Adding a plex

Mirroring an unmirrored aggregate or traditional volume that uses mixed disk capacities

If the unmirrored volume that you want to mirror uses disks of different capacities, Data ONTAP can select disks that match the smallest capacity from a different disk pool. If there are not enough disks of that capacity in the disk pool, Data ONTAP selects a higher capacity disk and downsizes it.

See How Data ONTAP selects disks for the rules Data ONTAP uses to select disks.

Methods for adding a plex to an unmirrored aggregate or traditional volume

You can add a plex to an existing unmirrored aggregate or traditional volume as follows:

Let Data ONTAP select the disks used to mirror the volume.
Select the disks used to mirror the aggregate or traditional volume yourself.
Preview the disks Data ONTAP would use, then either use those disks or replace one or more of the disks with disks you choose.

Data ONTAP selects the disks

Letting Data ONTAP select the disks is the easiest method of mirroring, but you do not have control over which disks Data ONTAP selects.

To mirror an existing aggregate or traditional volume by letting Data ONTAP select the disks used to mirror the volume, complete the following step.

Step	Action
1	Enter the following command: *{ aggr \| vol } mirror { aggrname* \| volname }** aggrname is the name of the aggregate you are mirroring. volname is the name of the traditional volume you are mirroring (without the /vol/ prefix).

You select the disks

If you select the disks used to mirror the volume, you must ensure that you choose a correct number and size of disks from a different pool than that used by the aggregate or traditional volume plex that you are mirroring.

To mirror an existing aggregate or traditional volume using disks you select, complete the following step.

Step	Action
1	Enter the following command: { aggr \| vol } mirror { aggrname \| volname } -d disk-list aggrname is the name of the aggregate you are mirroring. volname is the name of the traditional volume you are mirroring (without the /vol/ prefix). disk-list consists of disk IDs of one or more available disks; separate multiple disks with a space.

Step

Action

Enter the following command:

{ aggr | vol } mirror { aggrname | volname } -d disk-list

aggrname is the name of the aggregate you are mirroring. volname is the name of the traditional volume you are mirroring (without the /vol/ prefix).

disk-list consists of disk IDs of one or more available disks; separate multiple disks with a space.

You select the disks with assistance from Data ONTAP

You can preview what disks Data ONTAP would select if it were to mirror the aggregate or traditional volume.

To mirror an existing aggregate or traditional volume by previewing disks Data ONTAP would use in the form of a sample command, complete the following steps.

Step	Action
1	Enter the following command: *{ aggr \| vol } mirror { aggrname* \| volname } -n** aggrname is the name of the aggregate you are mirroring. volname is the name of the traditional volume you are mirroring (without the /vol/ prefix). `-n` specifies to Data ONTAP not to create the mirrored aggregate or traditional volume, but show the disks that it would use if it did create the mirrored aggregate or traditional volume. Result Data ONTAP returns an `aggr mirror` command or a `vol` `mirror` command that specifies the necessary number and type of disks you can use to mirror the aggregate or traditional volume.
2	If you want to...	Then...
	Use the disks specified by Data ONTAP	Enter the `aggr mirror` command or `vol` `mirror` command specified.
	Substitute other disks for one or more disks specified by Data ONTAP	Enter the `aggr mirror` command or `vol mirror` command and substitute other disks for one or more of the disks specified.

Example

In this example, use the following command to preview the disks that Data ONTAP would use when mirroring the aggrA aggregate:

aggr mirror aggrA -n

Data ONTAP returns the following command:

aggr mirror aggrA -d 8.1 8.2 8.3

In this example, use the following command to preview the disks that Data ONTAP would use when mirroring the volA traditional volume:

vol mirror volA -n