DELLEMC Volume 5 PowerStore Bulletin Instructions

DELLEMC Volume 5 PowerStore Bulletin

PowerStore Product Information and Usage Instructions

Product Information

The PowerStore product is a storage solution produced by Dell EMC. The PowerStore Engineering Technical Services team produces a technical newsletter called PowerStore Bulletin which provides information about product releases, best practices, and product tips. Dell EMC has established recommended code versions for PowerStore to ensure stable and reliable environments. As a best practice, Dell EMC recommends that customers operate at the recommended code levels for their PowerStore. The recommended code is a highly trusted and recommended code release that is evaluated against criteria including runtime in field, number of installations, quality metrics, etc.

The latest version of PowerStore is version 3 which was released in August 2022. PowerStore version 3 introduces over 120 new features and enhancements including new hardware, improved connectivity and networking, performance improvements, and enhanced security features. The hardware improvements include the PS9200 which replaces the PS7000 and PS9000 models, offering top- level performance at lower overall cost. Other models such as the PS5000, PS3000, and PS1000 have also been replaced with newer models featuring faster processors. The PS500 model can now use NVMe expansion enclosure to grow to over 4.7PB effective capacity per appliance.

Product Usage Instructions

1. When using PowerStore, it is recommended to operate at the recommended code levels for your PowerStore. You can find the recommended code release on the PowerStoreKB175213 page.
2. If you need guidance on which code release to use or have any other questions or issues, Dell Technologies Support Services can provide you with assistance.
3. For upgrades, unless otherwise directed, continue to use the current target code which is a highly trusted and recommended code release evaluated against various criteria including runtime in field, number of installations, quality metrics, etc.
4. The PowerStore Manager (GUI) can be used to manage your PowerStore system. It provides a user-friendly interface for configuration and management tasks.
5. PowerStore supports various connectivity and networking options to connect to your system. Refer to the PowerStore Bulletin or contact Dell Technologies Support Services for guidance on setting up connectivity and networking for your PowerStore.
6. PowerStore provides improved performance over previous generations. Refer to the PowerStore Bulletin or contact Dell Technologies Support Services for guidance on optimizing your PowerStore system for performance.
7. PowerStore also includes enhanced security features such as Thales Cipher Trust and Dell CloudLink. Contact Dell Technologies Support Services for guidance on configuring and using these security features.

Volume 5
Aug 2022
PowerStore Bulletin

Send us your feedback about the PowerStore Bulletin. If you have ideas for topics, we would like to hear them.
PowerStore.bulletin@dell.com

Welcome
We are pleased to introduce the fifth edition of the PowerStore Bulletin. This technical newsletter is produced by the PowerStore Engineering Technical Services team. Our goal is to provide the PowerStore community with information about product releases, best practices, and product tips.

Recommended Code Release

Dell EMC has established recommended code versions for PowerStore to ensure stable and reliable environments. As a best practice, Dell EMC recommends that you operate at the recommended code levels for your PowerStore. There may be features, enhancements or fixes in newer code that may benefit or be required for a specific environment. Dell Technologies Support Services can provide you with guidance. Unless otherwise directed, continue to use the current target code for upgrades. Our target code is a highly trusted and recommended code release that is evaluated against criteria including runtime time in field, number of  installations, quality metrics, etc.
https://PowerStoreKB175213

Notes](https://dl.dell.com/content/manual57576043-dell-emc-powerstore-release- notes-for-powerstore-os-version-2-1-0-0-build-1561821.pdf?language=en-us)
2.1.0.1-1602345| May 2022| Release Notes
2.1.1.0-1649887| May 2022| Release Notes
2.1.1.1-1690550| May 2022| Release Notes YES
3.0.0.1-1756676| Aug 2022| Release Notes

The following are some of the new +120 features and enhancements that have been introduced for PowerStore in version 3.

