DELL 7.1.0.01 Metro Node User Guide

: July 13, 2024
: Dell

DELL 7.1.0.01 Metro Node

Specifications

Product: Dell EMC Metro node
Release Version: 7.1.0.01
Release Type: Patch (P)

Product Description

The Dell EMC Metro node is a storage solution that allows for the management and synchronization of data across multiple locations.

New Features in Release 7.1

Functional Area	Feature Description
Cluster Witness	Support for SLES 15 SP3 and OpenSUSE 15.x
Metro node Firmware Block Upgrade	The firmware block components iDRAC, BIOS,

and NIC are
collectively upgraded through the MNFB upgrade process.

Metro Node Firmware Block Upgrade Commands

Install: Run the install command to install the new metro node Block RPM on all the nodes.
start-upgrade: Run the start-upgrade command including the block name and peer node name to trigger the upgrade.
complete-upgrade: Run the complete-upgrade command to complete the upgrade process.
show-version: Run the show-version command to verify the installed and applied metro node Firmware versions on all the nodes.

NOTE: Follow only the Metro node-provided procedure for the MNFB upgrade available from SolVe to avoid risks to system stability.

SupportAssist

SupportAssist enables pushing logs to Dell Backend for monitoring critical events and system health.

Syrcollect

The syrcollect feature supports collecting product configuration data every week for customer configuration analysis.

Product Usage Instructions

Metro Node Configuration Limits

Object	Limits
Virtual volumes	…
Storage volumes	…

Revision history

Table 1. Document revision history

Document revision	Date	Description of changes
2.1	June 2024	Updates for 7.1 Patch 1
2.0	March 2023	7.1 Patch 1 Initial Release
1.1	February 2023	Updates for 7.1
1.0	October 2022	7.1 Initial Release

Product Description

Dell EMC Storage metro node removes physical barriers within, across, and between data centers. Metro node-Local provides simplified management and non- disruptive data mobility across heterogeneous arrays. Metro node-Metro provides data access and mobility between two metro node clusters within synchronous distances. With advanced distributed coherency, the metro node provides workload resiliency, automatic sharing, balancing and failover of storage domains, and enables both local and remote data access with predictable service levels.

New features

This section describes the new features that are added to a metro node in Release 7.1: Table 2. New features in Release 7.1

Functional area	Feature description	Summary
Cluster Witness	Support for SLES OpenSUSE 15.x	15

witness adds support for SLES 15 SP3 and OpenSUSE 15.x.
Metro node Firmware Block| Firmware Block upgrade| From 7.1 onwards, the firmware block components iDRAC, BIOS, and NIC are collectively upgraded through the MNFB upgrade process which is separate from the MN OS NDU. These firmware components can be updated when the metro node releases new metro node firmware bundles for each supported platform type.

Given below are the commands which are involved

with /opt/dell/vplex/bin/vplex-firmware-block- upgrade.py:

● Install : Run install command to install the new metro node Block RPM on all the nodes.

● start-upgrade: Run start-upgrade command including the block name and peer node name to trigger the upgrade.

● complete-upgrade: Run complete-upgrade

command for completing the upgrade process.

● show-version : Run show-version command to

SupportAssist

|

Support to push logs to Dell Backend.

| verify the installed and applied metro node Firmware versions on all the nodes.

NOTE: Follow only the Metro node provided procedure for MNFB upgrade available from SolVe. Any other means to load individual firmware updates without the direction of engineering is unsupported, and may cause a risk and harm to the system stability.

Product-based logs enable sending of the on-demand logs that are related to the critical events and system, using call home to the Dell Backend. Product- based logs can be

configured for sending them on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.

NOTE: See the SupportAssist Syslog section in

Administrator Guide for the metro node appliance for

Syrcollect

|

Support for 7.1

| further details.

Product configuration data is collected and sent to the backend on a weekly basis. This information is used for various purposes such as understanding the customer configuration.

NOTE: See the SupportAssist syrcollect feature section in Administrator Guide for the metro node appliance for

further details.

Functional area| Feature description| Summary
Cluster Witness| Support for SLES OpenSUSE 15.x| 15| SP3| and| The cluster witness adds support for SLES 15 SP3 and OpenSUSE 15.x.
Metro node Firmware Block| Firmware Block upgrade| From 7.1 onwards, the firmware block components iDRAC, BIOS, and NIC are collectively upgraded through the MNFB upgrade process which is separate from the MN OS NDU. These firmware components can be updated when the metro node releases new metro node firmware bundles for each supported platform type.

