NS0-185 NetApp Storage Installation Engineer - ONTAP Professional Exam Questions and Answers

ONTAP clusters require that all nodes run the same ONTAP version before a node can join the cluster under normal conditions. The exhibit clearly indicates that the join operation failed because the cluster is running ONTAP 9.8 while the new node is running ONTAP 9.7, resulting in a mixed-version cluster restriction.

One nondisruptive solution is toupgrade the new node to ONTAP 9.8before attempting to join it to the cluster. This approach aligns the software version of the new node with the existing cluster and fully complies with NetApp-supported installation procedures. It does not impact cluster availability and is the preferred long-term solution.

The second nondisruptive option is to use the-allow-mixed-version-joinparameter. ONTAP explicitly allows this method to temporarily permit a mixed-version cluster for the purpose of expansion or upgrade workflows. This option is designed for controlled scenarios and allows the node to join without disrupting existing cluster operations. However, the mixed-version state is intended to be temporary and must be resolved by upgrading the remaining nodes.

Reverting the cluster or reinitializing all nodes would be disruptive and violate nondisruptive installation principles. Therefore, the correct answers areC and D.

The exhibit represents aMetroCluster IPconfiguration, which uses Ethernet switches to provide redundant connectivity between sites. In this architecture, the Ethernet switches are responsible for transportingNVRAM replication traffic using iWARP (RDMA over TCP/IP). This enables synchronous replication of write logs between HA partners across sites.

Additionally, the switches supportSyncMirror replication, which maintains mirrored aggregates across sites to provide continuous data availability in the event of a site failure.

SnapMirror Synchronous and cluster management traffic do not use these switches directly in this configuration. Therefore, the correct answers areC and D.

Actors areexternal users interacting with the system. Kennel assistants, customers, and the quality manager directly interact with the system. The organization itself and managing director are stakeholders, not actors.

Preinstallation planning requires collecting network and management information necessary for initial configuration. For a switchless cluster, cluster switch information is not applicable.

Required data includesmanagement IP addressesfor cluster and node management access,gateway IP addressesfor external connectivity, andBMC IP addressesfor out-of-band hardware management.

Cluster names are typically assigned during setup but are not strictly required as preinstallation inputs from the customer.

Therefore, the correct answers areA, C, and D.

This question checks how ONTAP exposes LUN paths across nodes after cluster expansion. ONTAP SAN pathing is governed bySelective LUN Map (SLM)behavior. ONTAP documentation states that SLM reduces host-to-LUN paths by making a LUN accessible only through paths on the node owning the LUN and its HA partner (unless configured otherwise). That means that after you add nodes, hosts will not automatically gain paths through the new nodes for existing LUNs unless you intentionally adjust LUN reporting.

ONTAP provides the lun mapping add-reporting-nodes command for exactly this purpose: it is used before or after data mobility events that modify the owning node of the LUN, to add optimized nodes (and therefore paths) to the LUN mapping’s reporting-nodes list. In other words, if the administrator wants existing LUNs to “use paths on the new nodes,” the ONTAP-side requirement is to add those nodes (and their partners, as applicable) as reporting nodes for the relevant LUN mappings or volumes/aggregates that host those LUNs.

Options A and D (port/host rescans) arehost-side discovery actions. They can only discover paths that ONTAP is already presenting. Without adding reporting nodes, ONTAP may not advertise those LUNs through the new nodes, so host rescans alone do not satisfy the requirement. Option C (“lun bind create”) is not the appropriate ONTAP mechanism for enabling additional node paths for existing LUNs and is not the documented workflow for SLM path expansion.

Therefore, the required step isB. Use the lun mapping add-reporting-nodes command.

Understanding hardware components is a core requirement within ONTAP SAN concepts. The exhibit highlights several key components on a FAS9000 system that are essential to system operation and high availability.

The large central components shown are the controllers, which house the CPUs, memory, and network interfaces responsible for data processing and cluster operations. Adjacent to the controllers are the NVRAM modules, which are critical for write caching and data integrity. NVRAM ensures that incoming write operations are safely logged and protected in the event of power loss or controller failover.

The exhibit also highlights the serial ports, which are used for low-level system access during installation, troubleshooting, or recovery scenarios. Serial ports are especially important during initial setup or when network access is unavailable.

Finally, the highlighted FlashCache modules provide read caching functionality. FlashCache accelerates read-intensive workloads by caching frequently accessed data on flash memory, improving overall system performance.

