General System Maintenance
General maintenance tasks you might need to perform to manage your storage system include managing aggregate Snapshot copy, managing licenses, setting the system date and time, synchronizing the system time, managing core files, configuring message logging, audit logging, and storage system startup, backing up and cloning storage system configuration, and managing UPS.
- Aggregate Snapshot copy management
An aggregate Snapshot copy is a point-in-time, read-only image of an aggregate. It is similar to a volume Snapshot copy, except that it captures the contents of the entire aggregate, rather than any particular volume. You use aggregate Snapshot copies when the contents of an entire aggregate need to be recorded. However, you do not restore data directly from an aggregate Snapshot copy. To restore data, you use a volume Snapshot copy.
- Ways to manage licenses
A license code is a string of characters, such as ABCDEFG, that is unique to a particular service. You receive license codes for every protocol and option, or service, that you purchase. You can add or disable a license. You can also display the licensing information for your storage system.
- Setting the system date and time
Keeping the system date and time correct is important to ensure that the storage system can service requests correctly.
- Synchronizing the system time
The timed daemon enables you to keep the system time for your storage system automatically synchronized with a time server. Using this feature is advised, because problems can occur when the storage system clock is inaccurate.
- Displaying and setting the system time zone
Data ONTAP enables you to display the system time zone. It also enables you to set the system time zone and save the setting for use on subsequent boots.
- Core files
When a hardware or software failure causes the storage system to panic, the system creates a core file that technical support can use to troubleshoot the problem. The storage system stores the core file in the /etc/crash directory on the root volume.
- Message logging
The storage system maintains messages in the /etc/messages file on its root volume. The level of information that the storage system records in the /etc/messages file is configurable in the /etc/syslog.conf file.
- Audit logging
An audit log is a record of commands executed at the console, through a Telnet shell, an SSH shell, or by using the rsh command. All the commands executed in a source file script are also recorded in the audit log. Administrative HTTP operations, such as those resulting from the use of FilerView, are logged. All login attempts to access the storage system, with success or failure, are also audit-logged.
- Startup configuration for the storage system
You can customize your system startup by editing the storage system's boot configuration file, the /etc/rc file in the root directory.
- Storage system configuration backup and cloning
The configuration backup operation of the storage system stores the system's configuration information in a file with a name you specify. The configuration backup file enables you to restore the storage system configuration in case of disasters or emergencies. Configuration cloning enables you to clone the configuration of an existing storage system to a new system.
- About writing and reading files on the storage system
Data ONTAP provides commands that enable you to write to or read from a specified file on the storage system. However, when using such commands, you must exercise caution about potential security and data corruption issues.
- UPS management
Data ONTAP enables you to register and monitor the status of Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) devices you are using with your storage system. In addition, you can configure the timing of certain Data ONTAP events when a power loss occurs.
