What is the minimum number of intercluster LIFs required on a 4-node AFF A400 ONTAP cluster configured with SnapMirror and FlexCache origin volumes?

• A. 12
• B. 4
• C. 8
• D. 16

Answer: (C)

Intercluster LIFs carry replication traffic between NetApp clusters (SnapMirror) and also support FlexCache origin communications. To keep replication resilient, you want redundancy on every node. Allocating two intercluster LIFs on each node provides a path for inter-cluster traffic even if one link or node fails, and it distributes the load across the cluster. With four nodes, that means 4 × 2 = eight intercluster LIFs in total, which meets the minimum requirement for HA and consistent SnapMirror/FlexCache operation.

Having fewer than two per node would create a single point of failure for intercluster replication, while more than two per node isn’t necessary for the stated minimum. Therefore, eight intercluster LIFs is the correct minimum for this 4-node cluster.