Dell PowerFlex Appliance with PowerFlex 3.x Administration Guide

Update PowerFlex appliance nodes

You can update a PowerFlex appliance node using PowerFlex Manager.

1. Log in to PowerFlex Manager and select Services.
2. Select the existing deployment that you are upgrading to view its details.
3. Click Services. On the Services page, select a service. To change the IC, select View Compliance Report.
4. On the Node Compliance Report page, click Change on the Compliance status. Select the IC on the preferred compliance file. Confirm the change by typing CHANGE COMPLIANCE FILE and click Save and Close.
   NOTE:In earlier versions of PowerFlex Manager, on the Details page, see the Target version/Target IC version at the upper right. To change the IC, click Change Target /Change Target IC. You can set it to the default IC or a different IC.
5. On the Service Details page, in the right pane under Service Actions, click View Compliance Report.
6. From the compliance report, view the firmware or software components, select the specific nodes that are non-compliant, and click Update Resources.
   1. To perform a non-disruptive update right away, select Allow PowerFlex Manager to perform firmware and software updates now. Select one of the following to specify the type of update:
      • Instant Maintenance Mode - provides quick updates. PowerFlex does not migrate the data.
      • Protected Maintenance Mode - provides updates that require longer than 30 minutes in a safe and protected manner.
   2. To perform a non-disruptive update at a later time, select Schedule firmware and software updates.
   3. To perform a disruptive update right away for a full upgrade, select Allow PowerFlex Manager to perform disruptive updates now.
      The full system upgrade process is faster. However, the nodes, and all the data, are unavailable while the upgrade is in process. If you are certain that you want to proceed, type REBOOT ALL NODES AT ONCE.
   4. Click Apply and click Yes to confirm.

   The update process handles node, BIOS, firmware, VMware ESXi driver updates, and VMware ESXi major version upgrades automatically. For PowerFlex, the update process also updates SDCs in any hyperconverged and compute-only services, if these SDCs are not in compliance with the new version for the service. For CloudLink, PowerFlex Manager automatically updates the CloudLink Agent.

   PowerFlex Manager does not upgrade VMware vCenter itself. However, it does check the VMware vCenter version to determine if it matches the VMware ESXi version. If the VMware ESXi version is greater than the VMware vCenter version, PowerFlex Manager blocks the VMware ESXi host upgrade and displays an error. PowerFlex Manager instructs you to upgrade VMware vCenter first, or use a different compliance version that is compatible with the installed VMware vCenter version.

7. If you encounter any errors while performing firmware or software updates, you can view the PowerFlex Manager logs for the service to see where the error might have occurred.
   1. On the Service Details page, in the right pane, under Service Actions, click Generate Troubleshooting Bundle.

      This creates a compressed file that contains PowerFlex Manager application logs, PowerFlex Gateway logs, iDRAC lifecycle logs, Dell PowerSwitch switch logs, Cisco Nexus switch logs, and VMware ESXi logs. The logs are for the current service only.

      Alternatively, you can access the logs from a VMware console, or by using SSH to log in to PowerFlex Manager, if you have SSH enabled.