Connectivity and MyService360
The MyService360 dashboard provides services management and analytics for IT infrastructure. Reference this guide to understand how Dell Technologies defines and treats connectivity within your MyService360 experience.
NOTE:
- The secure connect gateway 5.x technology is the next generation consolidated connectivity solution from Dell Technologies Services. It replaces the legacy solutions of SupportAssist Enterprise, and Secure Remote Services, whose capabilities are integrated into the secure connect gateway technology.
- Connectivity through secure connect gateway is recommended for new-to-connectivity customers. Learn more about Connectivity Adoption for your Data Center.
- Effective dates for the end-of-service-life (EOSL) for legacy solutions (See Q5 for details):
- SupportAssist Enterprise 2.x and 4.x were retired on July 31, 2022.
- The transition to the full retirement of Secure Remote Services v3.x commences June 15, 2023, and wraps up on January 31, 2024. Learn more by viewing Dell article 215260, Secure Remote Services (SRS) is End of Service Life.
NOTE: For customers with PowerStore and Unity products that use direct connect, we are retiring Secure Remote Services-based technology at a date to be announced.
- There is an in-place upgrade path to secure connect gateway for customers running Secure Remote Services v3.52 on their Dell systems. Customers are encouraged to proactively upgrade their enterprise connectivity to avoid disruptions in automated, intelligent support for systems.
- Tip: Get started from the prompt in the web UI of your on-premises connectivity management dashboard. Learn how in this interactive demo.
MyService360 connectivity is updated approximately within 24 to 48 hours. For real-time verification of connectivity management and monitoring, check your on-premises connectivity gateway software and Dell products.
Table of contents:
Questions:
- Where can I view the connectivity status of my products in MyService360?
- Does MyService360 include SupportAssist Enterprise connectivity?
- Where else can I see the connectivity status and information for my products?
- How does Dell Technologies define connectivity within MyService360?
- Where can I find resources for connectivity technology? Which technology has reached its end of service life?
- What does the 'Last Alert and Telemetry Delivery Status' mean?
- How is my product's Alert and Telemetry Delivery Status determined?
- What does 'Remote Support Status' mean and what do each of the statuses mean?
- What is a 'Cluster Connection' and what do the statuses mean?
- How does the connectivity status in MyService360 account for clustered products such as Isilon, Avamar, Centera, RecoverPoint, and VxRail?
- What does 'Not Eligible' mean regarding connectivity?
- How do I know when to update my Secure Remote Services or secure connect gateway software?
- How do I get support with my connectivity technology or connectivity related information displayed in MyService360?
- How does the connectivity information for PowerStore solutions differ in MyService360?
Answers:
- Where can I view the connectivity status of my products in MyService360?
With MyService360, you can assess connectivity in your environment both at the enterprise level and the individual product level. To view connectivity holistically across your install base for data protection, storage, and converged systems, go to the 'Connectivity' view found within the 'Install Base' section of MyService360.
For a more detailed view of connectivity for an individual product, click on any individual Product ID or custom alias displayed in MyService360 and Online Support. From there, select 'Details' in the connectivity section for a deeper explanation of your product’s connectivity.
- Does MyService360 include SupportAssist Enterprise connectivity?
The SupportAssist Enterprise 2.x and 4.x solutions were retired on July 31, 2022. See Q 5 for additional details.
Prior to the EOSL of this technology on July 31, 2022, MyService360 only displayed SupportAssist Enterprise 4.x connectivity information for a limited number of storage solutions in your install base. Specifically, PowerStore storage solutions which now can be connected with Secure Remote Services or secure connect gateway technology.
- Where else can I see the connectivity status and information for my products?
For system of record verification, you can confirm connectivity using your on-premises connectivity gateway management dashboard for Secure Remote Services or the next-gen secure connect gateway. Log in to your web UI to verify connectivity to your products.
- How does Dell Technologies define connectivity within MyService360?
At Dell Technologies, we define a product as connected if Dell Technologies has received an incoming file, for example, the product has 'connected home' using Secure Remote Services, secure connect gateway, email, or other connection channel.
