0% found this document useful (0 votes)
623 views280 pages

PowerStore 운영 메뉴얼

Uploaded by

aaa62237079
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
0% found this document useful (0 votes)
623 views280 pages

PowerStore 운영 메뉴얼

Uploaded by

aaa62237079
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 280

POWERSTORE

ADMINISTRATION

PARTICIPANT GUIDE

PARTICIPANT GUIDE
Internal Use - Confidential
PowerStore Administration

©
Internal Use - Confidential Copyright 2020 Dell Inc. Page i
Table of Contents

Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 2

User Management ...................................................................................................... 3


User Management ............................................................................................................... 4
Practice User Management ................................................................................................ 10
Change Your Password ..................................................................................................... 11
User Management Key Points............................................................................................ 13

Host Administration ................................................................................................. 14


Edit or Remove a Host ....................................................................................................... 15
Map a Volume to a Host..................................................................................................... 18
Activity: View the Properties of a Windows Host Profile In PowerStore .............................. 21
View the Properties of a Windows Host Profile and Remove Host Access Practice ........... 22
Host Administration Key Points .......................................................................................... 23

Protection Policies ................................................................................................... 24


Protection Policies - Introduction ........................................................................................ 25
Implementing Protection Policies ....................................................................................... 27
Protection Policies Key Points............................................................................................ 30

Volume Administration ............................................................................................ 31


Volume Administration ....................................................................................................... 32
View and Change Volume Properties................................................................................. 33
Activity: View and Change Volume Properties ................................................................... 36
Add or Remove a Protection Policy .................................................................................... 37
Unmap a Volume from a Host ............................................................................................ 40
Delete a Volume ................................................................................................................ 42
Remove a Volume from a Volume Group ........................................................................... 44
Activity: Administer Volumes and Volume Groups.............................................................. 46
Volume and Volume Group Simulation .............................................................................. 47
Monitor Performance ......................................................................................................... 48
Volume Administration Key Points ..................................................................................... 52

PowerStore Administration

Internal Use - Confidential


Page ii © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Volume Migration - PowerStore Resource Balancer............................................. 53
Storage Resource Balancer Overview ............................................................................... 54
Resource Balancer Overview ............................................................................................. 55
Volume Creation, Default Placement, and Node Affinity - Auto .......................................... 56
Volume Creation - Manual Placement ................................................................................ 57
Resource Balancing ........................................................................................................... 58
Capacity Monitoring and Forecasting ................................................................................. 59
Alert and Remediation ....................................................................................................... 60
Internal Migration Operations ............................................................................................. 63
Manually Migrate a Volume ................................................................................................ 64
Practice Manually Migrating a Volume Group .................................................................... 68
Assisted Migration.............................................................................................................. 69
Monitoring Jobs ................................................................................................................. 71
PowerStore Resource Balancer Key Points ....................................................................... 73

NAS Administration ................................................................................................. 74


NDMP Backups ................................................................................................................. 75
Practice Creating an NDMP Backup .................................................................................. 77
Monitor Performance ......................................................................................................... 78
NAS Administration Key Points .......................................................................................... 79

File System Administration ..................................................................................... 80


Enable File System Quotas ................................................................................................ 81
Activity: Enable User and Tree Quotas .............................................................................. 87
Configure File System User Quotas Video ......................................................................... 88
Configure Tree Quota ........................................................................................................ 89
Activity: Configure Tree Quotas ......................................................................................... 95
Configure Tree Quotas Video............................................................................................. 96
View and Change File System Properties .......................................................................... 97
Activity: Modify File System Storage Capacity ................................................................. 100
Modify File System Storage Capacity Simulation ............................................................. 101
Unmount SMB Share ....................................................................................................... 102
Stop NFS Export Access.................................................................................................. 104

PowerStore Administration

©
Internal Use - Confidential Copyright 2020 Dell Inc. Page iii
Activity: Cancel File System Access................................................................................. 106
Remove File System Shares ............................................................................................ 107
Delete File System ........................................................................................................... 109
Activity: Delete File System and Parent NAS Server ........................................................ 110
Cancel and Delete File System and Parent NAS Server Simulation ................................. 111
File System Administration Key Points ............................................................................. 112

Data Efficiency ....................................................................................................... 113


Overview .......................................................................................................................... 114
Data Efficiency Architecture ............................................................................................. 115
Write Operation ................................................................................................................ 117
Read Operation ............................................................................................................... 119
Locating Data Savings ..................................................................................................... 121
Data Efficiency Calculations ............................................................................................. 123
Data Efficiency Key Points ............................................................................................... 127

Data Virtualization .................................................................................................. 128


PowerStore Integration with VMware vSphere ................................................................. 129
VASA Support.................................................................................................................. 131
Expand Capacity of VMFS Datastores ............................................................................. 132
Activity: VMFS Datastore ................................................................................................. 135
Work with a VMFS Datastore Simulation ......................................................................... 136
Modify Capacity of NFS Datastores ................................................................................. 137
Modify Capacity of VVol Datastores ................................................................................. 140
Activity: Increase the Capacity of a VVol Datastore and Migrate VM ................................ 143
Monitor Virtual Volumes in Storage Container .................................................................. 144
Monitoring and Managing Virtual Machines...................................................................... 146
Migrating Virtual Machines ............................................................................................... 153
Activity: Manage Virtual Machine and VVols in PowerStore Manager .............................. 156
Work with VVols and Virtual Machines Simulation ........................................................... 157
Removing a Storage Container ........................................................................................ 158
Unregister vCenter and VASA Provider ........................................................................... 160
Data Virtualization Key Points .......................................................................................... 164

Local Data Protection ............................................................................................ 166

PowerStore Administration

Internal Use - Confidential


Page iv © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Taking a Snapshot of a Volume ....................................................................................... 167
Activity: Working with Snapshot Rules ............................................................................. 170
Verify and Modify a Snapshot Rule Simulation ................................................................. 171
Restoring a Volume from a Snapshot............................................................................... 172
Activity: Restore Volume from Snapshot .......................................................................... 175
Restore Volume from Snapshot Simulation ...................................................................... 176
Accessing the Contents of a Volume Snapshot ................................................................ 177
File System Snapshots Overview ..................................................................................... 180
File System Snapshot Operations .................................................................................... 181
Activity: Work with File System Snapshots ....................................................................... 184
Work with File System Snapshots Simulation .................................................................. 185
Thin Clones...................................................................................................................... 186
Creating a Thin Clone of a Volume .................................................................................. 187
Creating a Thin Clone of a Volume Group ....................................................................... 191
Creating a Thin Clone of a File System ............................................................................ 194
Creating a Thin Clone of a Volume Snapshot .................................................................. 198
Activity: Creating a Thin Clone ......................................................................................... 201
Create a Thin Clone Simulation ....................................................................................... 202
Volume Thin Clone Hierarchy .......................................................................................... 203
Volume/Volume Group Refresh Operations ..................................................................... 206
Local Data Protection Key Points ..................................................................................... 209

Remote Protection - Replications ......................................................................... 211


Manage Replications ....................................................................................................... 212
Manage Replications - Failover ........................................................................................ 218
Manage Replications - Planned Failover .......................................................................... 219
Manage Replications - Synchronization ........................................................................... 221
Manage Replications - Pause and Resume ..................................................................... 223
Manage Replications - Remove ....................................................................................... 226
Manage Replications Practice .......................................................................................... 229
Remote Protection - Replications Key Points ................................................................... 230

Data Encryption ..................................................................................................... 231

PowerStore Administration

©
Internal Use - Confidential Copyright 2020 Dell Inc. Page v
Overview .......................................................................................................................... 232
Architecture...................................................................................................................... 233
Encryption Status ............................................................................................................. 235
User Actions .................................................................................................................... 238
Serviceability.................................................................................................................... 241
Data Encryption Key Points ............................................................................................. 242

Data Reporting/Analytics Using CloudIQ............................................................. 243


Introducing CloudIQ ......................................................................................................... 244
PowerStore Data in CloudIQ ............................................................................................ 245
Using CloudIQ Views with PowerStore ............................................................................ 246
PowerStore System Information in CloudIQ ..................................................................... 251
Data Reporting/Analytics Using CloudIQ Key Points ........................................................ 254

Appendix ............................................................................................... 255

Glossary ................................................................................................ 269

PowerStore Administration

Internal Use - Confidential


Page vi © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
User Management

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 1
PowerStore

The PowerStore Implementation Engineer exam is intended for customers,


partners, and internal employees who are responsible for the implementation or
administration of PowerStore arrays.

The PowerStore Platform Engineer exam is intended for partners and internal
employees who are responsible for the installation and maintenance of PowerStore
arrays.

Implementation Engineer, Platform Engineer,


PowerStore PowerStore

A. PowerStore Concepts and Features (ODC) A. PowerStore Concepts and Features (ODC)
B. PowerStore Installation Cabling (ODC) B. PowerStore Implementation (ODC)
C. PowerStore Implementation (ODC) C. PowerStore Installation (ODC)
D. PowerStore Administration (ODC) D. PowerStore Installation:Cabling (ODC)
E. PowerStore Basic Troubleshooting (ODC)
OR
F. PowerStore Maintenance (ODC)
A. PowerStore Implementation and Administration G. PowerStore Upgrades (ODC)
(C)
B. PowerStore Migration: Import External Storage
(C)

Information Storage and Management

Information Storage and Management (C, VC, ODC)

(C) - Classroom

(VC) - Virtual Classroom

(ODC) - On Demand Course

For more information, visit: http://dell.com/certification

Internal Use - Confidential


Midrange Storage

The Midrange Technology Architect exam is intended for partners and internal
employees who are responsible for positioning or designing a solution using Dell
EMC midrange storage systems. This includes the following products: PowerStore,
Unity XT, and SC Series.

Technology Architect, Midrange


Storage Solutions

Midrange Storage Concepts, Features, and Design (ODC)

Information Storage and Management

Information Storage and Management (C, VC, ODC)

(C) - Classroom

(VC) - Virtual Classroom

(ODC) - On Demand Course

For more information, visit: http://dell.com/certification

Internal Use - Confidential


User Management

Introduction

This course provides administrative tasks in PowerStore, including:


 User Management
 Host Administration
 Protection Policies
 Volume Administration
 Volume Migration - PowerStore Resource Balancer
 NAS Administration
 File System Administration
 Data Efficiency
 Data Virtualization
 Local Data Protection
 Remote Data Protection - Replication
 Data Encryption
 Data Reporting/Analytics

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 2 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
User Management

User Management

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 3
User Management

User Management

Only the Security Administrator and Administrator roles have the rights to manage
users in the system. The Operator, VM Administrator, Storage Administrator roles
cannot complete these functions. See details about user role rights.

Username and Password Rules

Username requirements Password requirements

 1 character minimum,  8 character minimum,


64 character maximum 40 character maximum
 . (dot) is the only non-  1 or more uppercase
alphanumeric character letter
allowed  1 or more lowercase
 All usernames are case- letter
sensitive
 1 or more number
 Must start and end with  1 or more special
an alphanumeric character
character.

Add User

To add a new user:


1. From the Settings > PowerStore Users screen, click Add.
2. Enter a user name (1-64 alphanumeric characters).
3. Select a User Role from the drop-down menu.
4. Create a new password.
5. Click Apply.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 4 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
User Management

Delete User

To delete a user:
1. From the Settings > PowerStore Users screen, select a user.
2. Click Delete.
3. Click Delete, on the warning.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 5
User Management

Change Password

The VM Administrator user role is the only role that cannot change their password.
All other roles may change their own passwords.

To change a password:
1. From the Settings > PowerStore Users screen, select a user.
2. Click Reset Password.
3. Type new password following password guidelines.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 6 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
User Management

4. Retype new password.


5. Click Apply.

Lock/Unlock User

Locking a user prevents that user from logging in to PowerStore Manager. For
example, an Administrator may lock a user or users to prevent them from logging in
and making changes during maintenance or migration events. Locking and
unlocking users is managed by the Administrators and Security Administrators
roles.

To Lock/Unlock a user:
1. From the Settings > PowerStore Users screen, select a user.
2. Click Unlock if the user is locked or Lock if the user is unlocked.
3. Click Unlock to unlock or Click Lock to lock the user.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 7
User Management

Modify User Role

To modify user role:


1. From the Settings > PowerStore Users screen, select a user.
2. Click Edit Role.
3. Select a role from the drop-down menu.
4. Click Apply.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 8 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
User Management

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 9
User Management

Practice User Management

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 10 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
User Management

Change Your Password

Step 1

1. To change your password, select the User icon > Change Password.
2. The Change Password wizard is displayed. See next tab.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 11
User Management

Step 2

3. Enter the Current Password.


4. Enter the New Password.
5. PowerStore Manager analyzes
the strength of the password.
6. If the password is strong enough,
enter it again in the Verify
Password field.
7. Click Apply.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 12 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
User Management

User Management Key Points

User management takes place on the Settings > PowerStore Users screen.

When logged in as a Security Administrator or Administrator, you can:


 Add users
 Delete users
 Modify user roles
 Lock or unlock users
 Change passwords for users

For more information about working with PowerStore Manager users,


see the PowerStore Security Configuration Guide on the Dell
Technologies Support site.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 13
Host Administration

Host Administration

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 14 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Host Administration

Edit or Remove a Host

View Host Information

From the Compute > Hosts & Host Groups screen in PowerStore Manager, click
the name of the host to view its details.

Two cards provide a quick view into initiators and mapped volumes. Click any card
to see its details.
1. Initiators describes the initiator used by the host.
 Click the host identifier link to see information about it, including the
appliance and node connections.
2. Mapped Volumes lists the volumes that are mapped to the host. View volume
name, WWN, provisioned and used space, protection and performance polices,
appliance, and LUN from this card.

Modify from Hosts Overview

From the Compute > Hosts & Host Groups screen in PowerStore Manager:
1. Select the host to be modified. Modify one host at a time.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 15
Host Administration

2. Click Modify.
3. In the slide-out panel, modify the name or description and click Apply.

Modify from Host Details

From the Compute > Hosts & Host Groups screen in PowerStore Manager:
1. Click the name of the host to view its details.
2. To modify the properties, click the pencil icon to the right of the name.
3. In the slide-out panel, modify the name or description and click Apply.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 16 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Host Administration

Remove a Host

From the Compute > Hosts & Host Groups screen in PowerStore Manager:
1. Select the host to be removed.
– Only hosts with no mapped volumes can be removed.
2. Click Remove.
3. On the popup verification, confirm your decision by clicking Remove.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 17
Host Administration

Map a Volume to a Host

A host may be mapped to a volume either during volume creation or after.

Map a host to a volume after volume creation

From the Storage > Volumes screen in PowerStore Manager:


1. Click the name of volume. In this example, it is Vol-001
2. Click the Host Mappings tab

3. Click Map
4. Select the host or hosts to be mapped
5. Click Apply

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 18 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Host Administration

Map a host to a volume during volume creation

From the Storage > Volumes screen in PowerStore Manager:


1. Click Create
2. Enter the name, quantity, size, placement, and select optional properties of the
volume
3. Click Next
4. Select the hosts or host groups to be mapped to the volume
5. Click Next
6. Review the Summary and click Create

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 19
Host Administration

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 20 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Host Administration

Activity: View the Properties of a Windows Host Profile In


PowerStore

Virtual lab for facilitated sessions:


 View the Properties of a Windows Host Profile In
PowerStore
 Remove Host Access to a Provisioned Volume

Simulation: View the Properties of a Windows Host


Profile In PowerStore and remove Host Access to a
Provisioned Volume

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 21
Host Administration

View the Properties of a Windows Host Profile and Remove


Host Access Practice

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 22 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Host Administration

Host Administration Key Points

Before a host can access storage, you must define a configuration for the host, and
associate it with a storage resource.

To manage hosts, navigate to the Compute> Host and Host Groups screen.
 Viewing and Modifying Hosts
 From PowerStore Manager, you can view details about a host, such as its
associated initiator or its mapped volumes.
 Only the name or description of the host can be modified after creation
 Before you delete a host, you must first remove all of its volume mappings.
Only hosts with no mapped volumes can be removed.
 Mapping Volumes to a Host

 You can map a new volume to a host at the same time that you create the
volume.
 You can also map a volume to a host after it has been created.

For more information, see the PowerStore Host Configuration


Guide on the Dell Technologies Support site.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 23
Protection Policies

Protection Policies

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 24 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Protection Policies

Protection Policies - Introduction

Protection Policies Definition

A protection policy is a simple, named container of protection rules.

Protection policies automatically manage snapshots or replication operations based


on the included rules.

You create policies for your implementation, and apply a specific policy to a storage
resource based on the business need or criticality of the data.

In the end, what makes a protection policy are the rules that it contains.

Protection Policy Characteristics

Each protection policy can include up to four snapshot rules, and no more than one
replication rule.

You apply a protection policy to a storage resource. For any one storage resource,
you can apply only one protection policy.