Given below are the commands which are involved

with /opt/dell/vplex/bin/vplex-firmware-block- upgrade.py:

● Install : Run install command to install the new metro node Block RPM on all the nodes.

● start-upgrade: Run start-upgrade command including the block name and peer node name to trigger the upgrade.

● complete-upgrade: Run complete-upgrade

command for completing the upgrade process.

● show-version : Run show-version command to

SupportAssist

|

Support to push logs to Dell Backend.

| verify the installed and applied metro node Firmware versions on all the nodes.

NOTE: Follow only the Metro node provided procedure for MNFB upgrade available from SolVe. Any other means to load individual firmware updates without the direction of engineering is unsupported, and may cause a risk and harm to the system stability.

Product-based logs enable sending of the on-demand logs that are related to the critical events and system, using call home to the Dell Backend. Product- based logs can be

configured for sending them on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.

NOTE: See the SupportAssist Syslog section in

Administrator Guide for the metro node appliance for

Syrcollect

|

Support for 7.1

| further details.

Product configuration data is collected and sent to the backend on a weekly basis. This information is used for various purposes such as understanding the customer configuration.

NOTE: See the SupportAssist syrcollect feature section in Administrator Guide for the metro node appliance for

further details.

See the Metro node support page on Metro node| Overview for detailed user documentation. For any mentioned procedures, see SolVe for the metro node at SolVe Online.

Configuration limits

The following table lists the configuration limits:
Table 3. Configuration limits

Object	Limit
Virtual volumes	On the metro node hardware:

● 8000 (metro node Metro)

● 10000 (metro node Local)

Storage volumes

|

On the metro node hardware:

● 8000 (metro node Metro)

● 10000 (metro node Local)

Distributed devices and remote devices (metro)

|

8000

NOTE: See the Dell Support Matrix for more details, as some applications and configurations have less tolerance

IT nexus per cluster

| for RTT.

1600

IT nexus per front-end port| 400
IT nexus per back-end port| 256
Maximum paths per storage volume per metro node director

NOTE:

● A path is a connection from a back-end initiator port on the director to the target port on the array (IT connection).

| 4
● The maximum of four paths applies to active paths.

Four additional paths are needed for passive or non- preferred paths (as applicable) for active/passive or ALUA-based arrays.

Minimum bandwidth for metro node metro IP WAN links.

|

5 Gbps

● 8000 (metro node Metro)

● 10000 (metro node Local)

Storage volumes

|

On the metro node hardware:

● 8000 (metro node Metro)

● 10000 (metro node Local)

Distributed devices and remote devices (metro)

|

8000

NOTE: See the Dell Support Matrix for more details, as some applications and configurations have less tolerance

IT nexus per cluster

| for RTT.

1600

IT nexus per front-end port| 400
IT nexus per back-end port| 256
Maximum paths per storage volume per metro node director

NOTE:

● A path is a connection from a back-end initiator port on the director to the target port on the array (IT connection).

| 4
● The maximum of four paths applies to active paths.

Four additional paths are needed for passive or non- preferred paths (as applicable) for active/passive or ALUA-based arrays.

Minimum bandwidth for metro node metro IP WAN links.

|

5 Gbps

Active intra-cluster rebuilds| 25
Active inter-cluster rebuilds (on distributed devices)| 25
Total storage provisioned in a system| 8 PB
Maximum number of LUNs per BE IT nexus| 4096

Software versions

The software versions are as follows: Table 4. Software versions

Software Release	Software Version
Release 7.1 Patch 1	7.1.0.01.00.07
Release 7.1	7.1.0.00.00.26

The software version number can be interpreted as follows: A.B.C.DD.EE.FF
Where each position has the following meaning:

Table 5. Software version numbers

Digit Position	Description
A	Major release number
B	Minor release number
C	Service pack number
DD	Patch number
EE	Hotfix number
FF	Build number

For example: 7.1.0.01.00.07

Table 6. Software version numbers

Digit Position	Description
7	Major release number
1	Minor release number
0	Service pack number
01	Patch number
00	Hotfix number
07	Build number

Metro node Firmware Block Support

Table 7. Software version

Software Release	Supported MNFB Version
Release 7.1	metro-node_Mar_CY22

The list of major components with versions:

BIOS: 13.3
IDRAC: 10.10.00
HBA LPe35002: 05.23
NIC X710 5.13

Changed features

This section describes the changed features. Table 8. Changed features in 7.1

Functional area	Feature description	Summary
Security	In metro node and User roles, accounts and privileges sections,

service or admin users will not have privileges to create, modify, and delete new user accounts.

