It felt just like setting up a physical FAS array. When the setup script finished, the familiar ONTAP command line interface (CLI) greeted him.
: A NetApp Support Account is required. If you do not have one, you may need to register as a customer or partner.
To download the simulator, follow these steps on the official NetApp Support site
Experiment with inline deduplication, compression, and data compaction. netapp ontap 9 simulator download free
Note: While some users have successfully converted the simulator files to run on Oracle VirtualBox, it is not officially supported by NetApp and often encounters stability issues. Step-by-Step: NetApp ONTAP 9 Simulator Download Free
To download the simulator, follow these steps on the NetApp Support Site:
The .ovf file you downloaded actually contains nodes (node1 and node2). During the OVF import, tell the wizard to deploy as "two VMs" if the option exists. If not, import the OVF twice. It felt just like setting up a physical FAS array
: At least 40 GB of free disk space per simulator instance.
) is a powerful tool for IT professionals to learn, test, and develop in an ONTAP environment without requiring physical hardware. As of April 2026, it remains a cornerstone for homelab enthusiasts and engineers looking to master clustered Data ONTAP features. NetApp Knowledge Base How to Download the Simulator To download the official simulator, you must access the NetApp Support Site
I understand you're looking for the . Here are the official details: If you do not have one, you may
A "NetApp Support Site" account is free to create. You do not need a valid support contract number to download the simulator. You only need a valid email address.
Edit the virtual machine settings to configure network adapters. Typically, you need at least three network interfaces: Net 1: Management Interface Net 2: Cluster Interconnect Net 3: Data Network