You have had the ability to view Azure Blob Storage on the BlueXP Canvas for quite a while. Now you can add new storage accounts and change properties for existing storage accounts directly from BlueXP. See how to add new Azure Blob storage accounts.

A new Application Templates service enables you to set up a volume template for Azure NetApp Files. The template should make your job easier because certain volume parameters will already be defined in the template, such as capacity pool, size, protocol, VNet and subnet where the volume should reside, and more. When a parameter is already predefined, you can just skip to the next volume parameter.

You can now dynamically change the service level for a volume to meet workload needs and optimize your costs. The volume is moved to the other capacity pool with no impact to the volume.

Learn how to change a volume’s service level.

Set up and manage Azure NetApp Files directly from Cloud Manager. After you create an Azure NetApp Files working environment, you can complete the following tasks:

The ability to create and manage Azure NetApp Files directly from Cloud Manager replaces the previous data migration functionality.

You have had the ability to view Amazon S3 buckets on the BlueXP Canvas for quite a while. Now you can add new buckets and change properties for existing buckets directly from BlueXP. See how to add new Amazon S3 buckets.

This release includes the ability within the UI to create custom Snapshot policies, replication policies, and policies for backups to object storage for ONTAP data.

Learn more about policies.

Previously, you couldn’t restore files and folders using the “Browse & Restore” feature when volumes were backed up to ONTAP S3 object storage. This release removes that restriction.

Learn more about restoring data.

Backup and recovery now can back up both FlexVol and FlexGroup volumes that are configured using either SnapLock Compliance or SnapLock Enterprise protection modes. Your clusters must be running ONTAP 9.14 or greater for this support. Backing up FlexVol volumes using SnapLock Enterprise mode has been supported since ONTAP version 9.11.1. Earlier ONTAP releases provide no support for backing up SnapLock protection volumes.

Learn more about protecting ONTAP data.

Now you can use an ONTAP system which has been configured for the Simple Storage Service (S3) to back up volumes to object storage. This is supported for both on-premises ONTAP systems and Cloud Volumes ONTAP systems. This configuration is supported in cloud deployments and in on-premises locations without internet access (a "private" mode deployment).

Learn more.

In the past you’ve had the ability to include existing Snapshot copies from read-write volumes in your initial backup file to object storage (instead of starting with the most recent Snapshot copy). Existing Snapshot copies from read-only volumes (data protection volumes) were not included in the backup file. Now you can choose to include older Snapshot copies in the backup file for "DP" volumes.

The backup wizard displays a prompt at the end of the backup steps where you can select these "existing Snapshots".

Previously you could check a box in the backup wizard to apply the selected backup policy to all future volumes added to the cluster. This feature has been removed based on user feedback and lack of usage of this feature. You’ll need to manually enable backups for any new volumes added to the cluster.

The Job Monitoring page now provides more information related to the 3-2-1 backup strategy. The service also provides additional alert notifications related to the backup strategy.

The "Backup lifecycle" Type filter has been renamed to "Retention". Use this filter to track the backup lifecycle and to identify the expiration of all backup copies. The "Retention" job type captures all Snapshot deletion jobs initiated on a volume that is protected by BlueXP backup and recovery.

Learn more about the updated Job Monitor.

BlueXP backup and recovery now enables you to implement a 3-2-1 strategy where you can have 3 copies of your source data on 2 different storage systems along with 1 copy in the cloud. After activation, you’ll have a:

Learn more about the new full spectrum backup and restore capabilities.

This new functionality also applies to recovery operations. You can perform restore operations from a Snapshot copy, from a replicated volume, or from a backup file in the cloud. This gives you the flexibility to choose the backup file that meets your recovery requirements, including cost and speed of recovery.

Note that this new functionality and user interface is supported only for clusters running ONTAP 9.8 or greater. If your cluster has an earlier version of software, you can continue using the previous version of BlueXP backup and recovery. However, we recommend that you upgrade to a supported version of ONTAP to get the newest features and functionality. To continue using the older version of the software, follow these steps:

When you create backup files in object storage, by default, the backup and recovery service will create the buckets in object storage for you. You can create the buckets yourself if you want to use a certain name or assign special properties. If you want to create your own bucket, you must create it before starting the activation wizard. Learn how to create your object storage buckets.