NOTE: See Security Configuration Guide for service password reset by admin user.

| The following user management commands are removed from VPlexcli :

● user –help

● user list

● user remove -u service

● user passwd

● user event-server change-password -u service

● user reset -u service

● user add -u testvplex

NOTE: The custom user functionality must be managed using LDAP/AD. See Authenticate Directory Service document available at SolVe Online.

Functional area| Feature description| Summary
Security| In metro node and User roles, accounts and privileges sections, service or admin users will not have privileges to create, modify, and delete new user accounts.

NOTE: See Security Configuration Guide for service password reset by admin user.

| The following user management commands are removed from VPlexcli :

● user –help

● user list

● user remove -u service

● user passwd

● user event-server change-password -u service

● user reset -u service

● user add -u testvplex

NOTE: The custom user functionality must be managed using LDAP/AD. See Authenticate Directory Service document available at SolVe Online.

Resolved issues

The following issues are resolved in this release 7.1 and patches: Table 9. Issues fixed in Release 7.1 Patch 1

Issue ID	Functional area	Description
VPLEX-46999	NDU	Fixed an issue where a metro node might fail to choose the

correct boot partition if it had previously been upgraded. This issue has been corrected by adding logic to correctly track the active boot partition.
VPLEX-47035| NSFW| Fixed an issue where a PowerStore controller upgrade, panic, or reboot can lead to a metro node stuck I/O situation due to a software error, and metro node would fail to properly failover and use the AAN paths of PowerStore.
VPLEX-47351| NSFW| Fixed an issue where an UNMAP operation on DR1s may encounter a software error which can lead to multiple unnecessary logs rebuilds, or NSFW becomes unresponsive.
VPLEX-47456| CWS| Fixed an issue where the Cluster Witness Server (CWS) would not run on a Virtual Machine (VM) or physical machine that is running SUSE Linux Enterprise Just Enough Operating System (JeOS).
VPLEX-48021| Operating system| Fixed an issue seen in the SUSE firewall, where the management connectivity in metro node may be lost. The director continues to serve the I/O, but it is inaccessible and may appear to be failed. In this release, the firewall packages from SUSE have been updated to address this issue.
VPLEX-48087| NDU| Fixed an issue in grub.cfg file which was not matching the kernel version during NDU recover (roll forward option). The file update is done during the software

update to match the kernel versions on both the partitions, thus allowing NDU recover to work properly.

Issue ID	Functional area	Description
VPLEX-21477	NSFW	In 7.0.1 and earlier, a high rate of VAAI UNMAPs repeating

a director greater than 400 unmaps/sec can cause a performance impact. It includes director CPU usage spikes to 100%, front-end domain latency spikes, and front-end latency increasing
| | In release 7.1, a high rate of VAAI UNMAPS no longer causes an impact to other hosts, and shows an improvement on UNMAP response times.
---|---|---
VPLEX-22599| UI| Fixed an issue in release 7.1 where, when listing RAID 1 local devices and distributed devices by the RESTv2 API, the legs of the device were not printed. The API output has been modified to now include all child mirrors using the legs property.
VPLEX-23827| NSFW| In 7.0.1 and earlier, an incoming SCSI UNMAP operation overlapping with a previously issued SCSI I/O for the same block region, can lead to a director software failure.

In release 7.1, the metro node software is corrected to properly sequence reads and writes with UNMAP operations, thus correcting the software failure.

VPLEX-28757| UI| Fixed an issue in release 7.1 where, the Online Help page navigation buttons appeared cut by page content and were difficult to use.
VPLEX-29215| CLI| Fixed an issue in release 7.1 where, the CLI command health- check

–configuration would return errors that related to connectivity. The unnecessary check for COM port power levels is removed because the property of port power is not applicable on metro node.

VPLEX-30780| Security| In release 7.1, Qualys QID 11827 (Security Vulnerability: HTTP Security Header Not Detected) is now fixed.
VPLEX-33616| UI| Fixed an issue in release 7.1, that prevented the proper application of filters between the table headers and the URL bar in the HTML5 UI.
VPLEX-34516| UI| Fixed an issue in release 7.1 where, the Storage View > Add Virtual Volume wizard could make many simultaneous requests, resulting in the request queue of the browser becoming full, and some requests failing.
VPLEX-34701

and

VPLEX-35052

| UI| In the HTML5 UI, sorting and filtering added on different columns of various wizards screens:

1. To Device column in create virtual volumes from device side panel.

2. To Storage Volume & Use columns in provision from storage volumes wizard step 3(Storage Volumes).

3. To Initiator column in create Storage View wizard step 1(Select Initiators).

4. To Virtual Volume & Locality columns in create distributed cg step 3(Select

VPLEX-34743

|

UI

| Virtual Volumes).

