DELL PowerFlex Appliance and PowerFlex Rack User Guide
- October 30, 2023
- Dell
Table of Contents
DELL PowerFlex Appliance and PowerFlex Rack
Product Information
The Dell PowerFlex Appliance and PowerFlex Rack are hardware systems designed for data center use. These systems are compatible with PowerFlex Manager 3.x and come with a compatibility matrix that provides compatibility information for the PowerFlex Manager with the appliance and rack components.
Product Usage Instructions
The following instructions will help you make use of your Dell PowerFlex Appliance and PowerFlex Rack:
Chapter 1: Introduction
This chapter provides an overview of the compatibility matrix for the
PowerFlex Manager with the appliance and rack components. The target audience
for this document includes system administrators responsible for managing
PowerFlex appliance and PowerFlex rack, sales engineers, and advanced service
specialists.
Chapter 2: Revision History
This chapter provides a revision history of the compatibility matrix
document, including changes made to it over time.
Chapter 3: Compatibility Matrix for PowerFlex Appliance
This chapter provides details on the compatibility of PowerFlex Manager
3.8.3 with the PowerFlex Appliance components. It includes information on
component nodes, operating systems/hypervisors, adapters, and networking.
Please note that PowerFlex Manager support for PowerFlex appliance with
certain operating systems is limited to installation only and no update.
Chapter 4: Compatibility Matrix for PowerFlex Rack
This chapter provides details on the compatibility of PowerFlex Manager
3.8.3 with the PowerFlex Rack components. It includes information on component
nodes, operating systems/hypervisors, adapters, and networking.
It is important to follow the instructions provided in the compatibility matrix document carefully to ensure proper installation and use of your Dell PowerFlex Appliance and PowerFlex Rack.
Dell PowerFlex Appliance and PowerFlex Rack
PowerFlex Manager 3.x Compatibility Matrix
Notes, cautions, and warnings
- NOTE : A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your product.
- CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid the problem.
- WARNING: A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death.
Introduction
The compatibility matrix provides PowerFlex Manager compatibility information
for PowerFlex appliance and PowerFlex rack.
The target audience for this document includes system administrators
responsible for managing PowerFlex appliance and PowerFlex rack, sales
engineers, and advanced service specialists.
Revision history
| Date | Document revision | Description of changes |
|---|---|---|
| March 2023 | 1.1 | Added support for PowerFlex Manager 3.8.3 |
Updated the compatible networking switches for PowerFlex appliance and PowerFlex rack
November 2021| 1.0| Initial release
Compatibility matrix for PowerFlex appliance
PowerFlex Manager 3.8.3
This section provides the PowerFlex Manager 3.8.3 compatibility details for
PowerFlex appliance components.
| Component | Compatibility |
|---|---|
| Nodes | PowerFlex R650/R750 (hyperconverged, storage-only, and compute-only) |
PowerFlex R6525 (compute-only)
PowerFlex R7525 (compute-only)
PowerFlex R640/R740xd (hyperconverged, storage-only, and compute-only) PowerFlex R840 (hyperconverged and compute-only)
Operating system/hypervisor| VMware ESXi 6.7P08/7.0U3g (management and compute-only) Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.6/7.7/7.9 (compute-only)**
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.5/7.6/7.7/7.9 (storage-only) CentOS 7.6/7.7/7.9 (compute-only)
Embedded operating system (storage-only)
**PowerFlex Manager support for PowerFlex appliance with these operating systems is limited to installation only and no update.
