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Ensure a common snapshot in an ONTAP mirror-vault deployment

Contributors netapp-aaron-holt netapp-dbagwell netapp-lenida netapp-aherbin

You can use the snapmirror snapshot-owner create command to preserve a labeled snapshot on the secondary in a mirror-vault deployment. Doing so ensures that a common snapshot exists for the update of the vault relationship. Learn more about snapmirror snapshot-owner create in the ONTAP command reference.

About this task

If you use a combination mirror-vault fan-out or cascade deployment, you should keep in mind that updates will fail if a common snapshot does not exist on the source and destination volumes.

This is never an issue for the mirror relationship in a mirror-vault fan-out or cascade deployment, since SnapMirror always creates a snapshot of the source volume before it performs the update.

It might be an issue for the vault relationship, however, because SnapMirror does not create a snapshot of the source volume when it updates a vault relationship. You need to use the snapmirror snapshot-owner create to ensure that there is at least one common snapshot on both the source and destination of the vault relationship. Learn more about data protection fan-out and cascade deployments.

Steps
  1. On the source volume, assign an owner to the labeled snapshot you want to preserve:

    snapmirror snapshot-owner create -vserver <SVM> -volume <volume> -snapshot <snapshot> -owner <owner>

    The following example assigns ApplicationA as the owner of the snap1 snapshot:

    clust1::> snapmirror snapshot-owner create -vserver vs1 -volume vol1
    -snapshot snap1 -owner ApplicationA
  2. Update the mirror relationship, as described in Updating a replication relationship manually.

    Alternatively, you can wait for the scheduled update of the mirror relationship.

  3. Transfer the labeled snapshot to the vault destination:

    snapmirror update -source-path <SVM:volume>|<cluster://SVM/volume>, …​ -destination-path <SVM:volume>|<cluster://SVM/volume>, …​ -source-snapshot snapshot

    Learn more about snapmirror update in the ONTAP command reference.

    The following example transfers the snap1 snapshot
    clust1::> snapmirror update -vserver vs1 -volume vol1
    -source-snapshot snap1

    The labeled snapshot will be preserved when the vault relationship is updated.

  4. On the source volume, remove the owner from the labeled snapshot:

    snapmirror snapshot-owner delete -vserver SVM -volume volume -snapshot snapshot -owner owner

    The following examples removes ApplicationA as the owner of the snap1 snapshot:

    clust1::> snapmirror snapshot-owner delete -vserver vs1 -volume vol1
    -snapshot snap1 -owner ApplicationA

    Learn more about snapmirror snapshot-owner delete in the ONTAP command reference.