Release notes
What's new in ONTAP 9.12.1
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PDF of this doc site
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Cluster administration
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Volume administration
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Logical storage management with the CLI
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NAS storage management
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Configure NFS with the CLI
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Manage NFS with the CLI
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Manage SMB with the CLI
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Manage file access using SMB
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Security and data encryption
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Data protection and disaster recovery
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Collection of separate PDF docs
Creating your file...
Learn about the new capabilities available in ONTAP 9.12.1.
For details about earlier ONTAP 9 releases, hardware platform and switch support, known issues, and limitations, refer to the ONTAP 9 Release Notes. You must sign in with your NetApp account or create a NetApp account to access the ONTAP 9 Release Notes.
To upgrade ONTAP, see Prepare to upgrade ONTAP.
Data protection
| Update | Description |
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Support for larger FlexVol volumes with SnapMirror Synchronous |
The maximum FlexVol volume size supported in SnapMirror Synchronous configurations has increased from 100 TB to 300 TB. Both the source and destination clusters must be running ONTAP 9.12.1P2 or later. |
Support for larger file and LUN sizes in SnapMirror Synchronous |
The maximum file and LUN size supported in SnapMirror Synchronous configurations has increased from 16 TB to 128 TB. Both the source and destination clusters must be running ONTAP 9.12.1 P2 or later. |
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SnapMirror Synchronous supports non-disruptive operations (NDO) of HA takeover and giveback, volume move, and other maintenance-related operations. This feature is available only on AFF/ASA platforms. |
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ONTAP Mediator 1.5 is available for monitoring SnapMirror Business Continuity (SM-BC) relationships. |
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SM-BC supports partial LUN restore from Snapshots. Additionally, SM-BC extends QoS to volumes not in the SM-BC relationship. |
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Data warehouse rebuild indicator for SnapMirror asynchronous |
SnapMirror asynchronous provides an indicator showing how long a data warehouse rebuild takes after a disaster recovery rehearsal by displaying the percentage complete. |
SnapLock option to set minimum retention time "unspecified" absolute retention time |
SnapLock includes an option to set a minimum retention time when the absolute retention time is set to "unspecified". |
You can lock a Snapshot copy on a non-SnapLock volume to provide protection from ransomware attacks. Locking Snapshot copies helps ensure that they are not deleted accidentally or maliciously. |
File access protocols
| Update | Description |
|---|---|
A new SMB security option allows you to disable RC4 and DES in favor of Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption types for Kerberos-based communication with the Active Directory (AD) KDC. |
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S3 clients can access the same NAS data as NFS and SMB clients without reformatting, making it easier to serve S3 applications that require object data. |
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NFS servers enabled for NFSv4.2 can store and retrieve NFS extended attributes (xattrs) from xattr-aware clients. |
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The NFSv4.2 client is able to reserve space for a sparse file. Space can also be deallocated and unreserved from a file. |
MetroCluster
| Update | Description |
|---|---|
ONTAP Mediator 1.5 is supported in a MetroCluster IP configuration |
ONTAP Mediator 1.5 is available for monitoring MetroCluster IP configurations. |
IPsec support for front-end host protocol (such as NFS and iSCSI) is available in MetroCluster IP and MetroCluster fabric-attached configurations. |
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MetroCluster automatic forced switchover feature in a MetroCluster IP configuration |
You can enable the MetroCluster automatic forced switchover feature in a MetroCluster IP configuration. This feature is an extension of the Mediator-assisted unplanned switchover (MAUSO) feature. |
S3 on an SVM on an unmirrored aggregate in a MetroCluster IP configuration |
You can enable the MetroCluster automatic forced switchover feature in a MetroCluster IP configuration. This feature is an extension of the Mediator-assisted unplanned switchover (MAUSO) feature. |
To learn about platform and switch configuration enhancements for MetroCluster configurations, see the ONTAP 9 Release Notes.