Adapters| Mellanox ConnectX-5 OCP/PCIe Mellanox ConnectX-6 Dx
Intel X710/I350 rNDC Mellanox ConnectX-4 rNDC
Mellanox ConnectX-4/ConnectX-5 Broadcom 57414 V1 2×25 OCP Broadcom 57414 V2 2×25
Broadcom 57414 V1 2×25
Networking| Deployment requires a pair of the following switches:
● Cisco Nexus 93180YC-FX (access or management-aggregation)
● Cisco Nexus 93240YC-FX2 (access or leaf)
● Dell PowerSwitch S4148F-ON (access)
● Dell PowerSwitch S5224F-ON (access)
● Dell PowerSwitch S5248F-ON (access)
● Dell PowerSwitch S5048F-ON (access)
● Dell PowerSwitch S5296F-ON (access)
After deploying, PowerFlex Manager can monitor and update the following access Dell switches:
● Dell PowerSwitch S4148F-ON**
● Dell PowerSwitch S5224F-ON
● Dell PowerSwitch S5248F-ON
| Component | Compatibility |
|---|---|
| ● Dell PowerSwitch S5048F-ON |
● Dell PowerSwitch S5296F-ON
**Clusters of 10 or fewer nodes.
Storage| PowerFlex 3.6.0.7 (storage-only)
Security| CloudLink 7.1.5
Compliance| Intelligent Catalog 38.357.01 / 38.363.01
PowerFlex Manager 3.8
This section provides the PowerFlex Manager 3.8 compatibility details for
PowerFlex appliance components.
| Component | Compatibility |
|---|---|
| Nodes | PowerFlex R650/R750 (hyperconverged, storage-only, and compute-only) |
PowerFlex R6525 (compute-only)
PowerFlex R640/R740xd (hyperconverged, storage-only, and compute-only)
PowerFlex R840 (hyperconverged and compute-only)
Operating system/hypervisor| VMware ESXi 6.7U3n/7.0U2d (hyperconverged and compute-only) Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.6/7.7/7.9 (compute-only)**
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.5/7.6/7.7/7.9 (storage-only) CentOS 7.6/7.7/7.9 (compute-only)
Embedded operating system (storage-only)
**PowerFlex Manager support for PowerFlex appliance with these operating systems is limited to installation only and no update.
Adapters| Mellanox ConnectX-5 OCP/PCIe Mellanox ConnectX-6 Dx
Intel X710/I350 rNDC Mellanox ConnectX-4 rNDC
Mellanox ConnectX-4/ConnectX-5
Networking| Deployment requires a pair of the following switches:
● Cisco Nexus 93180YC-FX (access or management-aggregation)
● Cisco Nexus 93240YC-FX2 (access or leaf)
● Dell PowerSwitch S4148F-ON (access)
● Dell PowerSwitch S5224F-ON (access)
● Dell PowerSwitch S5248F-ON (access)
● Dell PowerSwitch S5048F-ON (access)
● Dell PowerSwitch S5296F-ON (access)
After deploying, PowerFlex Manager can monitor and update the following access Dell switches:
● Dell PowerSwitch S4148F-ON**
● Dell PowerSwitch S5224F-ON
● Dell PowerSwitch S5248F-ON
● Dell PowerSwitch S5048F-ON
| Component | Compatibility |
|---|---|
| ● Dell PowerSwitch S5296F-ON |
**Clusters of 10 or fewer nodes.
Storage| PowerFlex 3.6.0.1+ (hyperconverged, storage-only and compute-only)
Security| CloudLink 7.1
CloudLink 7.0.2
Compliance| Intelligent Catalog 38.362.00+ / 37.361.00+
Intelligent Catalog 38.356.00+ / 37.355.00+
Compatibility matrix for PowerFlex rack
PowerFlex Manager 3.8.3
This section provides the PowerFlex Manager 3.8.3 compatibility details for
PowerFlex rack components.
