NFSv4.1 or later is enabled on the NFS server

At least one data LIF exists per node in the cluster for the SVM hosting the NFS server

All data LIFs in the SVM are routable to NFS clients

NFS clients support pNFS (most modern Linux distributions from 2014 and later)

Network connectivity between clients and all data LIFs in the SVM is functional

DNS resolution (if using hostnames) is configured properly for all data LIFs

FlexGroup volumes are configured (recommended for best results)

NFSv4.x ID domains match between clients and ONTAP

NFS Kerberos (if used) is enabled on all data LIFs in the SVM

Use FlexGroup volumes for best performance and capacity scaling

Ensure all network interfaces in the SVM are routable to clients

Disable NFSv4.0 to ensure clients use NFSv4.1 or later

Spread mount points across multiple network interfaces and nodes

Use round robin DNS for load balancing metadata servers

Verify NFSv4.x ID domains match on clients and servers

Conduct network interface migrations and storage failovers during maintenance windows

Enable NFS Kerberos on all data LIFs if using Kerberos security

Avoid using NFSv4.1 referrals when using pNFS

Test nconnect settings carefully to avoid overwhelming TCP connection limits

Consider session trunking as an alternative to nconnect (do not use both together)

Verify client OS vendor support for pNFS before deployment

Most modern Linux distributions from 2014 and later support pNFS (RHEL 6.4, Fedora 17, and later)

Verify with your client OS vendor that pNFS is supported

pNFS works with both FlexVol and FlexGroup volumes

pNFS is supported with NFSv4.1 and NFSv4.2

pNFS can be used with NFS Kerberos (krb5, krb5i, krb5p), but performance might be impacted

pNFS can be used alongside nconnect or session trunking (but not both simultaneously)

pNFS does not work over NFSv4.0

TCP connection limits per node vary by platform (check the NetApp Hardware Universe for specific limits)

Maximum file size: Depends on the volume type and ONTAP version

Maximum file count: Up to 200 billion files with FlexGroup volumes

Maximum capacity: Up to 60 PB with FlexGroup volumes

Network interface count: At least one data LIF per node is required; more might be needed for load balancing

Each client mount with nconnect creates multiple TCP connections per data LIF

With many clients using high nconnect values, TCP connection limits can be exceeded

Exceeding TCP connection limits prevents new connections until existing connections are freed

Enable or disable NFSv4.1

Create a LIF

ONTAP support for NFSv4.1

ONTAP support for NFSv4.2

NetApp Hardware Universe

FlexGroup volumes management