- Notes, cautions, and warnings
- Introduction
- Revision history
- Initial configuration and setup
- Performing common tasks
- Displaying system information at a glance
- Managing block storage
- Protection domains
- Fault sets
- Storage data servers
- Storage pools
- Acceleration pools
- Devices
- Volumes
- NVMe targets
- Hosts
- Managing file storage
- Overview of configuring NAS servers
- About file system storage
- File protection
- Create a protection policy
- Create snapshot rules
- Create a snapshot
- Assign a protection policy to a file system
- Unassign a protection policy
- Modify a protection policy
- Delete a protection policy
- Modify a snapshot rule
- Delete a snapshot rule
- Refresh a file system using snapshot
- Restore a file system from a snapshot
- Protecting a block storage environment
- Snapshots
- Create snapshots
- Overwrite volume content from a snapshot
- Set bandwidth and IOPS limits for snapshots
- Lock and unlock snapshots
- Delete snapshots
- Map snapshots
- Unmap snapshots
- Increase the size of a snapshot
- Migrate a snapshot vTree
- Pause snapshot vTree migration
- Roll back snapshot vTree migration
- Set snapshot vTree migration priority
- Snapshot policies
- Remote protection
- Extract and upload certificates
- Journal capacity
- Add a peer system
- Restart the replication cluster
- SDRs
- Replication consistency group
- Replication direction and mapping
- Create an RCG
- Map RCG target volumes to hosts
- Unmap a host from RCG target volumes
- Set the target to inconsistent mode
- Set the target to consistent mode
- Modify RPO
- Add a replication pair to an RCG
- Pause replication for an RCG
- Resume replication for an RCG
- Create a snapshot of an RCG volume
- Add an RCG snapshot policy
- Perform a failover
- Reverse replication
- Restore replication
- Test Failover
- Stop a failover test
- Freeze an RCG
- Unfreeze an RCG
- Activate an RCG
- Terminate replication in an RCG
- Delete an RCG
- Pause creation of an initial copy
- Resume creation of initial copy
- Set copying priority
- Unpair from RCG
- Snapshots
- Performing lifecycle operations for a resource group
- Deploying a resource configuration in a resource group
- Basic tasks
- Deploying a resource group
- Adding an existing resource group
- Updating a resource group with new firmware and software
- Viewing a compliance report
- Entering and exiting service mode
- Replacing a drive
- Replacing NVDIMM node or battery
- Reconfiguring MDM roles
- Migrating vCLS VMs to shared storage
- Adding components to a resource group
- Resize a volume
- Removing resources from a resource group
- Adding NVMe/TCP storage access
- Additional resource group management tasks
- Basic tasks
- Preparing a template for a resource group deployment
- Basic tasks
- Additional template management tasks
- Deploying a resource configuration in a resource group
- Managing resources
- Basic tasks
- Additional resource management tasks
- Monitoring events and alerts
- Configuring system settings
- User management
- Repositories
- Getting started
- Networking
- Events and alerts
- License management
- Security
- Serviceability
- Software upgrade
- PowerFlex Manager user interface reference
- Additional administration activities
- Retrieving logs for the PowerFlex nodes
- Retrieving logs for PowerFlex components
- Retrieving additional PowerFlex logs
- Enabling audit logging
- Managing storage devices using CloudLink
- Understanding NVMe over TCP load balancing
- Managing NAS server configuration
- Migrating to NVMe/TCP on ESXi
Dell PowerFlex 4.5.x Administration Guide
Specifying the installation type
If you have an existing PowerFlex deployment that you would like to import, you can specify details about this deployment as part of the initial configuration. Alternatively, if you would like to deploy a new instance, you can bypass the import step as part of the initial configuration.
About this task
The initial configuration wizard supports three different installation workflows:
-
No migration required
You would like to deploy a new instance of PowerFlex.
If you would like to use the legacy PowerFlex Installer to provide an installation topology file, click Deploy With Installation File on the Getting Started page after you complete the initial configuration. See the topic on deploying a PowerFlex cluster using a CSV topology file in the Dell PowerFlex 4.5.x Install and Upgrade Guide for more information.
-
Migration from a core PowerFlex (software-only) instance that was not managed with PowerFlex Manager
In this workflow, you need to provide the IP and credentials for the PowerFlex MDM cluster
-
Migration from a full PowerFlex Manager environment that had previously been used to manage a PowerFlex instance
In this workflow, you need to provide the IP and credentials for the PowerFlex Manager virtual appliance instance
Prerequisites
Steps
- Click I want to deploy a new instance of PowerFlex if you do not have an existing PowerFlex deployment and would like to bypass the import step.
-
Click
I have a PowerFlex instance to import if you would like to import a an existing
PowerFlex instance that was not managed by
PowerFlex Manager.
Specify whether you are currently running PowerFlex 3.x or PowerFlex 4.x.
For a PowerFlex 3.x system, provide the following details about the existing PowerFlex instance:
- IP addresses for the primary and secondary MDMs (separated by a comma with no spaces)
- Admin username and password for the primary MDM
- Operating system username and password for the primary MDM
- LIA password
For a PowerFlex 4.x system, indicate whether the PowerFlex instance is used for Production Storage or a Management Cluster. The Management Cluster use case is applicable for PowerFlex appliance and PowerFlex rack install types that have a dedicated management cluster with PowerFlex as a shared storage for the datastore hosting the Management VMs.
Then, provide the following details about the existing PowerFlex instance:
- IP addresses for all nodes with a primary and secondary MDM
- System ID for the cluster
- LIA password
-
Click
I have a PowerFlex instance managed by PowerFlex Manager to import if you would like to import a an existing
PowerFlex directly from an existing
PowerFlex Manager virtual appliance.
Provide the following details about the existing PowerFlex Manager virtual appliance:
- IP address or DNS name for the virtual appliance
- Username and password for the virtual appliance
- Click Next to proceed.
Results
For a full PowerFlex Manager migration, the import process backs up and restores information from the old PowerFlex Manager virtual appliance. The migration process for the full PowerFlex Manager workflow imports all resources, templates, and services from a 3.8 instance of PowerFlex Manager. The migration also connects the legacy PowerFlex gateway to the MDM cluster, which enables the Block tab in the user interface to function.
The migrated environment includes the PowerFlex gateway resource. The operating system hostname and asset/service tag are set to powerflex.
For a software-only PowerFlex system, there is no PowerFlex Manager information available after the migration completes. The migrated environment does not include resources, templates, and services.
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