Setup Guide

SupportAssist communication
SupportAssist cannot be enabled on PowerStore models configured with IPv6 for the management network. SupportAssist is
not supported over IPv6. Also, management network reconfiguration from IPv4 to IPv6 is not allowed when SupportAssist is
configured on a cluster.
NOTE: Access to a DNS server is required for SupportAssist to work.
The Connection Status of SupportAssist indicates both the state of the connection between PowerStore and the Dell EMC
backend Support services and the quality of service of the connection. The connection state is determined over five minute
periods and the quality of service of the connection is determined over 24 hour periods. The Connection Status of the
connection can appear as one of the following based on any of the appliances in the cluster:
● Unavailable – Connectivity data is unavailable. You may have lost contact with an appliance or SupportAssist has just
been enabled and there is insufficient data to determine the state.
● Disabled – SupportAssist has not been enabled.
● Not connected – Connectivity has been lost. Five consecutive keepalive failures have been detected.
● Reconnecting – PowerStore is attempting to reconnect after loss of connectivity. Five consecutive successful keepalive
requests are needed to transition back to a connected status.
The Connection Status of the connection can appear as one of the following based on the average of all the appliances in the
cluster when PowerStore is connected to the Dell EMC backend Support services:
● Evaluating – The quality of service for the connection will be undetermined for the first 10 minutes after SupportAssist is
first initialized.
● Good – 80% or more of the consecutive keepalive requests were successful.
● Fair – Between 50% and 80% of the consecutive keepalive requests were successful.
● Poor – Less than 50% of the consecutive keepalive requests were successful.
SupportAssist remote support
SupportAssist and its remote support features are disabled by default. As part of the enabling of SupportAssist and to use its
remote support services, you must accept the Dell EMC End User License Agreement (EULA). Otherwise, SupportAssist cannot
be enabled and its remote support features cannot be used. Once the SupportAssist EULA is accepted, SupportAssist and its
remote support features can be configured.
Enabling the SupportAssist Remote Support feature allows support engineers who are authorized by Dell EMC to securely
access and troubleshoot your system. When the Remote Support feature is enabled without enabling the associated Remote
Secure Credentials feature, support personnel must engage with you to get access to your system after an event has occurred.
Enabling the Remote Secure Credentials feature allows Dell EMC support personnel to remotely log in to the system to address
issues that may occur. Support personnel can remotely log in to your system through SSH or PowerStore Manager. Your
support contract determines what and when support personnel are allowed to do. By enabling this feature, you grant access to
your system so that troubleshooting and fixing issues can happen as they occur. For example, if a call home, data unavailable or
loss, or any otherwise abnormal event occurs, this feature allows Dell EMC service personnel to respond faster to correct issues.
Enabling or disabling the Remote Secure Credentials feature is a cluster-wide operation. An audit event is created anytime the
Remote Secure Credentials feature is enabled or disabled. Disabling the Remote Secure Credentials feature does not downgrade
your level of service or disable SupportAssist.
SupportAssist options
The SupportAssist connection options that are available by which to send appliance information to Dell EMC Support for remote
troubleshooting are:
● Connect via Gateway Server – For centralized SupportAssist and runs on a customer-supplied gateway server with
two-way file transfer, which includes:
○ Call-homes
○ CloudIQ and Cybersecurity support
○ Software notifications
○ Operating environment and firmware download from Dell EMC Support to the cluster
It also includes remote access for Dell EMC Support personnel. The SupportAssist gateway server is the single point of entry
and exit for all IP-based SupportAssist activities for the appliances associated with the gateway.
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SupportAssist