Other options are incorrect because they either include components not highlighted in the exhibit (such as power supplies or USB ports) or misidentify the flash modules. Therefore, the correct set of components shown in the exhibit is NVRAM-Module, Controller, Serial-Port, FlashCache-Module.

Physical installation of an AFF system requires specific tools. APhillips #2 screwdriveris required for securing rails and components. Alaptop computeris needed for console access, initial configuration, and validation. Acable management trayis necessary to properly route and secure cables, ensuring airflow and serviceability.

Additional network cables and slide rail kits are equipment components, not tools.

Therefore, the correct answers areB, C, and E.

Within ONTAP SAN implementation and configuration, SNMP is commonly used to send event notifications to external monitoring systems. To successfully send SNMP traps to a named host such asOVERWATCH01, two foundational configuration requirements must be met.

First,an SNMP community string must be configuredon the cluster. The community string defines the authentication mechanism for SNMP communication and determines which monitoring systems are authorized to receive SNMP data. Without a configured community string, ONTAP will not generate or send SNMP notifications.

Second,DNS must be configured on the cluster. The trap destination is defined using a hostname rather than an IP address. ONTAP requires DNS name resolution to translate the hostnameOVERWATCH01into an IP address. Without DNS configuration, the cluster cannot resolve the trap host and therefore cannot deliver SNMP notifications.

While configuring a trap host is also required in practice, the question asks whichtwo statements are correct, not which actions complete the entire workflow. The critical dependencies that enable SNMP trap delivery to a named host are the SNMP community string and DNS resolution.

Firewall policies for SNMP are predefined and enabled by default in ONTAP for management traffic, so manual firewall configuration is not required during standard installation scenarios.

Therefore, the correct answers areA and B.

Alternate Control Path (ACP) is a recommended butoptionalfeature in ONTAP installations. Config Advisor flags ACP-related warnings when ACP is partially cabled or not detected, but this does not automatically place the system in an unsupported state.

NetApp installation policy requires that when customers choose not to deploy ACP, the decision must beexplicitly acknowledged and documented. This ensures the customer understands the operational implications and accepts responsibility for reduced out-of-band shelf management visibility.

Additionally, installation best practices require that this decision becommunicated to the sales team or account team. This ensures alignment across NetApp stakeholders and prevents future support disputes.

The system does not become unsupported solely because ACP is not used, provided the customer acknowledgment process is followed. Therefore, options implying an unsupported or nonfunctional state are incorrect.

The correct answers areB and C.

The AutoSupport history output shows multiple transport attempts usingSMTP, HTTP, and HTTPS, with SMTP being re-queued, HTTP ignored, and HTTPS failed. This indicates that AutoSupport is enabled and functioning at the configuration level, but the delivery mechanism is being blocked or restricted by the customer’s network infrastructure.

SMTP failures commonly occur when mail servers block large attachments or require explicit whitelisting of sending systems. Since full AutoSupport messages include large log bundles, mail servers often reject or delay these messages unless the sending nodes are explicitly allowed. Therefore,whitelisting the nodes on the mail serverdirectly addresses the SMTP delivery issue.

Additionally, NetApp installation best practices recommendHTTPS as the preferred AutoSupport transport protocolbecause it bypasses mail server limitations and is more reliable for large payloads. Switching the transport protocol to HTTPS avoids SMTP attachment-size restrictions entirely and ensures successful delivery when outbound HTTPS access is allowed.

Enabling AutoSupport on both nodes is not relevant because the output confirms AutoSupport is already active. Excluding nodes from attachment-size limits is not a supported ONTAP action.

Thus, the two correct actions are tochange the transport protocol to HTTPSandwhitelist the nodes on the mail server.

Node management LIFs are used to manage individual nodes within an ONTAP cluster. These LIFs are designed to remain on the node they manage and are not intended to move during failover events.

By default, a node management LIF uses thelocal-onlyfailover policy. This ensures that the LIF remains bound to ports on the same node and does not migrate to other nodes. This behavior preserves administrative clarity and prevents confusion when accessing node-specific management interfaces.

Other failover policies, such as broadcast-domain-wide or sfo-partner-only, are used for data or cluster management LIFs where mobility is required for availability. System-defined is not a failover policy type.

Therefore, the correct answer isC (local-only).

NetApp SAS cabling rules define port sequencing. The second stack uses9c and 1a, makingBcorrect.

In ONTAP SAN concepts, SAN LIFs (used for iSCSI, FC, NVMe/FC) behave differently from NAS LIFs. SAN access relies on multipathing at the host level, not LIF failover within the storage system. Because of this architectural design, SAN LIFs are configured with a failover policy of disabled.

