlexClone volumes, SnapMirror data replication, data deduplication, etc.). Also included are OnCommand Cloud Manager and NetApp Software Support Plan.
ONTAP Cloud High Availability (HA) is an ONTAP Cloud version that can be configured as a two-node solution in the cloud.
If you need an indestructible environment for applications to work, ONTAP Cloud HA allows you to build a two-node solution with support for failover technology. It supports the operation of the storage in case of an unplanned failure of one of the nodes, as well as planned (for example, when upgrading the system without stopping it).
For the price, contact netapp@muk.ua