This functionality is not currently supported when creating backup files to StorageGRID systems.

When you deploy an instance of BlueXP classification in AWS, the option to select Deploy > Configuration and choose a small or medium-sized instance is unavailable at this time. You can still deploy the instance using the large instance size by selecting Deploy > Deploy.

In the past you could only apply tags to a single page at a time in the Investigation Results page (20 items). Now you can select all items in the Investigation Results pages and apply tags to all the items - up to 100,000 items at a time. See how.

BlueXP classification used to identify duplicated files only when files were 50 MB or larger. Now duplicated files starting with 1 MB can be identified. You can use the Investigation page filters "File Size" along with "Duplicates" to see which files of a certain size are duplicated in your environment.

BlueXP classification can identify and categorize files that contain the following types of data:

See all the types of personal data that BlueXP classification can identify in your data.

BlueXP classification is now fully supported in sites with no internet access (Private mode) and with limited outbound internet access (Restricted mode). Learn more about BlueXP deployment modes for the Connector.

Now you can upgrade to a newer version of BlueXP classification even if it is not sequential. This means that the current limitation of upgrading BlueXP classification by one version at a time is no longer required. This feature is relevant starting from version 1.24 onwards.

The BlueXP classification API enables you to perform actions, create queries, and export information about the data you are scanning. The interactive documentation is available using Swagger. The documentation is separated into multiple categories, including Investigation, Compliance, Governance, and Configuration. Each category is a reference to the tabs in the BlueXP classification UI.

Learn more about the BlueXP classification APIs.

Japanese names can now be entered when searching for a subject’s name in response to a Data Subject Access Request (DSAR). You can generate a Data Subject Access Request report with the resulting information. You can also enter Japanese names in the "Data Subject" filter in the Data Investigation page to identify files that contain the subject’s name.

Ubuntu 22.04 has been qualified as a supported operating system for BlueXP classification. You can install BlueXP classification on a Ubuntu Linux host in your network, or on a Linux host in the cloud when using version 1.23 of the installer. See how to install BlueXP classification on a host with Ubuntu installed.

These versions are not supported with new deployments because Red Hat no longer supports Docker, which is a prerequisite. If you have an existing BlueXP classification machine running on RHEL 8.6 or 8.7, NetApp will continue to support your configuration.

You can enable file access audit logs to be collected on your BlueXP classification system for file access events detected on volumes in your working environments. BlueXP classification can capture the following types of FPolicy events and the users who performed the actions on your files: Create, Read, Write, Delete, Rename, Change owner/permissions, and Change SACL/DACL. See how to monitor and manage file access events.

Now you can upload your Data Sense BYOL license into the BlueXP digital wallet in a dark site so that you are notified when your license is getting low. See how to obtain and upload your Data Sense BYOL license.

The L48s_v3 and L64s_v3 instance types are now supported with Cloud Volumes ONTAP in Azure for single node and high-availability pair deployments with shared managed disks in single and multiple availability zones, starting with the 9.13.1 release. These instance types support Flash Cache.

View supported configurations for Cloud Volumes ONTAP in Azure
View storage limits for Cloud Volumes ONTAP in Azure

Flash Cache and high write speed can be enabled separately in Google Cloud for Cloud Volumes ONTAP 9.13.1 and later. High write speed is available on all supported instance types. Flash Cache is supported on the following instance types:

You can use these features separately or together on both single node and high-availability pair deployments.

Launch Cloud Volumes ONTAP in Google Cloud

Various improvements to the displayed information within the usage reports are now available. The following are enhancements to the usage reports:

For more information on usage reports, see Download usage reports.

BlueXP can now deploy and manage the Cloud Volumes ONTAP 9.13.1 General Availability release in AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.

Learn about the new features included in this release of Cloud Volumes ONTAP.

You can now manage Cloud Volumes Service for Google Cloud directly from BlueXP:

It’s now easier to navigate between Cloud Manager and Spot.

A new Storage Operations section in Spot enables you to navigate directly to Cloud Manager. After you’re done, you can get back to Spot from the Compute tab in Cloud Manager.