| Component | Managed mode | Lifecycle mode | Alerting mode |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nodes | PowerFlex R650/R750 (hyperconverged, storage-only, and compute-only) |
PowerFlex R6525 (compute-only) PowerFlex R7525 (compute-only)
PowerFlex R640/R740xd (hyperconverged, storage-only, and compute-only)
PowerFlex R840 (hyperconverged and compute-only)
| PowerFlex R650/R750 (hyperconverged, storage-only, and compute-only)
PowerFlex R6525 (compute-only) PowerFlex R7525 (compute-only)
PowerFlex R640/R740xd (hyperconverged, storage-only, and compute-only)
PowerFlex R840 (hyperconverged and compute-only)
| PowerFlex R650/R750 (hyperconverged, storage-only, and compute-only)
PowerFlex R6525 (compute-only) PowerFlex R7525 (compute-only)
PowerFlex R640/R740xd (hyperconverged, storage-only, and compute-only)
PowerFlex R840 (hyperconverged and compute-only)
Operating system/ hypervisor| VMware ESXi 6.7P08/7.0U3g (management and compute-only)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.6/7.7/7.9 (compute-only)*
| VMware ESXi 6.7P08/7.0U3g (management and compute-only)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.5/7.6/7.7/7.9 (storage-only)**
| Not applicable
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.5/7.6/7.7/7.9 (storage-only)*| Embedded
operating system (storage-only)|
| CentOS 7.6/7.7/7.9 (compute- only)**
Embedded operating system (storage-only)
| PowerFlex rack only supports these operating systems. An update to these
operating systems is not supported.|
| PowerFlex Manager support for PowerFlex rack with these operating systems
is limited to installation only and no update.| |
Adapters| Mellanox ConnectX-5 OCP/PCIe Mellanox ConnectX-6 Dx| Lifecycle mode
when a supported adapter cannot be identified.| Not applicable
| Intel X710/I350 rNDC| |
| Mellanox ConnectX-4 rNDC| |
| Mellanox ConnectX-4/ConnectX-5| |
| Broadcom 57414 V1 2×25 OCP| |
| Broadcom 57414 V2 2×25| |
| Broadcom 57414 V1 2×25| |
Networking| Managed mode requires a pair of the following server facing Dell
and Cisco switches:| Lifecycle mode when a supported switch cannot be
identified or cannot be granted with write access, provided the network| Not
applicable
Component| Managed mode| Lifecycle mode| Alerting mode**
---|---|---|---
| The following switches are shipped and supported:| configuration does not
modify the node configuration.|
● Cisco Nexus 92348GC-X
● Cisco Nexus 93180YC-FX
● Cisco Nexus 9336C-FX2
| PowerFlex Manager can only update components with write access.
● Cisco Nexus 93240YC-FX2|
● Cisco Nexus 9364C-GX|
● Dell S5232F-ON|
● Dell S4148F-ON|
● Dell S5248F-ON|
The following switches are supported but no longer shipped:|
● Cisco Nexus 31108TC-V|
● Cisco Nexus 3172TQ|
● Cisco Nexus 93180YC-EX|
● Cisco Nexus 9236C|
● Cisco Nexus 3132|
● Cisco Nexus 3164|
● Cisco Nexus 9364C|
PowerFlex Manager can monitor and update the accessible switches in managed
mode.|
Storage| PowerFlex 3.6.0.7 (storage-only)| PowerFlex 3.6.0.7 (storage-only)|
Not applicable
Security| CloudLink 7.1.5| CloudLink 7.1.5| Not applicable
Compliance| RCM 3.5.7.1 / 3.6.3.1| RCM 3.5.7.1 / 3.6.3.1| Not applicable
+ Applicable only to the final digit in the version. See RCM Portal for more information.
PowerFlex Manager 3.8
This section provides the PowerFlex Manager 3.8 compatibility details for
PowerFlex rack components.
