Preparing for copy-based transition

Before initiating a data copy operation from 7-Mode to ONTAP, you must understand the requirements and restrictions for migration, and complete certain tasks on the 7-Mode system and the cluster.

You must ensure that the following requirements are met before transition:

The 7-Mode and ONTAP systems must be reachable from the host on which the tool is installed.
The 7-Mode systems must be running the supported Data ONTAP versions.
SnapMirror must be licensed on the 7-Mode system.
Required feature licenses, if they exist on the 7-Mode system, must be installed on the cluster.
The NTP server must be configured and the time must be synchronized across the 7-Mode system and cluster.
All preparatory tasks on the 7-Mode system must be completed.
All preparatory tasks on the cluster must be completed.

Requirements for copy-based transition
You must be aware of the ONTAP release requirements, licensing requirements, and 7-Mode Transition Tool requirements for copy-based transition.
Port requirements for communicating with the 7-Mode Transition Tool
The 7-Mode Transition Tool communicates with the 7-Mode system and the cluster over certain ports. You must ensure that these ports on the 7-Mode system and the cluster are open to allow communication with the 7-Mode Transition Tool.
Restrictions for transition
You must be aware of certain restrictions for transitioning some 7-Mode volumes and configurations.
Preparing the 7-Mode system for transition
Before starting a transition, you must complete certain tasks on the 7-Mode system, such as adding the SnapMirror license, enabling the 7-Mode system to communicate with the target cluster, and enabling TLS.
Preparing the network for transition
You must prepare the data network of the cluster for transition by creating logical ports (VLANs and interface groups).
Preparing the cluster for transition
Before transition, you must ensure that the cluster meets requirements such as allowing HTTPS, setting up intercluster LIFs, and verifying the network connectivity for transition.
Preparing 7-Mode aggregates and volumes for transition
Before transition, you must ensure that the 7-Mode aggregates and volumes are eligible for transition and perform some manual steps before transition. For example, some volume types cannot be transitioned and any 32-bit data must be removed from the 7-Mode systems before transition.
Support for transitioning SnapLock volumes
The 7-Mode Transition Tool supports the transition of SnapLock volumes to target clusters running any ONTAP 9.0 release except 9.6.
Preparing to transition name services
Name service configurations that include DNS, LDAP, NIS, hosts, name services switch, UNIX users and groups, and netgroups configurations are transitioned by the 7-Mode Transition Tool. You must be aware of some considerations before transitioning name services configurations.
Preparing for NFS transition
If NFS is licensed and NFS service is running on the systems operating in 7-Mode, you must manually prepare the cluster and target SVM for transitioning NFS configurations. You must also be aware of what configurations are transitioned.
Preparing for SMB/CIFS transition
If SMB/CIFS is licensed and SMB/CIFS service is running on the 7-Mode systems, you must manually perform some tasks, such as adding the SMB/CIFS license and creating a SMB/CIFS server, on the target cluster and SVM for transitioning SMB/CIFS configurations.
Preparing for MetroCluster configuration transition
Before transitioning to a MetroCluster configuration, you must understand the requirements and considerations for transitioning 7-Mode volumes to a MetroCluster configuration in ONTAP.
Preparing for SAN transition
Before transitioning a SAN environment, you must understand what configurations are supported for SAN transition, create SAN LIFs on the SVM, and prepare the SAN hosts for transition.
Preparing data protection features for transition
You must perform some manual steps for transitioning 7-Mode SnapMirror relationships. You must also be aware of the data protection relationships that are supported and unsupported for transition.
Guidelines for deciding when to perform cutover
Because transition cutover is disruptive to clients, you must plan the activity to minimize the downtime. You must schedule the cutover during a low-activity window. You should update the ONTAP volumes and wait for the transfers to complete before disconnecting clients and initiating storage cutover for reducing the downtime.
Impact of takeover and giveback on transition
Transition operations, such as transition prepare, start, pause, resume, or complete, fail during a controller takeover or giveback.

Related reference

Transition preparation checklist

Related information