Within this definition of connectivity, there are several elements that contribute to the quality of the connection including:
- The frequency at which the product connects to Dell Technologies
- The ability for the product to connect and send alerts and telemetry to Dell Technologies Services
- The ability for Dell Technologies Services to connect to your Dell products for remote support activities.
- The software version of Secure Remote Services or secure connect gateway, as applicable, that the product is connected to.
Continue reading below to learn more about these elements.
This information is updated approximately within 24 to 28 hours. For real-time verification of connectivity management and monitoring, check your on-premises connectivity gateway software and Dell products.
- Where can I find resources for connectivity technology? Which technology has reached its end of service life?
For the next generation secure connect gateway technology:
Effective dates for the end-of-service-life (EOSL) for legacy solutions:
- SupportAssist Enterprise 2.x and 4.x were retired on July 31, 2022.
- The transition to the full retirement of Secure Remote Services v3.x commences June 15, 2023, and wraps up on January 31, 2024. Learn more by viewing Dell article 215260 Secure Remote Services (SRS) is End of Service Life
NOTE: For customers with PowerStore and Unity products that use direct connect, we plan to retire Secure Remote Services-based technology at a date to be announced.
On the effective date, all versions of the specified connectivity solution reach their end of service life. As a result, support (including remediation and mitigation of security vulnerabilities) for the solution is discontinued. Learn more about support for limited functionality between June 15, 2023, and January 31, 2024 by viewing Dell article 215260
Secure Remote Services (SRS) is End of Service Life. The replacement solution is the new secure connect gateway.
NOTE: The proactive and predictive capabilities of legacy connectivity for Dell products are discontinued unless the upgrade to the replacement technology is in place.
As the end-of-service-life date approaches, Dell Technologies Services is sending a notification email to affected customers announcing the end of support and maintenance.
For those using Secure Remote Services 3.x - upgrade before January 31, 2024:
In-place upgrade paths allow you to adopt secure connect gateway 5.x technology with minimal disruption. Get started from the upgrade links in the gateway management dashboard.
- What does the 'Last Alert and Telemetry Delivery Status' mean?
The term 'Last Alert and Telemetry Delivery Status' is a reference to a product’s ability to send files back to Dell Technologies Customer Support through the Secure Remote Services or secure connect gateway connection and indicates the most recent date for file receipt. It was previously known as 'ConnectHome'.
- How is my product’s Last Alert and Telemetry Delivery Status determined?
A product’s Last Alert and Telemetry Delivery Status is determined based on the frequency at which it connects back to Dell Technologies. MyService360 uses a 33-day time interval as the standard for an 'available' Last Alert and Telemetry Delivery Status. The Last Alert and Telemetry Delivery Status options for your product are displayed within MyService360:
- Good: The product has sent an alert, configuration file, or check home activity back to Dell Technologies within 33 days.
- Missing: The product has not sent an alert, configuration file, or check home activity back to Dell Technologies in 33 days.
Review Question 10 as well for an overview of exceptions by product.
- What does 'Remote Support Status' mean, and what do each of the statuses mean?
The term 'Remote Support Status' is a reference to a product's ability for authorized and authenticated Dell Technologies remote support technicians to connect to a given product through the Secure Remote Services or secure connect gateway connection, where applicable. It was previously known as 'ConnectIn'. This ability is strictly used to remotely resolve a known issue or perform proactive maintenance activities such as code level upgrades.
The 'Remote Support Status' feature of Secure Remote Services or secure connect gateway is entirely optional and you can set access controls using the policy manager.
The following statuses are displayed in MyService360 regarding your product’s ability for Remote Support:
- Good: Dell Technologies has connectivity to the device for remote troubleshooting purposes.
- Missing: Dell Technologies has lost connectivity to the device for remote troubleshooting purposes.
- Offline: The device is offline due to Secure Remote Services or secure connect gateway server connectivity issues, or the device has been intentionally set offline for maintenance.
- What is a 'Cluster Connection' and what do the statuses mean?
Gateways for Secure Remote Services and secure connect gateway can be configured as a single, stand-alone connection, or can be grouped to manage connectivity for multiple devices for higher availability and provide a connectivity 'failover' option for your products. A grouping of two or more gateways is known as a 'cluster'. If you have a cluster in your environment, the following statuses can be found in MyService360 regarding the cluster:
- Available: Standalone gateway or all gateway members of a cluster have a good quality connection.