Storage resources include:

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 25
Protection Policies

Volume Stand-alone, or can be applied to a volume in volume


group.

Volume Group Applies to member volumes.

Thin Clone Stand-alone, or can be applied to a thin clone in a group.

Thin Clone Group Applies to member thin clones.

Virtual Machine Applies to VVols underlying the VM. Only snapshots are
applied.

File System Only snapshot rules are applied.

You can re-use the same protection policy on many storage resources. This avoids
the need to create specific snapshot and/or replication rules for each storage
resource.

The ability to re-use a protection policy provides:


 Efficiency: Create once and use everywhere.
 Consistency: Use same policy for all objects.
 Simplicity: Single point of management.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 26 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Protection Policies

Implementing Protection Policies

Create Snapshot Rule

A protection policy must contain at least one rule. You can create rules and then
add them to a policy, or you can create the rules at the same time that you create
the policy.

This example shows creating a rule before a policy.

4a
3
2
4b

4c

4d

4e
5

To create a snapshot rule:

1. Under Protection, select Protection Policies.


2. Select Snapshot Rules.
3. Click Create.
4. In the Create Snapshot Rule slideout, specify the details for the new rule.
a. Rule Name
b. Days
c. Frequency/Start Time
d. Retention

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 27
Protection Policies

e. File Snapshot Access Type


5. Click Create.

Snapshot Rule Created

The new Snapshot Rule appears in the list:

Create a Policy and Add Rules

3
1 2
4

To create a policy and add a rule:


1. Under Protection, select Protection Policies.
2. Click Create.
3. In the Create Protection Policy slideout, enter a Policy Name.
4. Enter a Description for the policy.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 28 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Protection Policies

5. Check the box to select at least one Snapshot Rule.


6. Click Create.

Assign a Protection Policy to a Volume

4
2

To assign a protection policy to a volume:


1. Go to Storage > Volumes.
2. From the list of volumes , check the box next to the storage
resource to be protected.
3. From the More Actions menu, select Assign Protection Policy.
4. In the Assign Protection Policy slideout, check the box next to the policy you
wish to apply.
5. Click Apply.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 29
Protection Policies

Protection Policies Key Points

Protection policies automatically manage snapshots or replication operations,


based on the included rules.
 Protection Policies:
 Protection policies can be a applied to storage resources including volumes,
volume groups, thin clones, thin clone groups, file systems, and virtual
machines
 A single protection policy can be applied to many storage resources.
Changes made to the protection policy affect all storage resources where
the policy has been applied. This avoids the need to create specific
snapshot and/or replication rules for each storage resource.
 A protection policy can contain up to four snapshot rules, and one replication
rule.
 Snapshot Rules
 Snapshot rules define how often to take a snapshot, and how long to retain
the snapshot after it is created.
 Replication Rules

 Replication rules specify the destination system, and the Recovery Point
Objective (RPO).

For more information, see the PowerStore Protecting Your Data


guide on the Dell Technologies Support site.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 30 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Volume Administration

Volume Administration

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 31
Volume Administration

Volume Administration

After volumes have been configured, they can be administered in several ways.
You can:
 View and change volume properties.
 Remove or replace a protection policy.
 Unmap a volume from a host.
 Delete a volume.
 Remove a volume from a volume group.
 Monitor performance

For all these tasks, start on the PowerStore Manager Volumes view. From the
Storage submenu, select Volumes.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 32 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Volume Administration

View and Change Volume Properties

From the Storage > Volumes screen, view information about volumes and modify
basic volume information.

View Volume Information

From the Storage > Volumes screen in PowerStore Manager, click the name of the
volume to view its details.

Five tabs, called cards, provide a quick view into capacity, performance, alerts,
protection, and host mappings. Click any tab to see its details.
1. Capacity describes the used and free space in the volume, data efficiency
savings, and a graph showing historical volume usage.
2. Performance displays graphs of system performance including Latency, IOPS,
Bandwidth, I/O Size, and Queue Depth graphs.
3. Alerts lists any alerts on the volume, which are organized by critical, major, and
minor icons.
4. Protection shows the protection policy in use, snapshots taken on the volume,
and replication involving the volume.
5. Host Mappings shows the host or hosts mapped to the volume, including the
hostname, operating system, and protocol.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 33
Volume Administration

Modify from Volumes Overview

From the Storage > Volumes screen in PowerStore Manager:


1. Select the volume to be modified. Modify one volume at a time.
2. Click Modify.
3. In the slide-out panel, modify the name, description, or size and click Apply.

 If renaming the volume, first pause the replication session if replication is


running. The name of the remote volume will change after replication is
resumed.
 When changing the size, you can make the volume larger, not smaller.

Modify from Volume Details

From the Storage > Volumes screen in PowerStore Manager:


1. Click the name of the volume to view its details.
2. To modify the properties:
 Click the pencil icon to the right of the name. OR
 From the Actions menu, select Properties.
3. In the slide-out panel, modify the name, description, or size and click Apply.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 34 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Volume Administration

 If renaming the volume, first pause the replication session if replication is


running. The name of the remote volume will change after replication is
resumed.
 When changing the size, you can make the volume larger, not smaller.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 35
Volume Administration

Activity: View and Change Volume Properties

Virtual lab for facilitated sessions: View and Change


Volume Properties

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 36 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Volume Administration

Add or Remove a Protection Policy

Add Protection Policy

A protection policy can be added to a volume at the time it is created or added


later. Follow these steps to add a protection policy to an existing volume. Once the
protection policy is added, new snapshots of the volume will follow the rules in that
policy.

From the Storage > Volumes screen in PowerStore Manager:


1. Select the volume that needs a protection policy.
 If the same protection policy will be assigned to more than one volume,
select all volumes at the same time.
2. From More Actions, select Assign Protection Policy.
3. On the slide-out panel, select the protection policy to use and click Apply.
4. On the popup verification, confirm your selection by clicking Assign.

Remove Protection Policy

Remove a protection policy if you do not want to use a protection policy for that
volume.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 37
Volume Administration

From the Storage > Volumes screen in PowerStore Manager:


1. Select the volume whose protection policy should be removed.
2. From More Actions, select Unassign Protection Policy.
3. On the popup verification, confirm your selection by clicking Unassign.

Change Protection Policy

To change a protection policy for a volume, go to the details screen of that volume.

From the Storage > Volumes screen in PowerStore Manager:


1. Click the name of the volume to view its details.
2. Click the Protection tab.
3. Click Change.
4. On the slide-out panel, select a different protection policy to use and click
Change.

 The protection policy can also be removed using the Unassign Policy
button on the slide-out panel.
 If there is no protection policy assigned to this volume, an Assign Policy
button is available on the Protection tab.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 38 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Volume Administration

Protection Policies on Volume Groups

Follow the same processes to modify the protection policy on a volume group, but
complete the action on the Storage > Volume Groups page.

The protection policy assigned to a volume group is inherited by the volumes


belonging to the volume group. If a protection policy is removed from the volume
group, it is also removed from all member volumes.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 39
Volume Administration

Unmap a Volume from a Host

Follow these steps to remove the host mapping from a volume. Note: There is
more than one to unmap a volume from a host in the PowerStore Manager.

From the Storage > Volumes screen in PowerStore Manager:


1. Select the volume to unmap.
2. From More Actions, select Unmap.
3. On the slide-out panel, select the host to unmap and click Apply.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 40 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Volume Administration

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 41
Volume Administration

Delete a Volume

Warning: Deleting a volume is not reversible.

Only delete a volume that: A volume cannot be deleted if it:


 Was used for testing  Is a member of a volume group. Remove the
only and testing is volume from the group before attempting deletion.
finished  Has a protection policy. Remove the protection
 Has been replicated policy before attempting deletion.
and the source volume  Is migrating. Wait for migration to finish or delete
is no longer needed the migration before attempting deletion.
 Has data that is no  Is mapped to a host. Unmap the host before
longer needed and attempting deletion.
you are trying to save
space  Has snapshots. In this case, the volume can still
be deleted, but a warning is shown.

To delete a volume from the Storage > Volumes screen:


1. Select the volume to be deleted.
2. Click Delete.
3. On the popup verification, confirm your decision by clicking Delete.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 42 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Volume Administration

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 43
Volume Administration

Remove a Volume from a Volume Group

Caution: Removing a volume from a volume group may affect future


operations on that volume. These affected operations may include
refresh, restore, and deletion operations as well as applying and
deleting protection policies.

When removing a volume from a volume group, be aware of these conditions:


 The volume retains the protection policy from its original volume group.
 If the volume group has a replication rule, the volume that is removed retains
the policy.
– The volume is not compliant until the volume group is synchronized to the
destination.
– After the volume group is synchronized to the destination, the removed
volume is also removed from the destination volume group.
 The removed volume cannot be deleted until all volume group snapshots
(taken when the volume was a part of the group) expire or are deleted.
 If the removed volume has existing snapshots, those volume group snapshots
cannot be used to refresh or restore removed volume.

– To restore or refresh the volume group from a snapshot that was taken
before the volume was removed, you must add the volume back to the
volume group.
– Restore and refresh operations require that the volume group membership
match the membership that existed when the snapshot was taken.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 44 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Volume Administration

Double click to enlarge

To remove a volume from a Volume Group:

From the Storage > Volumes Groups screen in PowerStore Manager:


1. Click the name of the volume group containing the volume to remove. (This
was done on the previous screen.) In this example, it is VolGroup1.
2. Click the Members card.
3. Select the volume to remove.
4. From More Actions, select Remove.
5. Click Remove to acknowledge the warning and to remove the volume.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 45
Volume Administration

Activity: Administer Volumes and Volume Groups

Complete these virtual labs for facilitated sessions:


 Remove Volume from Volume Group
 Unassign Protection Policy and Delete Volume

Simulation on the next page: Volume and Volume


Group Simulation

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 46 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Volume Administration

Volume and Volume Group Simulation

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 47
Volume Administration

Monitor Performance

Volume performance can be monitored through the PowerStore Manager.

Performance Data Locations

Performance Chart locations for volume related resources

Object Access Path

Cluster Dashboard > Performance

Volume Storage > Volumes > [volume] > Performance

Volume Group Storage > Volume Groups > [volume group] >
Performance

Volume Group member (volume) Storage > Volume Groups > [volume group] >
Members [member] > Performance

PowerStore Manager Volume Performance

Volume performance may be monitored through the PowerStore Manager. From


the Storage > Volumes > [volume] > Performance.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 48 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Volume Administration

1. Performance Policy
2. Choose the time range to display
3. Download the chart
4. Chart key

Performance Policies

A performance policy specifies I/O performance requirements for PowerStore


storage resources.

There are three pre-defined performance policies on a PowerStore:


 High

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 49
Volume Administration

– PowerStore has share-based QoS. Share-based QoS means when there is


contention at system level, a volume with a high-performance policy services
more IOPS than a volume with a medium performance policy.
– Use this policy with critical applications only. This ensures that those critical
applications are not competing for I/O against less critical applications
 Medium - default
– A volume with a medium-performance policy services more IOPS than one
with a low-performance policy
 Low

PowerStore T model PowerStore X model storage resources


storage resources

Performance policies may PowerStore X can have performance policies assigned


be assigned to volumes to volumes thin clones, VM volume groups, and
and thin clones when you individual VMs. The policies for VM volume groups
provision them or modify and individual VMs are based on their capability
their configuration. profiles in VMware vCenter.
Performance policies can
also be assigned to the VMware capability PowerStore
VM VVols by creating a profile performance policy
VM Storage policy within
VMware vCenter. High-Priority performance High
VVols performance
Medium-Priority Medium
policies cannot be
performance
modified from PowerStore
Manager but they can be Low-Priority performance Low
modified within VMware
vCenter.

Change Performance Policy

You can change the performance policy from the default, medium, during the
creation of a volume or after it is created. Members of a volume group may have
different performance policies.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 50 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Volume Administration

To change a performance policy set on a volume:


1. Select Storage > Volumes > [volume] > Performance
2. Click pencil next to the performance policy.
3. Select a performance policy, and click Apply.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 51
Volume Administration

Volume Administration Key Points

To administer volumes, access the PowerStore Manager Volumes view. From the
Storage submenu, select Volumes.
 View and Change Volume Properties:
 You can modify the name, description, or size of the volume.
 When changing the size, you can make the volume larger, not smaller.
 If the volume is attached to a protection policy that includes replication,
pause replication before renaming the volume. The name of the remote
volume will change after replication is resumed.
 Volume Protection Protection Policies
 You can add a protection policy to a volume after it has been created. You
can also change or delete the protection policy.
 A protection policy that is added to volume group is inherited by all volumes
in the group. If a protection policy is removed from the volume group, it is
also removed from all member volumes.
 Other Volume Actions:
 Unmap a volume from a host
 Delete a volume
 Remove a volume from a volume group
 Monitoring Volumes:

 You can monitor the performance of individual volumes, volume groups, and
volume group members.
 You can select the time range and the performance metrics to you want to
view. You can download the performance chart.

For more information, see the PowerStore Configuring Volumes


Guide on the Dell Technologies Support site.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 52 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Volume Migration - PowerStore Resource Balancer

Volume Migration - PowerStore Resource Balancer

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 53
Volume Migration - PowerStore Resource Balancer

Storage Resource Balancer Overview

The internal migration feature is used to move volumes or volume groups to


another appliance in the cluster without any disruption. A use case is when the user
is performing a service task.

Goals and Capabilities

Listed are the goals for migrating a storage resource between appliances on a
PowerStore system:
 Identify the GUI menu options to migrate a storage resource.
 Describe how the resource balancer determines storage resource placement
 Explain the two methods for storage resource migration

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 54 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Volume Migration - PowerStore Resource Balancer

Resource Balancer Overview

PowerStore resource balancer uses analytics to balance storage resources


(volumes or volume groups) across appliances and nodes within a cluster.
Resource balancer assigns resources to an appliance based on the current storage
trends and forecast. Performance metrics are not considered when placing a
volume on an appliance. Once placed on an appliance, resource balancer does not
proactively move existing volumes from one appliance to another.

The resource balancer automatically determines the placement of a resource


unless changed by the user. A storage resource is assigned an appliance and a
node within the appliance. Node assignments are determined internally and are
based on CPU utilization metrics. Node assignments are done once the volume is
mapped to a host.

You may optionally assign a volume to an appliance manually. Resource balancer


assigns resources to an appliance based on the current storage trends and
forecast.

Resource balancer looks at system limits to determine the number of volumes and
volume groups and places the resource accordingly.

Resource balancer also considers the the following when placing volumes:

 Whether the appliance is offline


 Appliance failure status
 Capacity utilization

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 55
Volume Migration - PowerStore Resource Balancer

Volume Creation, Default Placement, and Node Affinity - Auto

The example shows two volumes that are created on a PowerStore two appliance
cluster which have yet to be mapped to a host (0). The default placement of Auto
was chosen during the creation of the volumes.

Each volume was assigned to a different appliance. Each volume has a WWN and
ID that is displayed using PowerStore CLI commands (pstcli). In the example, the
node affinity displays a status of System Select At Attach. The Appliance
column is not shown by default, click the Show/Hide Table Columns icon and
check the box for Appliance.

Show/Hide
columns icon

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 56 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Volume Migration - PowerStore Resource Balancer

Volume Creation - Manual Placement

During volume creation, select an appliance on which to place the volume. Use the
drop-down option, and select the appliance. In the example, Vol_3 can be placed
on any available appliance that is displayed under the Placement drop-down
menu. The default Placement option is Auto.

Select the dropdown and place the volume on the available


appliance

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 57
Volume Migration - PowerStore Resource Balancer

Resource Balancing

There are two methods to migrate storage resources to other appliances in the
cluster. You can manually migrate storage resources, or the system can assist in
the resource movement.

In the example, Appliance 1 is nearing full capacity and storage resources must be
moved to another appliance with more available capacity. You have an option to
manually move resources at any time using the Migrate feature from the GUI.
System Assisted Migrations can happen if capacity monitoring determines an
appliance is nearing full capacity. An alert is generated and remediation options are
displayed from the Alert window.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 58 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Volume Migration - PowerStore Resource Balancer

Capacity Monitoring and Forecasting

Capacity monitoring and forecasting require at least a 15-day runtime in order to


fully predict capacity statistics. Runtime starts when the appliance comes online
after initial configuration. On the 16th day, you should see forecast metrics being
reported in PowerStore Manager or REST API.

The example displays the Physical Capacity from the Dashboard > Capacity
option. In the example on the left, the system has not yet reached the required 15
days of runtime. In this case, a message is generated to inform the user that
insufficient data has been collected. In the middle example, you have at least 25
days until full. In the right example, the capacity of the appliance is at 96% used
and has an estimate of 8 days before it is full.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 59
Volume Migration - PowerStore Resource Balancer

Alert and Remediation

Alerts

When an alert is generated, view the Monitoring > Alerts page for details.

