Separate stopping NetApp cool tiering from retrieving already cooled data

Source facts

Disabling cool access at the volume level stops further tiering, but files already in the cool tier remain there. The volume’s retrieval policy remains unchanged when cool access is disabled.

The On-read retrieval policy returns cold data to the hot tier on sequential or random reads; Never serves that data from the cool tier without returning it. A capacity pool enabled for cool access cannot be converted back to a non-cool-access pool. Microsoft Learn.

Applicability

Inventory the pool setting, each volume’s tiering state, retrieval policy, and existing cool-tier data. Review service-level movement restrictions in the source before choosing a destination pool. Define whether the objective is stopping new tiering or changing where existing data resides.

DSE recommendation

DSE recommends agreeing these objectives separately with the workload owner. Preserve the current settings and identify a representative data set before any planned retrieval activity. Avoid describing a disabled checkbox as complete reversal. Keep the pool’s continuing cool-access constraint visible in migration and capacity planning.

Verification

After an approved change, inspect the volume setting and retrieval policy, then observe the intended reads and resulting tier metrics. Use nonsensitive representative data and document which blocks or files were exercised. Accept the change only against the stated objective; do not infer that all existing cold data returned from a single successful file open.

Official references

Microsoft Learn: Manage Azure NetApp Files storage with cool access. Source retrieved September 9, 2026.