CIFS Share file indexing | NetApp | Page 1

tawdry berry Feb 7, 2023, 4:10 PM

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Hi there. We are in "trouble" with our marketing department. They have to move from their Mac OSX Server to a NetApp CIFS file share but they are afraid that their search will be very slow without an index. And I believe this too.
I know there is an application "iFinder", which can index your files. But isn't there another option to do this?
Does anyone else has this "problem"?
Thanks.

shy vale Feb 10, 2023, 10:03 AM

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yes, maxOSX on CIFS without a filesystem cache isn't a fast solution.
the finder have to query every single directory, until there are no more files to be displayed in that directory. then move to another directory and so on. even if you have a very fast storage - this takes time ...... (have a A400 with NVMe SDDs for that).
i don't have a solution for you, but:

create multiple FlexVol/FlexGroup volumes and split data over them
reduce number of directories (.DS_Store)

errant citrus Feb 10, 2023, 11:14 PM

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Is it an option to keep the osx server and use iscsi to mount storage from the NetApp?

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M2 Mac Mini is cheap 😉

tawdry berry Feb 17, 2023, 9:48 AM

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@shy vale thanks for your tips... but we are talking about less then 10 TB... so creating multiple volumes wouldn't help that much... and a flexgroup is not an option, because we are using a stretched metro-cluster... so no possibility to share it over multiple nodes... 😞 and reducing number of directories... it's a good hint, but they already try to keep their folder structure as simple as possible... 🤷‍♂️
@errant citrus well... didn't thought about that yet... but it sound like an idea... 🤔 I have to talk to my teammates... 😉

fast dirge Feb 22, 2023, 11:14 PM

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The "slow search" due to the lack of indexing is the same for Windows clients since ONTAP doesn't implement the Microsoft Indexing Service (not an open standard from what I have seen), but that doesn't stop them from using ONTAP. The best thing to do is test to determine what the experience will be compared to the current solution.

pale jay Feb 23, 2023, 5:30 AM

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There are enhancements in 9.12.1 for MacOS clients over SMB that may improve things. Still not as fast as having a search index to query, but much faster than SMB without the Apple extensions.

tawdry berry Feb 24, 2023, 8:09 AM

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@fast dirge yes, you are right... it's the same for Windows and Mac Users... but if you have been familiar only to type in the search field and get the result immediate... you won't be happy without an index...
So they have tested... and they are crying 😔 not all... those, who are just creating new content are fine with this situation... but the users, which are searching for something in the hole volume are not happy...
@pale jay Sounds good 😃 but unfortunately we are pinned to Ontap 9.9, unless we have replaced our backup solution which is currently working with SnapDiff v1/v2 😉

#CIFS Share file indexing