ONTAP 9 Volume Move Configuration

Moving a volume

You can move or copy volumes for capacity utilization, improved performance, and to satisfy service-level agreements.

You can move a FlexVol volume to a different aggregate, node, or both within the same Storage Virtual Machine (SVM).

How moving a FlexVol volume works

FlexVol volumes are moved from one aggregate or node to another within the same Storage Virtual Machine (SVM) for capacity utilization and improved performance, and to satisfy service-level agreements.

A volume move does not disrupt client access during the move.

Moving a volume occurs in multiple phases:

• A new volume is made on the destination aggregate.
• The data from the original volume is copied to the new volume.
  During this time, the original volume is intact and available for clients to access.
• At the end of the move process, client access is temporarily blocked.
  During this time the system performs a final replication from the source volume to the destination volume, swaps the identities of the source and destination volumes, and changes the destination volume to the source volume.
• After completing the move, the system routes client traffic to the new source volume and resumes client access.

The move is not disruptive to client access because the time in which client access is blocked ends before clients notice a disruption and time out. Client access is blocked for 45 seconds by default. If the volume move operation cannot finish in the time that access is denied, the system aborts this final phase of the volume move operation and allows client access. The system attempts the final phase three times by default. After the third attempt, the system waits an hour before attempting the final phase sequence again. The system runs the final phase of the volume move operation until the volume move is complete.

Considerations and recommendations when moving volumes

Moving a volume has many considerations and recommendations that are influenced by the volume you are moving or by the system configuration, such as a MetroCluster configuration. You should understand the considerations and recommendations associated with moving volumes.

General considerations and recommendations

• You cannot move an Infinite Volume.
• If you are upgrading the release family for a cluster, do not move a volume until after you upgrade all of the nodes in the cluster.
  This recommendation prevents you from inadvertently attempting to move a volume from a newer release family to an older release family.
• The source volume must be consistent.
• If you assigned one or more aggregates to the associated Storage Virtual Machine (SVM), the destination aggregate must be one of the assigned aggregates.
• You cannot move a volume to or from a taken-over CFO aggregate.
• If a volume that contains LUNs is not NVFAIL enabled before you move it, the volume will be NVFAIL enabled after you move it.
• You can move a volume from a Flash Pool aggregate to another Flash Pool aggregate.
  • The caching policies of that volume are also moved.
  • The move might affect volume performance.
• You can move volumes between a Flash Pool aggregate and a non-Flash Pool aggregate.
  • If you move a volume from a Flash Pool aggregate to a non-Flash Pool aggregate, Data ONTAP displays a message warning you that the move might affect volume performance and asks whether you want to continue.
  • If you move a volume from a non-Flash Pool aggregate to a Flash Pool aggregate, Data ONTAP assigns the auto caching policy.

FlexClone volume considerations and recommendations

• FlexClone volumes cannot be offline when they are being moved.
• You can move FlexClone volumes from one aggregate to another aggregate on the same node or another node in the same SVM without splitting.
• FlexClone volume Snapshot copies are not lost after moving a clone.
• You can move FlexClone parent volumes from one aggregate to another aggregate.
  When you move a FlexClone parent volume, a temporary volume is left behind that acts as a parent volume for all FlexClone volumes. No operations are allowed on the temporary volume except to take it offline or to delete it. After all FlexClone volumes are either split or destroyed, the temporary volume is cleaned up automatically.
• After you move a FlexClone child volume, the volume is no longer a FlexClone volume.
• FlexClone move operations are mutually exclusive from FlexClone copy or split operations.
• If a clone-splitting operation is in progress, moving a volume might fail.
  You should not move a volume until after clone-splitting operations are finished.

MetroCluster configuration considerations

• If a MetroCluster switchover occurs before the cutover, the destination volume has a record and is a temporary volume (a volume of type TMP).
  This temporary volume is not deleted by Data ONTAP; it must be deleted manually.
  When moving a volume in a MetroCluster configuration, a record of the temporary volume corresponding to the volume in the mirrored but unassimilated aggregate is created when the temporary volume is created on the destination aggregate on the source cluster.
• If a Metrocluster switchover occurs after the cutover phase has started, but before the move job has completed, the volume move operation on the destination aggregate runs to completion, but Data ONTAP will not delete the volume on the source.
  You must delete this volume manually.
• Neither forced nor unforced MetroCluster switchbacks are allowed if there are any volume move operations in progress.
• Unforced Metrocluster switchovers are blocked, but forced Metrocluster switchovers are not if there are any volume move operations in progress.

1. Login to System Manager, and select an Aggregate tab and select the volume move option.

2. Volume move wizard opens.

3. Select the source volume to move.

4. Select the destination aggregate.

5. Volume move successfully completed.

6. Now volume vol2 resides in aggr3.

7. The same you can use from the volume tab also. Select the source volume and destination aggregate.