Detail Explanation Of Inode – Netapp Cluster Mode

In this post, we will discuss inodes in the NetApp cluster mode. This post explains all possible concept that you should know about Iodes in NetApp cluster mode.

It explains what is Inodes, what is the maximum number of inodes. Additionally, how to increase inodes of a volume in the command line. Above all, a video tutorial explaining the concepts of Inodes.

What is Inode In Netapp Cluster Mode ?

An inode is a data structure or object which contains information about files in Netapp Cluster-Mode. An inode is a data structure that defines a file, with an exception of filename which is stored in the directory entry.

The inode number is an integer unique to the volume. Whenever a user creates a new file an inode is assigned to contain all the information about the file.

What is the Size of Inode In Netapp?

The size of an inode depends upon block size NetApp. Based on the block size of the volume we can say what would be the size of one inode in NetApp cluster mode. If a NetApp volume has a block size of 4 KB then the one inode will consume 4 KB of space and if the block size of the volume is 32 KB then it will consume 32 KB of space.

NetApp block size is 4KN Hence, one inode of in NetApp consumes 4KB of space.

Command to check block size of the volume

In order to get the block size of NetApp volume we need to run node level command. Below command output will give you the block size of all volume which belongs to node 01.

run -node Cluster-01 -command vol status -b

How To Calculate Maximum Inode Of Volume In Netapp Cluster Mode?

The simple formula is the total capacity of the volume in KB divided by the block size of the NetApp. Below is an example where the total volume size is 20 MB or 20480 KB and the block size is 4 KB.

Formula For Calculating Maximum Inodes In Netapp Cluster Mode

Total Approx Inode = Total Size Of the Volume in KB/Block Size of the Volume

Total Approx Inode = 20480/4 = 5120

5120 is an approximate value for the maximum inode. If you want to know the exact value then select a value which is much value and then try to increase the Inode. The Ontap will give you an error and it will also display maximum number of inode that a volume can have.

How to Check Total Number Of Inodes

We can check the total number of inode of volume in NetApp cluster mode by using two commands.

 df -h vol1

The output of the above command will show the total number of free inode and the used inode of a volume. Hence, and the sum of those free and used inodes will give you the total number of inodes of the volume.

vol show -vserver vs1 -volume vol1 -fields files

The output of the above command will give the total number of files that can be created in a volume which is the same as the inode of the volume.

How To Increase Inode Of Volume In Netapp Cluster-Mode?

We need to increase the number of files of volume to increase the inode. As per Netapp best practice recommendation inode should be increased by 2%.

vol modify -volume vol1 -files 2000

If the value is larger than the maximum inode capacity the OnTap will throw an error.

Below is a YouTube Video to see the demo on how to perform all steps to increase the inode in Netapp Cluster-Mode. You can subscribe to our newsletter and subscribe to our YouTube Channel for more such content.

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