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Dell PowerStore X Operating instructions

  • Hello! I'm your AI assistant, and I've reviewed the Dell PowerStore X model Software Upgrade Guide. This document provides detailed instructions on performing non-disruptive software upgrades, drive firmware upgrades, and language pack installations. It also covers pre-upgrade preparations and considerations for ESXi environments. I am here to help you with any questions you may have regarding the setup or upgrade process. Feel free to ask me anything about the procedure or features described in the manual.
  • What types of update packages can be installed on PowerStore?
    What is a Pre-Upgrade package?
    What happens to vVol-based VMs during a PowerStoreOS upgrade?
Dell PowerStore X model
Software Upgrade Guide
3.2.x
May 2023
Rev. A00
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.
© 2020 - 2023 Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. Dell Technologies, Dell, and other trademarks are trademarks of Dell Inc. or its
subsidiaries. Other trademarks may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Additional Resources.....................................................................................................................4
Chapter 1: PowerStore non-disruptive software upgrades.............................................................5
Types of update packages................................................................................................................................................ 5
Upgrade preparation overview......................................................................................................................................... 6
Automatic downloads of upgrade packages................................................................................................................. 6
Chapter 2: PowerStore X software upgrades.................................................................................8
Disable alert notifications before a software upgrade................................................................................................8
PowerStore X upgrade overview (PowerStoreOS 2.0.x and later)........................................................................ 8
Install the Pre-Upgrade package (PowerStore OS 2.0.x and later)..................................................................9
Update the PowerStore internal ESXi hosts (PowerStoreOS 2.0.x and later).............................................10
Upgrade the PowerStoreOS on the cluster (PowerStoreOS 2.0.x or later).................................................12
Upgrading the ESXi version on internal PowerStore X model hosts (2.x and later).........................................13
Chapter 3: Drive Firmware upgrades............................................................................................ 14
Disable alert notifications before a drive firmware upgrade....................................................................................14
Update the drive firmware on the PowerStore cluster............................................................................................ 14
Chapter 4: Language Packs..........................................................................................................16
Installing language packs..................................................................................................................................................16
Appendix A: PowerStore X model Upgrades from OS 1.x...............................................................17
Upgrading PowerStore X model clusters (PowerStoreOS 1.0.x to 2.0.x)............................................................17
ESXi and VM considerations (PowerStoreOS 1.0.x to 2.0.x)............................................................................18
Minimizing internal ESXi host failover occurrences (PowerStoreOS 1.0.x to 2.0.x)...................................18
Install the PowerStore X model Pre-Upgrade package (PowerStoreOS 1.0.x to 2.0.x)............................ 19
Install the node firmware update package on the cluster (PowerStoreOS 1.0.x to 2.0.x)....................... 20
Update the internal ESXi hosts on the cluster (PowerStoreOS 1.0.x to 2.0.x)........................................... 20
Upgrade the PowerStoreOS on the cluster (PowerStoreOS 1.0.x to 2.0.x)................................................ 22
Appendix B: Adding an Appliance to a Cluster.............................................................................. 23
Appendix C: Download the PowerStore upgrade packages........................................................... 24
Contents
Contents 3
As part of an improvement effort, revisions of the software and hardware are periodically released. Some functions that are
described in this document are not supported by all versions of the software or hardware currently in use. The product release
notes provide the most up-to-date information about product features. Contact your service provider if a product does not
function properly or does not function as described in this document.
Where to get help
Support, product, and licensing information can be obtained as follows:
●Product information
For product and feature documentation or release notes, go to the PowerStore Documentation page at https://
www.dell.com/powerstoredocs.
●Troubleshooting
For information about products, software updates, licensing, and service, go to https://www.dell.com/support and locate
the appropriate product support page.
●Technical support
For technical support and service requests, go to https://www.dell.com/support and locate the Service Requests page.
To open a service request, you must have a valid support agreement. Contact your Sales Representative for details about
obtaining a valid support agreement or to answer any questions about your account.
Preface
4 Additional Resources
PowerStore non-disruptive software
upgrades
Upgrade the software, drive firmware, or Language pack on your PowerStore cluster.
This document describes the process for upgrading PowerStore X. For instructions on upgrading PowerStore T, see the
PowerStore T model Software Upgrade Guide.
General upgrade considerations
Before preparing for an upgrade, review the following considerations:
NOTE: Not all PowerStoreOS versions can be directly upgraded to the latest PowerStoreOS version. For the latest
information on supported upgrade paths for your model, see KB article 000175213 PowerStoreOS Matrix.
●Performing a non-disruptive upgrade (NDU) on a PowerStore cluster does not stop I/O. The I/O requirements of the
PowerStore cluster can be met by a single node on each appliance in the cluster. The NDU process ensures that only one
node of the cluster is taken offline at any given time. Taking a node offline does not cause host I/O disruptions when the
hosts have redundant data access paths present and the best practices are configured for the host operating system.
●During the NDU, you cannot perform configuration changes or management operations on the PowerStore cluster.
●When the PowerStoreOS is upgraded and the PowerStore VASA provider is offline, the I/O and availability of the vVol-based
VMs served from the PowerStore cluster are not impacted. However, management operations such as creating VMs,
rebooting VMs, migrating VMs to other ESXi hosts, and taking VM snapshots cannot be performed on vVol-based VMs while
the VASA provider is offline.
