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ONTAP FlexArray

What happens when a link failure occurs

Contributors netapp-chikkusu

ONTAP monitors a link's usage periodically. The ONTAP response to a link failure differs depending on where the failure occurs.

The following table shows what occurs if there is a failure in a fabric-attached configuration:

If a failure occurs in the link between the…​ Then…​

ONTAP system and the switch

ONTAP receives notification immediately and sends traffic to the other path immediately.

Switch and the storage array

ONTAP is not immediately aware that there is a link failure because the link is still established between the ONTAP system and the switch. ONTAP becomes aware that there is a failure when the I/O times out. ONTAP retries three times to send the traffic on the original path, then it fails over the traffic to the other path.