A Major alert is generated when:

 The forecast threshold is at 14 days or less

A Minor alert is generated when:

 When the forecast threshold is 15 to 28 days

It is important to note that capacity monitoring and forecasting focuses on when an


appliance could run out of capacity, not how full the appliance is. PowerStore can
forecast up to 1 year with a 2-year retention.

The example shows two Alerts generated stating the appliance is nearing full
capacity. Select the Alert for suggestions on remediation.

Remediation - Out of space

The example shows the Alert page for running out of space. From the Alert
page, we see the Repair Flow indicates an Assisted Migration. Click on the text
to view additional details and recommendations for remediation. The wizard returns

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 60 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Volume Migration - PowerStore Resource Balancer

a list recommended volumes to migrate. These recommendations are refreshed


every 24 hours and may require additional remediation.

Other options include Cleaning Up System and Add More Drives. Selecting one
of those options links the user to the General Support page for remediation. The
Assisted Migration process follows the same steps as a manual migration.

When migrating volumes, always rescan the host adapters associated with those
volumes prior to migration.

Remediation - Capacity Utilization

In the example, shows the Alert page for the Capacity Utilization Alert. From the
Alert page, the Repair Flow indicates the additional storage should be added.
Click on the text to view additional details and recommendations for remediation.

In this case, manually migrate storage to an appliance with more capacity. When
you run the migration wizard, the system prompts you to rescan the volumes from
the server that is mapped to the volume.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 61
Volume Migration - PowerStore Resource Balancer

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 62 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Volume Migration - PowerStore Resource Balancer

Internal Migration Operations

The Internal Migration option from the PowerStore Manager can be used prior to
removing or shutting down an appliance for service. This feature is used to move
volumes or volume groups to another appliance in the cluster without any
disruption. When you migrate a volume or volume group, all associated snapshots
and thin clones also migrate with the storage resource. During the migration,
additional work space is allocated on the source appliance to facilitate data
movement. The amount of space that is needed depends on the number of storage
objects and amount of data being migrated. This work space is released and freed
up after the migration finishes.

You can either manually migrate storage resources or use the recommendations
in PowerStore Manager:

 Manual migration - You can choose to provision a volume or a volume group


on a specific appliance or have it automatically get provisioned on an appliance.
You can choose to migrate the storage resources to another appliance in the
cluster later.
 Assisted migration - In the background, the system periodically monitors
storage resource utilization across the appliances. Migration recommendations
are based on factors such as drive wear, appliance capacity, and health. If you
accept a migration recommendation, a migration session gets automatically
created. Migrating resources may require a rescan of all host adapters. I
applicable, before you begin the migration, a prompt to acknowledge rescan will
appear and list the hosts that require a storage rescan.

Note: migration always requires user action. In no case do storage resources


migrate automatically.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 63
Volume Migration - PowerStore Resource Balancer

Manually Migrate a Volume

Select the Volume

You may choose to manually migrate a volume to balance resources across


appliances.

In the example, Vol_1 is checked. The volume resides on TwoApplianceCluster-


appliance-1. Select the Migrate option to start the task.

Start Migration

The Migrate Volume window appears and provides the user with some useful
information about the migration. The example shows TwoApplianceCluster-
appliance-2 has been checked and is the destination appliance. Select Start
Migration to begin the task.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 64 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Volume Migration - PowerStore Resource Balancer

Rescan the Host

The Rescan Hosts window gives you a chance to rescan the host to ensure the
storage being migrated is still accessible after the migration completes. To rescan
the host, use the Rescan Disks option from the Computer Management window,
then check the box for Yes, the associated hosts have been rescanned. Once
the box is selected, the Start Migration button is available to select.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 65
Volume Migration - PowerStore Resource Balancer

Migrate the Volume

After starting the migration, you are presented with a message stating that system
performance may be impacted for several minutes during the migration. Select the
Migrate Now button to begin the migration. View the migration status from the
Internal Migration > Migration page.

Migration Status

Once the migration process starts, monitor the progress by viewing the Status
columns under the migrations window. Look for a Completed status indicating the
resource has been migrated.

The migration process goes though several states the first of which is
synchroninzing. During this phase, the majority of the background copy is

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 66 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Volume Migration - PowerStore Resource Balancer

completed and there are no interruptions to any services. Sync can be run multiple
times to reduce the amount of data that must be copied during the cutover.

The cutover phase is the final phase of the migration, when ownership of the
volume or volume group is transferred to the new appliance. Active I/O is supported
during the migration, however as a best practice, stop I/O to the volume being
migrated. Migration is asynchronous until the cutover occurs and can be paused or
cancelled anytime during the migration. Before cutover all volumes are fully
synchronized.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 67
Volume Migration - PowerStore Resource Balancer

Practice Manually Migrating a Volume Group

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 68 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Volume Migration - PowerStore Resource Balancer

Assisted Migration

Assisted Migration Example

You can manually move a storage resource. However, the PowerStore GUI can
also help with this process. In the example, there are two appliances, PS-2 and PS-
3. PS-2 is nearing full capacity and is forecast to run out of space in eight days. A
Major Alert is generated. PS-3 still has plenty of space available. Selecting the Alert
launches the Alert page.

Assisted Migration Remediation

Selecting the Assisted Migration option from the Repair Flow section returns a
list of volumes recommended for migration. The process chooses volumes that
impact performance and workloads the least. For example any unmapped volumes
or volumes that are mapped but are offline (in MS Disk Manager) or unmounted
(Linux) from the host perspective. The recommendations are refreshed every 24
hours. Note the message to warn you that rescan of all HBAs may be required prior
to the migration.

There may be a situation where after the migration, there are still capacity issues.
In this case, manually migrate the storage resource to solve the issue.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 69
Volume Migration - PowerStore Resource Balancer

Assisted Migration Results

To view the results of the the migration, look at the capacities of the appliances.
The PS-2 appliance still displays a capacity over the optimal 80 percent. In this
case, further manual remediation may be required.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 70 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Volume Migration - PowerStore Resource Balancer

Monitoring Jobs

Monitoring Jobs

Once a migration is started, Vol_3 displays a blue dot telling the user a migration
job is in progress on the volume.

Migration Status

Once the job starts, monitor the progress by navigating to the Migration > Internal
Migrations > Migrations tab to display the status. Selecting the Jobs icon also
displays the status of the migration.

Migration Options

The Delete and Pause buttons are available when the migration job starts. Select
the migration session and click on the appropriate button. Both options are
available while the job is in progress up to the point where the migration displays
the Cutting Over status.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 71
Volume Migration - PowerStore Resource Balancer

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 72 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Volume Migration - PowerStore Resource Balancer

PowerStore Resource Balancer Key Points

The PowerStore resource balancer uses analytics to balance storage resources


(volumes or volume groups) across appliances and nodes within a cluster.
 Volume Placement During Creation:
 When you create a new volume, there is an optional Placement setting that
specifies where to place the volume.
 By default, automatic placement takes place.
 Optionally, you can choose to place the new volume on a specific appliance.
 Migrating Volumes:

 There are two methods to migrate storage resources to other appliances in


the cluster. You can manually migrate storage resources, or the system can
assist in the resource movement.
 You may choose to manually migrate a volume to balance resources across
appliances. Before migration begins, you are prompted to rescan the host.
Migration can take several minutes and may impact system performance.
 If an appliance approaches full capacity, an alert is generated. Within the
alert, there is a Repair Flow section that provides a link for assisted
migration. Assisted migration automatically chooses volumes to move to
another appliance.

For more information, see the Dell EMC PowerStore Configuring


Volumes Guide on the Dell Technologies Support site.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 73
NAS Administration

NAS Administration

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 74 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
NAS Administration

NDMP Backups

NDMP Backups

Network Data Management Protocol (NDMP) is a backup and recovery protocol


use to transport data between NAS and backup systems. Once NDMP is enabled
a third-party Data Management Application (DMA), such as Dell EMC Networker,
detects the PowerStore NDMP using the NAS Server IP address.

PowerStore supports:
 3-way NDMP which transfers both backup data and metadata over the LAN.
– 2-way NDMP is not supported.
 Both full and incremental backups are supported.

Components:
 Primary Storage - Source system to be backed up. For example, PowerStore.
 Data Management Application (DMA) - backup application that coordinates the
backup sessions. For example, Dell EMC Networker.
– Other supported backup vendors include: NetBackup, BackupExec,
CommVault, IBM Spectrum, Veeam, and Netvault
– At the time of this publication, NetBackup, BackupExec, CommVault, and
IBM Spectrum require the PowerStore be shipped to the vendor for
certification
 Secondary Storage - back up target. For example, Data Domain.

DMA

Metadata Data

Data
Metadata Data

Primary
System Secondary
PowerStore System
(TLU)

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 75
NAS Administration

 Both data and metadata are transferred over LAN.


 Data is also transferred through the Backup Application.

– Backup Application and LAN are the bottleneck.

NDMP Configuration

From the Storage > NAS screen in PowerStore Manager:


1. Click the name of the NAS Server. In this example, it is NAS-NFS06. (This was
done on the previous screen.)
2. Click the Protection & Events card.
3. Toggle the Disabled/Enabled switch to Enabled.
4. Set the NDMP password.
5. Click Apply.

Default Username is ndmp

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 76 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
NAS Administration

Practice Creating an NDMP Backup

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 77
NAS Administration

Monitor Performance

NAS Server performance may be monitored through the PowerStore Manager.

1. From Storage > File Systems, select the name of the file system.
2. Click on Performance.

 Choose the Category or Categories to display


 Choose the time range to display
 Download the chart
 Chart key

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 78 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
NAS Administration

NAS Administration Key Points

After NAS services are installed, NAS administration includes creating and moving
NAS Servers, setting up NDMP backups, and Monitoring performance. Installing
the NAS service, creating and moving NAS servers are covered in the PowerStore
Implementation - Administration course. In this course we covered NDMP backup,
and monitoring performance. NAS Server administration takes place on the
Storage > NAS Servers screens.

On the NAS Server screens, you can:


 Modify a NAS Server name, description and Unix Directory Service Search
Order.
 Delete a NAS Server if there are no file systems configured on it.
 Move a NAS Server to a different node.
 View and manage NAS Server.
 Network settings, naming services, alerts, protection and events, sharing
protocols, and security parameters.

Addtional Key Points:


 Network Data Management Protocol (NDMP) is a backup and recovery protocol
use to transport data between NAS and backup systems.
 Only 3-way NDMP is supported. 2-way NDMP is not supported.
 Customer must use a Data Management Application (DMA), such as Dell EMC
Networker.
 Other supported third-party DMAs are: NetBackup, BackupExec,
CommVault, IBM Spectrum, Veeam, and Netvault.
 NAS Server performance may be monitored through PowerStore Manager.

 Main NAS Server performance indicators are Latency, IOPS, and


Bandwidth.
 Performance readings and charts can be downloaded.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 79
File System Administration

File System Administration

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 80 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
File System Administration

Enable File System Quotas

Track and limit drive space consumption by configuring quotas for file systems at
the file system or directory level. You can enable or disable quotas at any time, but
it is recommended to configure them during nonpeak production hours to avoid
impacting file system operations.

Note: You cannot create quotas for read-only file systems.

Quotas are supported on SMB, NFS, FTP, and NDMP, and multiprotocol file
systems.

There are three types of quotas you can put on a file system: User Quotas, Tree
Quotas, and User Quotas on a Tree Quota.

User Quotas - Limit the amount of storage consumed by an individual user storing
data on the file system.

Tree Quotas - Limit the total amount of storage consumed on the directory.

User Quotas on a Tree Quota - Limit the amount of storage consumed by an


individual user storing data on the quota tree.

Select File System

To set default quotas on a file system, go to Storage > File Systems. Select a File
system.

1. From the PowerStore Manager top menu, click Storage.


2. Click File Systems.
3. Select the file system that you want to enable quotas.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 81
File System Administration

The File Systems page opens.

Access User Quotas Properties

1. On the File Systems page, verify the correct file system is selected. In this
example SMB_FS07_2.
2. Select the QUOTAS card.
3. Select the USER QUOTA tab.
4. Select PROPERTIES.

The set default QUOTAS page opens.

Set Default Quotas Properties

The Quotas page, is where the defaults for all quotas (both user and tree) are
configured. We will discuss tree quotas later.

You can set a Soft Limit, a Hard Limit, and a Grace Period for all quotas.

A Hard Limit is an absolute limit on storage usage.

If a hard limit is reached for a user quota on a file system or quota tree, the user
will not be able to write data to the file system or tree until more space
becomes available. If a hard limit is reached for a quota tree, no user will be able
to write data to the tree until more space becomes available.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 82 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
File System Administration

A Soft Limit is a preferred limit on storage usage. The user is allowed to use
space until a grace period has been reached.

The user will be alerted when the soft limit is reached, until the grace period is over.
After that, an out of space condition is reached until the user gets back under the
soft limit.

1. Toggle switch to enable or disable quotas. Enable Quotas.


2. If preferred, set a Grace Period for All Quotas by days, hours, or minutes.
(The default is 7 days.)
3. If preferred, select Unlimited grace period.
4. Under Default User Quotas, configure a Soft Limit in MB, GB, or TB units.
5. Configure a Hard Limit in MB, GB, or TB units.
 To track space consumption without setting limits, set Soft Limit and Hard
Limit to 0, which indicates no limit.
6. Click UPDATE.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 83
File System Administration

Default Quotas Properties Updated

You are returned to the User Quotas page on the Quotas card. A message stating
"The default quota properties were updated." is shown. Note the Unix Name,
Unix ID, Windows SID, Windows Name, Soft Limit, Hard Limit, State and Tree
Path fields at bottom of the page.

1. Click + ADD to add a user.

Add User Quota

The Add User Quota slide-out panel opens.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 84 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
File System Administration

1. From drop-down, Select user Host Type. Host Type can be by Windows
Name, Windows SID, Unix Name, or Unix ID.
2. Depending on the host type, the fields below Host Type change.
 We chose by Windows Name. A Domain and Windows Name are
required.
3. Set Soft Limit, if custom limits are required.
4. Set Hard Limit, if custom limits are required.
 If both Soft and Hard limits are set to 0, space consumption is tracked only
and no limits configured.
5. Click ADD.

User Quota Created

You are returned to the User Quotas page on the Quotas card. A message stating
"The user quota was created." is shown. The added Windows user is shown.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 85
File System Administration

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 86 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
File System Administration

Activity: Enable User and Tree Quotas

Virtual lab for facilitated sessions:


 Enable User and Tree Quotas
 Create a User Quota
 Test the Defined Soft Limit in the User Quota
Policy
 Test the Defined Hard Limit in the User Quota
Policy

Movie on the next page recaps these file system


labs:
 Enable User and Tree Quotas
 Create a User Quota
 Test the Defined Soft Limit in the User Quota
Policy
 Test the Defined Hard Limit in the User Quota
Policy

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 87
File System Administration

Configure File System User Quotas Video

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 88 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
File System Administration

Configure Tree Quota

A Tree Quota limits the total amount of storage that is consumed on the directory.
You can use quota trees to:

 Set the storage limits on a project basis. For example, you can establish quota
trees for a project directory that has multiple users sharing and creating files in
it.
 Track directory usage by setting the tree quota hard and soft limits to 0 (zero).

If you change the limits for a quota tree, the changes take effect
immediately, without disrupting file system operations.

To set default quota trees on a file system, go to Storage > File System. Select a
File system.

Select File System

2
3

1. From the PowerStore Manager top menu, click Storage.


2. Click File Systems.
3. Select the file system that you want to enable quotas.

The File Systems page opens.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 89
File System Administration

Tree Quota Properties

1. On the File Systems page, verify the correct file system is selected. In this
example, SMB_FS07.
2. Select the QUOTAS card.
3. Select the TREE QUOTA tab.
4. Select PROPERTIES.

The set default QUOTAS page opens.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 90 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
File System Administration

Configure Default Tree Quotas Properties

1. If quotas have never been set, quotas are disabled by default. Toggle switch to
enable.
 If a Default User Quotas policy has been set, Tree Quotas inherits the
Default User Quotas parameters.
 Enable Quotas.
2. Under Grace Period for All Quotas, set a grace period by entering a number
and set by Days, Hours, or Minutes.
3. Click the radio button to enable an Unlimited grace period.
4. Configure a Soft Limit.
5. Configure a Hard Limit.
 The limits can be MB, GB, or TB.
6. Click UPDATE.

Default Tree Quotas Properties Updated

Once UPDATE is clicked, you are returned to the TREE QUOTAS page on the
QUOTAS card. A message stating "The default quota properties were updated." is

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 91
File System Administration

shown. Note the Path, Enforce User Quota, Soft Limit, and Hard Limit fields at
bottom of page

1. Click + ADD to add a tree path.

Add Tree Quota

The Add Tree Quota slide-out panel opens.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 92 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
File System Administration

1. Toggle to either Enforce User Quota or this Tree Quota.


2. Enter the tree path to a share.
3. Optionally add a description.
4. Add a Soft Limit.
5. Add a Hard Limit.
6. Click ADD.