●Review the host connectivity recommendations in the the E-Lab Host Connectivity Guides at https://
elabnavigator.dell.com/eln/hostConnectivity.
●Check the PowerStore Simple Support Matrix to ensure your host HBA driver and firmware are supported.
●PowerStore NDU is supported with Solaris native MPxIO starting at Solaris 11.4 SRU 35. Contact your service provider for
PowerStore NDU support on earlier Solaris versions or Solaris updates.
●When the PowerStoreOS upgrade is complete, wait five to ten minutes for the status of the PowerStore VASA provider to
change to Online in vCenter Server before creating storage containers or performing management operations on vVol-based
VMs.
NOTE: Within this document, PowerStore software refers to the software upgrade package for a PowerStore system and
PowerStoreOS is the operating system that runs on the nodes of a PowerStore cluster.
Topics:
•Types of update packages
•Upgrade preparation overview
•Automatic downloads of upgrade packages
Types of update packages
PowerStore has several types of update packages that you can install on the system. Each package serves a different function.
It is recommended to always upgrade to the latestPowerStoreOS, drive firmware, and Health Check packages for optimal
system health and successful upgrades.
Table 1. Update Package Types
Package type Display Name Description
PowerStoreOS Software Release PowerStoreOS software upgrade.
1
PowerStore non-disruptive software upgrades 5
Table 1. Update Package Types (continued)
Package type Display Name Description
Drive firmware Disk firmware Applies the latest drive firmware to the system drives.
Pre-upgrade package Hotfix (PowerStoreOS
1.x and 2.x)
or Pre-Upgrade HCI
(PowerStoreOS 3.x and
later)
Prepares PowerStore X environments for PowerStoreOS upgrades.
Health Check package Health Check Provides supplemental checks of system health and identifies
any issues that could prevent successful Non-disruptive upgrades
(NDUs) or other maintenance operations.
Language packs Language Pack Applies a non-English language to the PowerStore system and
changes the PowerStore Manager UI to be in the language of
choice.
Hotfix packages Hotfix Applies out-of-cycle critical fixes to the system. Typically provided
directly by Support Engineering for applicable systems.
NOTE: System Checks comprehensively check the overall system health. It is recommended that you run System Checks
periodically, including before and between upgrades, to address any overall system issues. System Checks can be run
from the Monitoring page in PowerStore Manager. See KB article 000198084 PowerStore: How to use the System Check
feature for more information.
Upgrade preparation overview
Preparing for a software upgrade requires the following steps:
●Get the latest PowerStoreOS and upload it to the system (if automatic download is not enabled).
●Review the release notes.
●Run the Pre-Upgrade Health Check and other necessary system health check tools.
●Install the Pre-Upgrade package (PowerStore X model systems only).
●Ensure that host connectivity is redundant for both nodes.
●Complete configuration changes or management operations ahead of the upgrade as these are not available while the
upgrade is in-progress.
NOTE: These management operations include vVol VM tasks such as creating VMs, rebooting VMs, migrating VMs to
other ESXi hosts, and taking VM snapshots.
Go to the model family-specific sections of this guide for the detailed sequence of upgrade steps.
Automatic downloads of upgrade packages
For systems with Support Connectivity enabled, update packages can be automatically downloaded to the system when they
become available on Support. The update packages are securely transferred to your system through the Support Connectivity
secure tunnel. Automatic downloads apply to software update packages, drive firmware update packages, applicable Language
packs, and compatible Health Check packages. This feature prevents the need for you to manually search for and download the
latest upgrade packages from Support.
When a newer compatible package becomes available for each update package type (PowerStoreOS, Health Check package,
Language pack, and drive firmware), the latest automatically downloaded package overwrites any older packages that were
previously ready for installation under Software Packages on the Upgrades page. You receive an alert notification in
PowerStore Manager when a new upgrade package is available on your system.
To enable automatic downloads, select the Settings icon, and then select Upgrades in the Cluster section. Enable automatic
downloads. When Support Connectivity has not been configured, the status is shown as Automatic download is disabled.
6PowerStore non-disruptive software upgrades
NOTE: Automatic download does not install any update packages on your system--it downloads them from Support to your
system to be installed manually. You must select a specific downloaded package, and then select the Upgrade button to
install it.
PowerStore non-disruptive software upgrades 7
PowerStore X software upgrades
Topics:
•Disable alert notifications before a software upgrade
•PowerStore X upgrade overview (PowerStoreOS 2.0.x and later)
•Upgrading the ESXi version on internal PowerStore X model hosts (2.x and later)
Disable alert notifications before a software upgrade
Manually disable notifications to prevent call home alerts from being sent to Support during a software upgrade.
About this task
NOTE: For upgrades from any 3.0.x and 3.2.0.x PowerStoreOS version, the system does not automatically disable call home
alerts during the software upgrade. Call home alerts must be manually disabled for each appliance. See the PowerStore
Release Notes for your PowerStoreOS for more information.
Steps
1. On the Settings page, select Disable Support Notifications in the Support section.
2. Select the appliance for which you want to suspend notifications and click Modify.
3. In the Modify Maintenance Mode slide-out panel, select the Enable Maintenance Mode option and specify the number
of hours in the Maintenance Window Duration field.