When a SAN LIF goes offline, ONTAP does not move the LIF to another port. Instead, the host multipathing software (such as ALUA for iSCSI or FC multipath drivers) redirects I/O to another available path. This design ensures predictable path behavior and avoids unexpected changes that could confuse host multipathing logic.

Failover policies such as broadcast-domain-wide or local-only are valid only for NAS or management LIFs. The system-defined option is not a valid failover policy value.

Therefore, the only valid failover policy for a SAN LIF is disabled, making A the correct answer.

AFF A250 systems are not supported on CN1610 cluster switches. Therefore, they cannot be added to an existing cluster that uses those switches. Valid options are to either create a new switched cluster using the CN1610 switches (if supported for that configuration) or deploy the AFF A250 as a switchless 2-node cluster.

The customer’s environment uses aCisco MDSSAN fabric, so a Cisco-focused management/visibility tool is the most direct way to gain insight into the fabric’s configuration, health, zoning state, and operational status.Cisco Data Center Network Manager (DCNM)is a Cisco tool designed for managing Cisco SAN (including MDS) and therefore is the correct selection for Cisco fabric configuration insight.

From a NetApp installation and assessment perspective, the second tool that provides valuable insight—especially in the context of deploying NetApp storage into an existing fabric—isActive IQ Config Advisor. Config Advisor is used to validate installation-related configuration and cabling and to detect configuration issues across the environment, including SAN connectivity/cabling checks from the NetApp side. While it is not a Cisco fabric manager, it is the NetApp tool used during installation and verification phases to identify configuration and connection problems that affect successful deployment into a SAN environment (for example, incorrect connectivity patterns or misconfigurations that would impact host/storage access).

Option A (Brocade SAN Health) is purpose-built for Brocade environments and does not match “Cisco MDS fabric configuration.” Option C (Active IQ) focuses on NetApp system health, telemetry, and risks for NetApp arrays rather than providing direct insight into a Cisco MDS fabric configuration.

Therefore, the two tools that best satisfy “insight into their existing Cisco MDS fabric configuration” in the context of deploying NetApp SAN storage areB. Cisco DCNM(Cisco-side fabric visibility) andD. Active IQ Config Advisor(NetApp-side installation validation and connectivity/configuration checks relevant to the fabric integration).

Alternate Control Path (ACP) provides anout-of-band management pathto disk shelves, allowing ONTAP to monitor and reset SAS expanders nondisruptively. It does not carry data traffic and does not assign shelf IDs.

When expanding an ONTAP cluster by adding new nodes or HA pairs,intercluster LIFsare required to enable secure communication between clusters or nodes during join and expansion workflows. Intercluster LIFs provide IP-based connectivity used for cluster peering, node addition, and replication setup.

Cluster management LIFs are used for administrative access, node management LIFs provide per-node management access, and data LIFs are used for client I/O. None of these LIF types support the inter-node communication required during cluster expansion.

Therefore, anintercluster LIFis required.

Before removing a node from an ONTAP cluster, NetApp installation procedures require several validation steps to ensure cluster quorum and availability are preserved. The exhibit shows cluster ring information indicating quorum status and master node assignment.

First,high availability must be confirmed. The node being removed must have an HA partner capable of taking over resources. This ensures nondisruptive operation during and after node removal, which is a mandatory prerequisite for the cluster remove-node command.

Second, the node must be marked asineligibleusing the cluster modify -eligibility false command. This prevents ONTAP from attempting to assign cluster responsibilities or data ownership to the node while it is being removed. This step is explicitly required in NetApp removal workflows.

MovingEpsilon(the quorum tie-breaker) to the node being removed would be incorrect and dangerous, as Epsilon must remain on a stable node to maintain cluster quorum. Additionally, the cluster does not automatically re-elect a new master simply because a node is removed; mastership is determined before removal.

Therefore, the correct statements areA and B.

When assessing storage configurations during ONTAP SAN solution design, one key objective may be maximizing usable data capacity.Advanced Drive Partitioning (ADP)is specifically designed to optimize disk utilization, especially in all-flash and hybrid systems.

ADP allows a single physical disk to be partitioned into multiple logical segments that serve different purposes, such as root data, user data, and spare capacity. This significantly reduces the number of disks reserved exclusively for system use and increases the total amount of disk space available for user data.

RAID-DP and RAID4 provide data protection but do not increase usable capacity; in fact, they reserve parity disks, reducing available space. Flash Pool combines SSDs with HDDs to create caching aggregates, which improves performance but does not maximize raw data capacity.