Tree Quota Added

You are returned to the Tree Quotas page. A message stating "The tree quota was
added." is shown. The added Tree Quota is shown.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 93
File System Administration

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 94 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
File System Administration

Activity: Configure Tree Quotas

Virtual lab for facilitated sessions:


 Configure a Tree Quota
 Test the Tree Quota
 Create a User Quota on a Tree Quota
 Modify Tree Quota to Enforce User Quotas
 Test User Quota on a Tree Quota Configuration

Movie on the next page recaps these file system


labs:
 Configure a Tree Quota
 Test the Tree Quota
 Create a User Quota on a Tree Quota
 Modify Tree Quota to Enforce User Quotas
 Test User Quota on a Tree Quota Configuration

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 95
File System Administration

Configure Tree Quotas Video

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 96 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
File System Administration

View and Change File System Properties

From the Storage > File Systems screen, view information about file systems and
modify basic file system information.

View File System Information

From the Storage > File Systems screen in PowerStore Manager, view alerts, size
used, capacity, NAS server mappings, and protection policies.

Click the name of the file system to view its details. Click the checkbox of the file
system to enable features like the Modify button and More Actions menu.

Modify from File Systems Overview

From the Storage > File Systems screen in PowerStore Manager:


1. Select the file system to be modified. Modify one file system at a time.
2. Click Modify.
3. In the slide-out panel, modify the description or size and click Apply.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 97
File System Administration

Note: You cannot rename a file system.

 When changing the size, you can increase or decrease the file system
capacity.
 For file systems shared using the SMB protocol you can also change
advanced settings such as Sync writes and notification on writes.

Modify from File System Details

From the Storage > File Systems screen in PowerStore Manager, click the name of
the file system to view its details:
1. To modify the properties:
 Click the pencil icon to the right of the name. OR

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 98 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
File System Administration

 From the Actions menu, select Properties.


2. In the slide-out panel, modify the description, or size and click Apply.

 When changing the size, you can increase or decrease the file system
capacity.
 For file systems shared using the SMB protocol you can also change
advanced settings such as Sync writes and notification on writes.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 99
File System Administration

Activity: Modify File System Storage Capacity

Virtual lab for facilitated sessions:


 Extend the Capacity of a File System
 Reduce the File System Capacity

Virtual lab for facilitated sessions:


 Extend the Capacity of a File System
 Reduce the File System Capacity

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 100 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
File System Administration

Modify File System Storage Capacity Simulation

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 101
File System Administration

Unmount SMB Share

There are two ways for unmounting an SMB share from the Windows client: using
the File Explorer or through CLI commands.

From File Explorer:


1. Change the access to another folder out of the shared drive.
2. From the navigation tree on the left, right-click the drive that corresponds to
the mounted share.
3. Select Disconnect from the floating menu. The share is unmounted from the
drive.

From the Command Prompt:


 If inside the share, change the access to a directory outside of the directory
tree.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 102 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
File System Administration

 Use the net use command to verify the status of the share and the drive it is
mounted to.
 Run the command net use <drive:> /delete to unmount the NFS export.
You can verify that the drive is unmounted by running the net use command
again.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 103
File System Administration

Stop NFS Export Access

Unmount NFS Export

To unmount the NFS export from the Linux or UNIX client, use the operating
system umount command.

Linux command:

umount /<mountpoint>

To unmount the shared file system from the client, use the mount point it was used
to mount it.

In the example, the NFS export root that was mounted to the nfs folder was
unmounted from the Linux6 system.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 104 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
File System Administration

Remove NAS Client Access

2 4

Double-click the image for an enlarged view.

To remove the NAS client access to an existing NFS export, go to the FIle Systems
page and select the NFS Exports tab:
1. Check the NFS export
2. Select Host Access from the More Actions menu. The Host Access slide-out
panel is launched.
3. Select the checkbox of the NAS client to remove.
4. Click DELETE. The system displays a message that the host was removed.
5. Click APPLY to commit the changes.

The example shows that the linux6.hmarine.test server was removed from the list
of clients with access to the NFS export named root.

For this example, NAS client access to an existing NFS export can be removed.
However, if the Default Access was set differently, it would leave default access.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 105
File System Administration

Activity: Cancel File System Access

Virtual lab for facilitated sessions: Cancel File


System Access

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 106 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
File System Administration

Remove File System Shares

SMB Shares

Double-click the image for an enlarged view.

To remove an SMB Share, go to the FIle Systems page and select the SMB
Shares tab:
1. Check the SMB share.
2. Click DELETE. The system displays a message that the SMB Share will be
deleted.
3. Click DELETE to commit the operation.

This example shows that the Hmarine_Eng SMB share will be deleted from the
PowerStore cluster.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 107
File System Administration

NFS Exports

Double-click the image for an enlarged view.

To remove an NFS export, go to the FIle Systems page and select the NFS
Exports tab:
1. Check the NFS export
2. Click DELETE. The system displays a message that the NFS export will be
removed.
3. Click DELETE to commit the operation.

The example shows that the root NFS export was removed from the PowerStore
cluster.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 108 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
File System Administration

Delete File System

From the Storage > File Systems screen in PowerStore Manager:


1. Select the file system to be removed.
2. Click DELETE. The system displays a message that all associated shares and
export will be removed and the file system will be deleted. Note: All snapshots
must be deleted and any protection policy must be removed before delete for
the file system is available.
3. Click DELETE to commit the operation.

1 3

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 109
File System Administration

Activity: Delete File System and Parent NAS Server

Virtual lab for facilitated sessions: Delete File


System and Parent NAS Server

Simulation on the next page:


 Cancel File System Access
 Delete File System and Parent NAS Server

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 110 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
File System Administration

Cancel and Delete File System and Parent NAS Server


Simulation

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 111
File System Administration

File System Administration Key Points

File System administration takes place on the Storage > File Systems screens.

On the File Systems screens, you can:


 Enable, configure, and apply user and tree quotas on file systems.
 View and change file system properties.
 Mount and unmount SMB shares.
 Start and stop NFS exports.
 Enable and remove file system shares and file systems.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 112 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Efficiency

Data Efficiency

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 113
Data Efficiency

Overview

PowerStore arrays optimize capacity and improve storage efficiency using features
such as Zero Detection, Deduplication, and Compression. Zero detection,
Deduplication, and the Compression work together to reduce the physical amount
of storage that is required to save a dataset. Data Efficiency, also referred to as
Data Reduction and Storage Efficiency, results in a lower total operational cost.

Zero Detection logically detects and discards consecutive zeros, saves only one
instance, and uses pointers.

Deduplication uses algorithms to analyze, perform pattern detection, and attempts


to store only a single instance of data. In general deduplication can work at the
block, bit-level, or file level. In PowerStore, deduplication works at the block
level at 4 KB granularity.

Compression utilizes physical hardware to encode data using fewer bits than the
original representation. The compression hardware offloads the compression
operations from the appliance processors to save CPU cycles.

Thin Provisioning is also a data reduction feature of PowerStore. What it is and


how it work is beyond the scope of this discussion.

Utilizing a combination of thin provisioning, deduplication, and compression


techniques, PowerStore reduces the amount of data within the system and stores it
as efficiently as possible. The system controls these features and is always
enabled.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 114 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Efficiency

Data Efficiency Architecture

DRAM (System Cache) is used as a caching layer as data enters and exits the
system. All data passes through and interacts with DRAM memory. How the data
interacts with DRAM memory depends on if the I/O is a read or a write. How a read
and write I/O passes through DRAM memory is explained later.

Data Reduction Logic consist of Zero Detection, Deduplication algorithms


(MURMUR3 hashing and Pattern Matching), and Compression.

PowerStore employs hardware on node system boards that offloads


compression services from CPU.

Stripe Logic assembles the data into 2 MB stripes before writing to the data
drives.

Data Drives provide the physical capacity to the system to store data. If additional
enclosures are attached to the system, they also add to the usable capacity of the
system. Within PowerStore, any drives within the system that are not part of the
NVRAM cache drives contribute to a single, large, usable capacity within the
system. This space is shared for all resources within the system.

NVMe NVRAM Drives - Depending on the system model, two or four NVMe
NVRAM Drives are used as Write Cache within the system.

Battery backup is required as NVMe NVRAM drives contain both volatile and
nonvolatile media. The volatile media provides fast access speeds, and is used for
write caching within the system while the appliance is under normal operation. If
power is interrupted or the system is being powered off, the volatile write cache is
destaged to the nonvolatile media within the NVMe NVRAM drives. Once the write
cache information is safely stored, power is removed from the drives.

Each NVMe NVRAM drive is dual-ported, meaning each node has access to the
drives through internal connections and the information that is contained in them. If
needed, the peer Node can access the data as needed.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 115
Data Efficiency

DRAM
System Cache

Data Reduction Logic


Compression

2 MB Stripe Creation

2 or 4 NVMe
NVRAM
Data Drives Drives
(Write Cache)

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 116 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Efficiency

Write Operation

The graphic explains the process when the PowerStore receives a write request.

1 4

1: Step 1. In this example, an I/O enters Node B and is saved within the Node
DRAM memory. The I/O is analyzed to determine:

1. What type of I/O it is.


2. What resource it is intended for.
3. The location within the resource being updated or requested.
4. And other metadata information.

2: Step 2. If the I/O is determined to be a write, the data is copied into the write
cache on the NVRAM drives. After the information is stored within the write cache,
the information stored within the DRAM memory is considered clean as it no longer
has the latest copy of the information. This data then becomes part of the read
cache, until it is later replaced in cache by newer or more highly accessed data.

3: Step 3. For each write I/O that enters the system, the information is passed
between the Nodes using tokens. This operation updates the peer node that a new
write has been received and that it has the newest copy of the data. A token
includes information about the I/O such as what resource was updated and the
address within the resource that was updated. A token also includes information

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 117
Data Efficiency

about the location the I/O was saved to within the write cache. If the peer Node
requests that information, the Node can access the data within the NVRAM drives
using its own internal channels.

4: Step 4. After the information is safely stored on the nonvolatile media of the
NVRAM drives and all other actions are complete, the host is acknowledged.

5: Step 5. After the host is acknowledged, data is copied from the Write Cache and
is passed through the deduplication and compression logic. The remaining data is
then assembled into 2 MB stripes and saved to the back-end storage.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 118 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Efficiency

Read Operation

The graphic explains the process when the PowerStore receives a read request.

1. The host issues a read. The resource could be a volume, file system, or
datastore. First, the system must determine where the latest copy of the data being
requested is located.

2. The system reviews the resource’s private space to determine if the block has
been previously written, and if so, the system locates the current data.

3. Several things can happen here depending on where the data is located.

 If the data is a pattern, such as all 0’s or 1’s, the system re-creates the block
in DRAM memory. (Go to step 4 below.)
 If the latest copy is in the Node DRAM memory, the system sends the data to
the host.
 If the latest copy is in NVMe NVRAM drives, the system copies the data to
DRAM memory. (Go to step 4 below.)
 If the requested data resides on the data drives, it has been deduplicated and
compressed. The system examines the deduplication pattern and
determines the reference location. The system copies the data from the

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 119
Data Efficiency

reference location. The data is decompressed and the page is


reconstructed in DRAM memory. (Go to step 4 below.)

4. The system then sends the data to the host.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 120 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Efficiency

Locating Data Savings

To view the data reduction savings from PowerStore Manager, go to Dashboard


>> Capacity >> Data Savings. The system displays the following metrics for the
cluster:

Dashboard >> Capacity Tab

1 2

3 4

1: Capacity—Shows both the used and free storage capacity on the cluster.
Used—Physical capacity that is used by all appliances in the cluster. The
percentage and amount that is used are both available in this area.
Free—The amount of free physical capacity on the cluster.

2: Historical Usage—Presents a summary of cluster capacity data for a selected


time period. This section also includes the maximum and final values for that
period.
Physical—Total amount of physical space on the cluster. Includes used and free
space.
Used—Total amount of physical space used on the cluster.
Forecast—Physical space usage predicted based on historical space usage.
Forecast Range—Predicted range of physical space usage that is based on
historical space usage.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 121
Data Efficiency

The Historical Usage chart shows: the date and time along the x-axis against the
usage along the y-axis.

3: Data Savings—Displays space is saved using data reduction features.


Overall Efficiency—The computed ratio of the total provisioned space to the
physical space used.
(Space Efficiency Ratio% = Total Space Provisioned/Physical Space Used)

4: Top Consumers—Lists the volumes, volume groups, virtual machines, or


appliances in order of most used capacity.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 122 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Efficiency

Data Efficiency Calculations

Overall Efficiency

Overall Efficiency is the computed ratio of the Total Space Provisioned to the
Physical Space Used.

(Space Efficiency Ratio% = Total Space Provisioned/Physical Space Used)

Example:
 Five 2 GB volumes were provisioned with 1 GB of data that is written to each of
them.
 Each of the five volumes has one snapshot, for another five 2 GB volumes.
 All volumes are thinly provisioned with deduplication, and compression applied.
There are 2 GB of physical space used.

Overall efficiency would be (10 GB + 10 GB) / 2 GB or 10:1. Therefore, the


Efficiency_Ratio value is 10 in this example.

Five 2 GB volumes provisioned with 1


GB of data written to each.

Total Space Provisioned


2 GB
Space EfficiencyRatio% =
Snapshots
Physical Space Used

(10 GB + 10 GB) 20 GB
Space EfficiencyRatio% = =
2 GB 2 GB

Space EfficiencyRatio% = 10 : 1

All volumes are thinly provisioned with deduplication, and compression applied. 2 GB of physical space used.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 123
Data Efficiency

Thin Savings

Thin Saving is the ratio of volumes’ provisioned size to logical size used.

(Thin Saving Ratio% = Volumes’ provisioned size/logical used)

Example:
 Ten 2 GB volumes are provisioned.
 500MB (0.5 GB) of data is written to each of them.

Thin savings would be (10 x 2 GB) / (10 X 0.5 GB) or 4:1.

Ten 2 GB volumes provisioned with .5 GB of data written to each.

Volumes' Provisioned Size


Thin Savings Ratio% =
Logical Size Used

(10 x 2 GB) 20 GB
Thin Savings Ratio% = =
10 x .5 GB 5 GB

Thin Savings Ratio% = 4 : 1

Snap Savings

Snap Savings is ratio of the original space used by the snaps to the data uniquely
owned by the snaps.

(Snap Saving Ratio% = Snapshot Space Used/Data uniquely owned by the


snaps)

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 124 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Efficiency

Example:
 A volume has 2 GB of data when a snapshot is taken.
 After the snapshot is taken, 0.5 GB (500 MB) of the volume's data is
overwritten.

As a result, the snapshot has the original 2 GB of data written with 1.5 GB of data
shared with the volume and 0.5 GB unique data.

The snap savings would be 2 GB/0.5 GB or 4:1. The snapshot_savings value will
be 4 in this case.

Snapshot Space Used


Snap Savings Ratio% =
Unique Data Owned by
Snap
2 GB volume provisioned when a snapshot is taken.
2
Snap Savings Ratio% =
GB
.5 GB

Snapshot Savings Ratio% = 4 : 1

After the snapshot is taken, 0.5 GB (500 MB) of the Snapshot Savings Value = 4
volume's data is overwritten.

Data Reduction Ratio

The ratio of space which would have been taken if deduplication and compression
are not applied to the physical space occupied after deduplication and
compression.

(Data Reduction Ratio% = Space which would have been taken if


deduplication and compression are not applied / Physical Used Space with
Deduplication and Compression)

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 125
Data Efficiency

Example:
 A volume was written with 2 GB of data when a snapshot is taken.
 After the snapshot is taken, 0.5 GB (500 MB) of the volume's data is
overwritten.

As a result, the volume and the snapshot share 1.5 GB of data. The snapshot and
volume each owns 0.5 GB of unique data. Altogether, the volume and snapshot
own 2.5 GB of data. If all this data occupied 1 GB of space, the Data Reduction
Ratio would be 2.5 GB/1 GB or 2.5:1.

Space which would have been


taken if deduplication and
A volume was written with 2 GB of data
compression are not applied
when a snapshot is taken. Data Reduction Ratio% =
Physical Space Occupied after
After the snapshot is taken, 500 MB of Deduplication and
the volume's data is overwritten. Compression

2.5
Data Reduction Ratio% = GB
1 GB

Data Reduction Ratio% = 2.5 : 1

As a result, the volume and the snapshot share 1.5 GB of data. The snapshot and volume each owns 0.5 GB of unique data.
Altogether, the volume and snapshot own 2.5 GB of data. If all this data occupied 1 GB of space, the Data Reduction Ratio would
be 2.5 GB/1 GB or 2.5:1.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 126 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Efficiency

Data Efficiency Key Points

The Data efficiency features introduce space savings from zero detection,
deduplication, and compression processes. Data efficiency features are
automatically enabled and cannot be disabled.