For a PowerStore X model cluster, specify 4 hours to suspend notifications during the upgrade window.
Support notifications are automatically reenabled after the specified window.
4. Click Apply.
Optionally view the End Time (Cluster Time) for maintenance mode in the table.
5. Repeat this process for any other appliances in the cluster.
PowerStore X upgrade overview (PowerStoreOS 2.0.x
and later)
Prerequisites
CAUTION: Use these instructions only when upgrading from PowerStoreOS 2.0.x or later. Not all upgrade
paths are supported. For the latest information on supported software upgrade paths, see KB article 000175213
PowerStoreOS Matrix
.
About this task
When upgrading a PowerStore X cluster, use only Dell-qualified software that is downloaded from https://www.dell.com/
support. Use the information in KB article 000175213 PowerStoreOS Matrix to determine which upgrade packages are available
or required for PowerStore X. Ensure that the PowerStore X model system has enough free space to perform the upgrade (a
minimum of 300 GB).
NOTE: Some versions of the PowerStoreOS support multiple ESXi versions on the internal nodes of the cluster. To view
a list of supported ESXi versions, see the VMware Licensing and Support for PowerStore X table in the PowerStore
Simple Support Matrix, which can be located on https://www.dell.com/powerstoredocs.
2
8 PowerStore X software upgrades
Steps
1. Download the latest PowerStore X upgrade package .zip file.
For instructions on downloading upgrade packages from Support, see Download the PowerStore upgrade packages.
2. Extract the PowerStore X Pre-Upgrade package and PowerStoreOS upgrade package from the upgrade package .zip file.
3. Upload the Pre-Upgrade package and PowerStoreOS upgrade package to the cluster.
a. In PowerStore Manager, select the Settings icon, and then select Upgrades in the Cluster section.
b. Select Upload Package.
c. Select the Pre-Upgrade package and select Open.
NOTE: Do not close or refresh the browser while the Pre-Upgrade package is uploaded to PowerStore Manager.
For 2.x releases, the uploaded Pre-Upgrade package is displayed as a Hotfix package type in the Software packages
table.
d. Repeat the previous two steps to upload the PowerStoreOS upgrade package to the cluster.
4. Carefully review and perform the steps in KB article 000183630 How to prepare for a PowerStore Non-Disruptive Upgrade
(NDU) before upgrading PowerStore X.
NOTE: Perform the steps outlined in KB article 000183630 at least a week before the planned upgrade date to allow
enough time to correct any system issues that must be addressed before the upgrade.
5. Perform the upgrade steps in the following order:
If you have already performed one of upgrade steps that are listed below, you can skip that step.
a. Update internal ESXi hosts - Resizing the private VMFS datastores can take over one hour to complete. Updating the
node firmware and internal ESXi hosts takes approximately 30 minutes to complete per node.
b. Upgrade the PowerStoreOS - Upgrading the PowerStoreOS takes approximately one hour to complete.
6. Following a successful software upgrade, upgrade the drive firmware if a new firmware bundle is available. See Drive
Firmware upgrades for more details on upgrading the drive firmware.
Results
If the upgrade process fails, check and resolve all critical alerts and retry the upgrade.
Install the Pre-Upgrade package (PowerStore OS 2.0.x and later)
Use PowerStore Manager to install the Pre-Upgrade package on PowerStore X.
Prerequisites
Ensure that a Pre-Upgrade Health Check has been performed at least seven days before installing the Pre-upgrade package.
NOTE: If you are upgrading from PowerStoreOS 2.1.x to a later version of the PowerStoreOS, ensure that the Upgrade
Extensions Health Check has been run within one hour of performing the upgrade.
Steps
1. Select the Settings icon, and then select Upgrades in the Cluster section.
2. Select the Pre-Upgrade package in the Software packages table, and select Upgrade.
NOTE: For 2.x releases, the Pre-Upgrade package is displayed as a Hotfix package in the Software packages table.
The installation of the Pre-Upgrade package takes approximately 20 minutes to complete.
Results
Installing the Pre-Upgrade package stages the following files on the PowerStore X model cluster:
●Node firmware update
●Dell custom VMware .VIB files
●Dell ESXi 7.0 update
●Service script for resizing the ESXi VMFS datastore (svc_esxi_helper) (not applicable for upgrades from PowerStoreOS
2.1.1.x to a later version)
Installing the Pre-Upgrade package also causes the Pre-Upgrade Health Check to run, which checks for the following issues:
PowerStore X software upgrades 9
●If the local VMFS datastores on the ESXi hosts contain VMs other than the PowerStore controller VM, the following failure
is displayed:
This upgrade requires that no VMs are present in the ESXi host local datastore other than
the PowerStore VM. Please migrate the VMs located in the ESXi host's local datastore to
another Storage Container prior to upgrade. (esx_check_local_vms_static)
NOTE: If vCLS VMs are stored on the local VMFS datastores, migrate the vCLS VMs to a PowerStore vVol datastore
using Storage vMotion.
●If the vCenter Server that is connected to the PowerStore X model cluster is not running a supported version of vCenter
Server 7.0, the following failure is displayed:
Incompatible vCenter version. Please make sure the vCenter is upgraded to version 7.0.3
(build 16858589) or newer.