Networking
| Update | Description |
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You can use the |
S3 object storage
| Update | Description |
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The following Amazon S3 API actions are supported:
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SAN
| Update | Description |
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Beginning with ONTAP 9.12.1P2, the maximum supported LUN size on AFF and FAS platforms increased from 16 TB to 128 TB. |
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The NVMe protocol supports the following:
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Secure, unidirectional and bidirectional authentication between an NVMe host and controller is supported over NVMe/TCP using the DHHMAC-CHAP authentication protocol. |
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The NVMe/FC protocol is supported on 4-node MetroCluster IP configurations. |
Security
In October 2022, NetApp implemented changes to reject AutoSupport message transmissions that are not sent by either HTTPS with TLSv1.2 or secure SMTP. For more information, see SU484: NetApp will reject AutoSupport messages transmitted with insufficient transport security.
| Feature | Description |
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Autonomous Ransomware Protection interoperability enhancements |
Autonomous Ransomware Protection is available for these configurations:
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Multifactor authentication (MFA) support for SSH with FIDO2 and PIV (both used by Yubikey) |
SSH MFA can use hardware-assisted public/private key exchange with username and password. Yubikey is a physical token device that is plugged into the SSH client to increase MFA security. |
All ONTAP internal logs are tamperproof by default, ensuring that compromised administrator accounts cannot hide malicious actions. |
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EMS events can be sent to a remote syslog server using the TLS protocol, thereby enhancing protection over the wire for central external audit logging. |
Storage efficiency
| Update | Description |
|---|---|
Temperature-sensitive storage efficiency is enabled by default on new AFF C250, AFF C400, AFF C800 platforms and volumes. TSSE is not enabled by default on existing volumes but can be enabled manually using the ONTAP CLI. |
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For All Flash FAS (AFF) and the FAS500f platforms, the WAFL reserve for aggregates greater than 30TB is reduced from 10% to 5%, resulting in increased usable space in the aggregate. |
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File System Analytics now identifies the directories in a volume that are consuming the most space. |
Storage resource management enhancements
| Update | Description | ||
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You can enable automatic nondisruptive FlexGroup volume rebalancing to redistribute files between FlexGroup constituents.
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SnapLock for SnapVault support for FlexGroup volumes |
SVM management enhancements
| Update | Description |
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Cluster administrators can non-disruptively relocate an SVM from a source cluster to a destination cluster using FAS, AFF platforms, on hybrid aggregates. Support for both disruptive SMB protocol and Autonomous Ransomware Protection have been added. |
System Manager
Beginning with ONTAP 9.12.1, System Manager is integrated with BlueXP. With BlueXP, administrators can manage the hybrid multicloud infrastructure from a single control plane while retaining the familiar System Manager dashboard. When signing into System Manager, administrators are given the option of accessing the System Manager interface in BlueXP or accessing System Manager directly. Learn more about System Manager integration with BlueXP.
| Update | Description |
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SnapLock operations, including Compliance Clock initialization, SnapLock volume creation, and WORM file mirroring are supported in System Manager. |
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System Manager users can view connectivity information about the cabling between hardware devices in their cluster to troubleshoot connectivity issues. |
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Support for multifactor authentication with Cisco DUO when logging in to System Manager |
You can configure Cisco DUO as a SAML identity provider (IdP), enabling users to authenticate using Cisco DUO when they log in to System Manager. |
System Manager offers more control over the subnet and home port selection during network interface creation. System Manager also supports the configuration of NFS over RDMA connections. |
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System Manager users can select a light or dark theme for the display of the System Manager interface. They can also choose to default to the theme used for their operating system or browser. This capability allows users to specify a setting that is more comfortable for reading the display. |
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System Manager users can view capacity details for specific local tiers to determine if the space is over-committed, which might indicate that they need to add more capacity to ensure the local tier doesn't run out of space. |
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System Manager has an improved search capability that lets users search and access relevant and context-sensitive support information and System Manager product document from the NetApp Support Site directly through the System Manager interface. This allows users to acquire information they need to take appropriate action without having to search in various locations on the support site. |
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Storage administrators can choose a Snapshot copy policy when creating a volume using System Manager rather than using the default policy. |
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Storage administrators can view the impact on data space and Snapshot copy reserve when they use System Manager to resize a volume. |
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Storage pool and Flash Pool management |
Storage administrators can use System Manager to add SSDs to an SSD storage pool, create Flash Pool local tiers (aggregate) using SSD storage pool allocation units, and create Flash Pool local tiers using physical SSDs. |
System Manager supports network interface configurations for NFS over RDMA and identifies RoCE capable ports. |