Data Efficiency Key Points:


 The Data efficiency features introduce space savings from zero detection,
deduplication, and compression processes.
 Data efficiency features are automatically enabled and cannot be disabled.
 Deduplication works at the block level at 4 KB granularity.
 Data blocks written to DRAM and then to Write Cache on NVRAM drives.
 The Data Reduction process is only invoked when data is flushed out of Write
Cache to data drives.
 Data blocks are deduplicated, compressed, and then divided into 2 MB stripes
and written to data drives.
 To view data reduction savings from GUI, go to Dashboard > Capacity > Data
Savings.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 127
Data Virtualization

Data Virtualization

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 128 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Virtualization

PowerStore Integration with VMware vSphere

PowerStore is optimized for virtualized environments with its close integration with
VMware vSphere.

PowerStore provides the storage capabilities for the creation of specialized


VMware datastores in the vSphere environment which are shared by ESXi hosts.

 Volumes (Block) are discovered and mounted as VMFS datastores.


 Exported file systems are mounted as NFS datastores (only on PowerStore T
models).
 Storage Containers are mounted as VVol datastores.

NFS
Volume
Export

File System

Storage Container

VMware Storage

Discovery and connection to ESXi hosts on the network is accomplished through


host configurations using storage protocols, and VASA support configuration.

The PowerStore X configuration provides a hypervisor layer in addition to block


storage.
 VMware ESXi is the base operating system running on the PowerStore X
hardware.
 PowerStore X appliance uses a portion of the system resources and storage
space to run the PowerStore software VMs.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 129
Data Virtualization

The storage system works closely with existing VMware storage management and
integration features.
 VMware: vStorage APIs for Storage Awareness (VASA)
 VMware: vSphere APIs for Array Integration (VAAI)

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 130 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Virtualization

VASA Support

VCENTER SERVER

Capacity Modeling Storage usage vCenter client


VASA 3.0 protocol API Requests (SOAP
communication over HTTPS)

VASA Provider

Discovery and System and storage


monitoring object details
VMware vSphere

VVols

PowerStore includes an embedded VASA 3.0 provider. VASA gathers information


about the storage system, focusing on the storage container properties and data
services, and displays this information in vCenter. vCenter must be registered in
PowerStore Manager to enable this functionality. Each PowerStore cluster can only
be registered to a single vCenter instance.

PowerStore communicates with the ESXi server through APIs based on the VASA
protocol. VASA enables PowerStore appliances to request and display basic
information about the storage system, and the storage resources it exposes to the
virtual environment.

PowerStore Manager is capable of monitoring the status of the provisioned storage


resources:
 Monitor events without requiring continuous polling.
 Automation for configuration process

In general, a VASA session is created when a vCenter connects to the VASA


Provider using the VASA protocol. The protocol allows (and enforces) only one
session per vCenter. Sessions are created with information about the client (FC
and iSCSI initiators) for use in filtering results. Sessions are maintained in memory
only; they are not persisted across restarts. vCenter detects a failed session and
automatically starts a new session.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 131
Data Virtualization

Expand Capacity of VMFS Datastores

Volume Properties

Double-click the image for an enlarged view.

To increase the size of a VMFS datastore that is created with provisioned


PowerStore storage, you must perform the following:
 Change the volume size in PowerStore Manager.
 Refresh the size of the datastore in vSphere.

Open the Volumes page in PowerStore Manager by expanding the Storage


submenu and selecting Volumes.

Click the name of the volume that is provisioned to the ESXi host using the block
protocols.

The volume properties page opens. The available Information includes storage
consumption, system performance, alerts and event notification, associated
protection policy, and hosts mapped to the volume.

Select any of the tabs to see more details.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 132 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Virtualization

Change Volume Size

Double-click the image for an enlarged view.

From the properties page of the Volume mapped to the ESXi host, perform the
following operations:
1. Select the pencil icon on the right of the Volume name.
2. Increase the size of the volume. Note: Shrinking of volume size is not
supported in PowerStore!
3. Click APPLY to save the changes. The slide-out panel closes and the
information on the capacity tab is updated.

Refresh Datastore Capacity

Launch a vSphere Web Client session to the vCenter Server, and open the
Storage view from the menu.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 133
Data Virtualization

In the example, The size of VMFS_Datastore06 was increased by 10 GB. Double-click the image
for an enlarged view.

Select the VMFS datastore and the Configure tab.

Perform the the following operations on the General page:


1. Click INCREASE on the Capacity section. The Increase Datastore Capacity
dialog opens.
2. Select the disk/LUN to use to increase the size of the datastore capacity. Click
NEXT on the wizard to advance the step.
3. The system shows the amount for free space is available to expand the
datastore.
4. From the Partition Configuration dropdown menu, select Use "Free Space
10GB" to expand the datastore.
5. Observe the size of the new size of the datastore. Click FINISH to complete the
operation.
6. The VMFS datastore capacity now reflects the increase of the PowerStore
Volume size.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 134 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Virtualization

Activity: VMFS Datastore

Virtual lab for facilitated sessions:


 Create a VMFS Datastore from a PowerStore Volume
 Increase the Capacity of the VMFS Datastore

Simulation on the next page: Create a VMFS Datastore from


a PowerStore Volume and increase the capacity of the VMFS
Datastore.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 135
Data Virtualization

Work with a VMFS Datastore Simulation

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 136 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Virtualization

Modify Capacity of NFS Datastores

File System Properties

Double-click the image for an enlarged view.

The capacity of NFS datastores, from provisioned PowerStore storage, can be


increased or shrunk by following these operations:
 Change the file system size in PowerStore Manager.
 Refresh the capacity in vSphere.

Open the File Systems page in PowerStore Manager by expanding the Storage
submenu and selecting File Systems.

Click the name of the file system that is provisioned to the ESXi host using an NFS
export.

The file system properties page opens. The available Information includes storage
consumption, system performance, alerts and event notification, associated
protection policy, and the configured user and tree quotas.

Select any of the tabs to see more details.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 137
Data Virtualization

Change File System Size

Double-click the image for an enlarged view.

From the properties page of the file system that is shared with the ESXi host,
perform the following operations:
1. Select the pencil icon on the right of the file system name.
2. Change the size of the file system. In the example the size of the file system
was decreased.
3. Click APPLY to save the changes. The slide-out panel closes and the
information on the capacity tab is updated.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 138 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Virtualization

Refresh Datastore Capacity

In the example, The size of NFS_Datastore06 was decreased by 10 GB. Double-click the image for
an enlarged view.

Launch a vSphere Web Client session to the vCenter Server, and open the
Storage view from the menu.

Select the NFS datastore and the Configure tab.

On the General page click REFRESH on the Capacity section. When the refresh
completes, the updated capacity will be displayed.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 139
Data Virtualization

Modify Capacity of VVol Datastores

Storage Container Properties

Double-click the image for an enlarged view.

The capacity of VVol datastores, from provisioned PowerStore storage, can be


increased or decreased by following these operations:
 Change the storage container quota in PowerStore Manager.
 Refresh the capacity in vSphere.

Open the Storage Container page in PowerStore Manager by expanding the


Storage submenu and selecting Storage Container.

Click the name of the storage container that is provisioned to the ESXi using VASA
support.

The storage container properties page opens. The available Information includes
only storage consumption, and virtual volumes stored in the storage resource.

Select any of the tabs to see more details.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 140 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Virtualization

Change Storage Container Size

Double-click the image for an enlarged view.

Quotas can be enabled on storage containers. A high water mark determines when
an alert will be generated for the storage administrator.

From the properties page of the storage container that is attached to the ESXi host,
perform the following operations:
1. Select the pencil icon on the right of the storage container name.
2. Change the value of the storage container quota. In the example, the storage
container quota was increased.
3. Click APPLY to save the changes. The slide-out panel closes and the
information on the capacity tab is updated.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 141
Data Virtualization

Refresh Datastore Capacity

In the example, The size of VVol_Datastore06 was increase by 10 GB. Double-click the image for
an enlarged view.

Launch a vSphere Web Client session to the vCenter Server, and open the
Storage view from the menu.

Select the VVol datastore and the Configure tab.

On the General page click REFRESH on the Capacity section. The VVol datastore
capacity now reflects the change to the PowerStore storage container size.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 142 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Virtualization

Activity: Increase the Capacity of a VVol Datastore and


Migrate VM

Virtual lab for facilitated sessions: Increase the


Capacity of a VVol Datastore and Migrate VM

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 143
Data Virtualization

Monitor Virtual Volumes in Storage Container

List of VVols

Double-click the image for an enlarged view.

PowerStore discovers the details about the virtual volumes that are stored in the
storage container and displays them in PowerStore Manager.

Open the Storage Container page in PowerStore Manager by expanding the


Storage submenu and selecting Storage Container.

Click the name of the storage container that is provisioned to the ESXi using VASA
support.

Select the Virtual Volumes tab. The page displays the list of VVols stored in the
storage container.

VVols are storage objects that are provisioned automatically on a storage container
and store VM data.

You can monitor closely the status of any of the objects by selecting the ADD TO
WATCHLIST, and gather support material.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 144 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Virtualization

Virtual Volume Details

Double-click the image for an enlarged view.

Click the virtual volume name. The interface opens a page with storage capacity
consumption and system performance related to that particular virtual volume. In
the example, the vmdk object of the virtual machine VM_WIN6 was selected.

Alternative method for opening the same page in PowerStore Manager is as


follows:
 Expand the Compute menu and select Virtual Machines.
 Click the name of the virtual machine.
 Select the Virtual Volumes tab.
 Click the virtual volume name.

From the virtual volume page, select the pencil icon on the right of the virtual
volume identification. A slide-out panel. displays the virtual volume properties,
including in which appliance it is stored.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 145
Data Virtualization

Monitoring and Managing Virtual Machines

Virtual Machines

Double-click the image for an enlarged view.

PowerStore discovers the details about the virtual machines and the VVols that are
stored in the storage container and displays them in PowerStore Manager.

To monitor the VMs and its VVols in PowerStore Manager, expand the Compute
menu, and select the Virtual Machines option.

Select any of the tabs to see more details.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 146 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Virtualization

Virtual Machine Details

Double-click the image for an enlarged view.

PowerStore subscribes to VM object change events with no need for continuous


polling.

A storage administrator can verify the virtual machine details and observe if there
are any alerts for each virtual machine.

Click the name of the virtual machine to open its properties page.

Virtual Machine properties include reporting of granular I/O statistics, and active
management of virtual volumes and their related entities.

There is also information available on storage consumption, alerts and event


notification, and associated protection policy.

VM snapshots information is also displayed and can be managed from PowerStore


Manager.
 Protection policies can be assigned for automatic snapshot creation and
deletion.
 Manual snapshots can be taken and deleted.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 147
Data Virtualization

PowerStore sends a maximum of 20 simultaneous snapshot operations to


vSphere. Additional operations are queued in order to avoid overloading the
system.

Snapshot Schedule

3
2

Double-click the image for an enlarged view.

To protect the virtual machine select the Protection card.

From the Protection tab, click Assign Protection Policy to associate a policy:
1. From the list of existing policies, select the one that you want to associate with
the virtual machine.
2. Click APPLY to commit the changes.
3. Click ASSIGN to confirm association of the selected policy with the virtual
machine.

The policy now protects the virtual machine, and the underlying virtual volumes,
with local protection rules.

For policies that include a replication rule, only the snapshot schedule will be used.
Replication is not supported for virtual machines.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 148 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Virtualization

Manual Snapshots

Double-click the image for an enlarged view.

A storage administrator can manually take snapshots of a virtual machine at any


time.

From the Protection tab of the virtual machine properties page, perform the
following steps to manually create snapshots:
1. Click + TAKE SNAPSHOT. The slide-out panel displays the snapshot
attributes.
2. Optionally change the name of the snapshot to one that is easier to identify.
3. Click TAKE SNAPSHOT to commit the changes.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 149
Data Virtualization

Snapshots

Double-click the image for an enlarged view.

The snapshots that were taken manually or as a result of the policy schedule are
listed

VMware has a limit of 31 snapshots per virtual machine. Oldest scheduled


snapshots are automatically deleted when that threshold is reached.

Manually created snapshots are not deleted automatically when the snapshots
system limit is reached.

To delete a snapshot, you must select it and click DELETE.

To verify details about the VM snapshot and modify its properties, click MODIFY.
The slide-out panel provides a link to launch vCenter server.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 150 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Virtualization

vCenter Server

Double-click the image for an enlarged view.

From the vSphere Web Client session to the vCenter Server, select the ESXi host
under the Hosts and Clusters section.

Select the virtual machine created in the ESXi host.

From the Actions menu select Snapshots and Manage Snapshots from the sub-
menu.

The most recent snapshot is listed and you have the option to change its name or
revert the virtual machine to this point-in-time snapshot.

In the example the the VM_WIN6 virtual machine was selected, and the scheduled
snapshot is listed. Verify that it matches the same as in the PowerStore GUI.

Plugins

PowerStore supports Dell technologies tools that enhance its integration with
VMware. Some of the key plugins are listed here.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 151
Data Virtualization

Plugin Description

Virtual Storage Integrator (VSI) Enables provisioning, managing, and


monitoring storage from vSphere

vRealize Orchestrator (vRO) Streamline VMware and PowerStore


tasks through automation workflows

Storage Replication Adapter (SRA) Leverage Site Recovery Manager for


VMware disaster recovery

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 152 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Virtualization

Migrating Virtual Machines

VM Migration Overview

Double-click the image for an expanded view.

Native vSphere features can be used to help managing virtual machines placement
and storage utilization with PowerStore.

vMotion enables moving VM compute to PowerStore X appliances nodes.

Storage vMotion enables the migration of VM storage to a PowerStore storage


container.

Virtual machine VVols can also be moved between storage containers.

In the example, a storage container is created in cluster2 to be the destination for


virtual machines on a storage container in cluster1.

The steps for creating a storage container are explained in the PowerStore
Configuration course.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 153
Data Virtualization

Migrating VM Storage

Movie:
The web version of this content contains a movie.

From the vSphere Web Client session, select the ESXi host under the Hosts and
Clusters section.

Perform the following actions to migrate a virtual machine storage from one VVol
datastore to another:
1. Select the virtual machine hosted by the ESXi server.
2. Expand the Actions menu and select Migrate. The Virtual Machine Migrate
wizard launchs.
3. Select Storage Only as the migration type. Click NEXT on the wizard to
advance to next step.
4. Scroll down the available storage list and select the destination VVol datastore.
the datastore is listed as compatible. Click NEXT on the wizard to advance to
next step.
5. After reviewing the parameters for the operation, start the migration by clicking
FINISH. The system start the operation and closes the dialog.

The storage associated with the virtual machine shows as modified. In the
example, virtual machine is been migrated from VVol_Datastore06 to
VVol_Datastore02.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 154 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Virtualization

Placement

From a PowerStore Manager session to the destination cluster, expand the


Compute menu and select Virtual Machines.

The virtual machine that was migrated and its associated virtual volumes are now
placed in the destination storage container. Open the virtual machine properties
page and select the virtual volumes tab. All virtual machine volumes including
snapshots are moved during Storage vMotion operations.

In our example, the virtual machines and their virtual volumes that were once
stored in storage container VVOL_SC06 in cluster1 are now in storage container
VVOL_SC02 in cluster2 .

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 155
Data Virtualization

Activity: Manage Virtual Machine and VVols in PowerStore


Manager

Virtual lab for facilitated sessions: Manage Virtual


Machine and VVols in PowerStore Manager

Simulation on the next page covers these VVols


topics:
 Increase the capacity of VVol Datastore and
Migrate VM
 Manage Virtual Machine and VVols in
PowerStore Manager

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 156 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Virtualization

Work with VVols and Virtual Machines Simulation

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 157
Data Virtualization

Removing a Storage Container

Removing Storage Container

PowerStore supports the creation and management of multiple storage containers


on a cluster for multi tenancy requirements.

VVols are stored in storage containers which have a 1:1 mapping with the
VMware VVol datastores.

Before removing a storage container, the virtual machines and virtual volumes that
are stored in it must be migrated to another storage.

Only then unmount the VVol datastore from the ESXi host in the vSphere
environment, and remove the storage container in PowerStore Manager.

CLUSTER 1
Virtual Machine Virtual Machine

VVols VVols
1:1 relationship

STORAGE CONTAINER VVOL DATASTORE

POWERSTORE VSPHERE ENVIRONMENT

The tasks emphasized in the graphic are linked to provisioning storage for VVols support.

vSphere

Movie:
The web version of this content contains a movie.

From the vSphere Web Client session, select the ESXi host under the Hosts and
Clusters section.

Perform the following actions to unmount the VVol datastore in vCenter server:
1. Click Datastores.
2. Click the name of the datastore that you want to unmount.
3. Click VMs. Verfiy that the datastore does not contain any virtual machines.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 158 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Virtualization

4. From the Actions menu, select Unmount Datastore.


5. In the Unmount Datastore window, check the box next to each host that has the
datastore mounted. Click OK.

The VVol datastore is unmounted from the ESXi host.

PowerStore Manager

In the example, the storage container VVol_SC06 is removed from the storage system. Double-click
the image for an enlarged view.

