DELL ME4 PowerVault Storage User Guide

: September 3, 2024
: Dell

Table of Contents

DELL ME4 PowerVault Storage
Product Usage Instructions
ME4/ME5 Recommended Code
ME4/ME5 Connectivity
CloudIQ AIOps Monitoring & Analytics for Unity
PowerVault MD24xx
References
Read User Manual Online (PDF format)
Download This Manual (PDF format)

DELL ME4 PowerVault Storage

Product Specifications:

Product Name: Dell PowerVault ME4/ME5/MD24xx
Support Highlights: Quarterly updates and advisories
Connectivity: SupportAssist for enhanced support experience
Recommended Codes: Regular updates for improved functionality and security

Product Usage Instructions

Updating to the Latest Code:

It is crucial to update to the latest recommended code for your Dell PowerVault ME4/ME5/MD24xx system. Follow these steps:

Check for recommended codes from Dell PowerVault.
Download the latest code updates from the official Dell website.
Follow the provided instructions to update your system to the latest code.

Connectivity with SupportAssist:
Enhance your support experience by enabling SupportAssist for your storage system. Here’s how:

Enable SupportAssist on your ME4/ME5/MD24xx system.
Configure SupportAssist to send diagnostic information to technical support regularly.
Check for firmware updates periodically through SupportAssist.

Technical and Security Advisories:
Stay informed about technical and security advisories related to your Dell PowerVault system:

Monitor Dell Technical Advisories (DTA) for important system updates.
Be aware of Dell Security Advisories for potential vulnerabilities.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):

Q: How often should I update the codes on my Dell PowerVault ME4/ME5/MD24xx system?
A: It is recommended to update to the latest codes released within the last 12 months to ensure optimal functionality and security.
Q: What is SupportAssist and how does it benefit my storage system?
A: SupportAssist enhances problem detection and resolution by providing connectivity for sending configuration and diagnostic information to technical support regularly.
Q: How can I stay informed about technical and security advisories for my Dell PowerVault system?
A: Monitor Dell Technical Advisories and Security Advisories to stay updated on important information regarding your system’s performance and security.

Dell PowerVault ME4/ME5/MD24xx Quarterly Support Highlights

ME4/ME5 Time to Upgrade?

Updating/Upgrading to the latest code is very important.
Customers on newer code enjoy greater functionality and fewer outages/service requests.
Updating to code levels that have been released in the last 12 months ensures that you can take advantage of the newest features, functionality, fixes, and security enhancements.

ME4/ME5 Recommended Code

Dell PowerVault recommended Codes

PowerVault ME4: Update to GT280R014-01
- Download Link Here
- GT280R014-01 Release Notes
PowerVault ME5: Update to ME5 1.2.0.3.
- Download Link Here.
- ME5 1.2.0.3 Release Notes
Recent Quality issues identified.
- KB 000217608 https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-ie/000217608?lang=en
- ME5: FDE drives may show unsecure and unusable after reboot
- KB 000215369 https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-ie/000215369
- ME5 Single Pool – Optimized path down – reboot both controllers – Data Loss
- KB 000204705 https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/000204705
- PowerVault ME5 series report host port degraded when connected to Dell HBA355e SAS controller.

ME4/ME5 Recommended Drivers and Downloads

The latest ME4/ME5 system updates and documentation are available here at this link.

ME4/ME5 Connectivity

SupportAssist provides an enhanced support experience for ME4/ME5 Series storage systems by sending configuration and diagnostic information to technical support at regular intervals. This connectivity greatly enhances problem detection and resolution.
SupportAssist, when enabled, checks at intervals for the latest controller and disk drive firmware updates available for your system. When a disk or controller firmware update is detected, an event notification will occur to let you know new Controller or Disk firmware is available in the event log.

ME4: How to enable SupportAssist KB 000054807
ME5: How to enable SupportAssist KB 000200129

ME4/ME5 Technical Advisories and Security Advisories

The following Advisories were released in the last 1.5 years.

