Netapp NetApp Accredited Hardware Support Engineer NS0-093 Exam Dumps: Updated Questions & Answers (October 2025)

Reverting to a previous ONTAP version requires careful preparation because ONTAP upgrades often introduce irreversible changes. To successfully revert, the following actions are needed:

C. Reinstall your boot media and install ONTAP 9.5 software

Explanation:You need to reinstall the older version of ONTAP (9.5) on the boot media because the current version (9.7) has been installed as part of the upgrade. The reinstallation ensures that the system boots with ONTAP 9.5.

Steps:

Boot the node into maintenance mode.

Perform the reinstallation using the appropriate ONTAP 9.5 image.

D. Wipe your config and restore from backup

Explanation:A revert requires wiping the configuration because ONTAP upgrades may have made changes to the cluster configuration or WAFL metadata. Restoring the configuration from a backup ensures consistency with the older ONTAP version.

Steps:

Back up the current cluster configuration before proceeding.

Use the restored backup after the revert is complete to reconfigure the system.

Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:

A. Revert from ONTAP 9.7 software to ONTAP 9.6 software and then to ONTAP 9.5 software:

Incorrect. ONTAP reverts must directly target the desired version. You cannot perform multi-step reverts.

B. Delete all Snapshot copies from the past two days:

Incorrect. Deleting Snapshot copies is not a prerequisite for reverting ONTAP. While older Snapshot copies might not be compatible with the reverted version, they do not need to be deleted before the revert.

References:

NetApp Documentation: ONTAP Upgrade and Revert Procedures.

NetApp Knowledge Base: Steps for reinstallation and configuration restoration during a revert.

Description:

When a negotiated takeover occurs (e.g., for maintenance or upgrades), NVRAM data is replayed by the HA partner to ensure no data is lost.

Relevance:

This ensures that all pending writes are safely processed by the partner node.

1. During a Negotiated Takeover:

Description:

If a node loses power unexpectedly, the HA partner replays the mirrored NVRAM data to protect active write operations.

2. When the Node Loses Power:

A. after triggering a sync core:

Triggering a sync core does not involve NVRAM replay; it captures the system state for debugging.

B. when a node is halted:

Halting a node does not trigger NVRAM replay unless it is part of a negotiated takeover.

Why Other Options Are Incorrect:

"ONTAP High Availability Guide" explains NVRAM mirroring and replay during failover scenarios.

References:

When an aggregate fails due to multiple disk failures caused by a faulty I/O module (IOM), the first step after replacing the faulty IOM is to manually unfail the affected drives. This process is done in maintenance mode.

Enter Maintenance Mode:

Reboot the node and interrupt the boot process to access maintenance mode.

Identify Failed Drives:

Use the command:

Steps to Recover the Aggregate:sql

Copy code

storage show disk –broken

This command lists all failed (broken) drives.

Unfail the Drives:

Use the following command for each failed drive:

php

Copy code

disk unfail

Reconstruct the Aggregate:

Once all drives are unfail, the system should begin reconstructing the RAID groups in the aggregate.

A. Use diskcopy from maintenance mode:

Diskcopy is used for cloning or copying data between disks, not for recovering failed aggregates.

B. Run wafliron from the boot_menu:

wafliron is used to repair WAFL inconsistencies, but it does not help recover failed aggregates due to disk issues.

D. Unfail the drives in the order that they failed from the clustershell:

Drives must be unfail in maintenance mode, not from the clustershell.

Why Other Options Are Incorrect:

NetApp’s "Aggregate and RAID Troubleshooting Guide" explains the process of recovering aggregates and using maintenance mode commands.

"ONTAP Disk Recovery Guide" outlines steps to unfail disks and recover RAID groups.

References:

When ONTAP detects a WAFL inconsistency in an aggregate, it automatically generates an AutoSupport message with the description WAFL INCONSISTENT BLOCK.

WAFL INCONSISTENT BLOCK:

This error indicates that WAFL metadata or user data blocks have been found to be inconsistent.

ONTAP triggers an automatic AutoSupport message to notify administrators and NetApp Support.

Key Details:

A. MEDIUM ERROR DURING RECONSTRUCTION:

This error occurs during disk reconstruction, not due to WAFL inconsistencies.

B. CHECKSUM ERROR:

A checksum error indicates a disk-level data integrity issue, not a WAFL inconsistency.

C. WAFL INCONSISTENT USER DATA BLOCK:

While related, this is not the specific AutoSupport message triggered by ONTAP.

Why Other Options Are Incorrect:

NetApp "ONTAP WAFL Troubleshooting Guide" describes AutoSupport messages related to WAFL inconsistencies.

