- Notes, cautions, and warnings
- Introduction
- Revision history
- Administering the network
- Customer switch port configuration examples
- Configuration data
- Configuring the Cisco Nexus access aggregation network
- Configuring the Dell PowerSwitch access switches
- Using an embedded operating system-based jump server
- Install the embedded operating system-based iDRAC tools
- Converting the Windows jump VM to the embedded operating system jump VM
- Verifying connectivity between storage data server (SDS) and storage data client (SDC)
- Verifying connectivity between storage data server (SDS) and PowerFlex gateway
- Checking the maximum transmission unit on all switches and servers
- Adding a network to the deployed service using PowerFlex Manager
- Add a network to a service
- Add a VLAN to an access switch connected to a PowerFlex appliance cluster
- Verifying a VLAN configuration
- Gather logs from the network switch for troubleshooting
- Customer switch port configuration examples
- Upgrade the Dell network
- Check the current version of switch operating system
- Save the license file and the configuration
- Download Dell Networking OS10
- Connect to a switch
- Configure a USB drive for OS10 installation
- Manual install using USB
- Upgrade OS10 image from existing OS10 install
- Upgrade from non-OS10 operating system to OS10 using ONIE
- Install OS from ONIE
- Update ONIE using an existing ONIE and TFTP
- DIAG OS installation or update
- Install or upgrade EDA-DIAG tools
- Firmware requirements
- Verify Dell switch firmware
- IP address assignment in ONIE
- Administering the storage
- PowerFlex management controller datastore and virtual machine details
- Determining and switching the MDM
- Update resource inventory
- Add volumes to the service
- Add volumes to a service in lifecycle mode
- Adding a PowerFlex appliance node to an existing cluster
- Removing a PowerFlex node for maintenance
- Rebooting a PowerFlex node
- Resize a volume
- Resize a volume in lifecycle mode
- Unmapping a volume
- Unmap a volume on PowerFlex management controller 2.0
- Unmapping a volume using a PowerFlex version prior to 3.5
- Removing a volume
- Remove a volume on the PowerFlex management controller 2.0
- Removing a volume using a PowerFlex version prior to 3.5
- Disabling persistent checksum on medium granularity storage pools
- Enabling persistent checksum for medium granularity storage pools
- Enable fine granularity metadata read cache using the command line
- Add licenses to PowerFlex and PowerFlex Manager
- Managing volumes, nodes, and network components
- Monitoring system health
- Upgrading PowerFlex appliance firmware
- Upgrade Windows and Linux compute-only nodes
- Mapping a volume using a PowerFlex version prior to 3.5 to a Windows PowerFlex compute-only node
- Mapping a volume to a Windows PowerFlex compute-only node
- Enabling and disabling SDC authentication
- Modify SVM RAM size to upgrade to PowerFlex 3.5.x
- Administering the storage with asynchronous replication
- Remote replication on PowerFlex hyperconverged nodes
- Remote consistency group (RCG)
- Replication direction and mapping
- Adding a replication consistency group
- Checking the current copy status
- Modifying the recovery point objective
- Adding a replication pair to a remote consistency group
- Unpairing from a remote consistency group
- Freezing a remote consistency group
- Unfreezing a remote consistency group
- Setting the target to inconsistent mode
- Setting the target to consistent mode
- Running a test failover
- Stopping test failover
- Running a failover
- Restoring replication
- Reversing replication
- Creating a snapshot of the remote consistency group (RCG) volume
- Pausing the remote consistency group
- Pausing the initial copy
- Resuming the initial copy
- Resuming the replication consistency group
- Setting priority
- Mapping remote consistency groups to the storage data clients (SDC)
- Mounting a VMFS datastore copy on the target VMware ESXi cluster
- Unmapping an storage data client (SDC) from the remote consistency group target volumes
- Configuring replication on PowerFlex storage-only nodes
- Add storage data replication to PowerFlex
- Extract and add the MDM certificate
- Create the replication consistency group
- Disabling replication on PowerFlex storage-only nodes
- Freeze the remote consistency group
- Remove the remote consistency group
- Remove a peer system
- Remove replication trust for peer system
- Enter SDS in maintenance mode
- Remove storage data replication from PowerFlex
- Remove a storage data replication RPM
- Clean up network configurations
- Exit SDS in maintenance mode
- Remove journal capacity