To view a list of supported vCenter Server versions, see the VMware Licensing and Support for PowerStore X table in
the PowerStore Simple Support Matrix, which can be downloaded from https://www.dell.com/powerstoredocs.
Next steps
Go to Update the PowerStore internal ESXi hosts (PowerStoreOS 2.0.x and later).
Update the PowerStore internal ESXi hosts (PowerStoreOS 2.0.x
and later)
Prerequisites
Refer to the PowerStore Support Matrix for the latest information on compatible ESXi and vCenter versions for internal
PowerStore X model hosts.
CAUTION: Use these instructions only when upgrading a PowerStore X model cluster from a PowerStore 2.x
version to a later version. For instructions on upgrading a PowerStore X model cluster to PowerStore version
2.0.x, see Upgrading PowerStore X model clusters (PowerStoreOS 1.0.x to 2.0.x).
NOTE: Resizing the VMFS datastore is not required for PowerStore 2.1.1.x upgrades to 3.2.x or later.
About this task
Perform the following steps to update the internal ESXi host on the node of a PowerStore X model cluster:
NOTE: Some management operations that involve vVols may be unavailable during the upgrade.
Steps
1. Identify the primary appliance and the primary and secondary nodes on the primary appliance of the cluster.
a. In PowerStore Manager, select the Settings icon, and then select Properties in the Cluster section.
b. Record the name of the appliance in the Primary Appliance field.
c. Record the name of the primary node in the Primary Node on Appliance field. The other node on the appliance is the
secondary (peer) node by default.
2. Identify the primary and secondary nodes of the other appliances in the cluster.
a. For the other appliances in the cluster, select the Hardware > Appliances >
appliance name
> Components card in
PowerStore Manager.
b. Select the Internal View tab.
The text (primary) is displayed next to the primary node of the appliance; the secondary node is the other node. For
example, if the text (primary) is displayed for Node B, the secondary node is Node A.
3. Identify the management IP addresses of all the appliances and host nodes in the cluster.
a. Select Settings > Network IPs in PowerStore Manager.
b. Record the Management Appliance IP address for of each appliance in the cluster.
c. Record the Host Node IP address, Appliance name, and Node letter of each node in the cluster.
4. Use the information collected from PowerStore Manager to identify the IP addresses of the ESXi hosts on the primary and
secondary nodes of the primary appliance.
10 PowerStore X software upgrades
5. To upgrade a single-appliance cluster, perform the following steps starting with the ESXi host on the secondary node of
primary appliance. To upgrade a multi-appliance cluster, perform the following steps starting with the ESXi host on the
secondary node of the non-primary appliances first and the primary appliance last.
6. Put the ESXi host on the secondary node of an appliance in the cluster into maintenance mode.
a. Log in to the vCenter Server using the vSphere Client.
To start the vSphere Client from PowerStore Manager, select Compute > vCenter Server Connection and select
Launch vSphere.
b. Ensure that the ESXi host on the other node of the appliance has enough system resources to run the user VMs that
are migrated to it when the ESXi host on the secondary node is placed into maintenance mode. If the CPU and memory
utilization on each ESXi host is greater than 75%, migrate the VMs to another ESXi host in the vCenter Server using
vMotion or power off the user VMs before continuing.
c. Place the ESXi host on the secondary node of the appliance into maintenance mode.
User VMs automatically migrate to the other node in the appliance. After all user VMs are migrated, the controller VM
automatically shuts down and the ESXi host enters maintenance mode.
NOTE: Some user VMs may not migrate due to local dependencies or lack of resources. User intervention may be
required to manually power off these user VMs to allow the ESXi host to enter maintenance mode. See ESXi and VM
considerations (PowerStoreOS 1.0.x to 2.0.x) for more information.
CAUTION: Do not manually power off the controller VMs, which are named PSTX-<service_tag>-
<node_letter>. The controller VMs are automatically powered off when an ESXi host is placed into
maintenance mode.
CAUTION: Do not manually migrate or power off the vCLS VMs on the ESXi hosts. The vCLS VMs are
automatically migrated when an ESXi host is placed into maintenance mode.
7. [Upgrades from 2.0.x only] Resize the VMFS datastore on the ESXi host:
a. Open an SSH client and connect to the management IP address of the appliance that contains the ESXi host that is in
maintenance mode.
NOTE: External SSH management access must be enabled on the appliance.
b. Enter the username and password of the service account to log in to the appliance.
c. Run the following service command to resize the VMFS datastore on the ESXi host.
svc_esxi_helper upgrade
NOTE: Resizing the VMFS datastore can take over one hour to complete.
8. Reboot the ESXi host on the secondary node of an appliance to update the node firmware and install ESXi updates.
a. In the vSphere Client, right-click the ESXi host and select Power > Reboot.
After a few minutes, the status ESXi host should change to Not responding, which indicates that the host is
rebooting.
NOTE: The following alert is displayed in PowerStore Manager while the controller VM is shut down:
Node has been physically removed or shut down
b. Monitor the ESXi host reboot.
NOTE: The ESXi update takes approximately 30 minutes to complete.