Hardware

• Next generation (Gen2) nodes for PowerStore have been introduced within this version of code.
  • PS7000 and PS9000 are replaced with the PS9200 featuring dual SkyLake 28-core processors running at 2.2GHz per node. The two highest models have been combined offering top-level performance at lower overall cost.
  • PS5000 are replaced with PS7200 featuring dual SkyLake 16-core processors running at 2.4GHz per node.
  • PS3000 is replaced with the PS3200 featuring dual SkyLake 16-core processors running at 2.1GHz per node.
  • PS1000 is replaced with the PS1200 featuring dual SkyLake 10-core processors running at 2.4GHz per node.
  • PS500 can now use NVMe expansion enclosure to grow to over 4.7PB effective capacity per appliance.
• Support for NVMeoF expansion capabilities using new ENS24 expansion enclosure utilizing 100GbE for back-end connectivity. Compatible with both Gen1 and Gen2 hardware.
• Support for the new Embedded IO Module v2 to be used for PowerStore Gen1 hardware. This new IO Module allows for better performance and support for a 100GbE Mezz to be used with the new NVMe expansion enclosure.

Connectivity – Networks

• A single PowerStore T appliance in Unified mode no longer requires system bond cabling and the ICM/ICD networks now route internally.

Import

• Provides agent-less migration from VMAX hybrids and NTAP storage systems to PowerStore.
• Provides support for file-based import from VNX2 storage systems.
• Provides capability to leverage Fibre Channel as back-end connectivity expanding support for Destination PowerStore.
• Supports migration over either FC and iSCSI.
• Support for non-disruptive imports for RHEL 8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, Windows Server 2019, and vSphere 7.0 operating systems.
• New options for importing file systems including a new partnership with Datadobi an industry leader in file migration.

PowerStore Manager (GUI)

• Provides improved system capacity reporting with detailed representation of metadata free capacity on the PowerStore manager.
• Provides international customers the ability to view PowerStore manager in their preferred language.
• Provides ability to see the relationship between volumes, volume groups, and snapshots on the PowerStore manager.

Performance

• Provides radical performance and scalability with up to 50% IOPS boost for mixed workloads.
• 70% increase in maximum write speed.
• Up to 10X improvement in copy operations.

Security

• Supports 3rd party external key managers.
• Supports KMIP vendors including IBM, GKLM, Thales Cipher Trust and Dell CloudLink.
• Provides End-to-End FIPS 140-2 compliance now includes all appliances models, both base chassis and expansion enclosures, all medias including NVRAM and data drives.
• Support for Hardware Root of Trust (HWRoT) and Secure Boot based on the new Intel CPU chipsets that provide HWRoT support.

Storage-File

• File Level Retention ”File Locking” which prevents modification or deletion of locked files until a specified retention date or forever.
• File monitoring via new CEPA support.
• Expanded file support to all available ethernet ports of an appliance.
• NFS Datastore Integration for file systems optimized for VMware.

Virtualization

• Support for vVols over NVMe/FC.
• Documentation of defined vVol-related system limits for each appliance model and scalability improvements for vVol-related objects.
• Provides support for VMware SRM 8.3 and snapshot protection for vVol-based VMs using VMware storage policies.
• End-to-end VMware visibility letting the user see the relationship between all kinds of VMware and PowerStore objects within PowerStore Manager.

Replication

• Support for native file, native vVols and native metro synchronous block replication.
• Supports “DR TEST” use cases by cloning NAS servers without having to initiate failover.
• Asynchronous capability which allows failover /failback is handled entirely by PowerStore.

Support

• Provides support for auto download of new software, drive firmware package, ESXi, and health checks.

SupportAssist

• Provides support for enhanced auto-licensing feature to include use of Secure Connect Gateway.

PowerStore Upgrade Readiness

The following should be adhered to when planning for a  non-disruptive upgrade (NDU) within the PowerStore  environment.
Pre-Upgrade Health Check

• Perform a Health Check of the PowerStore appliance(s) being upgraded at least 7 days prior to the scheduled upgrade event.
• Consult the Dell EMC PowerStore Upgrade Guide for procedural details of how to perform a Health Check.
• Review the overall health state for each node in the appliance even if a green check mark is present indicating health of the node is OK. See https://PowerStoreHealthCheck
• Review and ERROR and WARNING messages raised during the Pre-Upgrade Health Check and address each accordingly. Consult Dell Technologies Support Services for assistance.

