diff --git a/doc/source/configuration/tables/manila-netapp.inc b/doc/source/configuration/tables/manila-netapp.inc
index 36ea6c4468..ad0de5e4b0 100644
--- a/doc/source/configuration/tables/manila-netapp.inc
+++ b/doc/source/configuration/tables/manila-netapp.inc
@@ -53,4 +53,4 @@
    * - ``netapp_volume_snapshot_reserve_percent`` = ``5``
      - (Integer) The percentage of share space set aside as reserve for snapshot usage; valid values range from 0 to 90.
    * - ``netapp_vserver_name_template`` = ``os_%s``
-     - (String) Name template to use for new Vserver.
+     - (String) Name template to use for new Vserver. When using CIFS protocol make sure to not configure characters illegal in DNS hostnames.
diff --git a/manila/share/drivers/netapp/dataontap/client/client_cmode.py b/manila/share/drivers/netapp/dataontap/client/client_cmode.py
index dd69cf0924..649243f46d 100644
--- a/manila/share/drivers/netapp/dataontap/client/client_cmode.py
+++ b/manila/share/drivers/netapp/dataontap/client/client_cmode.py
@@ -1381,7 +1381,11 @@ class NetAppCmodeClient(client_base.NetAppBaseClient):
 
         # 'cifs-server' is CIFS Server NetBIOS Name, max length is 15.
         # Should be unique within each domain (data['domain']).
-        cifs_server = (vserver_name[0:7] + '..' + vserver_name[-6:]).upper()
+        # Cut to 15 char with begin and end, attempt to make valid DNS hostname
+        cifs_server = (vserver_name[0:8] +
+                       '-' +
+                       vserver_name[-6:]).replace('_', '-').upper()
+
         api_args = {
             'admin-username': security_service['user'],
             'admin-password': security_service['password'],
diff --git a/manila/share/drivers/netapp/options.py b/manila/share/drivers/netapp/options.py
index 5dcb779b44..534b32b26a 100644
--- a/manila/share/drivers/netapp/options.py
+++ b/manila/share/drivers/netapp/options.py
@@ -71,7 +71,9 @@ netapp_provisioning_opts = [
                default='share_%(share_id)s'),
     cfg.StrOpt('netapp_vserver_name_template',
                default='os_%s',
-               help='Name template to use for new Vserver.'),
+               help='Name template to use for new Vserver. '
+                    'When using CIFS protocol make sure to not '
+                    'configure characters illegal in DNS hostnames.'),
     cfg.StrOpt('netapp_qos_policy_group_name_template',
                help='NetApp QoS policy group name template.',
                default='qos_share_%(share_id)s'),
diff --git a/manila/tests/share/drivers/netapp/dataontap/client/test_client_cmode.py b/manila/tests/share/drivers/netapp/dataontap/client/test_client_cmode.py
index bb07d6b135..76a5a98542 100644
--- a/manila/tests/share/drivers/netapp/dataontap/client/test_client_cmode.py
+++ b/manila/tests/share/drivers/netapp/dataontap/client/test_client_cmode.py
@@ -2434,8 +2434,10 @@ class NetAppClientCmodeTestCase(test.TestCase):
         self.client.configure_active_directory(fake.CIFS_SECURITY_SERVICE,
                                                fake.VSERVER_NAME)
 
-        cifs_server = (
-            fake.VSERVER_NAME[0:7] + '..' + fake.VSERVER_NAME[-6:]).upper()
+        cifs_server = (fake.VSERVER_NAME[0:8] +
+                       '-' +
+                       fake.VSERVER_NAME[-6:]).replace('_', '-').upper()
+
         cifs_server_create_args = {
             'admin-username': fake.CIFS_SECURITY_SERVICE['user'],
             'admin-password': fake.CIFS_SECURITY_SERVICE['password'],