Unexpected Snapshot Deletion Failures in the Job Sessions for ONTAP 9.13.1
Challenge
VeeamAUX snapshots cannot be deleted immediately on ONTAP 9.13.1, and are instead later by tracked actions, causing very messy logs and UI sessions.
- FC and iSCSI (NFS is not affected)
- Backup job (always) with the error:
Failed to delete snapshot VeeamAUX_is_sm_1G3TRqSPOYLWmSKSVtrGBg of volume VeeamAUX_is_sm_Backup_3nPFLaxtmDioAeIzLDfLtB Details: Attempt to delete snapshot when clone is busy
- Manual snapshot deletion (only when restore from the snapshot was triggered during the last 12h) with the error:
Failed to remove storage snapshot <snapshot-name> Error: Snapshot copy "<snapshot-name>" of volume "is_sv" in Vserver "svm-fc" has not expired or is locked. Use the "snapshot show -fields owners, expiry-time, snaplock-expiry-time" command to view the expiry and lock status of the Snapshot copy.
- Snapshot-only job retention (only when restore from the snapshot was triggered during the last 12h):
No error/warning messages in session, but retention may not work as expected.
Cause
Due to a change in ONTAP 9.13.1, cloned volumes in this version fall into the recovery queue for 12 hours by default. The parent snapshot receives a 'busy' state and cannot be deleted before the clone leaves the queue and is removed completely from storage.
This change is covered in: https://mysupport.netapp.com/site/bugs-online/product/ONTAP/BURT/1212186
When a regular flexible volume is deleted, it is placed into an ONTAP recovery queue so that it can be recovered at the later point of time before its retention time is lapsed. Unlike a regular flexible volume, when a clone volume is deleted accidentally, it is not placed into ONTAP recovery queue and as a result, recovery is not possible.
Solution
More Information
Workaround:
Set the global recovery queue hours setting on the storage to zero.
WARNING: This setting will impact all snapshots and should be used carefully.
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