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MetroCluster IP site management with System Manager

Contributors netapp-aoife netapp-thomi netapp-ahibbard netapp-forry
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MetroCluster configurations synchronously mirror data and configuration between two ONTAP clusters in separate locations. Beginning with ONTAP 9.8, you can use System Manager as a simplified interface for managing a MetroCluster IP configuration.

Note You can only perform MetroCluster operations using System Manager in a MetroCluster IP configuration. In a MetroCluster FC configuration, you can still use System Manager to manage each node in your MetroCluster configuration, but you can't perform any MetroCluster-specific operations.

Typically, you set up and configure clusters in a MetroCluster configuration in two separate geographical sites. You then set up peering between the clusters so that they synchronize and share data. The two clusters in the peered network provide bidirectional disaster recovery (DR), where each cluster can be the source and backup of the other cluster. In eight-node or four-node MetroCluster IP configurations, each site consists of storage controllers configured as one or two high availability (HA) pairs.

You can install the ONTAP Mediator service in a third location to monitor the state of the nodes and their DR partners. The ONTAP Mediator service can implement a Mediator-assisted unplanned switchover (MAUSO) in the case of a disaster.

You can also perform a negotiated switchover to bring down one of the clusters for planned maintenance. The partner cluster handles all data I/O operations for both clusters until you bring up the cluster that you performed maintenance on and perform a switchback operation.

You can find procedures for setting up and managing a MetroCluster IP configuration using System Manager in the MetroCluster documentation.