By leveraging Spot’s Cloud Analyzer, Cloud Manager can now provide a high-level cost analysis of your cloud compute spending and identify potential savings. This information is available from the Compute service in Cloud Manager.

Learn more about the Compute service.

Users now have the option to exclude files using regex.

Learn more about the Exclude File Extensions feature.

Users may now add AWS S3 access keys and secret keys when creating an Azure data broker.

Learn more about creating a data broker in Azure.

Users now have the option to use existing Azure security groups when creating a data broker.

The service account used when creating the data broker must have these permissions:

Learn more about creating a data broker in Azure.

Users now have the option to specify a customer-managed encryption key when creating a sync relationship with a Google Storage bucket as the target. You can manually input your key or choose from a list of your keys in a single region.

The service account used when creating the data broker must have these permissions:

Learn more about Google Cloud Storage bucket requirements.

Users are now able to delete more than one sync relationship at a time in the UI.

Learn more about deleting sync relelationships.

Users now have additional options for copying ACL information in CIF and NFS relationships. When creating or managing a sync relationship, you can copy files only, copy ACL information only, or copy files and ACL information.

Learn more about copying ACLs.

Copy and sync has updated to Node.js 20. All available data brokers will be updated. Operation systems incompatible with this update cannot be installed, and incompatible existing systems may experience performance issues.

Active syncs that have not completed can now be aborted after fifteen minutes using the Sync Timeout feature.

Learn more about the Sync Timeout setting.

In relationships including a file system, the Copy for Objects feature now copies access time metadata.

Learn more about the Copy For Objects setting.

Sustainability Dashboard provides valuable insights into the environmental sustainability of your storage system. You can view the information such as sustainability score, carbon mitigation percentage, projected usage of power, direct carbon, and heat. You can adjust the carbon mitigation percentage for specific sites. You can also view the sustainability score at the cluster level. By evaluating the sustainability score, you can assess the overall efficiency of your storage system and align it with NetApp’s recommended actions to enhance sustainability. Learn more.

You can view average read, write, and other operations in the volume IOPS chart.

SAN and NAS storage efficiency is available, at a node level, for ONTAP systems including AFF A-Series, AFF C190, All SAN Array, and FAS500 running ONTAP 9.10 and later.

Several improvements to the Cloud Volumes ONTAP usage reports are now available:

For more information about the usage reports, refer to Download usage reports.

The BlueXP digital wallet now identifies Google Cloud Marketplace subscriptions that are associated with a private offer and shows the end date and term of the subscription. This enhancement enables you to verify that you’ve successfully accepted the private offer and to validate its terms.

Now you can find out what you’re being charged for when you’re subscribed to capacity-based licenses. The following types of usage reports are available for download from the BlueXP digital wallet. The usage reports provide capacity details of your subscriptions and tell you how you’re being charged for the resources in your Cloud Volumes ONTAP subscriptions. The downloadable reports can be easily shared with others.

For more information about the usage reports, refer to Download usage reports.

Email notifications are now supported with the BlueXP digital wallet.

If you configure your notification settings, you can receive email notifications when your BYOL licenses are about to expire (a "Warning" notification) or if they have already expired (an "Error" notification).

Learn how to set up email notifications

When viewing capacity-based licensing for Cloud Volumes ONTAP, the BlueXP digital wallet now shows the licensed capacity that you purchased with marketplace private offers.

Learn how to view the consumed capacity in your account.

You can now discover your E-Series storage systems directly from BlueXP. Discovering E-Series systems provides you with a complete view of data across your hybrid multicloud.

A new "Edge Cache" license is available when deploying a Cloud Volumes ONTAP system in Google Cloud. You are entitled to deploy one Global File Cache Edge system for each 3 TiB of purchased capacity on the Cloud Volumes ONTAP system.

Learn more about the Edge Cache license package.

The previous minimum requirement of 10 licenses, or 30 TB of storage, has been removed. One Global File Cache license will be issued for every 3 TB of storage.

An offline, or dark site, License Management Server (LMS) is most useful when the LMS does not have an internet connection for license validation with license sources. An internet connection and connection to license source is required during initial configuration. Once configured, the LMS instance can become dark. All Edges/Cores should have a connection with LMS for continuous validation of licenses.