5. To Status column in Virtual Volume Export side panel.

6. To Virtual Volumes, Status & Consistency Group columns in create storage view wizard step 3(Select Virtual Volumes).

In various UI workflows and wizards where, the user must select source and target objects, the wizard would display some target objects before the user has selected the source objects. It would cause workflow confusion if the target objects were not valid given the source objects.

In release 7.1, this workflow has been improved to only show that valid target objects, after the user has selected the source objects.

VPLEX-35650| NSFW| Fixed an issue where, if a VAAI XCOPY operation fails, metro node was not returning the expected SCSI ASC/ASCQ sense code, for VMware ESXi to automatically fallback to using traditional reads and writes to perform the operation.

In release 7.1, metro node now returns copy aborted or unreachable copy target instead of illegal request or lu not supported.

VPLEX-38851| System Configuration| After system configuration, if the cluster name was changed, the CWS configuration fails with an error: KeyError: ‘health_state’ in get_rest_url().

Fixed this issue in release 7.1, to fetch the correct or new cluster name.

---|---|---
VPLEX-38907| UI| Fixed an issue in 7.1 release, by changing cluster status cli command code to display only enabled idrac alerts.
VPLEX-39209| UI| Fixed an issue in release 7.1, to show error message as:

1. Please accept SSL certificate for peer node by opening the following URL in separate tab: https:// .

2. Instead of Logout of the current session and re-login

wrong error message as: The notification service seems to be

VPLEX-39333

|

UI

| unavailable now, please refer Metro node User guide to start/enable .

Fixed an issue in release 7.1, which prevented the admin user from logging in to the metro node UI.

VPLEX-39431| UI| On metro node, an NDU fails with waiting for director firmware to recognize all devices. This occurs if the user does not run vplex_ndu_installer before ndu start .

Fixed an issue in release 7.1, by preventing ndu start to run if vplex_ndu_installer has not run first. The error message cause: Please run vplex_ndu_installer before starting NDU. has been added to ndu start if this situation occurs.

VPLEX-39742| UI| The report capacity-related CLI commands that were removed in 7.0.1 have been restored in release 7.1:

● report capacity-arrays

● report capacity-clusters

● report capacity-hosts

For more information, see KB article 000194939.

VPLEX-39852| UI| In the UI where when adding many virtual-volumes to a storage-view, they might not all get added successfully.

Fixed an issue in release 7.1 where, all the virtual volumes can be added successfully.

VPLEX-39875| System Configuration| Fixed an issue in release 7.1 where, the CWS password can have $ as part of the supported characters. The supported list of special characters is – $ . ? / * @ ^

% # + = ~: – _ space.

VPLEX-40056| NSFW| In a rare situation, a director may fail if a VAAI XCOPY operation is aborted when the virtual volume is at its maximum supported number of active concurrent I/O operations in the cache of director. This issue is fixed to properly cleanup the canceled XCOPY.
VPLEX-40511| NDU| Fixed an issue of authentication, during NDU FE port disable operation. This was happening as the FE port disable operation was a rest call and changed service credential was causing the authentication issue.

In release 7.1, the NDU has removed the FE port-related operation, thus avoiding the authentication issue altogether.

VPLEX-40709| UI| Fixed an issue in release 7.1, with the virtual-volume perpetual monitor datafile where if the VPlexcli management service was restarted, the output sink files may get data rows written in the improper column order, which confused performance analysis.
VPLEX-40928

and

VPLEX-41833

| System Configuration| In 7.0.1, the custom signed certificate update task was failing during the Cluster witness certificate update. This issue has now been fixed in 7.1 release .
---|---|---
VPLEX-41546| System Configuration| If user runs vplex_system_config -s command on an already configured system, and quits the command execution in between, it could cause NSFW service to be unresponsive, causing DU.

Fixed this issue in release 7.1 by introducing a check that captures the state of the system. If the system is already configured, the user is prompted to confirm if they are really intending to run this command.

VPLEX-41736| UI| Fixed an issue by adding cli command output (ll /clusters/*/exports/**) in CD collection to capture host config and login information.
VPLEX-41741| UI| Fixed an issue by creating separate log file “callhomes.log” at

location /var/log/vplex/SupportAssist to store Event payloads.

VPLEX-41745| UI| Fixed an issue by adding DefaultProperties.json and ESEProperties.json files in collect diagnostics which contains configuration of SupportAssist.
VPLEX-42172| NDU| The NDU fails, when there is huge amount of initiator information that is required to be saved in ndu state file. In release 7.1, the NDU has resolved the issue by saving the initiator information as a separate information.
VPLEX-42605| UI| During ndu pre-check, the scsi view unit command runs on system-id of storage volume. However, when the storage volume is named, the VPD ID of that storage volume was running this command on the storage volume name which caused errors.