Open the Storage Containers page in PowerStore Manager by expanding the


Storage sub-menu and selecting Storage Containers.

On the Storage Containers page, perform the following operations:


1. Select the storage container that is provisioned to the ESXi using VASA
support.
2. Click DELETE.
3. The Delete Storage Container dialog opens, warning the storage is about to
be removed. Click DELETE.

The storage container is removed from the storage system. The operation is useful
in scenarios where there is a need to reclaim some storage space and the storage
used by a VVol datastore must be decreased in size.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 159
Data Virtualization

Unregister vCenter and VASA Provider

PowerStore T

In PowerStore T models, the vCenter can optionally be unregistered if the vSphere


integration is no longer needed. The step must be performed manually in
PowerStore Manager.

To unregister a vCenter Server Connection you must select Compute from the top
menu, and vCenter Server Connection from the submenu.

The page shows that there is a vCenter Server that is connected to the storage
system. The available options include the update of the vCenter server IP address
or credentials, a link to the vSphere client, and the option to disconnect vCenter.

Click DISCONNECT to unregister the vCenter server. A dialog warns that the
storage system cannot provide VVol support if the operation is confirmed. Click
DISCONNECT.

The page displays that the vCenter server was disconnected. As stated earlier,
disconnecting vCenter is optional.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 160 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Virtualization

Double-click image for an enlarged view.

PowerStore X

In PowerStore X models, vCenter is automatically registered as part of initial


configuration. The vCenter server connection cannot be un-registered.

The only supported operation is the update of the IP address or account credentials
used for the connection which the same original vCenter server.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 161
Data Virtualization

Double-click the image for an enlarged view.

Remove VASA Provider

If PowerStore will not be used for VVol support at any time soon, consider also
unregistering it as a VASA storage provider in vCenter server.

To remove a PowerStore T system from the list of VASA storage providers, launch
a vSphere session to the vCenter Server and open the Hosts and Clusters view.

The dialog box is closed and the VASA record is eliminated from the list.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 162 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Virtualization

1
2

Double-click the image for an enlarged view.

Select the vCenter server on the left pane and open the Configure tab. Perform
the following operations from the Configure page:
1. Select the Storage Providers option from the sub-menu.
2. Select the VASA provider record to exclude.
3. Click Remove on the top menu.
4. Click YES to confirm the exclusion of the PowerStore cluster.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 163
Data Virtualization

Data Virtualization Key Points

Data Virtualization Key Points:


 PowerStore integrates well with VMware vSphere.
 Volumes (Block) are discovered and mounted as VMFS datastores.
 Exported file systems are mounted as NFS datastores (only on PowerStore T
models).
 Storage containers are mounted as VVol datastores.
 PowerStore includes an embedded VASA 3.0 provider that gathers information
about the storage system, focusing on the storage container properties and
data services, and displays this information in vCenter.
 vCenter must be registered in PowerStore Manager to enable this functionality.
Each PowerStore cluster can only be registered to a single vCenter instance.
 VMFS datastores can be created and their size increased after the
underlying volume size is increased.
 Create and change the volume size in PowerStore Manager.
 Refresh the capacity in vSphere. Go to Storage view > select VMFS
datastore > Configure.
 Note: Shrinking of volume size is not supported in PowerStore!
 NFS datastore size can be increased or decreased on their underlying
exported and mounted file systems.
 Change the file system size in PowerStore Manager.
 Refresh the capacity in vSphere.
 The Capacity of VVol Datastores can be modified on their underlying
Storage Containers.
 Change the Storage Container size in PowerStore Manager.
 Refresh Datastore Capacity in vSphere.
 Using PSM and vSphere you can:

 Monitor Virtual Volumes in Storage Container.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 164 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Virtualization

 Monitor, Manage, and Migrate Virtual Machines.


 Manually umount a VVol datastore and remove its storage container.
 Unregister vCenter and VASA Provider.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 165
Local Data Protection

Local Data Protection

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 166 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Local Data Protection

Taking a Snapshot of a Volume

Take a Snapshot

To take a manual snapshot of a volume, navigate to the Overview page of the


volume.

Double-click the image for an expanded view.

Then from the Overview page:


1. Select the Protection card.
2. Click Take Snapshot.

Specify Snapshot Details

On the snapshot slide-out panel, specify the snapshot information:

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 167
Local Data Protection

Double-click the image for an expanded view.

1. Accept the automatically generated name, or specify a new name for the
snapshot. In this case, a new name has been set.
2. Write a description for the snapshot, if desired.
3. Specify a Retention Policy.
4. Click Take Snapshot.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 168 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Local Data Protection

Snapshot Created

Double-click the image for an expanded view.

The new snapshot displays in the list of snapshots.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 169
Local Data Protection

Activity: Working with Snapshot Rules

Virtual lab for facilitated sessions:


 Change Snapshot Rule and Verify Automatically
Created Snapshots
 Take a Manual Snapshot of a Volume

Simulation on the next page: Verify and Modify a


Snapshot Rule

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 170 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Local Data Protection

Verify and Modify a Snapshot Rule Simulation

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 171
Local Data Protection

Restoring a Volume from a Snapshot

Snapshot Restore Preparation

The snapshot restore operation resets the data in the parent storage resource to
the point in time at which the snapshot was taken. If you restore a volume group, all
member volumes are restored to the point in time of the snapshot.

Server Volume

Snap1

Snap2

Snap3

Double-click the image for an expanded view.

Before restoring the volume from a snapshot:


1. Ensure that all hosts have completed all read and write operations to the
volume that you want to restore.
2. Disconnect any host accessing the volume. You may need to disable the host
connection on the host side.

Now the restore operation can be performed.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 172 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Local Data Protection

Volume Snapshot Restore Operation

1 4

Double-click the image for an expanded view.

To restore a volume from a snapshot:


1. Go to the More Actions menu of the volume, and select Restore from
Snapshot.
2. In the slide-out panel, check the box next to the snapshot that you wish to use
for the restore.
3. Dell recommends that you take a backup snapshot of the volume being
restored. You can change the snapshot name, if desired.
4. Click Restore.

After the restore operation completes, reconnect the server to the volume and
verify that the volume holds the expected data.

Volume Backup Snapshot

On the volume Overview page, the Protection Card displays the newly created
backup snapshot.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 173
Local Data Protection

Double-click the image for an expanded view.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 174 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Local Data Protection

Activity: Restore Volume from Snapshot

Virtual lab for facilitated sessions: Restore Volume


from Snapshot

Simulation on the next page: Restore Volume from


Snapshot

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 175
Local Data Protection

Restore Volume from Snapshot Simulation

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 176 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Local Data Protection

Accessing the Contents of a Volume Snapshot

Snapshot Restrictions

Mapping and unmapping snapshots to hosts is not supported in PowerStore.

Volume

Snap1

Server
Snap2

Snap3

Double-click the image for an expanded view.

With PowerStore snapshots, certain operations are not allowed:


 You cannot map a snapshot to a host.
 You cannot create a snapshot of a snapshot.
 To access the data within a snapshot, create a thin clone of the snapshot and
map it to a host.

Cloning a Snapshot

To access data contained in a snapshot, make a thin clone of the snapshot and
map the thin clone to a host.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 177
Local Data Protection

3a

3b

3c

2
3d
1

3e

3f

Double-click the image for an expanded view.

On the Overview page for the volume, go to the Protection card and:
1. Check the box next to the snapshot you want to thin clone.
2. On the More Actions menu, select Create Thin Clone Using Snapshot. The
Thin Clone slide-out panel appears.
3. On the slide-out panel:

a. Enter a name for the thin clone.


b. Enter a description (optional).
c. Choose a performance policy.
d. To map a host now, click Host Connectivity.
e. Select a protection policy (optional).
f. Click Clone.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 178 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Local Data Protection

Host View

Double-click the image for an expanded view.

With the clone mapped to a host, you can:


 Verify the contents of the snapshot.
 Copy missing files from the clone to the parent volume.
 Use the clone on a second host.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 179
Local Data Protection

File System Snapshots Overview

File System Snapshots Types:


 .Snapshot
– Read Only
– Accessed through previous versions or
.snapshot
 Protocol

 Read only
 Default type created by a Snapshot
Rule
 Accessed by creating a new SMB
share and/or NFS Export and choosing
snapshot
- Access is provided through the
parent NAS server
Note: Editing the name or the access type of
a file system snapshot is not possible.

Expiration:

File system snapshots can be set to not expire by choosing the No Automatic
Deletion option.

Snapshots created by a Protection Policy will have the following naming


scheme:
 Snapshot Rule Name_Resource Name_Timestamp with nano-time.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 180 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Local Data Protection

File System Snapshot Operations

Schedule a Snapshot for a File System

Add a protection policy with a snapshot rule to a file system to schedule a snapshot
for that file system. Click here for steps to create a Protection Policy. Click here
for steps to apply a protection policy to a file system.

Note: The Protection Policy cannot include a replication rule. Replication is not
supported on file systems.

Create a Manual Snapshot

From PowerStore Manager > Storage > File Systems > [File System] > Protection
Card > + Take Snapshot.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 181
Local Data Protection

Restore File System from Snapshot

Restoring a file system from a snapshot returns that file system to the state it was
in when the snapshot was taken.

To restore a file system from a snapshot:


1. Go to the More Actions menu of the file system, and select Restore from
Snapshot.
2. In the slide-out panel, check the box next to the snapshot that you wish to use
for the restore.
3. Dell recommends that you take a backup snapshot of the file system being
restored. You can change the snapshot name, if desired.
4. Click Restore.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 182 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Local Data Protection

File System Snapshot Refresh

When you refresh a file system snapshot, the contents of the snapshot are
overwritten with the current contents of the file system.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 183
Local Data Protection

Activity: Work with File System Snapshots

Virtual lab for facilitated sessions:


 Take a Manual Snapshot of a File System.
 Access the File System Snapshot from NAS
Client.

Simulation on the next page: Work with File System


Snapshots.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 184 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Local Data Protection

Work with File System Snapshots Simulation

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 185
Local Data Protection

Thin Clones

In PowerStore systems, create a thin clone of a file system, volume, volume group,
or volume/volume group snapshot. The thin clone is not a full backup of the original
resource. It is a read-write copy of the storage resource that shares blocks with the
parent resource. Access to the original resource is maintained.

Thin
Vol Clone
01
Application
1
Thin
Clone Application
Sna 1
p1 Application
Thin 2
Clone
Sna Sna
p3 Application
p2
3

Sna
p4
Base Volume Family

Applications:
 Development and test environments
 Parallel processing
 Online backup
 System deployment

With thin clones, you can establish hierarchical snapshots to preserve data over
different stages of data changes within a Base Volume Family.
 Data available on the source snapshot at the moment of thin clone creation is
immediately available to the thin clone. The thin clone references the source
snapshot for this data.
 Data resulting from changes to the thin clone after its creation is stored on the
thin clone. Changes to the thin clone do not affect the source snapshot,
because the source snapshot is read-only.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 186 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Local Data Protection

Creating a Thin Clone of a Volume

Create Thin Clone

To create a thin clone of a volume in PowerStore Manager, expand the Storage


submenu, and select Volumes.

Double-click the image for an expanded view.

Then from the Volumes page:


1. Select the volume that will be the thin clone Base Volume. The example shows
Vol01 selected.
2. Expand the More Actions submenu and select the Create Thin Clone using
Volume option.

Specify Thin Clone Details

On the Thin Clone slide-out panel, specify the thin clone information:

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 187
Local Data Protection

Double-click the image for an expanded view.

3. Name: Enter a name to identify the copy.


4. Description (optional): Enter a description for the thin clone.
5. Performance Policy: Select a Performance Policy consistent with the I/O
priority (High, Medium, or Low). The performance policies are provided with
PowerStore. You cannot create or customize performance policies. By default,
volumes are created with a medium performance policy.
6. Host Connectivity (Optional): Select a host to attach the thin clone to.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 188 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Local Data Protection

7. Protection Policy (Optional): Select a protection policy that contains snapshot


and replication rules applicable for the thin clone. A protection policy must be
created prior to associating it with a volume.
8. Click Clone to complete the operation.

Thin Clone Created

The new thin clone displays in the list of volumes.

Thin Clone Properties

To view the thin clone properties:

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 189
Local Data Protection

1. In the list of volumes, click the name of the thin clone (shown in blue text) to
view details.
2. Under Actions, select Properties.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 190 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Local Data Protection

Creating a Thin Clone of a Volume Group

Create Clone

To create a thin clone of a volume group in PowerStore Manager, expand the


Storage submenu, and select Volume Groups.

Double-click the image for an expanded view.

From the Volume Groups page:


1. Select the volume group to clone.
2. Expand the More Actions submenu and select the Create Thin Clone using
Volume Group option.

Specify Thin Clone Details

On the Thin Clone slide-out panel, specify the thin clone information:

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 191
Local Data Protection

Double-click the image for an expanded view.

3. Name: Enter a name to identify the copy.


4. Description (optional): Enter a description for the clone.
5. Protection Policy (Optional): Select a protection policy that contains snapshot
and replication rules applicable for the clone. A protection policy must be
created prior to associating it with a volume.
6. Click Clone to complete the operation.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 192 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Local Data Protection

Thin Clone Created

The new thin clone displays in the list of volumes groups.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 193
Local Data Protection

Creating a Thin Clone of a File System

Create Thin Clone

To create a thin clone of a file system in PowerStore Manager, expand the Storage
submenu, and select File Systems.

Double-click the image for an expanded view.

Then from the File Systems page:


1. Select the file system to clone. The example shows File System 01 selected.
2. Expand the More Actions submenu and select Create Thin Clone.

Specify Thin Clone Details

On the Create Thin Clone slide-out panel, specify the thin clone information:

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 194 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Local Data Protection

Double-click the image for an expanded view.

3. Name: Enter a name to identify the copy.


4. Description (optional): Enter a description for the thin clone.
5. Click Clone to complete the operation.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 195
Local Data Protection

Thin Clone Created

The new thin clone displays in the list of file systems.

Thin Clone Properties

To view the thin clone properties:

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 196 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Local Data Protection

1. In the list of file systems, click the name of the thin clone (shown in blue text) to
view details.
2. Under Actions, select Properties. Most settings are inherited from the source
file system.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 197
Local Data Protection

Creating a Thin Clone of a Volume Snapshot

Create Clone

You can create a thin clone of a volume snapshot or volume group snapshot. You
cannot create a thin clone of a file system snapshot.

To create a thin clone of a volume snapshot in PowerStore Manager:


 Expand the Storage submenu, and select Volumes.
 Click a volume that has a snapshot that you want to clone:

The example shows the overview for Vol01.

Double-click the image for an expanded view.

Then from the volume's Overview page:


1. Select the Protection card.
2. Select the check box next to the snapshot you want to copy.
3. Under More Actions, select Create Thin Clone Using Snapshot.

Specify Clone Details

On the Thin Clone slide-out panel, specify the thin clone information:

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 198 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Local Data Protection

Double-click the image for an expanded view.

4. Name: Enter a name to identify the copy.


5. Description (optional): Enter a description for the clone.
6. Performance Policy: Select a Performance Policy consistent with the I/O
priority (High, Medium, or Low). The performance policies are provided with
PowerStore. You cannot create or customize performance policies. By default,
volumes are created with a medium performance policy.
7. Host Connectivity (Optional): Click on the blue text or the icon to select a host
to attach the clone to.
8. Protection Policy (Optional): Select a protection policy that contains snapshot
and replication rules applicable for the clone. A protection policy must be
created prior to associating it with a volume.
9. Click Clone to complete the operation.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 199
Local Data Protection

Clone Created

The new clone displays in the list of volumes.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 200 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Local Data Protection

Activity: Creating a Thin Clone

Virtual lab for facilitated sessions: Creating a Thin


Clone

Simulation on the next page: Create a Thin Clone

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 201
Local Data Protection

Create a Thin Clone Simulation

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 202 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Local Data Protection

Volume Thin Clone Hierarchy

Thin Clone Terminology

The snapshots and thin clones for a volume, volume group or storage container
form a hierarchy. These terms are used to describe this hierarchy:

Term Definition

Source A volume, volume group or snapshot of a volume or volume


group that is used as the source for thin clone create and
refresh operations. The source can change when the clone
is refreshed.

Base volume, base The founding (production) volume, volume group, or base
volume group, base storage container for derivative snapshots and thin clones.
storage container

Family A volume, volume group or base storage container and all its
derivative thin clones and snapshots. This family includes
snapshots and thin clones of the storage resource.

Parent The original parent storage container, volume, volume group


or thin clone for the snapshot. This resource does not
change when a thin clone is refreshed to a different source
snapshot, because the new source snapshot must be in the
same base volume, volume group, or storage container
family.