- Remove target volumes from the destination system
- Configuring and viewing alerts
- Administering PowerFlex Manager
- PowerFlex Manager limits
- Back up and restore
- Add or modify user accounts
- Assigning users to services
- Recovering a lost password
- Access switch password management
- VMware vCenter password management
- VMware ESXi operating system password management
- Minimum VMware vCenter permissions
- Windows server operating system password management
- Updating passwords in PowerFlex Manager
- Embedded operating system password management
- Presentation server root password management
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux user and password management
- SUSE user and password management
- Credentials management
- Restarting the PowerFlex Manager virtual appliance
- Deploying PowerFlex nodes using PowerFlex Manager
- Deployment modes
- Full network automation
- Full network automation: Deploying a PowerFlex compute-only node with Red Hat Enterprise Linux or CentOS
- Full network automation: Deploying a PowerFlex storage-only node
- Full network automation: Deploying a VMware ESXi PowerFlex hyperconverged node or PowerFlex compute-only node
- Adding volumes to a PowerFlex hyperconverged node or PowerFlex compute-only node
- Partial network automation
- Partial network automation: Deploying a PowerFlex compute-only node with Red Hat Enterprise Linux or CentOS
- Partial network automation: Deploying a PowerFlex storage-only node
- Partial network automation: Deploying a VMware ESXi PowerFlex hyperconverged node or PowerFlex compute-only node
- Adding volumes to a PowerFlex hyperconverged node or PowerFlex compute-only node
- Restoring the PowerFlex gateway
- Configure SNMP for PowerFlex gateway
- Installing the PowerFlex gateway
- Installing the PowerFlex gateway prior to PowerFlex 3.5
- Changing the root password on the VM
- Configuring the PowerFlex gateway network interfaces
- Configuring the PowerFlex gateway NTP client
- Configuring the PowerFlex gateway hostname
- Installing the Java and PowerFlex gateway RPMs
- Restoring the PowerFlex gateway configuration
- Deploying the PowerFlex GUI presentation server
- Linking and unlinking the MDM to the presentation server web UI
- Upgrading VMware vCenter
- Upgrading VMware vCenter infrastructure management components
- Verify and upgrade the CPLD software on PowerFlex nodes
- Stage and upgrade the iDRAC and firmware
- Shutting down all the VMs running on the controller host
- Upgrading VMware vSphere ESXi
- Powering on all the VMs running on the controller host
- Upgrading the iDRAC service module
- Change the SVM CPU clock reservation
- Migrating vCLS VMs on controller nodes
- Upgrading the embedded operating system jump VM
- Installing the offline repository
- Upgrading a PowerFlex appliance environment
- Hardware requirements
- Intelligent catalog (IC) trains and the upgrade process
- Verify and change the maximum transmission unit (MTU) value
- Add a new compatibility management file
- Upgrade the PowerFlex Manager virtual appliance
- Back up using PowerFlex Manager
- Back up the appliance SSL and trusted certificates
- Power off the PowerFlex Manager appliance
- Take a snapshot of the PowerFlex Manager appliance
- Upgrading the PowerFlex Manager virtual appliance without using Secure Remote Services (from a local repository path)
- Confirming service settings
- Adding a new Intelligent Catalog file and OS images to PowerFlex Manager
- Upgrade the PowerFlex presentation server
- Upgrade CloudLink Center
- Upgrading PowerFlex
- Update PowerFlex appliance nodes
- Migrating VMware vSphere Cluster Services (vCLS) VMs
- Upgrading Cisco NX-OS 7.x to Cisco NX-OS 9.x
- Upgrading the electronic programmable logic device (EPLD)
- Upgrade firmware for IPI network controller
- Upgrading VMware NSX Edge nodes
- Stage and upgrade the iDRAC and firmware
- Validate the vSAN health
- Shut down all the VMs on the NSX-T Edge Gateway host
- Put VMware NSX-T Edge Gateway host into maintenance mode
- Upgrade VMware vSphere ESXi
- Exit maintenance mode
- Power on all VMs running on the VMware NSX-T Edge Gateway host
- Upgrade the iDRAC service module
- Upgrade the VMware vSphere Distributed Switch
- Upgrade the VMware vSAN disk format (vSAN storage option only)
- Verifying VMware vSAN health (vSAN storage option only)
- Enable replication on existing PowerFlex hyperconverged nodes
- Prerequisites
- Workflow
- Remove an existing PowerFlex hyperconverged service from PowerFlex Manager
- Create and configure replication port groups
- Preparing the SVMs for replication
- Enter the SDS nodes into maintenance mode and power off
- Add virtual NICs to SVMs
