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Supported and unsupported features for FlexCache volumes

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Beginning in ONTAP 9.5, you can configure FlexCache volumes. FlexVol volumes are supported as origin volumes and FlexGroup volumes are supported as FlexCache volumes. Beginning in ONTAP 9.7 both FlexVol volumes and FlexGroup volumes are supported as origin volumes. The supported features and protocols for the origin volume and the FlexCache volume vary.

Cache volumes and origin volumes can interoperate as long as both are running on a supported version of ONTAP. Keep in mind that features are supported only when both the cache and the origin are running at least the ONTAP version where support was introduced or a later ONTAP version.

Supported protocols

Protocol

Supported at the origin volume?

Supported at the FlexCache volume?

NFSv3

Yes

Yes

NFSv4

Yes

To access cache volumes using NFSv4.x protocol, both the origin and cache clusters must be using ONTAP 9.10.1 or later. The origin cluster and FlexCache cluster can have different ONTAP versions, but both should be ONTAP 9.10.1 and later versions, for example, the origin can have ONTAP 9.10.1, and the cache can have ONTAP 9.11.1.

Yes

Supported beginning with ONTAP 9.10.1.

To access cache volumes using NFSv4.x protocol, both the origin and cache clusters must be using ONTAP 9.10.1 or later. The origin cluster and FlexCache cluster can have different ONTAP versions, but both should be ONTAP 9.10.1 and later versions, for example, the origin can have ONTAP 9.10.1, and the cache can have ONTAP 9.11.1.

NFSv4.2

Yes

No

SMB

Yes

Yes

Supported beginning with ONTAP 9.8.

Supported features

Feature

Supported at the origin volume?

Supported at the FlexCache volume?

Autonomous ransomware protection

Yes

Supported for FlexVol origin volumes beginning with ONTAP 9.10.1, and supported for FlexGroup origin volumes beginning with ONTAP 9.13.1. See Autonomous Ransomware Protection use cases and considerations.

No

Antivirus

Yes

Supported beginning with ONTAP 9.7.

Not applicable

If you configure antivirus scanning at the origin, it is not required on the cache. The origin antivirus scanning detects files infected with viruses before writes are committed, regardless of the write source. For more information about using antivirus scanning with FlexCache, see the FlexCache with ONTAP technical report.

Auditing

Yes

Supported beginning with ONTAP 9.7. You can audit NFS file access events in FlexCache relationships using native ONTAP auditing. For more information, see Considerations for auditing FlexCache volumes

Yes

Supported beginning with ONTAP 9.7. You can audit NFS file access events in FlexCache relationships using native ONTAP auditing. For more information, see Considerations for auditing FlexCache volumes

Cloud Volumes ONTAP

Yes

Supported beginning with ONTAP 9.6

Yes

Supported beginning with ONTAP 9.6

Compaction

Yes

Supported beginning with ONTAP 9.6

Yes

Supported beginning with ONTAP 9.7

Compression

Yes

Supported beginning with ONTAP 9.6

Yes

Supported beginning with ONTAP 9.6

Deduplication

Yes

Yes

Inline deduplication is supported on FlexCache volumes beginning with ONTAP 9.6. Cross-volume deduplication is supported on FlexCache volumes beginning with ONTAP 9.7.

FabricPool

Yes

Yes

Supported beginning with ONTAP 9.7

FlexCache DR

Yes

Yes

Supported beginning with ONTAP 9.9.1, with NFSv3 protocol, only. FlexCache volumes must be in separate SVMs or in separate clusters.

FlexGroup volume

Yes

Supported beginning with ONTAP 9.7

Yes

FlexVol volume

Yes

No

FPolicy

Yes

Supported beginning with ONTAP 9.7

Yes

Supported for NFS beginning with ONTAP 9.7. Supported for SMB beginning with ONTAP 9.14.1.

MetroCluster configuration

Yes

Supported beginning with ONTAP 9.7

Yes

Supported beginning with ONTAP 9.7

Microsoft Offloaded Data Transfer (ODX)

Yes

No

NetApp Aggregate Encryption (NAE)

Yes

Supported beginning with ONTAP 9.6

Yes

Supported beginning with ONTAP 9.6

NetApp Volume Encryption (NVE)

Yes

Supported beginning with ONTAP 9.6

Yes

Supported beginning with ONTAP 9.6

ONTAP S3 NAS bucket

Yes

Supported beginning with ONTAP 9.12.1

No

QoS

Yes

Yes

Note File-level QoS is not supported for FlexCache volumes.

Qtrees

Yes

Beginning with ONTAP 9.6, you can create and modify qtrees. Qtrees created on the source can be accessed on the cache.

No

Quotas

Yes

Beginning with ONTAP 9.6, quota enforcement on FlexCache origin volumes is supported for users, groups, and qtrees.

No

With FlexCache writearound mode (the default mode), writes on the cache are forwarded to the origin volume. Quotas are enforced at the origin.

Note Beginning with ONTAP 9.6, remote quota (rquota) is supported at FlexCache volumes.

SMB Change Notify

Yes

Yes

Beginning with ONTAP 9.14.1, SMB Change Notify is supported at the cache.

SnapLock volumes

No

No

SnapMirror asynchronous relationships*

Yes

No

*FlexCache origins:

  • You can have a FlexCache volume from an origin FlexVol

  • You can have a FlexCache volume from an origin FlexGroup

  • You can have a FlexCache volume from an origin primary volume in SnapMirror relationship.

  • Beginning with ONTAP 9.8, a SnapMirror secondary volume can be a FlexCache origin volume. The SnapMirror secondary volume must be idle with no active SnapMirror updates; otherwise, FlexCache creation fails.

SnapMirror synchronous relationships

No

No

SnapRestore

Yes

No

Snapshot copies

Yes

No

SVM DR configuration

Yes

Supported beginning withONTAP 9.5. The primary SVM of an SVM DR relationship can have the origin volume; however, if the SVM DR relationship is broken, the FlexCache relationship must be re-created with a new origin volume.

No

You can have FlexCache volumes in primary SVMs, but not in secondary SVMs. Any FlexCache volume in the primary SVM is not replicated as part of the SVM DR relationship.

Storage-level Access Guard (SLAG)

No

No

Thin provisioning

Yes

Yes

Supported beginning with ONTAP 9.7

Volume cloning

Yes

Cloning of an origin volume and the files in the origin volume is supported beginning with ONTAP 9.6.

No

Volume move

Yes

Yes (only for volume constituents)

Moving volume constituents of a FlexCache volume is supported with ONTAP 9.6 and later.

Volume rehost

No

No

vStorage API for Array Integration (VAAI)

Yes

No
Note In ONTAP 9 releases earlier than 9.5, origin FlexVol volumes can only serve data to FlexCache volumes created on systems running Data ONTAP 8.2.x operating in 7-Mode. Beginning with ONTAP 9.5, origin FlexVol volumes can also serve data to FlexCache volumes on ONTAP 9 systems. For information about migrating from 7-Mode FlexCache to ONTAP 9 FlexCache see NetApp Technical Report 4743: FlexCache in ONTAP.