The status changes back to Maintenance Mode after the reboot is complete.
c. Exit maintenance mode on the ESXi host after the reboot is complete.
The controller VM should automatically start when the ESXi host exits maintenance mode.
d. Ensure that the ESXi host and controller VM are operating normally before continuing.
●Monitor the Protocol Endpoint (PE) paths in vCenter to identify when the paths to the ESXi host are Active before
continuing.
●Monitor the alerts in PowerStore Manager to identify when the node is up. Then, wait 15 minutes after the alert is
cleared before continuing.
9. Repeat steps 6 through 8 to update the ESXi host on the primary node of the appliance.
PowerStore X software upgrades 11
NOTE: PowerStore Manager temporally stops displaying performance metrics when the primary node of the primary
appliance reboots during the ESXi update.
10. Migrate the VMs back to the preferred node in the cluster using vMotion.
11. Repeat steps 6 through 10 to update the ESXi hosts on the nodes of the other appliances in the cluster.
Results
The ESXi hosts on the nodes of the cluster are now powered on and running the updated version of ESXi. The version of ESXi
that the ESXi hosts are running is visible on the Upgrades page in PowerStore Manager.
●If the ESXi versions on the nodes of an appliance do not match, an alert is generated.
●If the ESXi versions on the appliances in the cluster do not match, an alert is generated.
Next steps
Go to Upgrade the PowerStoreOS on the cluster (PowerStoreOS 2.0.x or later).
Upgrade the PowerStoreOS on the cluster (PowerStoreOS 2.0.x or
later)
Use PowerStore Manager to upgrade the PowerStoreOS.
Prerequisites
Perform a final Pre-Upgrade Health Check before upgrading the PowerStoreOS on the PowerStore X model cluster.
NOTE: If you are upgrading from PowerStoreOS 2.1.x to a later version of the PowerStoreOS, ensure that the Upgrade
Extensions Health Check has been run within one hour of performing the upgrade.
About this task
Perform the following steps to upgrade the PowerStoreOS on the appliances of the cluster:
Steps
1. Select the Settings icon, and then select Upgrades in the Cluster section.
2. Select the PowerStoreOS upgrade package in the Software packages table, and select Upgrade.
NOTE: The PowerStoreOS upgrade package is displayed as a Software Release package in the Software packages
table.
The PowerStoreOS upgrade takes approximately one hour to complete.
3. After you are returned to the login screen, close the browser session and open a new session before logging in again to
refresh the UI.
NOTE: Following the upgrade, if you do not open a new browser session before logging in again, PowerStore Manager
will still display the UI for the previous PowerStoreOS version, and new features will not be available.
Results
The PowerStore X model cluster temporarily stops recording performance metrics when the primary node on the primary
appliance reboots during the ESXi update. When the primary node on the primary appliance reboots, the primary node fails over
to the secondary node and you are disconnected from PowerStore Manager. You can log back in to PowerStore Manager after
the failover process is complete.
Next steps
Use the vSphere Client to manually rebalance the VMs in vCenter or allow VMware Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) to
automatically rebalance the VMs .
When a new version of the PowerStoreOS is installed, the column layout settings in PowerStore Manager tables reset to
their default layout. Changes to the column layout settings in PowerStore Manager do not persist when the PowerStoreOS is
upgraded.
12 PowerStore X software upgrades
Upgrading the ESXi version on internal PowerStore X
model hosts (2.x and later)
Upgrade the VMware ESXi version of the internal hosts between PowerStoreOS software upgrades using VMware Lifecycle
Manager (LCM).
About this task
When new ESXi versions are released by VMware, Dell qualifies those versions with PowerStore X model systems. Once
qualified, these upgrade bundles can be found on the Drivers & Downloads page for your PowerStore X model on Dell Support.
For instructions on upgrading the ESXi hosts as part of a PowerStoreOS upgrade, see Update the PowerStore internal ESXi
hosts (PowerStoreOS 2.0.x and later).
Steps
1. Refer to the PowerStore Simple Support Matrix for the latest ESXi version compatibility information, including the ESXi
versions included in each PowerStoreOS bundle for PowerStore X model systems.
2. Download the latest Dell-qualified VMware ESXi version bundle from the Drivers & Downloads page for your PowerStore X
model model on Dell Support, from the VMware website, or use the version automatically downloaded to LCM.
3. Follow the VMware documentation for detailed instructions on upgrading your ESXi version using LCM.
PowerStore X software upgrades 13
Drive Firmware upgrades
Periodically, new drive firmware becomes available for your PowerStore cluster. As a best practice, upgrade the drive firmware
to the latest version following a successful software upgrade, and periodically between software upgrades.
This chapter covers the procedure for upgrading the drive firmware on a PowerStore cluster.
If your cluster has Support Connectivity with automatic download enabled, your system will download any new and applicable
drive firmware automatically. It is highly recommended to install this new drive firmware as it becomes available on the
Upgrades page in PowerStore Manager.
Topics:
•Disable alert notifications before a drive firmware upgrade
•Update the drive firmware on the PowerStore cluster
Disable alert notifications before a drive firmware
upgrade
Disable notifications during drive firmware upgrades to prevent call home alerts from being sent to Support.
