What do you do when your critical NetApp data slips off the information super highway.

Step one is always to get things back up and running again, so traffic is not backed up to all of your clients and other applications. But at step two there is a fork in the road, Many companies go into break fix mode and then go into their RCA (root cause analysis) mode. Many times the RCA process is painful and so it is also know as a Root Canal Analysis in some circles.

Typically a simple oversight caused the data outage, and it is usually a simple fix. The cause of the oversight can be many things. We recently heard about a power outage in a data center that caused a filer to reboot. However, over time the filer had had shelves and drives added to it from another NetApp filer. So when the NetApp filer tried to reboot it found two boot volumes. The NetApp filer went into a cycle of reboots.

The Root Cause Analysis in this incident showed that the filer had foreign volumes. But who added the volumes, and why didn’t they zero the drives? Adding NetApp shelves from one NetApp filer to another is easy to do, you just have to follow the right sequence for the shelf type you are using. Following a list of procedures when working with your critical NetApp data storage is an easy way to make certain that you don’t foul up your critical data storage, and also have a back out plan.

When landing under instrument conditions you should always read the missed approach portion of the landing procedure before you need it. It is always easier to be prepared then to have to react without knowledge. If you are concerned about your NetApp storage migration and want a helping hand, give Zerowait a call, you will be glad you did.