This issue is now fixed to get the system-id of the storage volume name, and then run scsi view unit command on it.

VPLEX-42978| UI| The perpetual monitor performance logs in director, were missing statistics ip- com-port stats on the local COM IP ports (LC-00, LC-01). In release 7.1, it has been fixed to include them.
VPLEX-43863| NSFW| In 7.0.1 and earlier, a host continually retried I/O to an underlying VMAX SRDF disk that was Write Disabled could lead to a situation where the internal requests could not be processed quickly enough and would queue up in memory, eventually causing memory to become exhausted and the director to stop.

In release 7.1, issue is addressed by improving how the system handles these errors internally, thus preventing memory exhaustion.

VPLEX-44269| Security| In release 7.1, TLS versions less than 1.2 are no longer supported.
VPLEX-44328| UI| Fixed an issue in release 7.1 where, the UI of Virtual Volume Create wizard would create many simultaneous requests, resulting in some requests getting rejected by the RESTv2 API.
VPLEX-44589| UI| Fixed an issue in release 7.1 where, the customers who had upgraded were not calling home with the correct versions. The proper version is now set in the call homes.
VPLEX-44963| UI| Fixed an issue where /var/log/ partition would fill up over time by changing the log file name to include day of the week postgresql-

.log so that it is overridden by the log file of the next week, and at any given time maximum 7 days of logs are present.

VPLEX-44964| UI| Fixed an issue by removing print logs for connection, disconnection, and duration of query execution, from postgresql.log files present under /var/log/ postgresql/ as they were filling up over time and were not informative.
VPLEX-46025| Security| Fixed an issue by overriding LDAP/AD home directory creation with /home/ nohomedir as, when the user is setting a different LDAP/AD home directory at server side, it was causing an issue.

Known issues

At the time of release, the metro node has the following known issues:

Table 11. Known issues

Issue number	Functional area	Description	Workaround
VPLEX-26775	UI	When there are no storage views present on the system, then

you are not able

to go to the Storage View page from the System Status and System Health dashboards directly.

| Go to the Storage View page through the Provision Storage menu, then from the drop-down select Storage Views from the View By drop-down, then selectCreate. Once one storage view is created, then from the main status dashboard click the Storage Views circle to create the other storage views.
VPLEX-27760| UI| Performance Dashboard hover-over statistics window may get stuck across other pages.| Refresh the page from your browser.
VPLEX-37688| UI| The HTML5 UI performance dashboard charts may appear ‘choppy’, or have missing data points between the lines plotted.| Follow the KBA 000093291 (Delete perpetual monitors and restart the VPlexCLI which will automatically re- create the monitors).
VPLEX-37787| UI| The LDAP/AD configuration in metro node is not backward compatible.| Before upgrading from 7.0 or

7.0 P1 to 7.0.1 or 7.1, remove existing LDAP/AD configuration and reconfigure it post upgrade to 7.0.1 or 7.1. For removing

and configuring LDAP/AD, see Authenticate Directory Service document available at SolVe Online.

VPLEX-42572| Platform| If the LCLReplication setting is disabled, iDRAC HW events may not be sent

to the metro. LCLReplication can get disabled, if racresetcfg is run as it is not performed as a part of any known procedure.

CAUTION: Manually changing the iDRAC settings is not supported, and

can cause unknown consequences

| The LCLReplication setting must be enabled to restore metro node HW events, if racresetcfg is run for any reason to fix this issue. For more details, contact Customer Support.

VPLEX-43036

|

Platform

| depending upon which setting has been changed.

The iDRAC root password must be consistent with the stored iDRAC password. If the metro node OS is unable to validate the HW, then it will not start

on boot. The iDRAC password may become inconsistent with the stored password, if it is changed or reset manually through the iDRAC.

NOTE: Only use the system-config

command to change the iDRAC

|

Contact Dell Customer Support to correct or reset the iDRAC password.

VPLEX-46489

|

NSFW

| password.

PowerVault ME5 presents an enclosure services device to metro node, even though no actual LUNs are exposed.

