Filer administration with Data ONTAP

Filer administration activities

Administering a filer involves the following activities:

Configuring the filer
Monitoring and maintaining client access to data
Monitoring and maintaining network access
Monitoring and maintaining filer hardware
Performing periodic administration tasks

Configuring the filer

You configure the filer by running, the Setup Wizard, the setup program, or both if necessary, and then editing configuration files if necessary.

Monitoring and maintaining client access

You monitor client access to data on the filer by using the following methods:

Gathering network statistics so that you can verify and improve the performance of the filer
Gathering file statistics so that you can schedule snapshots
Monitoring CIFS access so that you can identify potential security problems

You maintain client access by using the following methods:

Configuring volumes and qtrees to accommodate the needs of Windows and UNIX clients
Configuring volumes so that there is enough disk space for data
Configuring RAID groups to maintain maximum data availability
Configuring snapshots so that data is recoverable in case of accidental deletions
Setting quotas to make sure that users have enough resources for their work

Monitoring and maintaining network access

You monitor network access by gathering network statistics so that you can verify and improve the performance of the filer and its network interfaces.

You maintain network access by following general filer network administration procedures and procedures specific to your protocol. These procedures are described in later chapters in this guide.

Monitoring and maintaining filer hardware

You monitor hardware by gathering statistics about your hardware and analyzing them for performance.

You maintain the hardware as described in the appropriate hardware guides.

Periodic administration tasks

The following table lists essential tasks that you should consider performing periodically, suggests how often to perform a task, and lists the command or file to use for the task.

How often	Task	Command or file
Daily	Review filer performance and CPU utilization	`sysstat` command
	Review filer disk usage on a per-volume and per-snapshot level	`df` command
	Check for drive failures, reboots, and other logged events	/etc/messages file
	Review CIFS utilization, if licensed for CIFS	`cifs stat` command
	Review HTTP utilization, if licensed for HTTP	`httpstat` command
	Review NFS utilization, if licensed for NFS	`nfsstat` command
	Review DAFS utilization, if licensed for DAFS	`dafs stats` command
Weekly	Review filer disk usage on a per-user level	`quota report` command
	Test connectivity to NT Domain Controller	`cifs testdc` command
	Review current shared CIFS directories	`cifs shares` command
	Review NFS exports	/etc/exports file
	Review filer network traffic statistics	`netstat` command
	Review network interface performance statistics on a per-interface level	`ifstat` command
Monthly	Make sure that the disk shelves are connected properly	`shelfchk` command
	Review filer uptime	`uptime` command
	Review filer OS revision	`version` command
	Review current Network Information Service (NIS) server	`ypwhich` command