- Record the MAC address of the newly added network interface controllers
- Modifying the vCPU, memory, vNUMA and CPU reservation settings on SVMs
- Modify the memory size
- Increase the vCPU count
- Setting the vNUMA advanced option
- Set the vNUMA advanced option
- Modifying the memory size according to the SDR requirements for FG pool-based PowerFlex systems with replication
- Increasing the vCPU count according to the SDR requirement
- Setting the vNUMA advanced option
- Editing the SVM configuration
- Powering on the SVM and configuring network interfaces
- Install SDR RPMs on the SDS nodes (SVMs)
- Exit SDS maintenance mode
- Verify communication between the source and destination
- Adding journal capacity percentage
- Adding the Storage Data Replicator to a PowerFlex appliance
- Create the peer system between the source and destination site
- Add the peer system
- Create the replication consistency group
- Define the network for replication in PowerFlex Manager
- Add an existing service to PowerFlex Manager
- Retrieving PowerFlex performance metrics
- Performing maintenance activities in a PowerFlex cluster
- Administering the CloudLink Center
- Adding and managing CloudLink Center licenses
- Manage a self-encrypting drive (SED) from CloudLink Center
- Manage a self-encrypting drive from the command line
- Release a self-encrypting drive
- Release management of a self-encrypting drive from the command line
- Changing the CloudLink secadmin user password
- Unlocking the CloudLink secadmin user
- Setting CloudLink Vault passcodes
- Back up and restore CloudLink Center
- Powering off and on the PowerFlex appliance cluster
- Power off the PowerFlex management controller 2.0
- Power on the PowerFlex management controller 2.0
- Powering off a PowerFlex appliance hyperconverged cluster
- Powering on a PowerFlex appliance hyperconverged cluster
- Powering off PowerFlex appliance two-layer cluster
- Powering on PowerFlex appliance two-layer cluster
- Powering off PowerFlex compute-only nodes with Windows Server 2016 or 2019
- Powering off PowerFlex compute-only nodes with Red Hat
- Ports and authentication protocols
- Administering fault sets
- Configure VMware vCenter high availability
Dell PowerFlex Appliance with PowerFlex 3.x Administration Guide
Data assurance during maintenance
Use these guidelines to guarantee your data is safe during maintenance operations.
The following table provides guidance for the available data assurance mechanisms when performing maintenance operations. It also indicates whether the option is available for PowerFlex management controller 2.0.
NOTE:If using a version of PowerFlex prior to 3.5, protected maintenance mode is not available. If the maintenance window is greater than 30 minutes, use the eject node option.
| Maintenance operation | Considerations | Higher risk - IMM | Lower risk - PMM | Eject the node from the cluster | Applicable for PFMC 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Node reboot | Generally quick and do not involve risk | Acceptable option | Conservative approach | Unnecessary | Yes |
| Node upgrade: firmware | Vary in time depending on components being upgraded | Use for brief upgrades of single components needing a reboot (BIOS) | Recommended. Use if upgrading multiple components, including long-running firmware | Unnecessary | Yes |
| Node upgrade: OS and SDC | Upgrade and/or patches can be applied in under 30 minutes per node | Acceptable for brief patch applications | Recommended in most situations to provide additional protection | Unnecessary | Yes |
| Node upgrade: firmware and OS and SDC and CloudLink agent | Mixed upgrade approach combining all updates with a single reboot | Not recommended as most upgrades will not complete within 30 minutes | Recommended | Unnecessary | Yes
CloudLink agent is not applicable for controller nodes |
| Network changes: restart network, adjust MTU, add/remove VLANs | Network changes are typically quick but interrupt connectivity to nodes | Acceptable for quick updates | Recommended in most cases. Provides additional protection | Unnecessary | Yes |
| PowerFlex software upgrade | Upgrade of components should take less than one minute per node, if no issues occur
NOTE: SDC is upgraded as part of node OS upgrade
|
Acceptable for software component update | Provides additional protection to handle any hardware failure | Unnecessary | Yes |
| Other operations | Use the expected activity time to guide the decision of which mode to use | Use if under 30 minutes | Use if greater than 30 minutes | Use if there are other considerations or do not expect to return the node to the cluster | Yes |
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