By contrast, ADP is explicitly intended to maximize usable storage by minimizing overhead. This makes it the optimal choice when the primary requirement ismaximum available data space.

Therefore, the correct answer isD (ADP).

Within the ONTAP SAN implementation testing and troubleshooting domain, NetApp places strong emphasis onpost-installation validation tools. One of the primary tools used immediately after installation isActive IQ Config Advisor.

Active IQ Config Advisor is designed specifically to validatehardware configuration, cabling, HA connectivity, and SAS topology. During post-installation checks, Config Advisor scans the system for configuration errors, miswired cables, unsupported connections, and SAS HA path issues. These checks are a mandatory part of NetApp installation best practices.

SAS HA issues, such as incorrect shelf cabling, missing redundant paths, or improper HA connections, are precisely the types of errors Config Advisor is designed to detect. It performs rule-based validation against NetApp-supported configurations and flags deviations before they result in operational problems.

By contrast,ONTAP System Managerdisplays events and alerts after the system is already operational, but it is not a post-installation validation tool.Cloud Manageris used for cloud-based storage management and is not applicable to on-premises AFF hardware validation.Active IQ Unified Managerfocuses on long-term monitoring, performance analytics, and capacity planning rather than installation-time hardware verification.

Because the errors were related toSAS HA issuesthat could have been detected immediately after installation, the correct tool isActive IQ Config Advisor.

Therefore, the correct answer isC.

From a hardware installation perspective, NetApp SAS shelves are designed to function witha minimum of one installed disk. While performance, redundancy, and aggregate creation require additional disks, the physical shelf itself does not mandate a minimum disk count beyond one for detection and operation.

This flexibility allows administrators to stage hardware installations or expand capacity incrementally. However, ONTAP best practices strongly recommend populating shelves in ways that support RAID protection and performance requirements.

Therefore, the minimum number of disks required in a SAS shelf isone, making optionBcorrect.

ONTAP cluster networks support specific switch vendors validated by NetApp.Ciscois a supported and commonly used vendor for ONTAP cluster interconnect switches.

Other vendors listed are not supported for ONTAP cluster networks.

iSCSI usesIQNs (iSCSI Qualified Names)to identify initiators. When mapping LUNs for iSCSI access, ONTAP requires the initiator IQNs to create igroups and establish access control. WWNNs and WWPNs are used for Fibre Channel, not iSCSI.

Therefore, IQNs are required.

Within the ONTAP SAN solution assessment domain, NetApp emphasizes the creation of accurate and reusable documentation immediately after system installation. One of the supported tools for this purpose is NetAppDocs, which is designed to collect system configuration data and generate standardized inventory and design documentation. According to NetApp Storage Installation concepts and objectives, inventory reports must be produced in formats that support both technical review and customer handoff, while remaining editable and auditable.

NetAppDocs is explicitly described in NetApp documentation as supporting Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and PDF outputs for inventory-style reports. These formats align with operational best practices defined in installation and assessment workflows. Word (.docx) files are used to present structured design narratives and annotated configuration details. Excel (.xlsx) files are used to present tabular inventory data such as controllers, disk shelves, ports, adapters, WWPNs, and LIF assignments, which are critical for SAN assessment and future expansion planning. PDF (.pdf) files are used as finalized, non-editable deliverables suitable for compliance records, customer signoff, and archival purposes.

Formats such as HTML and PostScript (.ps) are not identified in NetApp Storage Installation objectives as supported NetAppDocs inventory outputs. These formats do not align with NetApp’s standardized documentation deliverables and are not referenced in official installation or assessment documentation. As a result, they are excluded.

From a SAN-focused assessment perspective, the ability to generate Word, Excel, and PDF reports ensures consistency across deployment teams, simplifies validation of ONTAP SAN configurations, and supports accurate lifecycle documentation. These formats are repeatedly reinforced in NetApp installation guidance as the approved and supported inventory report outputs.

Therefore, the correct answers are A (.docx), C (.pdf), and E (.xlsx), as they are the only formats verified and supported for NetAppDocs inventory reporting within NetApp Storage Installation concepts and domains provided by NetApp.

NetApp rack unit (U) sizing is defined per shelf model:

DS2246 = 2U each → 2 × 2U = 4U

DS4243 = 4U each → 3 × 4U = 12U

DS4486 = 4U → 4U

Total:4U + 12U + 4U = 20U

Therefore, the correct answer is20U.

Mixing DS4243 and DS4246 shelves in the same stack is unsupported. New shelves must be added as a separate stack.