What a cluster is

You can group pairs of nodes together to form a scalable cluster. Creating a cluster enables the nodes to pool their resources and distribute work across the cluster, while presenting administrators with a single entity to manage. Clustering also enables continuous service to end users if individual nodes go offline.

A cluster can contain up to 24 nodes (unless the iSCSI or FC protocols are enabled, in which case the cluster can contain up to eight nodes). Each node in the cluster can view and manage the same volumes as any other node in the cluster. The total file-system namespace, which comprises all of the volumes and their resultant paths, spans the cluster.

When new nodes are added to a cluster, there is no need to update clients to point to the new nodes. The existence of the new nodes is transparent to the clients.

If you have a two-node cluster, you must configure cluster high availability (HA). For more information, see the Clustered Data ONTAP High-Availability Configuration Guide.

You can create a cluster on a standalone node, called a single node cluster. This configuration does not require a cluster network, and enables you to use the cluster ports to serve data traffic.

The nodes in a cluster communicate over a dedicated, physically isolated and secure Ethernet network. The cluster logical interfaces (LIFs) on each node in the cluster must be on the same subnet. For information about network management for cluster and nodes, see the Clustered Data ONTAP Network Management Guide.

For information about setting up a cluster or joining a node to the cluster, see the Clustered Data ONTAP Software Setup Guide.

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What a node in the cluster is

A node is a controller in a cluster. It is connected to other nodes in the cluster over a private management cluster network. It is also connected to the disk shelves that provide physical storage for the Data ONTAP system or to third-party storage arrays that provide array LUNs for Data ONTAP use.

Storage units for managing disk space

To properly provision storage, it is important to define and distinguish between the different units of storage.

Where to find additional clustered Data ONTAP information

System Manager Help provides basic clustered Data ONTAP conceptual information to help you perform tasks using System Manager. For in-depth conceptual information to help you configure, monitor, and manage storage objects and storage systems, you can see the Data ONTAP documentation available on the NetApp Support Site.

Dashboard window

The dashboard contains multiple panels that provide cumulative at-a-glance information about your system and its performance. You can use the Dashboard window to view information about space and CPU utilization, the status of storage objects, notifications, system properties, network throughput, and protocol operations.

Viewing storage system details

You can use the Home tab to view the details of a storage system, such as the name, IP address, status of a storage system, and version of Data ONTAP that the storage system is running.

Storage window

You can click the links to manage the resources of your cluster or node.

Configuration window

The Configuration window provides links to the following: Security, system tools, Snapshot policies, schedules, and peers.

Security window

The Security window provides links to the following: Users and roles.

Services window

The Services window provides links to the following: LDAP and Kerberos.

System Tools window

The System Tools window provides links to the following: DateTime, Licenses, and SNMP.

Diagnostics window

The Diagnostics window provides links to the following: Job, system health, Flash Pool statistics, and logs.

Logs window

The Logs window provides links to the following: Events and SnapMirror log.