Hence, metro node users end up seeing

these LUNs.

|

No workaround.

to go to the Storage View page from the System Status and System Health dashboards directly.

| Go to the Storage View page through the Provision Storage menu, then from the drop-down select Storage Views from the View By drop-down, then selectCreate. Once one storage view is created, then from the main status dashboard click the Storage Views circle to create the other storage views.
VPLEX-27760| UI| Performance Dashboard hover-over statistics window may get stuck across other pages.| Refresh the page from your browser.
VPLEX-37688| UI| The HTML5 UI performance dashboard charts may appear ‘choppy’, or have missing data points between the lines plotted.| Follow the KBA 000093291 (Delete perpetual monitors and restart the VPlexCLI which will automatically re- create the monitors).
VPLEX-37787| UI| The LDAP/AD configuration in metro node is not backward compatible.| Before upgrading from 7.0 or

7.0 P1 to 7.0.1 or 7.1, remove existing LDAP/AD configuration and reconfigure it post upgrade to 7.0.1 or 7.1. For removing

and configuring LDAP/AD, see Authenticate Directory Service document available at SolVe Online.

VPLEX-42572| Platform| If the LCLReplication setting is disabled, iDRAC HW events may not be sent

to the metro. LCLReplication can get disabled, if racresetcfg is run as it is not performed as a part of any known procedure.

CAUTION: Manually changing the iDRAC settings is not supported, and

can cause unknown consequences

| The LCLReplication setting must be enabled to restore metro node HW events, if racresetcfg is run for any reason to fix this issue. For more details, contact Customer Support.

VPLEX-43036

|

Platform

| depending upon which setting has been changed.

The iDRAC root password must be consistent with the stored iDRAC password. If the metro node OS is unable to validate the HW, then it will not start

on boot. The iDRAC password may become inconsistent with the stored password, if it is changed or reset manually through the iDRAC.

NOTE: Only use the system-config

command to change the iDRAC

|

Contact Dell Customer Support to correct or reset the iDRAC password.

VPLEX-46489

|

NSFW

| password.

PowerVault ME5 presents an enclosure services device to metro node, even though no actual LUNs are exposed.

Hence, metro node users end up seeing

these LUNs.

|

No workaround.

VPLEX-46907| UI| SupportAssist is an optional configuration that can be performed during the last phase of system configuration, and can also be configured independently after the system configuration. In 7.1, the metro node system alerts if SupportAssist is

not configured or if it is configured but disabled. This alert can be ignored, if there is no requirement to configure SupportAssist. Once configured, the alert message is no longer seen. Run

the command /opt/dell/vplex/bin/ supportassist_connectivity to check if SupportAssist is enabled or disabled.

| No workaround.
---|---|---|---
VPLEX-48181| UI| This issue occurs due to the wrong json keys proxyuser and proxypassword used in SupportAssist configuration. The keys should be proxyUser and proxyPassword.| Once the SupportAssist configuration details are entered with the help

of vplex_system_config

-i –supportassist-config command, then follow the below steps.

1. Open /etc/opt/dell/ vplex/proxy.json file, and edit the json keys:

● proxyuser to “proxyUser”

● proxypassword to “proxyPassword”

2. Check the content

of /etc/opt/dell/vplex/ proxy.json. It should contain proper key names as updated in the previous step.

| | | cat /etc/opt/dell/ vplex/proxy.json Unknown macro:

{“cluster-1”}

VPLEX-48311

|

UI

|

Collect diagnostics service does not handle the SCIF being missing gracefully. The system unit for this service is configured to restart too quickly.

| 3. Now, apply SupportAssist configuration changes using vplex_system_config — support-assist command. NOTE: Once the

SupportAssist configuration is applied, the proxy.json file gets deleted.

Run sudo systemctl restart collect-diagnostics on the affected node.

SMTP callhomes from the metro

node (such as from/to/subject). Hence,

| No workaround.
VPLEX-46907| UI| SupportAssist is an optional configuration that can be performed during the last phase of system configuration, and can also be configured independently after the system configuration. In 7.1, the metro node system alerts if SupportAssist is

not configured or if it is configured but disabled. This alert can be ignored, if there is no requirement to configure SupportAssist. Once configured, the alert message is no longer seen. Run

the command /opt/dell/vplex/bin/ supportassist_connectivity to check if SupportAssist is enabled or disabled.

| No workaround.
VPLEX-48181| UI| This issue occurs due to the wrong json keys proxyuser and proxypassword used in SupportAssist configuration. The keys should be proxyUser and proxyPassword.| Once the SupportAssist configuration details are entered with the help

of vplex_system_config

-i –supportassist-config command, then follow the below steps.

