Dell PowerFlex 4.5.x Administration Guide

1. Deploy a storage-only or hyperconverged resource group that includes a PowerFlex cluster that will be associated with the PowerFlex file cluster. When you deploy the PowerFlex file cluster, the control volumes that are needed for file enablement are added automatically.
2. If you will be managing and updating components other than PowerFlex, upload the compliance file on the Settings > Repositories > Compliance Versions page.
3. Define the networks that you need on the Settings > Networking > Networks page.
4. Discover the resources required for your deployment on the Resources > Discover Resources page.
5. Clone a sample template and make changes as needed. Click Lifecycle > Templates and click Sample templates. Open a sample template and click More Actions > Clone on the right side of the screen.

   For a file storage deployment, clone one of the following sample templates:

   • PowerFlex File
   • PowerFlex File - SW Only
6. Click Lifecycle > Resource Groups. On the Resource Groups page, click Deploy New Resource Group.

For a PowerFlex file cluster, you must have a minimum of two nodes and a maximum of 16 nodes.

For a PowerFlex file cluster, you must choose Use Compliance File Linux Image for the OS Image, Compute Only for the PowerFlex Role. Also, select Enable PowerFlex File.

The sample templates for file storage configuration pull in the PowerFlex management and PowerFlex data networks from the associated PowerFlex gateway. In addition to the PowerFlex management and PowerFlex data networks, you need to include a NAS management network and at least one NAS data network. One NAS data network is enough, but, for redundancy, two networks are recommended.

Upload a compliance file (if necessary), define the networks, and discover resources before adding the existing resource group.

PowerFlex Manager does not support importing existing deployments for software-only NAS environments.

• NAS Servers
• File Systems
• SMB Shares
• NFS Exports
• File Protection

If you create new objects on the File tab, you need to update the inventory on the Resources page. Then, you need to click Update Resource Group Details on the Lifecycle > Resource Groups page for any resource group that requires the updates.