Creating FlexVol volumes
You can create a FlexVol volume for your data by using the Create Volume dialog box. You should always create a volume for your data rather than storing data in the root volume.
Before you begin
The storage system must contain a non-root aggregate. You cannot create traditional volumes through System Manager.
About this task
You cannot enable data compression on a volume if you are using Data ONTAP-v storage.
Steps
1. From the home page, double-click the appropriate storage system.
2. In the navigation pane, click Storage > Volumes.
3. Click Create.
4. If you want to change the default name, specify a new name.
5. Select the containing aggregate for the volume.
If the containing aggregate is enabled for SnapLock compliance, the volume created has mandatory SnapLock protection.
6. Select the type of storage for which you are creating this volume.
7. Specify the size of the volume and the percentage of the total volume size that you want to reserve for Snapshot copies.
8. If you want to enable thin provisioning for the volume, select Thin Provisioned.
When thin provisioning is enabled, space is allocated to the volume from the aggregate only when data is written to it.
9. If you want to enable deduplication, compression, or both these features on this volume, make the necessary changes in the Storage Efficiency tab.
You cannot enable compression on a 32-bit volume.
System Manager uses the default deduplication schedule. If the specified volume size exceeds the limit required for running deduplication, the volume is created and deduplication is not enabled.
10. Click Create.
11. Verify that the volume you created is included in the list of volumes in the Volume window.
The volume is created with UNIX style security and UNIX 700 “read write execute” permissions for the Owner.
Related references
Volumes window on page 64
Creating FlexClone volumes
You can create a FlexClone volume when you need a writable, point-in-time copy of an existing flexible volume. You might want to create a copy of a FlexVol volume for testing or to provide access to the volume for additional users, without giving them access to the production data.
Before you begin
• The FlexClone license must be installed on the storage system.
• The volume that you want to clone must be online, and a non-root volume.
About this task
You can create a FlexClone volume from a SnapLock Enterprise volume, but not from a SnapLock Compliance volume.
The base Snapshot copy that is used to create a FlexClone volume of a SnapMirror destination is marked as busy and cannot be deleted. If a FlexClone volume is created from a Snapshot copy that is not the most recent Snapshot copy, and that Snapshot copy no longer exists on the source volume, all SnapMirror updates to the destination volume fail.
Steps
1. From the home page, double-click the appropriate storage system.
2. In the navigation pane, click Storage > Volumes.
3. Select the volume from the volume list.
4. Click Clone > Create > Volume.
5. In the Create FlexClone Volume dialog box, type the name of the FlexClone volume you want to create.
6. If you want to enable thin provisioning for the new FlexClone volume, select Thin Provisioned.
By default, this setting is the same as that of the parent volume.
7. Create a new Snapshot copy or select an existing Snapshot copy that you want to use as the base Snapshot copy for creating the new FlexClone volume.
8. Click Clone.
Related references
Volumes window on page 64
Creating FlexClone files
You can create a FlexClone file, which is a writable copy of a parent file. You can use these copies to test applications.
Before you begin
• The file that is cloned must be part of the active file system.
• The FlexClone license must be installed on the storage system.
About this task
Note: You can create a FlexClone file of a parent file that is within a volume by accessing the parent file from the volume it resides in and not the parent volume.
Steps
1. From the home page, double-click the appropriate storage system.
2. In the navigation pane, click Storage > Volumes.
3. From the Clone menu, click Create > File.
4. Select the file that you want to clone and specify a name for the FlexClone file.
5. Click Clone.
Result
The FlexClone file is created in the same volume as the parent file.
Related references
Volumes window on page 64
Deleting volumes
You can delete a FlexVol volume when you no longer require the data it contains or if you have copied the data it contains to another location. When you delete a volume, all the data in the volume is destroyed and you cannot recover this data.
Before you begin
• If the FlexVol volume is cloned, the FlexClone volumes must be either split from the parent volume or be destroyed.
• The volume must be unmounted and in the offline state.
Steps
1. From the home page, double-click the appropriate storage system.
2. In the navigation pane, click Storage > Volumes
3. Select the volumes that you want to delete and click Delete.
4. Select the confirmation check box and click Delete.
Related references
Volumes window on page 64
Setting the Snapshot copy reserve
You can reserve space (in percentage) for Snapshot copies in a volume. Setting the Snapshot copy reserve ensures that enough disk space is allocated for the Snapshot copies so that they do not consume active file system space.
About this task
• The default space reserved for Snapshot copies is zero percent for SAN and VMware volumes.
• For NAS volumes, the space reserved is 20 percent on storage systems running Data ONTAP versions earlier than 8.1 and five percent on storage systems running Data ONTAP 8.1 or later.
Steps
1. From the home page, double-click the appropriate storage system.
2. In the navigation pane, click Storage > Volumes.
3. Select the volume for which you want to set the Snapshot copy reserve.
4. Click Snapshot Copies > Configure.
5. Type or select the percentage of the volume space that you want to reserve for the Snapshot copies and click OK.
Related references
Volumes window on page 64
Creating Snapshot copies
You might want to create a Snapshot copy of a volume outside a specified schedule to capture the state of the file system at a specific point in time.
Steps
1. From the home page, double-click the appropriate storage system.
2. In the navigation pane, click Storage > Volumes.
3. Select the volume on which you want to create the Snapshot copy.
4. Click Snapshot Copies > Create.
5. In the Create Snapshot Copy dialog box, if you want to change the default name, specify a new name for the Snapshot copy.
The default name of a Snapshot copy consists of the volume name and the timestamp.
6. Click Create.
7. Verify that the Snapshot copy you created is included in the list of Snapshot copies in the Snapshot Copies tab.
Related references
Volumes window on page 64
Deleting Snapshot copies
You can delete a Snapshot copy to conserve space or free disk space, or you can delete the Snapshot copy if it is no longer required. If you want to delete a Snapshot copy that is busy or locked, then you have to release the Snapshot copy from the application that is using it.
About this task
• You cannot delete the base Snapshot copy in a parent volume if a FlexClone volume is using that Snapshot copy.
The base Snapshot copy is the Snapshot copy that is used to create the FlexClone volume, and always displays the status “busy” and application dependency as “busy,vclone” in the parent volume.
• You cannot delete a Snapshot copy that is used by a SnapMirror relationship.
The Snapshot copy is required for the next update.
For more information about deleting busy Snapshot copies, see the Data ONTAP Data Protection Online Backup and Recovery Guide for 7-Mode for your version of Data ONTAP.
Steps
1. From the home page, double-click the appropriate storage system.
2. In the navigation pane, click Storage > Volumes.
3. Select the appropriate volume that contains the Snapshot copy you want to delete.
4. Click Snapshot Copies in the lower pane of the Volumes window.
5. In the lower window pane, select the Snapshot copy that you want to delete.
6. Click Delete.
7. Select the confirmation check box and click Delete.
Related references
Volumes window on page 64