- Some gateways unavailable: (Only applicable to cluster) At least one included gateway in the cluster is experiencing connectivity issues.
- Unavailable: Standalone gateway or, if in a cluster, all members are experiencing connectivity issues.
- How does the connectivity status in MyService360 account for clustered products such as Isilon, Avamar, Centera, RecoverPoint, and VxRail?
Connectivity statuses for clustered products vary based on product family and version. The following provides a general guideline for your products:
PowerScale (Isilon):
- Individual nodes are not deployed on a gateway for connectivity and, therefore, the Connection Type is designated as 'OTHER'. However, a PowerScale cluster has a software product identifier such as ‘PowerScale OneFS’ and it can be deployed to a gateway. As a result, the gateway detail such as 'Secure Connect Gateway - Virtual Appliance v5' is displayed under Connection Type.
Avamar, Centera,
and RecoverPoint:
- Only the component that is able of connecting home shows as 'Connected' in MyService360. The nodes show as 'Not Eligible' and users can click on 'Why' for more information.
- Avamar products connect to Dell Technologies through the Avamar software, while Centera products connect through a designated primary node. All other Centera and Avamar nodes in the cluster route data through the connect software or primary node.
VxRail:
- Only one node in a VxRail cluster connects through Secure Remote Services or secure connect gateway, acting through the VxRail Manager. This node serial number reports back on behalf of all the other nodes in that cluster. In MyService360, if the managing node is connected, then all other nodes show 'Connected' with the same Alert and Telemetry Delivery Status or Remote Support Status timestamps. This is to represent that the entire cluster is connected.
- As a reminder, while connectivity data is typically refreshed every 24 to 48 hours, some configuration changes may take up to 72 hours to refresh in MyService360.
- What does 'Not Eligible' mean regarding connectivity?
Some products are not capable of sending files back to Dell Technologies through any connection channel including Secure Remote Services or secure connect gateway. If so, your product’s connectivity status displays as 'Not Eligible' within MyService360.
- Secure Remote Services: Go to the Dell Support Secure Remote Services Product Page to check the latest version of the Ports Requirements Guide for a full list of connectivity eligibility by product family.
- Next generation technology - secure connect gateway: Go to the Dell Support Secure Connect Gateway Product Page, select the relevant edition, and check the latest version of the Product Support Matrix.
- How do I know when to update my Secure Remote Services or secure connect gateway software?
MyService360 and Dell Online Support
You are prompted with an 'Update Software' action button within the connectivity details section of MyService360 when a new version of the connectivity technology is available. In addition, within the Gateway and Cluster management level views, you are prompted to update or upgrade to the latest version from the 'Connection Type' panel. This functionality is now available in MyService360 for systems running secure connect gateway.
The 24 to 48-hour data refresh timeframe may cause some temporary data disparities regarding your gateway versions.
On-premises gateway management dashboard
We prompt customers in their on-premises gateway management dashboard UI to initiate updates to secure connect gateway software.
Secure Remote Services customers are encouraged to upgrade before the full retirement of the solution on January 31, 2024, to avoid disruptions to intelligent, automated support for Dell systems (see Question 5):
NOTE: Your systems must be running Secure Remote Services v3.52 before the upgrade.
- How do I get support with my connectivity technology or connectivity related information displayed in MyService360?
Should you have any issues with your Secure Remote Services or secure connect gateway connectivity, open a Service Request within Online Support. Get started at Dell
Contact Technical Support or call the Dell Technologies Customer Support desk for assistance.
- How does the connectivity information for PowerStore solutions differ in MyService360?
In your MyService360 views:
- PowerStore systems display 'Secure Remote Services' as the connectivity solution in use even if the system is connected using our next-generation secure connect gateway solution. This is a known issue and Dell Technologies is working to resolve this disparity. For system of record verification, you can confirm connectivity using your on-premises connectivity gateway management dashboard for Secure Remote Services or the next-generation secure connect gateway.
- No data is shown in the 'Last Alert & Telemetry Delivery' field for PowerStore systems. We are working to resolve this.
- The 'Installed Code' field may not show up-to-date information due to the lower frequency of alerts sent by the PowerStore systems.