How to move a CIFS server from one domain to another in clustered Data ONTAP

Applies to

• ONTAP 9
• Clustered Data ONTAP 8.2

Description

It might be necessary at times to move a CIFS server from one domain to another. A use case for this is domain consolidation.

Company A gets acquired by Company B or is moving a server from a test domain to a production domain. Depending on the version of Clustered Data ONTAP running on the storage controller, this move can be completed without affecting the current CIFS configuration. See below for explanations on what is possible, depending on the version of clustered Data ONTAP running on the storage controller:

• Clustered Data ONTAP versions earlier than 8.2 - The CIFS server needs to be deleted and recreated, resulting in the loss of CIFS configuration
• Clustered Data ONTAP 8.2 and later - The CIFS server configuration can be modified, resulting in retaining the CIFS configuration

The scope of this article is to provide the steps for those clusters running clustered Data ONTAP 8.2 and later.  For those environments with versions earlier than Clustered Data ONTAP 8.2, see the 'File Access and Protocols Management Guide' for the release running on the storage controller for information on how to delete and re-create the CIFS server and relevant shares.