poptart> version
NetApp Release 7.2.4L1: Wed Nov 21 00:49:33 PST 2007
poptart> aggr add aggr0 11
Aggregate size 8.48 TB exceeds limit 7.00 TB
aggr add: Can not add specified disks to the aggregate because the aggregate size limit for this system type would be exceeded.
For those with NOW access, the reason is here: FAS2020 Maximum Aggregate Size: Revised from 16TB to 8TB - not sure where they got the “8TB” in the title, though.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m all for data integrity, and I think that keeping the ability to run the WAFL recovery tools is a great idea, but a maximum aggregate size of nine 750GB SATA drives (per the above document) is ridiculous! Good thing you can now have four shelves with the 2020, because you’re going to need them for all the parity drives you’ll be using.
Did NetApp’s software group fail to talk to hardware (and marketing) with this product? No mention of this limitation on the FAS2000 series data sheet, of course.
As an aside, I’m following Solaris’ COMSTAR and CIFS projects with great interest. I’m really hoping they spur NetApp’s engineering group - and not just their lawyers - into action.
Update (4/17/2008): Two months out, it’s only reasonable for me to add the following: NetApp and our reseller went to great lengths to make this situation right for my employer. I don’t feel at liberty to go into specifics, since this is a personal blog, and I don’t speak for my employer (Hi Tom!), but their response was impressive. While I’m still not a fan of the 2020, the response of NetApp and our reseller was head and shoulders above what is typical for the industry.
3 Comments
Andy
I was alerted today to your latest blog entry by a colleague of mine. I want to reassure you that NetApp values your custom, and that we care about the issues you’re facing. As such, I would ask you to send me an email with a direct dial phone # so that we can make contact and start the process of getting these issues resolved.
To make it clear to other readers of your blog, the technical specifications do state the 8TB aggregate limit. The full specs are here;
http://www.netapp.com/products/storage-systems/enterprise-storage/fas2000/fas2000-tech-specs.html
I look forward to hearing from you.
Alex McDonald, NetApp
Alex, much appreciated. I’ll contact you from my business email address shortly. Either we missed the specs on the link you sent, or they changed during the sales process (the filer did arrive with a version of ONTAP prior to 7.2.4L1).
(Now would be a good time to remind the readers of this blog - such as my boss - that the opinions here are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer.)
Andy
Is it possible to buy alternative SAS drives (ie cheaper) for FAS2020 and if so can you mix them ?
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