A single Global File Cache Edge instance can serve up to 500 users per dedicated physical Edge instance, and up to 300 users for dedicated virtual deployments. The maximum number of users used to be 400 and 200, respectively.

You have had the ability to view Google Cloud Storage buckets on the BlueXP Canvas for quite a while. Now you can add new buckets and change properties for existing buckets directly from BlueXP. See how to add new Google Cloud Storage buckets.

If you’re managing a cluster with a Connector, you can now create FlexGroup volumes using the BlueXP API.

You can now discover on-premises ONTAP clusters from Canvas > My estate by selecting a cluster that BlueXP pre-discovered based on the ONTAP clusters that are associated with the email address for your BlueXP login.

Learn how to discover clusters from the My estate page.

Beginning with ONTAP 9.13.1, you can use System Manager (advanced view) to enable BlueXP backup and recovery if you discovered the cluster using a Connector. Learn more about enabling BlueXP backup and recovery

Beginning with ONTAP 9.10.1, you can use System Manager (advanced view) to upgrade the ONTAP version image and hardware firmware. You can choose to receive automatic upgrades to stay up to date, or you can make manual updates from your local machine or a server that can be accessed using BlueXP. Learn more about upgrading ONTAP and firmware

Using the "Find Existing Resources" action you can identify the working environment, and then use other template actions, such as creating a volume, to easily perform actions on existing working environments. Go here for details.

The existing support for creating a Cloud Volumes ONTAP working environment in AWS has been expanded to include creating a high-availability system in addition to a single-node system. See how to create a template for a Cloud Volumes ONTAP working environment.

Using the new "Find Resource" action you can identify all the volumes on which you want to enable Cloud Backup, and then use the Cloud Backup action to enable backup on those volumes.

Current support is for volumes on Cloud Volumes ONTAP and on-premises ONTAP systems. Go here for details.

Learn more about resource tagging.

You can now replicate data from an Amazon FSx for ONTAP file system to Cloud Volumes ONTAP.

Learn how to set up data replication.

You can now replicate data from an Amazon FSx for ONTAP file system to the following destinations:

Learn how to set up data replication.

You can now replicate data from a Cloud Volumes ONTAP system or an on-premises ONTAP cluster to an Amazon FSx for ONTAP file system.

Learn how to set up data replication.

You can now discover your StorageGRID systems directly from BlueXP. Discovering StorageGRID provides you with a complete view of data across your hybrid multicloud.

In the past you needed to use the default "fabric-pool" prefix when defining the bucket name, for example, fabric-pool-bucket1. Now you can use a custom prefix when naming your bucket. This functionality is available only when tiering data to Amazon S3. Learn more.

If you are using multiple Connectors to manage all the storage systems in your environment, some clusters on which you want to implement tiering may be in different Connectors. If you are not sure which Connector is managing a certain cluster, you can search across all Connectors using BlueXP tiering. Learn more.

When you activate BlueXP tiering, ONTAP can use an unlimited amount of network bandwidth to transfer the inactive data from volumes in the cluster to object storage. If you notice that tiering traffic is affecting normal user workloads, you can throttle the amount of bandwidth that can be used during the transfer. Learn more.

The tiering event "Tier additional data from cluster <name> to object storage to increase your storage efficiency" now appears as a notification when a cluster is tiering less than 20% of its cold data - including clusters that are tiering no data.

This notification is a "Recommendation" to help make your systems more efficient and to save on storage costs. It provides a link to the BlueXP tiering total cost of ownership and savings calculator to help you calculate your cost savings.

The Licensing tab has been removed from the BlueXP tiering interface. All licensing for Pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) subscriptions are accessed from the BlueXP tiering On-Premises Dashboard now. There is also a link from that page to the BlueXP digital wallet so that you can view and manage any BlueXP tiering bring-your-own-licenses (BYOL).

The "Clusters Dashboard" tab has been renamed to "Clusters", and the "On-Prem Overview" tab has been renamed to "On-Premises Dashboard". These pages have added some information that will help you evaluate if you can optimize your storage space with additional tiering configuration.