1. Open /etc/opt/dell/ vplex/proxy.json file, and edit the json keys:

● proxyuser to “proxyUser”

● proxypassword to “proxyPassword”

2. Check the content

of /etc/opt/dell/vplex/ proxy.json. It should contain proper key names as updated in the previous step.

| | | cat /etc/opt/dell/ vplex/proxy.json Unknown macro:

{“cluster-1”}

VPLEX-48311

|

UI

|

Collect diagnostics service does not handle the SCIF being missing gracefully. The system unit for this service is configured to restart too quickly.

| 3. Now, apply SupportAssist configuration changes using vplex_system_config — support-assist command. NOTE: Once the

SupportAssist configuration is applied, the proxy.json file gets deleted.

Run sudo systemctl restart collect-diagnostics on the affected node.

VPLEX-52133| UI| The performance dashboard in the UI does not show any data on the WAN latency chart for any of the directors.| No workaround.
VPLEX-53397| UI| Security restrictions in their environment may alter the email properties of SMTP callhomes from the metro node (such as from/to/subject). Hence, restricting emails from domains (for example, Dell) outside their organizations. The callhomes always come from VPlex_(cluster_guid)@dell.com.| No workaround.

Expected behaviors

This section describes expected behaviors in metro node.

System volumes such as metadata and logging volumes are supported on thin devices. However, metro node relies on these volumes for system operations. All extents should be pre-allocated, to prevent out-of-space conditions.
While the clusters are in contact, the metro node prevents the same storage volume from being claimed at each cluster. However, if the clusters are partitioned, metro node cannot prevent the same storage volume from being claimed at both clusters. If this happens, metro node detects it, and a call home is sent with ID 0x3000f and name ” Storage Volume Claimed From Multiple.” This issue should be corrected when it is detected.
When one leg of a distributed device within a consistency group is unhealthy and marked for a rebuild, you are prevented from removing the unhealthy leg. A distributed consistency group requires two-legged distributed device members. Any of the below workarounds can be followed to avoid this issue.
Workaround 1:
- Use the attach mirror command to attach a new mirror to the healthy leg.
- Use the detach-mirror command to detach the old unhealthy mirror.
Workaround 2:
- Remove the virtual-volume from the consistency group.
- Change the detach rule accordingly for the particular virtual-volume.
- Detach the bad leg.
- Attach the appropriate new mirror.
  5. Add the virtual-volume back to the consistency group.
If the metadata usage at a cluster exceeds 90%, metro node triggers the call home event 0x30012. If the metadata on the other cluster also exceeds 90% within 8 hours of the first cluster, metro node does not trigger a call home event. This is by design and occurs in metro node Metro configurations.
If host I/O performance is impacted during a data migration or during a rebuild, then lower the rebuild transfer-size setting for the devices, or reduce the number of concurrent migrations/rebuilds. For more information, see the Admin guide for metro node features available at Metro node| Docs.
Ensure that the host resources are sufficient to handle the number of paths provisioned for the metro node system.
Poor QoS on the WAN-COM link in a Metro configuration could lead to undetermined behavior and data unavailability in extreme cases. Follow the SAN Connectivity – VPLEX and Metro node Best Practices to configure and monitor WAN-COM links available at Metro node| Docs.
Metro node-Metro configurations do not provide native encryption over the IP WAN COM link. Customers should deploy an external appliance to achieve data encryption over the IP WAN links between clusters.
When a claimed storage volume becomes hardware dead, metro node automatically probes this unhealthy storage volume within 20s. If the probe succeeds, metro node removes the “dead” status from the volume, thus returning it to a healthy state.
CAUTION: While the device is hw-dead, do not perform operations that change data on the storage volumes underneath metro node RAID 1 (through maintenance or replacing disks within the array). If such operations are required, first detach the storage volumes from the metro node RAID 1, perform the data changing operations, and then re-add the storage volumes to the metro node RAID 1 as necessary to trigger a rebuild. Failure to follow these steps changes data underneath metro node without its knowledge. Without a data rebuild, the RAID 1 legs might be inconsistent and this may lead to data corruption on resurrection.
Storage volumes that are used as system volumes (metro node metavolume RAID 1 mirror legs, logging volumes, and backups for the metavolume) must be formatted/zeroed out before being used by metro node as a system volume.
There are two types of failure handling for backend array interactions.
- The unambiguous failure responses, such as requests rejected by storage volume or port leaving the backend fabric.
- The condition where storage arrays enter fault modes such that one or more of its target ports remained on the fabric, while all SCSI commands sent to it by the initiator (metro node) timed out.
  Metro node isolates the paths which remain on the fabric but stay unresponsive. In this case, I/O requests sent by a host initiator to metro node virtual volumes are redirected away from unresponsive paths to the backend array, onto paths that are responsive. When the backend IT path isolates or degrades, the metro node issues a call home event with ID 0x1a0001 and name “IT Flap Degraded.”
The export port summary of a frontend port with no-link status has the export status as suspended.
Wildcard is not supported in metro node because RESTful endpoints are not structured that way.