| Component | Managed mode | Lifecycle mode | Alerting mode |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nodes | PowerFlex R650/R750 (hyperconverged, storage-only, and compute-only) | ||
| PowerFlex R650/R750 (hyperconverged, storage-only, and compute-only) |
PowerFlex R650/R750 (hyperconverged, storage-only, and compute-only)
| PowerFlex R6525 (compute-only)| PowerFlex R6525 (compute-only)| PowerFlex
R6525 (compute-only)
| PowerFlex R640/R740xd (hyperconverged, storage-only, and compute-only)|
PowerFlex R640/R740xd (hyperconverged, storage-only, and compute-only)|
PowerFlex R640/R740xd (hyperconverged, storage-only, and compute-only)
| PowerFlex R840 (hyperconverged and compute-only)| PowerFlex R840
(hyperconverged and compute-only)| PowerFlex R840 (hyperconverged and compute-
only)
Operating system/ hypervisor| VMware ESXi 6.5U3n/6.7U3n/ 7.0U2d
(hyperconverged and compute-only)| VMware ESXi 6.5U3n/6.7U3n/ 7.0U2d
(hyperconverged and compute-only)| Not applicable
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.6/7.7/7.9 (compute-only)*| Red Hat Enterprise
Linux 7.5/7.6/7.7/7.9 (storage-only)*|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.5/7.6/7.7/7.9 (storage-only)| Embedded
operating system (storage-only)|
Component| Managed mode| Lifecycle mode| Alerting mode
---|---|---|---
| CentOS 7.6/7.7/7.9 (compute- only)**
Embedded operating system (storage-only)
**PowerFlex Manager support for PowerFlex rack with these operating systems is limited to installation only and no update.
| PowerFlex rack only supports these operating systems. An update to these
operating systems is not supported.|
Adapters| Mellanox ConnectX-5 OCP/PCIe Mellanox ConnectX-6 Dx
Intel X710/I350 rNDC Mellanox ConnectX-4 rNDC
Mellanox ConnectX-4/ConnectX-5
| Lifecycle mode when a supported adapter cannot be identified.| Not
applicable
Networking| Managed mode requires a pair of the following server facing Dell
and Cisco switches:
The following switches are shipped and supported:
● Cisco Nexus 92348GC-X
| Lifecycle mode when a supported switch cannot be identified or cannot be
granted with write access, provided the network configuration does not modify
the node configuration.| Not applicable
| ● Cisco Nexus 93180YC-FX
● Cisco Nexus 9336C-FX2
● Cisco Nexus 93240YC-FX2
| PowerFlex Manager can only
update components with write access.
|
| ● Cisco Nexus 9364C-GX| |
| ● Dell S5232F-ON| |
| ● Dell S4148F-ON| |
| ● Dell S5248F-ON| |
| The following switches are supported but no longer shipped:| |
| ● Cisco Nexus 31108TC-V| |
| ● Cisco Nexus 3172TQ| |
| ● Cisco Nexus 93180YC-EX| |
| ● Cisco Nexus 9236C| |
| ● Cisco Nexus 3132| |
| ● Cisco Nexus 3164| |
| ● Cisco Nexus 9364C| |
| PowerFlex Manager can monitor and update the accessible switches in managed
mode.| |
Storage| PowerFlex 3.6.0.1+ (hyperconverged, storage-only, and compute-only)|
PowerFlex 3.6.0.1+ (hyperconverged, storage-only, and compute-only)| Not
applicable
| PowerFlex 3.0.1.6+ (hyperconverged, storage-only, and compute-only)|
PowerFlex 3.0.1.6+ (hyperconverged, storage-only, and compute-only)|
| PowerFlex 2.6.1.1 HF2+ (hyperconverged, storage-only, and compute-only)|
PowerFlex 2.6.1.1 HF2+ (hyperconverged, storage-only, and compute-only)|
Security| CloudLink 7.1
CloudLink 7.0.2
| CloudLink 7.1
CloudLink 7.0.2
| Not applicable
Component| Managed mode| Lifecycle mode| Alerting mode
---|---|---|---
Compliance| RCM 3.6.2.0+ / 3.6.1.0+| RCM 3.6.2.0+ / 3.6.1.0+| Not applicable
| RCM 3.5.6.0+ / 3.5.5.0+| RCM 3.5.6.0+ / 3.5.5.0+|
| RCM 3.4.6.0+ / 3.4.5.0+| RCM 3.4.6.0+ / 3.4.5.0+|
| RCM 3.3.11.0+ / 3.3.10.0+| RCM 3.3.11.0+ / 3.3.10.0+|
+ Applicable only to the final digit in the version. See RCM Portal for more information.