Steps
1. On the Settings page, select Disable Support Notifications in the Support section.
2. Select the appliance for which you want to suspend notifications and click Modify.
3. In the Modify Maintenance Mode slide-out panel, select the Enable Maintenance Mode option.
4. Specify 2 hours in the Maintenance Window Duration field to suspend notifications during the drive firmware upgrade.
Support notifications are automatically reenabled after the specified window.
5. Click Apply.
Optionally view the End Time (Cluster Time) for maintenance mode in the table.
6. Repeat this process for any other appliances in the cluster.
Update the drive firmware on the PowerStore cluster
Use PowerStore Manager to update the drive firmware on a PowerStore cluster.
Prerequisites
As a best practice, always update the drive firmware to the latest available version following a software upgrade.
Before starting the drive firmware update process, temporarily disable alert notifications as described in Disable alert
notifications before a drive firmware upgrade to prevent unnecessary alerts.
NOTE: Most drive firmware bundles are backwards-compatible with multiple PowerStoreOS versions. Refer to the detailed
description of the drive firmware bundle on Support for more compatibility information. If you attempt to install a drive
firmware bundle that is not compatible with your system, the system will return a warning message and not proceed with
the installation.
Steps
1. Download the latest drive firmware update package from Support.
The drive firmware update package contains firmware updates for the drives in the PowerStore cluster. For instructions on
downloading PowerStore upgrade packages, see Download the PowerStore upgrade packages.
3
14 Drive Firmware upgrades
2. Select the Settings icon, and then select Upgrades in the Cluster section.
3. Select Upload Package.
NOTE: For clusters with Support Connectivity and automatic download enabled, new applicable drive firmware
packages are automatically downloaded to your system and will appear on the Upgrades page.
The Choose File to Upload dialog box is displayed.
4. Select the drive firmware update package, and select Open.
The drive firmware update package is uploaded and displayed in the Software packages table.
NOTE: Do not close or refresh the browser while the drive firmware update package is uploaded to PowerStore
Manager.
5. Select the drive firmware update package in the Software packages table, and select Upgrade.
Results
●To verify the drive firmware package version currently installed on your system, use one of the following methods:
○Run the following REST API call: curl -kv --user admin:xxxxx -X GET https://<appliance
IP>:443/api/rest/software_package?select=* | python -mjson.tool
○Run the following CLI command: $ pstcli -d xx.xx.xx.xx -u <user> -p <password>
software_package show -output nvp |egrep "name|software_package_type|release_version"
●To verify the drive firmware version for individual drives in a PowerStore cluster, go to the Hardware > Appliances >
appliance
> Components > Drives page in PowerStore Manager.
●To verify the drive firmware version for all the drives in a PowerStore cluster, run the service command svc_diag list
--show_drives. For more information, see the PowerStore Service Scripts Guide.
Drive Firmware upgrades 15
Language Packs
Language packs modify the display language of the PowerStore Manager interface to that of your preferred language, including
event, alert, and error messages. Language packs are downloaded and installed the same way as software upgrade packages.
PowerStore 3.x and later supports the following languages:
●French
●German
●Latin American Spanish
●Russian
●Brazilian Portuguese
●Japanese
●Korean
●Simplified Chinese
When you upgrade the PowerStoreOS, your Language Pack settings will be preserved, including the selected language and
preferred time format. These settings will persist until the next Language Pack is installed on your system.
Topics:
•Installing language packs
Installing language packs
Prerequisites
Language packs are separate localized software bundles that can be downloaded from Dell Support and uploaded to the
PowerStore system.
About this task
The default language selected for the language pack is set based on the default language preferences in your user preferences.
Additionally, the time and date format, as well as the time zone format for the language pack, are set based on your User
Preferences. The initial User Preferences are set based on your browser preferences for the browser you are using to access
PowerStore Manager. These preferences can be changed at any time.
Steps
1. Download the latest language pack from Dell Support.
If you have automatic download enabled and have previously installed a language pack on the system, the latest language
pack will be automatically downloaded to your system. Proceed to step 4 to install it.
2. Select the Settings icon, and then select Upgrades in the Cluster section.
3. Select Upload Package to manually upload the locally downloaded language pack to PowerStore Manager.
4. Once the upload is complete, select the language pack software from the list and click Upgrade.
5. Select your preferred language from the drop-down list.
6. Optionally, enable the language to be automatically detected based on the browser settings.
7. Select the preferred date and time format.
4
16 Language Packs
PowerStore X model Upgrades from OS 1.x
If you are upgrading a PowerStore X model model cluster from a 1.x version, follow the steps in this section.
Topics:
•Upgrading PowerStore X model clusters (PowerStoreOS 1.0.x to 2.0.x)
Upgrading PowerStore X model clusters
(PowerStoreOS 1.0.x to 2.0.x)
A PowerStore X model cluster running PowerStoreOS 1.0.x cannot be directly upgraded to PowerStore 2.1.x or later. You must
upgrade the cluster to PowerStoreOS 2.0.x first, and then upgrade it to PowerStoreOS 2.1.x.
Prerequisites
CAUTION: Use these instructions only when upgrading from PowerStoreOS 1.0.x to 2.0.x. For instructions on
upgrading from PowerStoreOS 2.0.x to 2.1.x, see PowerStore X upgrade overview (PowerStoreOS 2.0.x and
later).
