NetApp

ONTAP SnapMirror Cutover Runbook With CLI and REST API

Published May 25, 2026 | 11 min read

When to Use This Runbook

Use this runbook when a workload is being cut over from a SnapMirror source volume to a destination volume. This pattern fits dev, UAT, and production migration changes where the destination must be made writable after the final replication update.

NetApp's command reference documents the SnapMirror operations used here, including snapmirror initialize, snapmirror update, snapmirror quiesce, snapmirror break, snapmirror resync, snapmirror delete, and snapmirror release: ONTAP SnapMirror commands.

Best-Practice Prechecks

Do not start a cutover by breaking the relationship. Confirm the replication state, lag, host plan, DNS or mount change, and rollback point first.

system health status show
cluster peer show
vserver peer show
snapmirror show -destination-path <dst_svm>:<dst_vol>
snapmirror show -destination-path <dst_svm>:<dst_vol> -fields status,healthy,lag-time,state,relationship-status
volume show -vserver <src_svm> -volume <src_vol>
volume show -vserver <dst_svm> -volume <dst_vol>
volume snapshot show -vserver <src_svm> -volume <src_vol>

Confirm these items before approval:

Check	Good State
Cluster and SVM peering	Available and authenticated
Relationship health	Healthy
Lag time	Inside the approved cutover window
Destination volume	DP/protected before break
Host plan	Mount, DNS, export, or application change documented
Rollback	Source volume remains intact until validation finishes

CLI Cutover Process

Run a final update before the application outage.

snapmirror update -destination-path dst_svm:app_data_dst
snapmirror show -destination-path dst_svm:app_data_dst

Stop application writes to the source. Then quiesce the relationship so no scheduled transfer starts during cutover.

snapmirror quiesce -destination-path dst_svm:app_data_dst
snapmirror show -destination-path dst_svm:app_data_dst -fields state,relationship-status

Run one final update if the relationship allows it and the source is quiet.

snapmirror update -destination-path dst_svm:app_data_dst

Break the relationship to make the destination writable.

snapmirror break -destination-path dst_svm:app_data_dst
volume show -vserver dst_svm -volume app_data_dst -fields type,state

Apply the host access change, such as an export policy update, DNS change, mount update, or application config change. Validate the application before calling the cutover complete.

REST API Process

Discover the relationship:

curl -k -u admin:'<password>' \
  "https://cluster.example.com/api/snapmirror/relationships?destination.path=dst_svm:app_data_dst&fields=uuid,healthy,state,transfer,lag_time,source,destination"

Trigger an update:

curl -k -u admin:'<password>' \
  -X PATCH \
  "https://cluster.example.com/api/snapmirror/relationships/<relationship_uuid>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "state": "transferring" }'

Quiesce before cutover:

curl -k -u admin:'<password>' \
  -X PATCH \
  "https://cluster.example.com/api/snapmirror/relationships/<relationship_uuid>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "state": "paused" }'

Break the relationship:

curl -k -u admin:'<password>' \
  -X PATCH \
  "https://cluster.example.com/api/snapmirror/relationships/<relationship_uuid>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "state": "broken_off" }'

Check the destination volume:

curl -k -u admin:'<password>' \
  "https://cluster.example.com/api/storage/volumes?svm.name=dst_svm&name=app_data_dst&fields=name,type,state,space,nas.path"

Backout

If the destination has not been made writable, continue using the source and resume the relationship. If the relationship has been broken but users have not written to the destination, resync might still be a clean option. If users have written to the destination, stop and make a data decision before resyncing because resync can discard changes on the resync destination.

snapmirror resync -destination-path dst_svm:app_data_dst
snapmirror show -destination-path dst_svm:app_data_dst

Post-Change Evidence

Capture:

snapmirror show -destination-path dst_svm:app_data_dst
volume show -vserver dst_svm -volume app_data_dst
volume show-space -vserver dst_svm -volume app_data_dst
vserver export-policy rule show -vserver dst_svm

The change is complete only after the application owner confirms read/write behavior on the destination.