Before you begin

Product documentation

Product documentation is shipped with the filer and is available online at http://now.netapp.com. Read the latest Data ONTAP 6.5 Release Description for the latest tips and other information about the product.

CD-ROM and diskettes shipped with the filer

The filer was shipped with a CD-ROM and system boot diskettes, for filers that use diskettes instead of CompactFlash^TM cards. Because the system software is installed at the factory, you don't need the CD-ROM or system boot diskettes to install or configure a new filer. However, you should store the CD-ROM and system boot diskettes in a safe place for recovery purposes.

The following table describes the CD-ROM and system boot diskettes.

Media	Contents
Data ONTAP CD-ROM	The CD-ROM contains the system software and system boot software in two formats so that it can be read by both UNIX and Windows workstations. It also includes product documentation. If you need to reinstall the system software for any reason, you need this CD-ROM. For full information about the contents of the CD-ROM, see the file named index.htm on the CD-ROM. Note Call Network Appliance Technical Support for instructions before reinstalling system software on the filer.
System boot diskettes	If the filer fails to boot from a hard disk, you must boot the filer from the system boot diskettes, unless the filer has a CompactFlash card. See the hardware guide for your filer for details about how to boot from media such as diskettes.

Media

Contents

Data ONTAP CD-ROM

The CD-ROM contains the system software and system boot software in two formats so that it can be read by both UNIX and Windows workstations. It also includes product documentation. If you need to reinstall the system software for any reason, you need this CD-ROM.

For full information about the contents of the CD-ROM, see the file named index.htm on the CD-ROM.

Note
Call Network Appliance Technical Support for instructions before reinstalling system software on the filer.

System boot diskettes

If the filer fails to boot from a hard disk, you must boot the filer from the system boot diskettes, unless the filer has a CompactFlash card. See the hardware guide for your filer for details about how to boot from media such as diskettes.

Setting filer domain account privileges

In order to set up and administer your filer, you must have administrator privileges for the computer that serves as the administration host.

If...	You will need...
Your filer has a CIFS license	Privileges to access and administer the Windows host and the filer domain
Your filer has an NFS license	Privileges to access and administer the UNIX host

Requirements for Windows Active Directory domains

In order to add a filer to a Windows Active Directory domain, you need

A host address (A) record on the Domain Name System (DNS) server for the filer's fully qualified domain name
Permissions for the filer administration account to perform the following actions on the filer container (the Active Directory console tree object in which the filer computer account will reside):
- Change Password
- Write Public Information
- Create Computer Objects

If you create the filer domain account before you run cifs setup, you do not need to assign the "Create Computer Object" permission. For details about these permissions, see Precreating a Filer Domain Account in Active Directory (Optional).

Use of DHCP with F800 series and F900 series filers for remote access

When you enable Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) to assign a static IP address to the onboard interface (e0) of an F800 series or F900 series filer during first-time setup, you can connect to the filer through a Telnet client and complete the first-time configuration remotely. Otherwise, you must attach a hard-wired serial console to the filer to complete the configuration.

When you use DHCP to assign an IP address to the onboard interface, the filer performs the following operations:

Obtains the address from the DHCP server when the filer is turned on
Configures the onboard interface with the IP address
Becomes accessible to a Telnet client or the Setup Wizard
Caution
When you use DHCP with a filer, you must ensure the DHCP server is configured to return a static IP address for the interface. If the server returns a dynamic IP address, the filer displays an error message and continues to use the IP address permanently--which can result in an IP address conflict if the DHCP server assigns the IP address dynamically to other clients from time to time.

Installation of filer hardware

For your system's configuration information, which includes such information as storage capacity, expansion slot assignments, and disk shelf, disk drive, and tape drive support, see the System Configuration Guide on the NetApp on the Web site at http://now.netapp.com. See the hardware guide specific to your filer for information about installing filer hardware.

Installation of clustered filers

If you are installing a filer cluster, cable the filers in the cluster according to the instructions in the hardware series cluster guide. Note that much of the configuration information must be complementary, and often identical, for filers that form a cluster. See Verifying the configuration for clustered filers for more information.

Information about SnapDrive system requirements and setup for your filer

If you plan to use SnapDrive^TM on your Windows host to manage virtual disks on your filer, see the SnapDrive Installation and Administration Guide for information about SnapDrive system requirements and setup for your filer.

Information required to configure a new filer

During the setup process, you configure your new filer to run on the network. To configure a filer, you need a lot of information about the filer and your network, including such items as licensed protocols, administration host name, network interfaces, and network services such as DNS, Network Information Service (NIS), Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS), Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP), and so on.

See Appendix A, Configuration Worksheet for a complete list of the required information, with spaces in which you can record configuration information to be used during filer setup.

Information about setting up LDAP authentication on your filer

For information about how to configure your filer to use LDAP authentication, see the information about setting up UNIX authentication in the File Access Management Guide.

Information about setting up Kerberos V5 authentication for NFS on your filer

For information about how to configure your filer to use Kerberos V5 authentication for NFS, see the File Access Management Guide.