References:

In a SAS stack of shelves, the connection between the expander and the disk uses a point-to-point topology.

Point-to-Point:

Each SAS disk in a shelf connects directly to the expander using a dedicated channel. This ensures that communication between the disk and expander is independent of other disks, improving performance and reliability.

Why SAS Uses Point-to-Point:

SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) eliminates the shared bandwidth limitations of traditional bus architectures (e.g., arbitrated loop or ring) by dedicating a connection to each device.

Key Details:

A. arbitrated loop:

Arbitrated loop is a topology used in Fibre Channel systems, not SAS.

C. loop:

SAS does not use loop-based communication; this is typical of older technologies like SCSI Parallel Interface (SPI).

D. ring:

Ring topology is not used in SAS stacks.

Why Other Options Are Incorrect:

"NetApp SAS Shelf and Disk Configuration Guide" specifies point-to-point communication between expanders and disks in SAS environments.

References:

For an automatic takeover to occur in an HA pair, the following conditions must be met:

The HA pair uses mailbox disks to coordinate and ensure that both nodes have consistent cluster state information.

If the mailbox disks are not reachable, the takeover process cannot proceed.

1. Mailbox Disks Must Be Reachable:

The nodes in an HA pair continuously mirror NVRAM data to ensure that writes are protected.

If NVRAM is not synchronized, the takeover cannot safely handle active workloads.

2. NVRAM Must Be Synchronized:

A. The combined utilization of both nodes must be less than 100%:

This is not a requirement for automatic takeover. ONTAP can handle higher utilization during failover scenarios.

B. The cluster network must be available:

While the cluster network is critical for normal operation, takeover can still occur if the cluster network is unavailable, as long as the HA interconnect is operational.

Why Other Options Are Incorrect:

NetApp "ONTAP High Availability Guide" outlines the requirements for automatic takeover in HA pairs.

"ONTAP NVRAM Synchronization and Failover Guide" explains NVRAM mirroring requirements.

References:

 Best Practices for SAS Cabling in AFF A700 Systems:

The AFF A700 system has built-in SAS ports (e.g., 2a and 2b) as well as additional SAS ports on optional SAS cards.

To ensure high availability and redundancy, it is recommended to distribute SAS connections across multiple SAS ports from different controllers or slots.

 Why Port 2a and 9a Are Recommended:

Port 2a is a built-in SAS port on the AFF A700 system.

Port 9a belongs to the additional SAS card in slot 9.

By connecting the stack using 2a and 9a, you utilize different SAS domains (built-in controller ports and add-on card ports), providing both path redundancy and load balancing.

 NetApp Reference Documentation:

"NetApp Hardware Universe" and "ONTAP Hardware Installation Guide" highlight that SAS cabling for redundancy should leverage different ports, including those from separate SAS controllers or add-on cards.

NetApp's best practice guidelines suggest avoiding connections to the same SAS controller or port group for critical stacks.

 Reverting to a Previous ONTAP Version:

Reverting ONTAP software requires specific procedures and is only supported if the ONTAP version being reverted to is compatible with the current cluster configuration.

 Why the Netboot Procedure Is Used:

The netboot process loads the desired ONTAP version directly into memory from a network location and reinitializes the system.

This method is used when a full software revert is required and is often necessary for downgrades to a version that cannot be directly reverted to from the running ONTAP version.

 Key Notes:

A direct revert is not supported from ONTAP 9.7 to ONTAP 9.5 using standard methods due to system metadata changes.

Always verify compatibility using the "ONTAP Software Version Interoperability Matrix".

 NetApp Reference Documentation:

Refer to the "ONTAP Revert/Downgrade Guide" for specific instructions on using the netboot procedure.

When a node fails to boot and loads the previous version of ONTAP, it usually indicates that the primary boot location is incorrect. To resolve this:

Enter the LOADER Prompt:

Interrupt the boot process to access the LOADER prompt.

Set the Primary Kernel URL:

Use the following command:

Steps to Boot the Correct ONTAP Version:setenv GX_PRIMARY_KERNEL_URL

Boot the Node:

Run the boot command to load the correct version.

B. From the loader prompt of nodeA1, run boot_backup:

Booting the backup image may result in an outdated version of ONTAP, not the desired version.

C. From the clustershell of the partner, run system node image modify:

Modifications to the ONTAP image must be done from the LOADER prompt, not the clustershell.

D. From the clustershell of nodeA1, run system node image modify:

NodeA1 cannot load ONTAP, so this command cannot be run.

Why Other Options Are Incorrect:

"ONTAP System Boot Guide" explains how to resolve boot issues using the LOADER prompt.

NetApp documentation on environment variables includes the use of GX_PRIMARY_KERNEL_URL.

References: