Both N7700 filer models require the addition of at least one N series storage expansion unit.
Within a single N series storage expansion unit, all disk drives must be of a particular type (rotational speed/capacity). Although the original order for storage expansion units may contain storage expansion units with no more than two different types (rotational speed/capacity) of disk drives, later upgrades to add additional storage expansion units do not have to meet this requirement.
The maximum raw storage capacity of the N7700 system is determined only by the number of disk drives supported.
Table 1 describes the maximum supported total physical storage capacity for the N7700.
| Disk enclosure | Disk drive capacity | Maximum storage enclosures | Maximum disk drives | Maximum physical capacity1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EXN1000 | 250 GB SATA disk drives | 84 | 840 | 210 TB | |
| EXN1000 | 500 GB SATA disk drives | 84 | 840 | 420 TB | |
| EXN1000 | 750 GB SATA disk drives | 84 | 840 | 630 TB | |
| EXN1000 | 1 TB SATA disk drives | 84 | 840 | 840 TB | |
| EXN1000 | 2 TB SATA disk drives | In systems running Data ONTAP 7.3.x | 84 | 420 | 840 TB |
| In systems running Data ONTAP 8.0.x | 84 | 840 | 1680 TB | ||
| EXN3000 | 100 GB SSD drives 2 | *Requires Data ONTAP 8.0.2 or higher | 4 | 96 | 9.6 TB |
| EXN3000 | 200 GB SSD drives 2 | *Requires Data ONTAP 8.1.2 or higher | 4 | 96 | 19.2 TB |
| EXN3000 | 300 GB SAS disk drives | 84 | 840 | 252 TB | |
| EXN3000 | 450 GB SAS disk drives | 84 | 840 | 378 TB | |
| EXN3000 | 600 GB SAS disk drives | 84 | 840 | 504 TB | |
| EXN3000 | 4 TB NL SAS disk drives | *Requires Data ONTAP 8.1.2 or higher | 84 | 840 | 3360 TB |
| EXN3000 | 500 GB SATA disk drives | 84 | 840 | 420 TB | |
| EXN3000 | 1 TB SATA disk drives | 84 | 840 | 840 TB | |
| EXN3000 | 2 TB SATA disk drives | In systems running Data ONTAP 7.3.x | 84 | 420 | 840 TB |
| In systems running Data ONTAP 8.0.x | 84 | 840 | 1680 TB | ||
| EXN3000 | 3 TB SATA disk drives | *Requires Data ONTAP 8.0.2 or higher | 84 | 840 | 2520 TB |
 EXN3000  |
4 TB SED NL SAS disk drives |
*Requires Data ONTAP 8.2.x or higher |
84 |
840 |
3360 TB |
| EXN3500 | 200 GB SSD drives 2 | *Requires Data ONTAP 8.1.2 or higher | 4 | 96 | 19.2 TB |
| EXN3500 |
400 GB SSD drives 2 |
*Requires Data ONTAP 8.2 or higher |
4 |
96 |
38.4 TB |
| EXN3500 | 800 GB SSD drives 2 | *Requires Data ONTAP 8.1.2 or higher | 4 | 96 | 76.8 TB |
| EXN3500 | 1.6 TB SSD drives 2 | *Requires Data ONTAP 8.2 or higher | 4 | 96 | 153.6 TB |
| EXN3500 | 450 GB SAS disk drives | 84 | 840 | 378 TB | |
| EXN3500 | 600 GB SAS disk drives | 84 | 840 | 504 TB | |
| EXN3500 | 900 GB SAS disk drives | 84 | 840 | 756 TB | |
| EXN3500 | 1.2 TB SAS disk drives | 84 | 840 | 1008 TB | |
| EXN4000 | 144 GB Fibre Channel disk drives | 84 | 840 | 120.96 TB | |
| EXN4000 | 300 GB Fibre Channel disk drives | 84 | 840 | 252 TB | |
| EXN4000 | 450 GB Fibre Channel disk drives | 84 | 840 | 378 TB | |
| EXN4000 | 600 GB Fibre Channel disk drives | 84 | 840 | 504 TB | |
| 1 The maximum raw storage capacity of the N7700 is determined by the maximum number of disk drives supported (840) and a maximum physical storage limit of 840 TB in systems running Data ONTAP 7.3.x or 2520 TB in systems running Data ONTAP 8.0.2 or higher. Both limits must be honored. 2 Storage systems using solid state disk (SSD) drives require at least one stack of rotating disk drives in addition to the SSD stack. For the disk shelf supporting SSD drives to function properly, a minimum of four SSD drives must be installed in the disk shelf. | |||||
EXN1000 SATA storage expansion units and EXN4000 Fibre Channel storage expansion units must not share Fibre Channel loops. A maximum of six storage expansion units (EXN1000, or EXN4000) is supported on a single Fibre Channel loop.
An SAS stack can contain a maximum of ten EXN3000 or EXN3500 storage expansion units. The maximum number of supported SAS stacks and total EXN3000 or EXN3500 storage expansion units depends upon the storage controller configuration. EXN3000s and EXN3500s are supported within the same system configuration, but they cannot be connected in the same SAS stack. A single SAS stack must contain only EXN3000s or EXN3500s.
Dual-path Fibre Channel cabling is supported for the N7700 filer. Dual-path Fibre Channel cabling is designed to improve reliability, availability and serviceability of the storage expansion units attached to the storage controller by creating two redundant paths from each storage controller to each loop of the storage expansion units. For more information about using dual-path Fibre Channel cabling, see the Installation and Setup Instructions that came with your system.