Discover on-premises ONTAP clusters

Discover on-premises ONTAP clusters from BlueXP so that you can start managing volumes and performing advanced management using ONTAP System Manager, which is available from BlueXP.

Discovery and management options

BlueXP provides two ways to discover and manage your on-prem ONTAP clusters:

Discovery through a Connector

This option enables you to manage clusters running ONTAP 8.3 and later by using the following features:

  • The Standard view, which provides basic volume operations

  • The Advanced view, which provides management through System Manager (supported with ONTAP 9.10.0 and later)

  • Integration with BlueXP services, which provide data replication, back up and recovery, data classification, and data tiering

This option requires a Connector, which you can install in a cloud provider or on your premises.

Direct discovery

This option enables you to manage clusters running ONTAP 9.12.1 and later by using System Manager. No other management options are available. You can’t use the Standard view and you can’t enable data services.

This option doesn’t require a Connector.

When you access System Manager on an on-premises ONTAP cluster running 9.12.1 or later with connectivity to the BlueXP service, you’ll be prompted to manage the cluster directly from BlueXP. If you follow this prompt, it discovers the cluster in BlueXP using the direct discovery option.

Once discovered, your clusters are available as a working environment on the BlueXP Canvas.

If you decide to use the other discovery option at a later time, you will need to discover the on-prem cluster as a separate working environment on the Canvas. You then have the option to remove the other working environment.

Requirements

Before you discover your on-prem ONTAP cluster, ensure that you’ve met the following requirements.

General requirements

  • You should have gotten started with BlueXP, which includes logging in and setting up an account.

    Learn how to get started with BlueXP

  • You need the cluster management IP address and the password for the admin user account.

  • BlueXP discovers ONTAP clusters using HTTPS. If you use custom firewall policies, the ONTAP cluster must allow inbound HTTPS access through port 443.

    The default "mgmt" firewall policy allows inbound HTTPS access from all IP addresses. If you modified this default policy, or if you created your own firewall policy, you must associate the HTTPS protocol with that policy and enable access from the Connector host.

Requirements for Connector discovery and management

  • The on-premises cluster must be running ONTAP 8.3 or later.

  • A Connector must be installed in a cloud provider or on your premises.

    If you want to tier cold data to the cloud, then you should review requirements for the Connector based on where you plan to tier cold data.

  • The Connector host must allow outbound HTTPS access through port 443.

    If the Connector is in the cloud, all outbound communication is allowed by the predefined security group.

Requirements for direct discovery and management

  • The on-premises cluster must be running ONTAP 9.12.1 or later.

  • The cluster must have inbound and outbound connectivity to the BlueXP service:

    https://cloudmanager.cloud.netapp.com/ontap-service/check-service-connection

  • The computer that you’re using to access the BlueXP console must have a network connection to the on-prem ONTAP cluster, similar to how you would provide connections to other resources in your private network.

Discover clusters

Discover your on-prem ONTAP clusters from the Canvas in BlueXP. When you start the discovery process, BlueXP discovers the cluster as follows:

  • If you have an active Connector that has a connection to your ONTAP cluster, then BlueXP will use that Connector to discover and manage the cluster.

  • If you don’t have a Connector or if your Connector doesn’t have a connection to the ONTAP cluster, then BlueXP will automatically use the direct discovery and management option.

Steps

  1. From the navigation menu, select Storage > Canvas.

  2. On the Canvas page, click Add Working Environment and select On-Premises.

  3. Next to On-Premises ONTAP, select Discover.

  4. On the Discover page, enter the cluster management IP address, and the password for the admin user account.

  5. If you’re discovering the cluster directly (without a Connector), you can select Save the credentials.

    If you select this option, you won’t need to re-enter the credentials each time that you open the working environment. These credentials are associated with your BlueXP user only. They aren’t saved for use by anyone else in your account.

  6. Select Discover.

    If you don’t have a Connector and the IP address isn’t reachable from BlueXP, then you’ll be prompted to create a Connector.

Result

BlueXP discovers the cluster and adds it as a working environment on the Canvas. You can now start managing the cluster.