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Data ONTAP 7 and Disk Qualification Package (DQP)

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Applies to

  • Data ONTAP 8 (7-mode)

Question(s) and Answer(s)

Data ONTAP and Disk Qualification Package (DQP) 

Check Active IQ if this impacts your systems

  • Data ONTAP does not recognize a drive correctly.
  • Data ONTAP recognizes a 15k RPM drive as 10K RPM (default).
  1. Is the installation of a new Disk Qualification Package (DQP) disruptive to the system?
    No. You can install a new DQP at any time without disrupting the system. The file will be processed by ONTAP 5-10 minutes after installation.
     
  2. Where does one install the DQP package?
    Data ONTAP looks for the qual_devices* file in the /etc directory of the root volume.
     
  3. Should one copy a specific version of the qual_devices file out of the archive or should one copy the contents of the entire DQP archive in the /etc folder?
    The minimum requirement is to install the version specific to the current Data ONTAP running on the storage system. The DQP file should be placed in the /etc folder in the root volume (/vol/vol0) on the filer.

    However, it is recommended to place all qual_devices* files (in the Disk Qualification Package) in the /etc folder to ensure smooth Data ONTAP upgrades in future.
     
  4. How does Data ONTAP determine if the DQP file has changed? And, how frequently does it check for changes in the installed DQP file?
    Data ONTAP reads the modification time of the DQP file to determine if it has changed or not. If the file modification time is different from the last time it checked, it processes it.
    Data ONTAP checks approximately every 5-10 minutes to see if the file modification time has changed.
     
  5. Does one have to reinstall DQP every time one adds a new drive or shelf?
    No, one does not have to install a new DQP every time one adds a new drive or shelf.
    Nonetheless, it is good practice to install the latest DQP, disk firmware, shelf firmware before the new hardware is added. The best time to do this is close to (before) adding new hardware.
     
  6. Does Data ONTAP load DQP after a reboot?
    Yes, it loads DQP as a part of the boot up process if it finds unqualified disks that are unknown to the kernel. This may take place a few minutes after the initial boot up and therefore a little delay is expected.
     
  7. Does Data ONTAP understand all versions of qual_device or does it understand only specific version depending upon the Data ONTAP revision?  
    Yes, specific revisions of Data ONTAP look for a particular revision of the /etc/qual_devices file as shown below. However, you still need to install/copy all qual_devices* files to the filer, regardless of what version you are on.
     

qual_devices     For releases prior to 7.2.1
qual_devices_v2  For releases 7.2.1, 7.2.2 and 7.2.3
qual_devices_v2.copy Backup copy of v2 file
qual_devices_v3  For releases 7.2.4 and later
qual_devices_v3.copy Backup copy of v3 file

8. How do I force Data ONTAP to re-read the Disk Qualification File?
One can reboot the filer to have Data ONTAP re-read the qual_devices* files.

Caution: Do not edit the qual_devices* files or save the changes - any changes in the Qual Devices file will render the file meaningless and prevent Data ONTAP to read it successfully.

The latest qual_devices file is located at http://mysupport.netapp.com/NOW/download/tools/diskqual/

Additional Information

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