You have a 4-node NetApp ONTAP cluster that has been using FabricPool technology to tier...

FabricPool normally connects ONTAP to StorageGRID through an HTTPS load balancer endpoint. That endpoint uses a server certificate so that ONTAP can authenticate the StorageGRID service. NetApp specifically warns that if the certificate securing the ONTAP-to-StorageGRID connection expires, FabricPool temporarily stops working and ONTAP loses access to data tiered to StorageGRID.

The same problem can occur when the endpoint certificate is renewed or replaced in StorageGRID but the corresponding trusted certificate on ONTAP is not updated. NetApp requires the StorageGRID and ONTAP certificate configurations to remain synchronized; after certificate replacement or renewal, ONTAP must trust the new certificate chain.

The scenario also eliminates the node-failure answers. The two Gateway Nodes are configured in an HA group, so failure of one Gateway Node should not independently cause the FabricPool endpoint to become unavailable. Likewise, losing one Storage Node does not normally prevent access to the StorageGRID S3 service. A Client Network trust-state change would have broader networking implications and does not fit the isolated, time-related FabricPool failure described.

Therefore, C is the correct answer.

Reference topics: FabricPool Integration → StorageGRID Load Balancer Endpoints → HTTPS/TLS Certificates → Certificate Expiration and Rotation