Outstanding Alerts

• Log into PowerStore Manager of the appliance being upgraded and review any outstanding alerts present by selecting the Monitoring tab.
• Determine if any alerts are outstanding that require attention. Review alerts with a Critical, Major, or Minor severity. If possible, attempt to rectify any raised alerts reported.
• Consult the Events and Alerts Reference Guide for actions to resolve outstanding alerts.
• If needed, contact Dell Technologies Support Services for assistance with evaluating and addressing any outstanding alerts prior to proceeding with the upgrade.

Knowledge Base Articles

Knowledge Base articles have been published to address how to, best practices, known issues for specific PowerStore environments. You can access these KB’s through the following link and in many cases, these are in multiple languages.

• This article provides information regarding replaced BBU information does not reflect on the peer node. https://BBU_Hardware
• This article provides information on how to prepare for PowerStore Non-Disruptive Upgrade (NDU) https://NDU

PowerStore Simple Support Matrix

Simple Support Matrices are produced through extensive testing by Dell EMC E-Lab. The PowerStore SSM is a configuration summary. The versions listed represents the supported Platform / Operating Systems, information on Backup & NDMP applications, Limits, Replication, Anti-Virus, Dell Technologies Ecosystem, Third-Party Ecosystem, Migration and VMware licensing / support, Refer to this link for the latest version July 25, 2022:
https://PowerStore-Simple-Support-Matrix

Host Configuration Guide

This document provides the latest guidelines and best practices on attaching and configuring external hosts to PowerStore systems. It includes information on topics such as multipathing, zoning, and timeouts.
https://PowerStoreHCG

Performance / Best Practices

XCOPY: Performance boost.
There has been a performance boost for customers utilizing the VMware VAAI (VMware Array API Integration) primitive known as XCOPY.
XCOPY can be used to offload operations like migration or cloning of virtual machines to the array instead of consuming vSphere resources. XCOPY enables the storage arrays to make full copies of data within the array without having the host HBAs read and write the data.
PowerStore XCOPY implementation is a metadata-copy operation instead of full data-copy operation and only updates mapping-pointers of the Logical Block Address (LBAs). XCOPY operations also impact regular host IO serviced by the storage array. This is because XCOPY operations received from ESXi servers are large and bursty. PowerStore’s Quality-of-Service functionality regulates XCOPY operations to keep impact on regular host IOs at a minimum. XCOPY operations are split into smaller pieces, which are still big enough to be very efficient, but small enough to complete very quickly, allowing host IOs to be served when needed. PowerStore can achieve highthroughput for XCOPY operations with this autonomous QoS functionality and efficient implementation of XCOPY operations,

PowerStoreCLI Filtering
This article delivers guidance for using PowerStoreCLI “pstcli”. It provides tips and shows why one might want to use the filtering feature.
Typically, a user would use the “show” action command to display needed information and the output can be a little cumbersome to sift through if you don’t know what you’re looking for. https://PowerStoreCLI

PowerStore VMware vSphere Best Practices
This article provides best practices for configuring Microsoft Windows Server Hyper-V to perform optimally with Dell PowerStore storage.
https://VMware

PowerStore Hyper-V Best Practices
This article provides recommendations, tips, and other guidelines for integrating external VMware vSphere hosts with Dell PowerStore storage.
https://Hyper-V 

From Itzikr’s Blog
Itzik Reich is Dell EMC VP Technologies for PowerStore. In these blogs he focuses on PowerStore technologies and feature rich capabilities.
What’s new with PowerStore

• In this article PowerStore v3.0 introduces Synchronous replication with Metro Volumes https://MetroVolumes
• In this article PowerStore v3.0 introduces vVols replication with VMware SRM. https://vVolReplication
• In this article PowerStore v3.0 introduces asynchronous file replication https://FileReplication

References

• What is PowerStoreCLI Filtering? | Dell Technologies Info Hub
• Dell PowerStore Metro Node with Oracle | Dell Technologies Info Hub
• Dell PowerStore 3.0, Part1 - Metro Volumes - Itzikr's Blog
• Dell PowerStore 3.0, Part2 – vVols Replication with VMware SRM - Itzikr's Blog
• Dell PowerStore File Replication - Itzikr's Blog
• PowerStore: Health Check shows all green when there are warnings | Dell US
• PowerStore: PowerStoreOS Matrix | Dell US
• PowerStore: How to prepare for a PowerStore Non-Disruptive Upgrade (NDU) | Dell US
• Login or Register | Dell US

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