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• Adds the ability to access the PowerStore Metro
Node from PowerStore Manager.
• Double Drive failure protection support to
PowerStore.
Hardware
• Added support for 1.5 TB NVMe SCM drives.
• Automated Intelligent Metadata Tiering provides
improved system performance by ensuring that
the metadata is prioritized over data and is always
placed on the highest available tier.
• The PowerStore 500T model is introduced with
this release and serves block and file services,
and the software stack is deployed directly on the
system. The PowerStore 500T hardware consists
of a 2U, two node storage solution. Between the
front and rear of the enclosure, a mid-plane
distributes power and signals to all the enclosure
components. Additionally, PowerStore 500T
model appliances also offers dedicated low line
power (less than 220V) in a native fashion.
Internal Migration
• Provides the ability to non-disruptively move
storage resources to another appliance in the
cluster. This feature is applicable if you want to
evacuate space from an appliance, power off an
appliance, or remove an appliance from a cluster.
Security
• Provides an additional level of security by
implementing a complete security check from the
bootloader to the OS.
• Provides the Transport Layer Security (TLS)
protocol provides the ability to secure
communications across networks. PowerStore
supports TLS 1.2 by default but includes the ability
to reenable TLS 1.1 as necessary.
Storage-Block
• Provides support for NVMe over Fabrics (NVMe-
oF) extends the NVMe protocol from the drive
level to the network fabric with NVMe over Fibre
Channel (NVMe-FC) support.
• Provides additional Intelligent Data Reduction
capabilities with enhancements to inline
deduplication and background deduplication.
Storage-File
• Provides more flexibility for setting Tree Quotas
for File Systems being used for different functions
or organizations
• New metrics for performance of file storage
operations at the appliance and cluster level with
an option to break down by protocol and node.
Virtualization
• Provides support up to four PowerStore X model
appliances that are running the same version of
PowerStore software.
• The PowerStore software upgrade for
PowerStore X model clusters includes a required
ESXi update for the internal nodes of the clusters.
The internal nodes of an existing PowerStore X
model cluster must be upgraded to VMware ESXi
6.7 P05, Patch Release ESXi670- 202103001
(Build: 17700523) before the cluster can be
upgraded to the latest version of the PowerStore
OS. In addition to the ESXi update, other
PowerStore X model components must be
upgraded as well.
• PowerStore model clusters support online
migration of vVols for vVol-based VMs to another
appliance in the cluster.
• All PowerStore models now support automatic
vCenter Server and VASA Provider registration.
PowerStore Manager displays the vCenter Server
connection status and VASA Provider status on
the vCenter Server Connection page.
PowerStore Upgrade Readiness
The following should be adhered to when planning for a
non-disruptive upgrade (NDU) within the PowerStore
environment.
Pre-Upgrade Health Check
• Perform a Health Check of the PowerStore
appliance(s) being upgraded at least 7 days prior
to the scheduled upgrade event.
• Consult the Dell EMC PowerStore Upgrade Guide
for procedural details of how to perform a Health
Check.
• Review the overall health state for each node in
the appliance even if a green check mark is
present indicating health of the node is OK. See
https://PowerStoreHealthCheck