Deploy Multi-AZ FSx for NetApp ONTAP per Region with a scheduled SnapMirror relationship to the on-premises array

DOP-C02 By islever Editorial Last updated

Implement automated recovery processes to meet RTO and RPO requirements. Define cloud infrastructure and reusable components to provision and manage systems throughout their lifecycle.

Short answer

C Deploy Multi-AZ FSx for NetApp ONTAP in each Region and replicate from the on-premises array with a scheduled SnapMirror relationship.

Question

A company is migrating its product development teams from an on-premises data center to a hybrid environment. The new environment will add four AWS Regions and will give the developers the ability to use the Region that is geographically closest to them. All the development teams use a shared set of Linux applications. The on-premises data center stores the applications on a NetApp ONTAP storage device. The storage volume is mounted read-only on the development on-premises VMs. The company updates the applications on the shared volume once a week. A DevOps engineer needs to replicate the data to all the new Regions. The DevOps engineer must ensure that the data is always up to date with deduplication. The data also must not be dependent on the availability of the on-premises storage device. Which solution will meet these requirements?
  1. Create an Amazon S3 File Gateway in the on-premises data center. Create S3 buckets in each Region. Set up a cron job to copy the data from the storage device to the S3 File Gateway. Set up S3 Cross-Region Replication (CRR) to the S3 buckets in each Region.
  2. Create an Amazon FSx File Gateway in one Region. Create file servers in Amazon FSx for Windows File Server in each Region. Set up a cron job to copy the data from the storage device to the FSx File Gateway.
  3. Create Multi-AZ Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP instances and volumes in each Region. Configure a scheduled SnapMirror relationship between the on-premises storage device and the FSx for ONTAP instances. Correct Answer
  4. Create an Amazon Elastic File System (Amazon EFS) file system in each Region. Deploy an AWS DataSync agent in the on-premises data center. Configure a schedule for DataSync to copy the data to Amazon EFS daily.

Key Takeaways

The source is NetApp ONTAP, so the only approach that preserves ONTAP-native efficiency such as deduplication and incremental transfer is SnapMirror to FSx for NetApp ONTAP (C). Option A routes the data through an S3 File Gateway with cron copies plus cross-Region replication, which converts it to an object-store copy, loses the file-system semantics, and depends on scheduled jobs. Option D uses DataSync to EFS on a daily schedule, which is both less frequent than required and does not deduplicate. Option B is a mismatched design, pairing an FSx File Gateway with Windows file servers for a NetApp source.

The source is a NetApp ONTAP device mounted read-only, updated weekly, and the data must stay continuously deduplicated, be replicated to four Regions, and stop depending on the on-premises device's availability. Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP provides a managed ONTAP file system in each Region, and configuring a scheduled SnapMirror relationship between the on-premises array and those instances keeps the cloud copies current while ONTAP's deduplication reduces transferred and stored data. SnapMirror is native to ONTAP, so the on-premises device is the replication source rather than a runtime dependency.

Common mistake: Copying the data to an S3 File Gateway with cron jobs and cross-Region replication (A) — this flattens an ONTAP file system into objects through a gateway, loses the native ONTAP incremental and deduplication behavior, and depends on a scheduled job rather than continuous replication; it also leaves the on-premises device in the data path. Using DataSync to copy daily into EFS (D) — a daily schedule cannot satisfy continuously up-to-date data, and EFS provides no deduplication. Using an FSx File Gateway with Windows File Server (B) — neither product matches a NetApp ONTAP source.

Expert Analysis

Why the Answer Is Correct

The on-premises source is a NetApp ONTAP storage device, and the requirement to stay deduplicated and continuously current points to ONTAP's own replication technology. Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP delivers a managed ONTAP file system, deployed as Multi-AZ instances and volumes in each of the four Regions, and configuring a scheduled SnapMirror relationship between the on-premises array and the FSx for ONTAP instances keeps the cloud copies incrementally up to date while ONTAP deduplication avoids transferring redundant blocks. Because the cloud file systems are independent ONTAP instances that receive replicated data, the solution no longer depends on the on-premises device remaining available.

Why the Other Options Are Wrong

A creates an Amazon S3 File Gateway in the data center, copies data to it with a cron job, and then uses S3 cross-Region replication. This objectifies an ONTAP file system, loses ONTAP-native incremental transfer and deduplication, and depends on a scheduled job rather than continuous replication. B creates an FSx File Gateway and then FSx for Windows File Server file servers, which is a mismatched design for a NetApp ONTAP source and still relies on cron to copy the data. D creates EFS file systems and uses a DataSync agent with a daily schedule, which cannot satisfy continuously up-to-date data and offers no deduplication. C is correct.

Community Comment Notes

Community voted C (90). Commenters cited the AWS documentation on migrating to FSx for ONTAP with SnapMirror, noting that Multi-AZ FSx for ONTAP instances provide high availability and replication. limelight04 questioned whether C addresses deduplication and independence from the on-premises device, but SnapMirror's scheduled, incremental replication with ONTAP deduplication is exactly what satisfies both.

Official Reference

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/fsx/latest/ONTAPGuide/migrating-fsx-ontap-snapmirror.html

This link opens the official vendor documentation in a new tab.

Community Votes

C
100%

100% of anonymous learners picked answer C. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.

Discussion 6 contributions

Compiled from public community threads and reader submissions, lightly edited for clarity. Handles and vote tallies are shown as recorded, and comments reflect the views of individual contributors.

From public community threads 6

  1. Duke315 👍 3 Answered C
    Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP provides a managed NetApp ONTAP experience in the cloud. By creating Multi-AZ FSx for ONTAP instances in each Region, you can replicate data with high availability and redundancy. Checkout cheaper contributor access here: https://exammatter.net/ SnapMirror is a replication technology provided by NetApp that allows for efficient and reliable data replication. Configuring SnapMirror relationships between your on-premises NetApp storage device and the FSx for ONTAP instances will ensure that your data is consistently replicated across all AWS Regions.
  2. jamesf 👍 3 Answered C
    Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP provides a managed NetApp ONTAP experience in the cloud. By creating Multi-AZ FSx for ONTAP instances in each Region, you can replicate data with high availability and redundancy. SnapMirror is a replication technology provided by NetApp that allows for efficient and reliable data replication. Configuring SnapMirror relationships between your on-premises NetApp storage device and the FSx for ONTAP instances will ensure that your data is consistently replicated across all AWS Regions.
  3. trungtd 👍 3 Answered C
    C https://docs.aws.amazon.com/fsx/latest/ONTAPGuide/migrating-fsx-ontap-snapmirror.html
  4. getadroit 👍 2
    C https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/storage/cross-region-disaster-recovery-with-amazon-fsx-for-netapp-ontap/
  5. limelight04 👍 1 Answered D
    Option C does involve using Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP, it doesn’t address the deduplication requirement or the independence from the availability of the on-premises storage device. Additionally, SnapMirror relationships are typically used for data replication within the same storage system rather than across multiple Regions. For the specific requirements of deduplication, independence, and multi-Region replication, Option D (using Amazon EFS with AWS DataSync) is a more suitable solution.
Show 1 more comment
  1. tgv 👍 2
    ---> C

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