About this task
When upgrading a PowerStore X model cluster, use only Dell-qualified software that is downloaded from https://www.dell.com/
support. Use the information in the PowerStore Release Notes to determine which update packages are available or required for
a PowerStore X model cluster. Ensure that the PowerStore X model cluster has enough free space to perform the upgrade. The
minimum amount of space required to perform the upgrade is 300 GB.
NOTE: Some versions of PowerStoreOS support multiple ESXi versions on the internal ESXi nodes of the cluster. To view
a list of supported ESXi versions, see the VMware Licensing and Support for PowerStore X table in the PowerStore
Simple Support Matrix, which can be downloaded from https://www.dell.com/powerstoredocs.
Perform the following steps to upgrade a PowerStore X model cluster:
Steps
1. Download the latest PowerStore X model upgrade package .zip file as described in the Installation and Upgrade
Considerations section of the PowerStore Release Notes.
For instructions on downloading upgrade packages from the Dell Support Site, see Download the PowerStore upgrade
packages.
2. Extract the individual upgrade packages from the PowerStore X model upgrade package .zip file.
3. Upload the software update packages to PowerStore Manager.
NOTE: Do not upload ESXi update package to PowerStore Manager.
a. In PowerStore Manager, select the Settings icon, and then select Upgrades in the Cluster section.
b. Select Upload Package.
c. Select the PowerStore X model software update package to upload and select Open.
NOTE: Do not close or refresh the browser while the software update package is uploaded to PowerStore Manager.
When the PowerStore X model software update package finishes uploading, it is displayed in the Software packages
table.
d. Repeat the previous two steps to upload all the PowerStore X model software update packages to the PowerStore X
model cluster.
A
PowerStore X model Upgrades from OS 1.x 17
4. If an ESXi update is available or required, import the ESXi update package to vSphere Update Manager or vSphere Lifecycle
Manager.
a. In PowerStore Manager, select Compute > vCenter Server Connection and select Launch vSphere to start the
vSphere Client.
b. In the vSphere Client, log in to the vCenter Server.
c. Import the Dell-qualified ESXi .zip file into vSphere Update Manager or vSphere Lifecycle Manager. For more information
about importing ESXI updates, see the VMware vSphere documentation.
5. Carefully review and perform the steps in KB article 000183630 How to prepare for a PowerStore Non-Disruptive Upgrade
(NDU) before upgrading a PowerStore X model cluster.
NOTE: Perform the steps outlined in KB article 000183630 at least a week before the planned upgrade date to allow
enough time to correct any system issues that must be addressed before the upgrade.
6. Perform the PowerStore X model appliance upgrade steps in the following order:
If you have already performed one of software upgrade steps that are listed below, you can skip that step. You can also skip
an upgrade step if the associated software update package is not available.
a. Install preupgrade package - Installing the preupgrade package takes approximately 10 to 15 minutes to complete.
b. Install node firmware update - Installing the node firmware update package takes approximately 10 to 15 minutes to
complete.
c. Update internal ESXi hosts - Updating the internal ESXi hosts takes approximately one to two hours to complete per
node.
d. Upgrade PowerStoreOS - Upgrading the PowerStoreOS takes approximately one hour to complete.
Results
If the PowerStoreOS upgrade process fails, check for and resolve all critical alerts on the cluster and retry the upgrade.
ESXi and VM considerations (PowerStoreOS 1.0.x to 2.0.x)
During the software upgrade process, vSphere Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) attempts to migrate the VMs on one node
of a PowerStore X model cluster to the other node of the cluster.
However, manual intervention may be required when one of the following conditions exists:
●If VMs or VM disks are stored on the local VMFS datastores of the internal ESXi hosts, manually migrate the VMs or VM
disks to a PowerStore vVol datastore.
NOTE: The local VMFS datastores on the internal ESXI hosts are intended only for internal PowerStore system
components.
●If the total amount of memory or CPU usage across the VMs exceeds the amount available on a single node, migrate the
user VMs to other available ESXi hosts or power off the user VMs.
●If the VMs cannot be migrated automatically because of a different reason, power off the user VMs on the ESXi host.
NOTE: Any VMs that are migrated as a part of the software upgrade process are not automatically migrated back to their
original location after the upgrade is complete.
Minimizing internal ESXi host failover occurrences (PowerStoreOS
1.0.x to 2.0.x)
Updating an ESXi host on the internal node of a PowerStore X model cluster requires placing the ESXI host into maintenance
mode. When the ESXi host that is running the PowerStore hardware enters maintenance mode, management services for the
cluster, including access to the PowerStore Manager and VASA provider services, are temporarily unavailable until the failover
process between the nodes is complete.
About this task
Perform the following steps to identify the IP addresses of the internal ESXi hosts on the primary and secondary nodes of the
primary appliance:
Steps
1. In PowerStore Manager, select the Settings icon, and then select Properties in the Cluster section.
18 PowerStore X model Upgrades from OS 1.x
2. Record the name of the appliance in the Primary Appliance field.
This appliance is the primary appliance of the cluster.
3. Record the name of the primary node in the Primary Node on Appliance field.
The secondary node of the appliance is the opposite of the primary node.
