FSx for NetApp ONTAP Automation

Overview

Comprehensive automation solution for managing AWS FSx for NetApp ONTAP storage systems. The project provides Terraform modules for infrastructure provisioning, Ansible playbooks for configuration management, and automated tools for managing export policies, SMB shares, and NFS exports.

Key Features

• Infrastructure Provisioning: Terraform modules for FSx file systems
• Configuration Management: Ansible playbooks for ONTAP configuration
• Export Policy Automation: Automated management of NFS export policies
• SMB/NFS Management: Scripts for share and export creation
• Backup Automation: Scheduled snapshots and backup policies
• Monitoring Integration: CloudWatch and Datadog monitoring

Tech Stack

• Cloud Platform: AWS (FSx for NetApp ONTAP)
• Infrastructure as Code: Terraform
• Configuration Management: Ansible
• Scripting: Python, Bash, PowerShell
• APIs: NetApp ONTAP REST API
• Monitoring: CloudWatch, Datadog

Architecture

Components

1. Terraform Modules: Provision FSx file systems and networking
2. Ansible Roles: Configure ONTAP storage virtual machines (SVMs)
3. Python Scripts: Automate export policy updates
4. PowerShell Modules: Manage SMB shares for Windows workloads
5. Monitoring Stack: Track performance and capacity

Workflow

Terraform Provision → Ansible Configure → Script Automation → 
Monitoring Setup → Operational Management

Implementation Details

Infrastructure Provisioning

• Multi-AZ deployment for high availability
• Automated sizing based on workload requirements
• Security group and network configuration
• Backup and disaster recovery setup

Storage Configuration

• Storage Virtual Machine (SVM) setup
• Volume provisioning with tiering policies
• Junction path configuration
• Snapshot policies

Export Policy Management

• Automated export rule creation
• IP-based access control
• Protocol-specific policies (NFS, SMB)
• Regular policy audits

Automation Tools

# Example: Export Policy Update
def update_export_policy(svm, volume, client_ips):
    policy = create_export_policy(volume)
    for ip in client_ips:
        add_export_rule(policy, ip, ['nfs'])
    apply_policy_to_volume(svm, volume, policy)

Outcomes

• Time Savings: Reduced storage provisioning time from days to hours
• Consistency: Standardized storage configuration across environments
• Reliability: Automated backup and disaster recovery
• Cost Optimization: Intelligent tiering reduced storage costs by 40%
• Scalability: Automated scaling based on capacity thresholds

Technical Challenges

Challenge 1: Complex API Integration

Solution: Built Python wrapper library around NetApp ONTAP REST API

Challenge 2: Multi-Protocol Support

Solution: Created unified configuration templates for NFS and SMB

Challenge 3: Backup Management

Solution: Implemented automated snapshot scheduling and retention policies

Features

Automated Provisioning

• One-command file system creation
• Automatic sizing calculations
• Network configuration automation

Configuration Management

• Declarative configuration via Ansible
• Idempotent playbooks
• Role-based configuration

Operational Tools

• Health check scripts
• Capacity monitoring
• Performance analytics
• Automated troubleshooting

Best Practices

• Infrastructure as Code for all resources
• Automated testing before production deployment
• Comprehensive documentation
• Security-first approach (encryption, access controls)
• Regular backup testing

Monitoring & Observability

• CloudWatch metrics for system health
• Datadog dashboards for performance
• Automated alerting for capacity thresholds
• Custom metrics for application-specific monitoring

Future Enhancements

• Cross-region replication automation
• Machine learning-based capacity planning
• Self-healing capabilities
• Advanced cost optimization strategies