Limitations

This section lists the limitations for metro node in the Release 7.1 and patches.

Table 12. Limitations

Functional area	Limitation	Affected Platforms/Models
IPv6 support	For Release 7.1 and patches, IPv6 for the Ethernet ports is not
supported.	–
License support	For Release 7.1 and patches, licensing is not supported in

metro node. Ignore any CLI or UI errors that are related to the license status errors.| –
Rest API| Rest API v1 is disabled from VPLEX 7.1 onwards. Storage management functionality using API can now be achieved by REST V2. Hence, REST API v1 cannot be used in metro node from 7.1 onwards.| –
SNMP support| For Release 7.1 and patches, SNMP is not supported.| –
VIAS support| For Release 7.1 and patches, VPLEX-Integrated Array Services (VIAS) is not supported.| –
Upgrade support| Upgraded Support to 7.1 and patches on unconfigured system

NOTE:

● NDU is only supported on the configured systems.

● An unconfigured system can be reimaged using KBA 000191025.

For now, it is recommended that you perform the following steps before connecting any hosts to the system:

| –
Functional area| Limitation| Affected Platforms/Models
IPv6 support| For Release 7.1 and patches, IPv6 for the Ethernet ports is not supported.| –
License support| For Release 7.1 and patches, licensing is not supported in metro node. Ignore any CLI or UI errors that are related to the license status errors.| –
Rest API| Rest API v1 is disabled from VPLEX 7.1 onwards. Storage management functionality using API can now be achieved by REST V2. Hence, REST API v1 cannot be used in metro node from 7.1 onwards.| –
SNMP support| For Release 7.1 and patches, SNMP is not supported.| –
VIAS support| For Release 7.1 and patches, VPLEX-Integrated Array Services (VIAS) is not supported.| –
Upgrade support| Upgraded Support to 7.1 and patches on unconfigured system

NOTE:

● NDU is only supported on the configured systems.

● An unconfigured system can be reimaged using KBA 000191025.

For now, it is recommended that you perform the following steps before connecting any hosts to the system:

| –

Installation and upgrade considerations

Installation considerations
Before you install a metro node cluster, review the Configuration and Installation Guide for the metro node appliance, available at SolVe (SolVe Online). When you have completed all the planning steps in the metro node Deployment Checklist, you are ready to install your system.

NOTE: Configuration and Installation Guide for the metro node appliance is only viewable by Dell Badged employees as needed. Also, only Dell is allowed to perform new installations.

Upgrade considerations

Before you upgrade a metro node cluster, review the Metro Node Upgrade procedures, available at SolVe (SolVe Online).
NOTE: Metro Node Upgrade procedures is only viewable by Dell Badged employees as needed.
For systems with Support Connectivity enabled, upgrade packages can be automatically downloaded to the system when they become available on Dell support. The Metro node upgrade packages are also available for download from the Dell support
site. However, the upgrade packages can only be accessed when you are logged into the Dell Support Site, using an account associated with the Metro node.

Where To Get Help

The Dell Technologies Support site includes important information about the products and services including drivers, installation packages, product documentation, knowledge base articles, and advisories.
A valid support contract and account may be required to access all the available information about a specific Dell Technologies product or service.

Security Information

This release includes multiple security fixes. For information about the Metro Node security fixes, go to this link Dell Security Advisories and Notices . Scroll down, in the lower right you see a Search field. Enter Metro Node to search for Metro Node DSAs. All the available DSAs are displayed for security issues, which are fixed for Metro node.

Default Service Password

For security reasons, it is recommended to change the default service password. The default service password change is enforced during the initial system configuration. If a customer wants to change the service account password, see the Security Configuration Guide for the steps on how to reset the service account password. Notify your local Dell Field Engineer or SAM to have the password updated in the appropriate locations.

Open-Source Licensing Changes

This product is distributed with open-source code, licensed to you in accordance with the applicable open-source license. If you want a copy of any such source code, Dell EMC can give a copy that is required in accordance with the applicable open-source license. Dell EMC may charge reasonable shipping and handling charges for such distribution. Direct requests in writing to: Dell EMC Corporation
Office of the General Counsel
176 South St.
Hopkinton, MA 01748
ATTN: Open Source Program Office
For more information about the open-source packages that are used in metro nodes and their applicable licenses, see the Open Source Licenses Guide for the metro node appliance available at Dell Support Site.

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.

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