Thin Clone Hierarchy

The base volume family for Volume 1 includes all of the snapshots and thin clones
shown in the diagram.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 203
Local Data Protection

Volume 1

Snapshot 1 Snapshot 2

Thin Clone 1 Thin Clone 2

Snapshot 3

Thin Clone 3

Base Volume Family

For Thin Clone 2:


 The source snapshot is Snapshot 2.
 The family is Volume 1.
 The original parent is Snapshot 2.

For Thin Clone 3:


 The source snapshot is Snapshot 3.
 The family is Volume 1.
 The original parent resource is Snapshot 3.

Now, if Thin Clone 3 is refreshed to Snapshot 1:


 The source snapshot changes from Snapshot 3 to Snapshot 1.
 The family is still Volume 1.
 The original parent resource is still Snapshot 3.

Clone Properties

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 204 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Local Data Protection

You can view the base resource, parent, and data source of a volume by
examining its properties.

To view the properties of a clone or any other volume:


 In the list of volumes, click the name of the clone (shown in blue text) to view
details.
 Under Actions, select Properties.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 205
Local Data Protection

Volume/Volume Group Refresh Operations

Refresh Functionality

Using the refresh operation, you can update a storage resource with data from
another resource within the same family.

When you refresh a storage resource, the existing data is removed, and the data
from the source resource is copied to it.

The source and destination resource must be in the same volume family.

Snapshots of Volumes, Volume Groups, and Thin Clones are read only, and
cannot be refreshed.

refresh

refresh Volume 1

Snap 6 Data Flow


refresh
refresh refresh

Clone1 Clone 2 Clone 3


Pointing to source volume
Snap 1 refresh

refresh Snap 3 Snap 4 Snap 5


Snap 2

Note: For simplicity, diagram does not show every possible refresh operation.

Double-click the image for an expanded view.

Refreshing a Storage Resource from a Volume or Clone

To refresh a storage resource from a volume, go to the More Actions menu of the
storage resource, and select Refresh using Related Volume.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 206 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Local Data Protection

Double-click the image for an expanded view.

Refreshing a Storage Resource from a Snapshot

To refresh a storage resource from a snapshot, go to the More Actions menu of


the snapshot, and select Refresh using Snapshot.

Volumes/Thin Clones Refresh Supported Operations

Object to Refresh Refresh From Supported

Volume Thin Clone Yes

Volume Thin Clone Snapshot Yes

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 207
Local Data Protection

Volume Volume Snapshot No*

Thin Clone Parent Volume Yes

Thin Clone Volume Snapshot Yes

Thin Clone Thin Clone Snapshot Yes**

* Use the Restore operation instead.

** Refreshing from a snapshot of a peer, in-family, Thin Clone is supported. If the


snapshot is of the Thin Clone being refreshed, utilize the Restore operation.

Volume Groups/Thin Clones Supported Operations

Object to Refresh Refresh From Supported

Volume Group Thin Clone Yes

Volume Group Thin Clone Snapshot Yes

Volume Group Volume Snapshot No*

Volume Group Thin Parent Volume Yes


Clone

Volume Group Thin Volume Snapshot Yes


Clone

Volume Group Thin Thin Clone Snapshot Yes**


Clone

*Use the Restore operation instead.

**Refreshing from a snapshot of an in-family Thin Clone is supported. If the


snapshot is of the Thin Clone being refreshed, utilize the Restore operation.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 208 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Local Data Protection

Local Data Protection Key Points

PowerStore storage systems provide local data protection features that include
include block and file snapshots and thin clones.
 Volume and Volume Group Snapshots:
 You can manually take a snapshot of a volume or volume group by viewing
the details of that volume or group, and navigating to the Protection card.
 You can set the name, description, and retention policy of that snapshot
when you create it.
 You can use the snapshot to restore the parent volume or volume group to
the point in time that the snapshot was created.
 Snapshots cannot be mapped to a host. To view the contents of a snapshot,
you must first clone the snapshot then map the clone to a host.
 File System Snapshots:
 There are two different types of file system snapshots: Snapshot and
Protocol. The snapshot rule used to create the snapshot specifies which
type of snapshot to create.
o Snapshot type snapshots is read only and can be accessed through
previous versions or .snapshot
o Protocol type snapshots are read only and can be exported as an SMB
share, NFS export, or both.
o You can share and mount the Protocol type on a client like any other
file system.
 The snapshot type determines the method used to access the snapshot
contents.
 You can use the restore function to return a file system to the date and time
that the snapshot was captured.
 For file system snapshots, the refresh function updates the snapshot with
the current contents of the file system.
 Thin Clones:

 You can create a thin clone of a file system, volume, volume group, or
volume/volume group snapshot.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 209
Local Data Protection

 The thin clone is not a full backup of the original resource. It is a read-write
copy of the storage resource that shares blocks with the parent resource.
 Thin clones can be mapped to a host for read-write access.
 Thin clones and snapshots, along with the original volume used to create
them, make up a base volume family.
 For Volume/Volume Group thin clones, the refresh operation completely
replaces the contents of another member of the base volume family.

For more information, see the PowerStore Protecting Your Data on


the Dell Technologies Support site.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 210 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Remote Protection - Replications

Remote Protection - Replications

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 211
Remote Protection - Replications

Manage Replications

Replication operations include (click the > to expand the operation):

1. Planned failover

Planned failover is initiated from the source to the destination. An alert is


generated that a failover has occurred. In this example, the checkmark to
reverse the source and target was not selected. If the checkmark is selected
the direction of the replication between the source and the target will be
reversed after the failover. If the checkmark is not selected the replication will
pause after the failover.

Primary DC

DR/Backup DC

2. Failover

Conversely a failover that is unplanned, is initiated from the destination


system. Perform a failover after events such as source system failure, or
events that cause downtime for production access on the source system.
When the connection to the source system is reestablished, the original source
resource is placed into destination mode. You can restore the system from the
latest data or any point-in-time snapshot after a restore. Reprotect the

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 212 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Remote Protection - Replications

replication session to synchronize the destination storage resource, and then


resume the replication session.

Primary DC

DR/Backup DC

3. Synchronization

Synchronization is initiated from the source and asynchronously updates the


destination with new information from the previous synchronization cycle.
Synchronization happens either automatically, according to a set schedule, or
manually.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 213
Remote Protection - Replications

Primary DC

DR/Backup DC

4. Pause and Resume

Pause

Pausing replication is initiated on the source or destination system. An alert


is generated indicating that the replication is paused. Resuming is initiated on
source or destination system, whichever was used when pausing the
replication. Pausing and resuming the replication session does not delete the
replication session.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 214 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Remote Protection - Replications

Primary DC

DR/Backup DC

Resume

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 215
Remote Protection - Replications

Primary DC

DR/Backup DC

5. Remove

Removing a replication session is initiated on the source system by removing


the protection policy from the Volume or Volume Group on the source system.

Removing the protection policy from a storage resource results in the


following:

 The destination storage resource stays in read-only mode.

 You can restore or delete the data from the storage resource.

 You can also change it to a production resource from the Properties page
of the destination resource.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 216 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Remote Protection - Replications

Remove Protection Policy Primary DC


from Volume / Volume
Group

DR/Backup DC

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 217
Remote Protection - Replications

Manage Replications - Failover

Failover

A failover is executed after an unplanned event, including source system failures,


or an event on the source system that leads to down time for production access.
Failover is run from the destination storage resource.

A failover promotes the destination replica to production, that has a data state
consistent to the last successful RPO synchronization state.

To start failover:
1. From Protection drop-down menu, click Replication.
2. Select replication session.
3. Click Failover.
4. Click FAIL OVER.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 218 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Remote Protection - Replications

Manage Replications - Planned Failover

Once created, replications can be synchronized, paused, removed, or used during


planned failover.

Planned Failover

Examples of when to use a planned failover include:


 Maintenance at primary site.
 Testing of disaster recovery plan.

During a planned failover, a replication session is manually failed over from the
source system to the destination system. The destination system is fully
synchronized with the source system before the failover and there is no data loss.

Planned failover is run from the source prior to a planned outage. Both source
and destination systems must be available.

During a planned failover, you can:


 Delete the replication session by removing the protection policy on the storage
resource.
 Perform a failover.

Important: Before performing a planned failover, stop I/O operation


for any applications and hosts. A replication session cannot be
paused during a planned failover.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 219
Remote Protection - Replications

To start planned failover:


1. From Protection drop-down menu, click Replication.
2. Select replication session.
3. Click Planned Failover.
4. Check Reverse the direction of replication between the source and the
target after the failover is complete.
5. Click FAIL OVER.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 220 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Remote Protection - Replications

Manage Replications - Synchronization

Synchronization

Synchronization updates the destination with the changes on the source from the
previous synchronization cycle. Any size or membership changes are synchronized
on the source.

Synchronization occurs automatically according to a schedule, or manually.

Replication sessions may be synchronized in the following states:


 Operating normally

During replication synchronization, the following actions may be taken:


 Planned failover from the source system
 Failover from the destination system
 Pause replication sessions from the source or destination system
 Delete a replication session by removing a protection policy

Important: If synchronization fails, the replication session is placed in


a paused state. When the system recovers, the replication session
continues from the same point when the system was paused.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 221
Remote Protection - Replications

To start synchronization:
1. From Protection drop-down menu, click Replication.
2. Select replication session.
3. Click SYNCHRONIZE.
4. Click SYNCHRONIZE on the pop-up.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 222 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Remote Protection - Replications

Manage Replications - Pause and Resume

Pause and Resume

The Pause and Resume functions are available in PowerStore Manager from the
Protection drop-down menu. Pause pauses the replication session and Resume
resumes the replication session.

To Pause and Resume a replication session:


1. In PowerStore Manager, select Protection.
2. From the Protection drop-down menu, select Replication
3. Select the replication session to pause.
4. Click PAUSE.
5. Click PAUSE on the pop-up.

Click the arrow to proceed to the next image.

Click the arrow to proceed to the previous image.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 223
Remote Protection - Replications

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 224 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Remote Protection - Replications

Click RESUME to resume the


replication session

An alert is generated
when the replication
session is paused.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 225
Remote Protection - Replications

Manage Replications - Remove

Remove Replication Session

If a replication session no longer meets the business needs, it may be removed. To


remove a replication session, unassign the protection policy from the replicating
volume. Only remove the protection policy from the source volume, an error may
occur if you try to remove the protection policy from the destination system.

Note: When a replication session is removed, the destination replica is still present.

Click the arrow to proceed to the next image.

Click the arrow to proceed to the previous image.

Notice that there are four replication sessions.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 226 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Remote Protection - Replications

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 227
Remote Protection - Replications

Notice that there are three replication sessions.

To Unassign a Protection Policy:


1. In PowerStore Manager, select Storage.
2. From the Storage drop-down menu, select Volumes.
3. Select the volume with the protection policy that is associated with the
replication session you are removing.
4. Click More Actions.
5. Click Unassign Protection Policy.
6. Click UNASSIGN on the pop-up.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 228 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Remote Protection - Replications

Manage Replications Practice

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 229
Remote Protection - Replications

Remote Protection - Replications Key Points

Key Points:
 Planned Failover is initiated from the source and unplanned failover is initiated
from the destination.
 You click the Planned Failover or Failover buttons to start the processes.
 Synchronization is initiated from the source and asynchronously updates the
destination with new information from the previous synchronization cycle.
 Pausing and resuming replication is initiated on the source or destination
system.
 After a removing a replication session, the destination replica remains.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 230 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Encryption

Data Encryption

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 231
Data Encryption

Overview

Tampering with data violates data integrity, and data theft compromises data
availability and confidentiality. PowerStore uses Data At Rest Encryption (D@RE)
to help protect against data tampering and data theft. D@RE guards against
threat agents reading content from any of the drives, even if the drives are removed
from the PowerStore or are physically disassembled.

For encryption to work, these components are required:


 Self-Encryption Drives (SEDs)
 Key Manager Service (KMS)

Data Encryption protects against data tampering and data theft in the following use
cases:
 Drive is stolen from a system and a threat agent attempts to access the data on
the drives.
 Attempts to read data during transit of any drive to another location.
 Attempts to read data even if drive is broken or discarded.

Due to possibility of data loss the keystore file must be backed up and
saved before and after adding or removing any drive in the system!

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 232 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Encryption

Architecture

SEDs

All Powerstore systems leave the factory with encryption enabled except
units destined for countries where encryption is not allowed or countries that
are restricted by the United States federal government.

PowerStore encrypts the data as close to its origin as possible by using SEDs.
SEDs have dedicated hardware on each drive to encrypt and decrypt data as it is
written or read.

An SED performs Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 256-bit encryption on all


data that is stored on that drive. The AES 256-bit Encryption standard is National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Trusted Computing Group (TCG)
compliant. Supporting encryption industry standards allows PowerStore to be sold
to US Federal agencies and companies that require equipment to be TCG
compliant.

 All PowerStore drives ship with D@RE enabled and are FIPS-140-2 Level 1
certified.
 Encryption is automatically activated during the initial configuration of a
cluster, except for systems that destined for countries where encryption is
restricted. For countries where encryption is prohibited, non-encrypted systems
are available.
 In countries where encryption is allowed, there is no way to disable data
encryption.
 When a new appliance joins an existing encrypted cluster, a check is run to
ensure that the appliance is encryption capable.

You cannot add a non-self-encrypting drive to an appliance.


You cannot add an unencrypted appliance to an encrypted cluster.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 233
Data Encryption

KMS

PowerStore uses an embedded Key Manager Service (KMS) that resides in the
Base System Container (BSC) of the Active node of each appliance in the
cluster. The BSC on the active nodes work together and automate the
management of all encryption keys.

Each appliance has an independent keystore. All keys are aggregated to the
Master appliance in a cluster. A collective cluster backup of the keys can be run
from the master appliance. No external key management is available in the
initial release of PowerStore.

If for any reason the KMS fails or the key file cannot be read, encrypted data on
drives cannot be retrieved. It is very important to backup the keystore.

PowerStore Cluster

Appliance 1 Appliance 2 Appliance 3


(Master) (Standby) (Standby)

Node 1A Node 1B Node 2A Node 2B Node 3A Node 3B


(Active) (Active) (Active)

BSC BSC BSC BSC BSC BSC

KM Collective
KM KM
Key Backup
S S S

Audit Audit Audit


Event Event Audit/Alert Event Audit/Alert
s/Events s/Events
Cluster Cluster
DB DB
Audit/Alert
s/Events

If for any reason the KMS fails or the keystore file cannot be read,
encrypted data cannot be retrieved! This is why it is very important to
backup the keystore file often and before and after any drive add or
remove procedure.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 234 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Encryption

Encryption Status

Encryption status for an appliance is reported at the following levels:

 Cluster
 Appliance
 Drive

Cluster Level

Cluster level encryption status reflects whether encryption is enabled on the


cluster. It is not related to drive status.

Appliance Level

Encryption status of an appliance appears as one of the following:

 Encrypted – Encryption capability is enabled on the appliance.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 235
Data Encryption

 Unencrypted – Encryption capability is not supported on the appliance.


 Encrypting – Appears during the encryption activation process. When the
encryption process completes successfully, the cluster level encryption status
appears as Encrypted.

Drive Level

The encryption status is shown at the individual drive level on the Hardware tab of
the Hardware > Appliance page:
 Unsupported – The drive does not support encryption. (Not_Supported)
 Unknown – The appliance has not yet attempted to enable encryption on the
drive. This status may be seen during initial encryption activation on an
appliance, or during the addition of new drives to a configured appliance.
 Foreign – The drive is supported, but was taken from another system. The
drive must be decommissioned before it can be used.
(Supported_Locked_Foreign). This requires the help of Dell EMC support.
 Encrypting – The appliance is enabling encryption on the drive. This status
may be seen during the initial activation of encryption, or during the addition of
new drives to a configured appliance.
 Encrypted – The drive is encrypted. This is the typical state of a drive in an
appliance that is encryption capable.
 Disabled – The drive cannot have encryption enabled due to country-specific
import restrictions. If any drives report this status, all drives in the cluster will
report the same status.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 236 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Encryption

Drive Operation

 A drive failure that is detected during activation results in an alert.


 Possible alerts are: Unsupported drive or Foreign drive
 User interaction is required to fix the issue.
 A drive status of Foreign means that the drive was taken from another system.

 Using a drive from another system is discouraged, however it can be done


with the assistance of Dell EMC support.
 To repurpose the drive from a different system to a a PowerStore, you must
use a unique PSID number that is obtained from the physical label on the
drive.
 PSID example: "UW4TH8J9PB1RTCAXBERTG2KXCAU9UDVS"

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 237
Data Encryption

User Actions

Keystore Alerts

D@RE uses the same alert framework as the cluster.

To access encryption alerts in the PowerStore Manager, go to Monitoring >


Alerts.

An alert that New keystore changes have occurred indicates that you should
download the backup keystore and save it for a future restore as required.

Back up Keystore

Backup
 A backup from the master appliance is an aggregate of keystore per cluster.
 An alert is generated whenever any appliance has key changes.
 All keystore backups are synchronized with the primary.