NOTE: For example, if Node A is displayed in the Primary Node on Appliance field, the secondary node is Node B.
4. Identify the IP addresses of the internal ESXi hosts on the nodes of the primary appliance.
a. Select Settings > Network IPs in PowerStore Manager.
b. Record the Host Node IP address, Appliance name, and Node letter of the nodes on the primary appliance.
The Host Node IP addresses are the IP addresses of the internal ESXi hosts on the primary and secondary nodes of the
primary appliance.
Install the PowerStore X model Pre-Upgrade package
(PowerStoreOS 1.0.x to 2.0.x)
Use PowerStore Manager to install the Pre-Upgrade package on a PowerStore X model cluster.
Prerequisites
●Ensure that the Pre-Upgrade package has been uploaded to PowerStore Manager.
●Ensure that a Pre-Upgrade Health Check has been performed at least seven days before installing the Pre-Upgrade package
on the PowerStore X model appliance.
About this task
Perform the following steps to install the Pre-Upgrade package on the PowerStore X model cluster:
Steps
1. Select the Settings icon, and then select Upgrades in the Cluster section.
2. Select the Pre-Upgrade package in the Software packages table, and select Upgrade.
NOTE: The Pre-Upgrade package is displayed as a Hotfix package in the Software packages table.
The installation of the Pre-Upgrade package takes approximately 10 to 15 minutes to complete.
Results
The Pre-Upgrade package is not applied to the PowerStore X model cluster until the nodes of the cluster are rebooted.
However, the nodes do not automatically reboot after a Pre-Upgrade package is installed. The nodes of the cluster are
rebooted when ESXi updates are installed on the internal ESXi hosts, as described in Update the internal ESXi hosts on the
cluster (PowerStoreOS 1.0.x to 2.0.x). If ESXi updates are not installed, you must reboot the nodes of the cluster during the
PowerStoreOS upgrade, as described in Upgrade the PowerStoreOS on the cluster (PowerStoreOS 1.0.x to 2.0.x).
Next steps
If a PowerStore X model node firmware upgrade is available or required, go to Install the node firmware update package on the
cluster (PowerStoreOS 1.0.x to 2.0.x).
If a PowerStore X model node firmware upgrade is not available, go to Update the internal ESXi hosts on the cluster
(PowerStoreOS 1.0.x to 2.0.x).
PowerStore X model Upgrades from OS 1.x 19
Install the node firmware update package on the cluster
(PowerStoreOS 1.0.x to 2.0.x)
Use PowerStore Manager to install the node firmware update package on the PowerStore X model cluster.
Prerequisites
●Ensure that the node firmware update package has been uploaded to PowerStore Manager.
●Ensure that a Pre-Upgrade Health Check has been performed at least seven days before installing the node firmware
package on the PowerStore X model cluster.
About this task
Perform the following steps to install the node firmware update package on the PowerStore X model cluster:
Steps
1. Select the Settings icon, and then select Upgrades in the Cluster section.
2. Select the node firmware update package in the Software packages table, and select Upgrade.
NOTE: The node firmware update package is displayed as a Hotfix package in the Software packages table.
The installation of the node firmware update package takes approximately 10 to 15 minutes to complete.
Results
The node firmware updates are not applied to the PowerStore X model cluster until the nodes of the cluster are rebooted.
However, the nodes do not automatically reboot after a firmware update package is installed. The nodes of the cluster are
rebooted when ESXi updates are installed on the internal ESXi hosts, as described in Update the internal ESXi hosts on the
cluster (PowerStoreOS 1.0.x to 2.0.x). If ESXi updates are not installed, you must reboot the ESXi hosts on the nodes of the
cluster during the PowerStoreOS upgrade, as described in Upgrade the PowerStoreOS on the cluster (PowerStoreOS 1.0.x to
2.0.x).
Next steps
If ESXi updates are available or required, go to Update the internal ESXi hosts on the cluster (PowerStoreOS 1.0.x to 2.0.x).
If ESXi updates are not available, go to Upgrade the PowerStoreOS on the cluster (PowerStoreOS 1.0.x to 2.0.x).
Update the internal ESXi hosts on the cluster (PowerStoreOS 1.0.x
to 2.0.x)
Use the vSphere Client to update the ESXi hosts on the nodes of a PowerStore X model cluster. For more information about
updating ESXi hosts, see the VMware vSphere documentation.
Prerequisites
Ensure that the ESXi update package has been imported into vSphere Update Manager or vSphere Lifecycle Manager. For
instructions, see Upgrading PowerStore X model clusters (PowerStoreOS 1.0.x to 2.0.x).
CAUTION: The internal nodes of a PowerStore X model cluster can only use ESXi updates that are qualified by
Dell. Do not use ESXi updates that are obtained from VMware or any other source.
About this task
Perform the following steps to update the ESXi hosts on the PowerStore X model cluster:
NOTE: Some management operations that involve vVols may be unavailable during the upgrade.
Steps
1. Identify the primary appliance and identify the IP addresses of the internal ESXi hosts on the primary and secondary nodes of
the appliance. For instructions, see Minimizing internal ESXi host failover occurrences (PowerStoreOS 1.0.x to 2.0.x).
20 PowerStore X model Upgrades from OS 1.x
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