Article ID	Dell Technical Advisories	Date
000215369	DTA 215369:
ME5 Single Pool – Optimized path down – reboot both controllers – Data Loss

Aug 02, 2023
Article ID| Dell Security Advisories| Date
000209966| DSA-2023-083: Dell PowerVault ME5 Security Update for an

OpenSSL Vulnerability

| Feb 22, 2023
000207533| DSA-2023-018: Dell PowerVault ME5 Security Update for a

Client Desync Attack Vulnerability

| Jan 17, 2023

ME4/ME5 Top Customer Viewed Knowledgebase Articles

The following Knowledgebase articles were frequently referenced in the previous 90 days:

Article Number	Article Title

000197172| PowerVault ME4: A disk firmware update is available for your system
000200129| PowerVault ME5: How to configure SupportAssist to Connect via Gateway

Server

000196715| How to collect PowerVault support logs
000199903| PowerVault ME5: Considerations when shutting down and moving an array to a

new location

000207483| PowerVault ME5: How to upgrade from controller firmware version ME5.1.0.1.0

to later versions

000198043| PowerVault ME5: How to generate an Access Key and Pin to enable

SupportAssist

000022224| CloudIQ: General procedures to onboard PowerVault ME Series arrays to

CloudIQ

000201155| PowerVault ME5: Troubleshooting iSCSI Controller Ethernet Port Link

Negotiation or Link Down

000189930| PowerVault ME4: How to establish connections to controller serial ports – All

Models

000202868| PowerVault ME5: How to use CLI to troubleshoot SupportAssist connectivity
000197465| PowerVault ME5: Unable to Generate Access Key and PIN with Message “This

page is only accessible to Dell business users”

000203663| PowerVault ME5: Host iSCSI initiator name must use standard IQN format

convention.

000200432| PowerVault ME5: Failed to add initiators to the host

000197927

| PowerVault ME5: Unable to change default management IP address, subnet mask, and gateway on single controller configurations using PowerVault

Manager.

000196714| ME5: How to locate the PowerVault enclosure service tag

ME4/ME5 New Knowledgebase Articles

The following is a partial list of the Knowledgebase articles that were created recently.

Article Number	Article Title	Date
000217608	ME5:
FDE drives may show unsecure and unusable after reboot	Jan 31, 2024

000220981| PowerVault ME5: Controller B performance graphs not

displaying for LDAP authenticated users

| Jan 22, 2024
000219891| PowerVault ME4, ME5: Samsung SSD drive models on firmware

DSG5 or DWG5 may experience a high failure rate

| Jan 19,02024
000219988| PowerVault ME5: Information About SNMP Support and MIB

Location

| Dec 12, 2023
000219415| PowerVault ME4, ME5: The Network Port Ethernet Cable is

Unplugged, or the Network is Inoperable

| Dec 06, 2023
000218992| PowerVault ME5: Where is the CSI driver?| Oct 27, 2023
000216392| PowerEdge, PowerVault ME4, and ME5: How to Transfer Files

to Dell Technical Support using Dell File Transfer

| Aug 02, 2023
000215402| PowerVault ME5: Management Interface is Inaccessible or

Unresponsive

| Jun 28, 2023
000214756| PowerVault ME4: Updated array continues to display controller,

or disk firmware is available warning events

| Jun 8, 2023

ME4/ME5 Videos

ME4/ME5 Product information and part replacement videos located here: https://qrl.dell.com/#/product/categories
ME4/ME5 videos available include the following
Part type| Part| Time| Video
---|---|---|---
Drives| ME4/ME5: Remove/Install 2.5” HDD| 2:47| Watch Video
Drives| ME4/ME5: Remove/Install 3.5” HDD| 1:44| Watch Video
Drives| ME4084/ME484 Remove/Install 2.5” HDD| 1:51| Watch Video
Drives| ME4084/ME484 Remove/Install 3.5” HDD| 3:03| Watch Video
Drives| ME4/ME5: Remove/Install HDD DDIC 5U

Chassis

Supply

Transceiver

| ME4: Remove/Install SFP+ Modules| 0:47| Watch Video

ME4/ME5 End of Standard Support

These tables provide the upcoming hardware EOSS* dates for ME4/ME5 products:

ME4/ME5 Hardware End of Standard Support dates:

Model	*EOSS Date**
PowerVault ME4012	July 29, 2029
PowerVault ME4024	July 29, 2029
PowerVault ME4084	July 29, 2029
PowerVault ME5012	TBD
PowerVault ME5024	TBD
PowerVault ME5084	TBD

EOSS = End of Standard Support. EOSS indicates the date after which standard technical support is no longer available. Post Standard Support for the hardware may be available after EOSS.
CloudIQ – Users indicate that CloudIQ helps them resolve issues faster and save hours per week.
CloudIQ is the cloud native AIOps application included with Dell ProSupport and ProSupport Plus that monitors the health of Unity, Unity XT and other Dell systems and provides recommendations for remediation of issues. CloudIQ reports performance analytics including performance anomaly detection and impact, capacity analytics including anomaly detection and capacity full projections, inventory data, notification of systems needing updates, reclaimable storage and more. Users surveyed consistently indicate that CloudIQ helps them resolve issues faster and save hours per week.

CloudIQ:
General procedures to onboard PowerVault ME Series arrays to CloudIQ. See 000022224 for instructions.
Learn more about CloudIQ at https://www.dell.com/en- us/dt/solutions/cloudiq.htm

CloudIQ AIOps Monitoring & Analytics for Unity

About CloudIQ Health Monitoring & Analytics
CloudIQ is the cloud-native application included with Dell ProSupport and ProSupport Plus that monitors Unity and other Dell storage, as well as Dell server, network and hyperconverged infrastructure systems.

CloudIQ reports storage:

Health scores and recommended remediation
Performance analytics including anomalies and impact
Capacity analytics and capacity full projections
Reclaimable storage
Inventory data and more.

Users surveyed consistently indicate that CloudIQ helps them resolve issues faster and save hours per week.
See these short CloudIQ demo videos which are informational and not PowerVault ME series specific: CloudIQ Home Page CloudIQ Storage Performance CloudIQ Storage Capacity
Learn more at https://www.dell.com/en-us/dt/solutions/cloudiq.htm

PowerVault MD24xx

Dell PowerVault MD24xx Series Enclosure Support Matrix located here.

MD2412 Support Documentation here.
MD2424 Support Documentation here.
MD2460 Support Documentation here

MD24xx Recommended Drivers and Downloads

MD2412 here
MD2424 here
MD2460 here

MD24xx Technical Advisories and Security Advisories

The following Advisories were released in the last 1.5 years.

Article ID	Dell Technical Advisories	Date
	None at this time
Article ID	Dell Security Advisories	Date
	None at this time

MD24xx Top Customer Viewed Knowledgebase Articles

The following Knowledgebase articles were frequently referenced in the previous 90 days:

Article Number	Article Title

000214344| PowerVault MD24xx: How to Install the Cable Management Arm
000214363| PowerVault MD24xx: How to locate the service tag
000221074| Powervault MD24xx: Amber port LED lit on array connected to SAS-3 cable or

endpoint

MD24xx Videos

PowerVault MD24xx Product information and part replacement videos located here: https://qrl.dell.com/#/product/categories
Specific MD24xx videos to perform maintenance activities identified below can be found here: Quick Resource Locator (dell.com)
Part type| Part| Time
---|---|---
Power Supply| Remove/Install AC PSU in MD2412/MD2424| 2:04
Power Supply| Remove/Install AC PSU in MD2460| 2:49
Drives| Remove/Install Disk Drive MD2412/MD2424| 3:05
Drives| Remove/Install Disk Drive MD2460| 4:06
EMM| Remove/Install Enclosure Management

Module MD2412/MD2424

| 2:23
EMM| Remove/Install Enclosure Management

Module MD2460

| 2:55
Fan| Remove//Install Fan on MD2412/MD2424| 2:51

MD24xx End of Standard Support

These tables provide the upcoming hardware EOSS* dates for MD24xx products:

PowerVault MD24xx Hardware End of Standard Support dates:

Model	*EOSS Date**
PowerVault MD2412	TBD
PowerVault MD2424	TBD
PowerVault MD2460	TBD

EOSS = End of Standard Support. EOSS indicates the date after which standard technical support is no longer available. Post Standard Support for the hardware may be available after EOSS

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Published Feb 2024
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