To back up a keystore go to Settings > Encryption > DOWNLOAD KEYSTORE


BACKUP > INITIATE DOWNLOAD.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 238 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Encryption

Keystore backup files are stored on a laptop or backup server.

Restore Keystore from Backup

NOTE: To restore a keystore backup in case of a failure, contact your service


provider. Dell EMC Technical Support have procedures to restore a keystore.

Audit Logs

On the PowerStore Manager Audit Log page, find events related to D@RE, such
as download-backups, and restores.

Audit Logs are located at Settings > Audit Logs.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 239
Data Encryption

Repurpose Drive

An SED is locked when an appliance is initialized or when it is inserted into an


already initialized appliance. The drive cannot be used in another system without
first being unlocked. The locked drive becomes unusable when it is inserted into a
different appliance, and its encryption status appears as Foreign or does not show
in the GUI or CLI. A drive can be re-purposed for the new appliance, however, all
existing data on the drive will be lost.

Note: Using a drive from another system is discouraged, however it can be done
with the assistance of Dell EMC support.

Note: To repurpose a drive for use in PowerStore, contact your service provider.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 240 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Encryption

Serviceability

Here is an overview of some steps that you can take when troubleshooting
encryption issues:
1. Check cluster encryption status.
2. Check drive encryption status.
3. Check audit log for KMS events.
4. With assistance from your service provider, restore the appropriate archived
keystore file that was previously saved.

Array Decommission

If a PowerStore is no longer needed, it can be decommissioned. An array


decommission is invoked as part of leaving the cluster and as part of a
reinitialization. No user action is required.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 241
Data Encryption

Data Encryption Key Points

Data Encryption Key Points:


 PowerStore uses Self-Encryption drives, keys and an internal key manager.
 In countries where encryption is allowed, there is no way to disable data
encryption.
 Encryption status for an appliance is reported at the cluster, appliance and drive
levels.
 To access encryption alerts in the PowerStore Manager, go to Monitoring >
Alerts.
 An alert is generated whenever any appliance has key changes.
 All keystore backups are synchronized with the primary.
 A backup from the master appliance is an aggregate of keystore per cluster.
 To back up a keystore go to Settings > Encryption > DOWNLOAD
KEYSTORE BACKUP > INITIATE DOWNLOAD.
 When troubleshooting encryption issues:
 Check cluster and drive encryption status.
 Check audit log for KMS events.
 IMPORTANT: Due to possibility of data loss the keystore file must be backed
up and saved before and after adding or removing any drive in the system!
 Seek assistance from your service provider to restore an archived keystore file.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 242 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Reporting/Analytics Using CloudIQ

Data Reporting/Analytics Using CloudIQ

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 243
Data Reporting/Analytics Using CloudIQ

Introducing CloudIQ

CloudIQ is a no cost, cloud-native application that proactively monitors and


measures overall health of Dell EMC storage systems through comprehensive and
predictive analytics. CloudIQ is web-based and available anywhere.

CloudIQ features include:

Centralized Monitoring. Predictive Analytics. Proactive Health


Monitor the performance, CloudIQ recognizes Scores. Potential risks
capacity, configuration, anomalies in the patterns are identified before they
and data protection of of usage for systems, impact the environment.
multiple systems. predicting capacity and
performance.

Requirements for PowerStore include:


 SupportAssist must be successfully configured with CloudIQ enabled
 Valid service tag
 Valid PowerStore cluster ID
 Internet access to https://cloudiq.emc.com.
 Registration with support.emc.com

Basic registration process:


1. Register with support.emc.com or through DCEE Digital Customer Experience
and Enablement.
2. SupportAssist access must be enabled for any PowerStore systems that are
linked to CloudIQ. CloudIQ relies on payloads that are sent to SupportAssist
and forwarded to CloudIQ.
3. After registration, log in to https://cloudiq.emc.com.
4. Add PowerStore clusters to CloudIQ using the service tag and cluster ID.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 244 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Reporting/Analytics Using CloudIQ

PowerStore Data in CloudIQ

In order for PowerStore to share data with CloudIQ, SupportAssist must be


enabled in PowerStore Manager, with the Connect to CloudIQ checkbox
selected. Any of the four connection types may be selected.

Enable CloudIQ during the Initial Configuration Wizard, or later by going to


Settings > SupportAssist.

SupportAssist enabled

Connect to CloudIQ

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 245
Data Reporting/Analytics Using CloudIQ

Using CloudIQ Views with PowerStore

The CloudIQ application is intuitive. Information is visual and accessed by clicking


the options on the left navigation. Experiment on your own using the CloudIQ
simulator.

Overview

The Overview provides a visual look at overall system health and connectivity.

Alerts, performance anomalies, and storage issues are also available at a glance.

Clicking blue text on this page opens information specific to that item. For
example, clicking the 2 critical alerts on this page shows the alert details.

If any system has lost


connectivity to CloudIQ, it is listed
here. See Admin > Connectivity
for connection details.
The PowerStore 9000
shown here has passed all
health checks with a health
score of 100.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 246 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Reporting/Analytics Using CloudIQ

Health

Under the Health heading, view system health (shown here), issues1, alerts2, and
updates.

Icons indicating component, configuration, capacity, performance, and data


protection issues provide a quick reference to the health score of the system. The
health score of 95 for the PowerStore 1000X is quickly described here as having
lost 5 points due to capacity issues.

Component issues

Configuration issues

Data Protection issues

Performance issues

Capacity issues

1
Displays a comprehensive view of all current health issues across all storage
systems in the environment.
2
Displays any alerts reported in the last 24 hours.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 247
Data Reporting/Analytics Using CloudIQ

Inventory

For a list of systems and hosts in CloudIQ, view the inventory. Find the system
software version, physical location, and last contact time.

See how fresh the CloudIQ data is by checking the last contact time on the inventory view.

Capacity

The System Capacity page displays the system level storage capacity. Quickly
see usable and free storage on each system and storage efficiency metrics.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 248 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Reporting/Analytics Using CloudIQ

Performance

The System Performance page displays key system level performance metrics
across all systems. This includes IOPS, Bandwidth and System Latency.

The second option under Performance is the Metrics Browser. Use this browser to
select metrics to create custom performance dashboards. Click here to see metrics
available for PowerStore.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 249
Data Reporting/Analytics Using CloudIQ

Admin

Under Admin, manage the connectivity and users in CloudIQ. Use this view to add
or remove systems and add or remove user privileges.

To troubleshoot a system becoming disconnected from CloudIQ, go to


Connectivity, shown here.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 250 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Reporting/Analytics Using CloudIQ

PowerStore System Information in CloudIQ

CloudIQ shows high level information about all the systems that are sending data
to it. This makes it easy to monitor performance overall.

You can access information about any specific system in CloudIQ by clicking its
title on any of the CloudIQ views. Click to see how to get to these pages.

Health Score

This tab focuses on the health score of this particular system, showing the details
about any issues affecting the health score.

Launch PowerStore Manager


for this system from this link.

Configuration

The Configuration tab shows configuration data about the system. Additional tabs
below show details about the appliances, drives, hosts, storage, Virtual Machines,
and Storage Containers. If VMs and Storage Containers are not used, the tabs are
shown but hold no information.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 251
Data Reporting/Analytics Using CloudIQ

Capacity

The Capacity tab displays detailed capacity information for the system, including
total, used, and free capacity, as well as efficiency metrics and how capacity is
allocated to different storage objects.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 252 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Data Reporting/Analytics Using CloudIQ

Performance

The Performance tab shows key performance metrics for storage objects sorted
by their 24-hour averages. These are the resources with the highest latency, IOPS,
and bandwidth. The bottom part of the page provides more detail about each of
those performance categories.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright
Internal Use - Confidential 2020 Dell Inc. Page 253
Data Reporting/Analytics Using CloudIQ

Data Reporting/Analytics Using CloudIQ Key Points

Data Reporting/Analytics Using CloudIQ Key Points:


 PowerStore reports performance analytics to CloudIQ.
 CloudIQ is a no cost, cloud-native application that monitors and measures
overall health of Dell EMC storage systems.
 Enable CloudIQ during the Initial Configuration Wizard, or later by going to
Settings > SupportAssist.

Requirements for PowerStore include:


 SupportAssist must be successfully configured with CloudIQ enabled
 Valid service tag
 Valid PowerStore cluster ID
 Internet access to https://cloudiq.emc.com.
 Registration with support.emc.com

 SupportAssist and CloudIQ must be enabled for CloudIQ to receive data from
the system.

PowerStore Administration

Page
Internal Use - Confidential 254 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.
Appendix

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright 2020 Dell Inc. Page 255


Appendix

User Roles and Capabilities

Operator VM Admin Security Storage Admin


Admin Admin

Change your X X X X
system local
password

View system X X X X
settings,
status, and
performance
information

Modify X X
system
settings

Connect to X X X
vCenter

View a list of X X
local
accounts

Add, delete, X X
or modify a
local
account

PowerStore Administration

Page 256 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.


Appendix

View system X X
storage
information
through a
vCenter
server that is
connected to
the system's
VASA
provider and
register / re-
register

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright 2020 Dell Inc. Page 257


Appendix

Mapped Volumes screen

Create Protection Policy

To create a protection policy in PowerStore Manager, expand the Protection


submenu, and select Protection Policies. From the Protection Policies page,
click Create.

PowerStore Administration

Page 258 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.


Appendix

In the example, a protection policy named Critical Applications is created with only one snapshot
rule.

From the Create Protection Policy wizard pane, create the rules on the fly, or select
existing ones. If you have created the rules within the Snapshot and Replication
Rules page you can view them here.

To configure the new policy, perform the following tasks:


1. Name: Enter a name to identify the policy. The field is non-case sensitive, and
the maximum input length is 64 characters.
2. Description (optional): Enter a description for the policy.
3. Snapshot Rules: Select an existing rule to be assigned to the protection policy
or select + CREATE to invoke the Create Snapshot Rule wizard. Up to four
snapshot rules can be associated with a protection policy.
4. Replication Rules: Select an existing rule to be assigned to the protection
policy or select + CREATE to invoke the Create Replication Rule wizard. Only
one replication rule can be associated with a protection policy.
5. Click CREATE to complete the operation.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright 2020 Dell Inc. Page 259


Appendix

Add Rules to Existing Policy

Edit the properties of a protection policy and add existing rules or new ones up to
the allowed limit.

2
1

In the example, a replication rule is added to the protection policy named Critical Applications.

To add rules to an existing policy, perform the following tasks:


1. Open the protection policy properties page by clicking the policy name.
2. Select an existing rule to be assigned to the protection policy or select +
CREATE to invoke the Create Snapshot Rule wizard. Up to four snapshot
rules can be associated with a protection policy.
3. Select an existing rule to be assigned to the protection policy or select +
CREATE to invoke the Create Replication Rule wizard. Only one replication
rule can be associated with a protection policy.
4. Click APPLY to complete the operation and save the changes.

PowerStore Administration

Page 260 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.


Appendix

Policies List

From the Protection Policies page, view the policies, the associated rules, and the
number of storage resources the policies were assigned to.

Number of snapshot rules


associated with policy

Name of replication rule associated with the policy (if any). Only
one rule is supported per policy.

By hovering the mouse over the number of snapshot rules, you can verify the
details of the rules that are associated with the policy.

Limit per cluster = 32 protection policies

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright 2020 Dell Inc. Page 261


Appendix

Assigning Protection Policies to Storage Resources

Storage Resources

A protection policy may be selected at the time the storage resource is created, or
associated with an existing storage resource later. Associating a protection policy
with a supported storage resource is not a requirement.

Protection Policy
Volume Group

Virtual Machine
(VVols) Volume

File System Snapshot Rules Replication


Rule

Protection policies with replication rules trigger a complete initial synchronization.

Only one protection policy may be applied to each supported storage resource:
 Standalone volume or a volume in a volume group (if the volume group has
no protection policy associated).
 A volume group. The policy is applied to all the member volumes.
 Member volumes that are removed from the protected group will retain the
associated protection policy.
 To avoid any conflict with the volume group protection policy, new members
cannot have a policy associated.
 Virtual machines support only snapshot rules. The policy applies to the VVols
underlying the virtual machine.
 File systems support only snapshot rules and ignore the replication rules.

You can also apply protection policies to thin clones of volumes, volume groups
and file systems.

PowerStore Administration

Page 262 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.


Appendix

You can substitute the protection policy applied to a storage resource with another
configured policy at any time.
 Substitute the protection policy with one that has different snapshot rules.
 If the associated policy has no replication rule, you can associate the resource
with one that has.
 If swapping a policy with one that also has a replication rule, make sure both
policies use the same remote system. This restriction avoids an unnecessary
initial, full sync operation.

To associate a protection policy with an existing storage resource, go to the


Protection card on the Overview page for the storage resource.

The tabs show a different method for performing the same task for each one of the
supported storage resources.

Volumes

To assign a protection policy to a volume using the PowerStore GUI, expand the
Storage submenu, and select Volumes.

1 2

Double-click the image for an expanded view.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright 2020 Dell Inc. Page 263


Appendix

From the Volumes page, perform the following operations:


1. Select the volumes you want to protect. Select any individual volume or volume
group members that do not have a policy associated at the group level.
2. Open the More Actions menu and select the Assign Protection Policy option.
3. From the list of existing policies, select the one that you want to associate with
the storage resource.
4. Click Apply to commit the changes.

In the example, the Critical Applications policy is associated with two volumes: C2-
VOL01 and C2-VOL03. The second volume is a member of the C2-VG01 volume
group. The policy can be associated with this volume because the volume group
has no policy associated with it.

Volume Groups

To protect a volume group using the PowerStore GUI, expand the Storage
submenu, and select Volume Groups.

Double-click the image for an expanded view.

From the Volume Groups page, perform the following operations:


1. Select the volume groups you want to protect.
2. Open the More Actions menu and select the Assign Protection Policy option.

PowerStore Administration

Page 264 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.


Appendix

3. From the list of existing policies, select the one that you want to associate with
the volume group.
4. Click Apply to commit the changes. The policy is applied to all the member
volumes of the volume group.

In the example, the Critical Applications policy is associated with volume group C2-
VG01. Two volumes that are members of this group are associated with the
protection policy.

File Systems

To protect a file system using the PowerStore GUI, expand the Storage submenu,
and select File Systems.

2 3

Double-click the image for an expanded view.

From the File Systems page, perform the following operations:


1. Select the file system you want to protect.
2. Open the More Actions menu and select the Assign Protection Policy option.
3. From the list of existing policies, select the one that you want to associate with
the file system.
4. Click Apply to commit the changes. The policy is applied to the file system.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright 2020 Dell Inc. Page 265


Appendix

For policies that include a replication rule, only the snapshot schedule will be used.
Replication is not supported for the file systems.

Virtual Machines

To protect a virtual machine using the PowerStore GUI, expand the Compute
submenu, and select Virtual Machines.

Double-click the image for an expanded view.

From the Virtual Machines page, perform the following operations:


1. Select the virtual machine you want to protect.
2. Click Assign Protection Policy.
3. From the list of existing policies, select the one that you want to associate with
the virtual machine.
4. Click Apply to commit the changes. The policy protects the virtual machine, and
the underlying VVols.

For policies that include a replication rule, only the snapshot schedule will be used.
Replication is not supported for virtual machines.

PowerStore Administration

Page 266 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.


Appendix

Metrics Available for PowerStore


When you create a custom performance dashboard, these metrics are available to
apply to use with a PowerStore system.

Metric Appliance File System Volume Volume


System Group

Bandwidth X X X X X

CPU X
Utilization

I/O Size X X X X

IOPS X X X X X

Latency X X X X X

% Read X

Queue Depth X

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright 2020 Dell Inc. Page 267


Appendix

View Detailed System Information

When in CloudIQ, click the hyperlinked


name of any system to see its details.

PowerStore Administration

Page 268 © Copyright 2020 Dell Inc.


Glossary
Base Volume
The original or production volume for a set of derivative snapshots, and thin clones.

Base Volume Family


The combination of the original or production storage resource volume and its set
of derivative snapshots and clones.

RPO
Recovery point objective (RPO) indicates the acceptable amount of data, which is
measured in units of time, that may be lost in a failure.

Storage Containers
Storage containers on PowerStore appliances act as a logical grouping of vVols
that enable vVols to map directly to the appliance.

VMware vSphere APIs for Array Integration (VAAI)


VMware vSphere APIs for Array Integration (VAAI) are a set of APIs to enable
communication between VMware vSphere ESXi hosts and storage devices. The
APIs define a set of storage primitives that enable the ESXi host to offload certain
storage operations to the array. These APIs reduce resource overhead on the ESXi
hosts and can improve performance for storage-intensive operations.

VMware vSphere APIs for Storage Awareness (VASA)


VASA is a VMware-defined API meant to provide a common way for VMware to
integrate with storage vendors. The API is implemented using an out-of-band,
Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) over HTTPS.

PowerStore Administration

© Copyright 2020 Dell Inc. Page 269


PowerStore Administration

© Copyright 2020 Dell Inc. Page 270

You might also like