It is crucial to understand what the simulator is—and what it isn’t. The ONTAP Simulator (often referred to as the "Sim" or "vSim") is a virtual machine (VM) that runs the exact same ONTAP software found on physical FAS and AFF systems.

Deploy two separate single-node clusters and configure SnapMirror replication to practice disaster recovery workflows.

VMware Workstation Player (Free) or VMware Fusion (Mac). 3. Installation & Setup Steps

This comprehensive guide details everything you need to know about downloading, installing, and optimizing the NetApp ONTAP 9 simulator. Why Use the NetApp ONTAP 9 Simulator?

Extract the downloaded ZIP file, open your hypervisor, and select "Open a Virtual Machine." Navigate to the extracted folder and select the .vmx file.

At least 40 GB of free solid-state drive (SSD) space per node for optimal performance. Supported Hypervisors VMware Workstation Pro / Player (Windows and Linux) VMware Fusion (macOS)