XIOS 6.2.1 Is now Available, What’s New
We have just released what I call a “major – minor version” which is basically a release focuses on small enhancements plus bug fixes New Features and Changes in XIOS […]
Dell Storage, PowerStore, PowerFlex PowerMax & PowerScale, Virtualization & Containers Technologies
We have just released what I call a “major – minor version” which is basically a release focuses on small enhancements plus bug fixes New Features and Changes in XIOS […]
We have just released what I call a “major – minor version” which is basically a release focuses on small enhancements plus bug fixes
New Features and Changes in XIOS Ver. 6.2.1-36
This section describes the following new features and changes that are introduced in this software version.
They include:
XtremIO X2-R cluster type now supports FIPS certified drives.
XtremIO X2 Bandwidth Limitation per Session allows the user to limit the transferred bandwidth per protection session.
XtremIO X2 Network Troubleshooting allows the user to verify connectivity to a remote cluster.
New Features and Changes in XMS Ver. 6.2.1-36
New/Updated CLI Commands
The following XMCLI commands were introduced or updated in Version 6.2.1, to enhance support of the Native Replication feature.
New Command/Property |
Description |
test-ip-connectivity-ping (new) |
Verifies ping connectivity between a source IP address and a target IP address. |
test-ip-connectivity-netcat (new) |
Verifies connectivity between a source IP address and a specified target IP address and TCP/UDP port. |
add-remote-protection-session (updated) |
enable-verification and async-bw-limit input parameters have been added. |
modify-remote-protection-session (updated) |
enable-verification and async-bw-limit input parameters have been added. |
Fixed Issues in XIOS Ver. 6.2.1-36
General Fixed Issues
Issue |
Tracking Number |
XtremIO LUNs, belonging to a Shared Storage Pool, that are larger than 2TB are not supported with IBM Virtual I/O Server (VIOS) and XtremIO. |
XIO-61476 |
Storage Controller may reboot. |
XIO-61092 |
A host may fail to access a mapped LUN if the Volume has a very long name. |
XIO-62471 |
A long power button press from a faulty Storage Controller may cause a cluster shutdown. |
XIO-55342 |
A software upgrade to version 6.2 may fail due to non-unique Volume name. |
XIO-62986 |
A Storage Controller may fail to respond to I/O requests due to an HBA firmware/driver issue. |
XIO-60056 |
False IB Switch-to-IB Switch link down alerts |
XIO-62645 |
Cluster and Hardware Upgrade Fixed Issues
Issue |
Tracking Number |
A DIMM Uncorrectable error alert may not clear after successfully replacing the DIMM. |
XIO-61677 |
Native Replication Fixed Issues
Issue |
Tracking Number |
A Remote Protection Session may enter the “error” state after modifying the size of one or more protected Volumes. |
XIO-62595 |
A low bandwidth (1GB or lower) replication link may experience stability issues. |
XIO-60013 |
An active IP Link may appear as “initializing”. |
XIO-62015 |
NR Improvements – Session QoS
XtremApp 6.2.0 introduced the QoS feature that was able to limit a specific volume’s, CG’s or initiator group’s performance.
This code version introduces an additional QoS mechanism that allows the user to limit the bandwidth of a specific replication session.
By doing that, the user can control his WAN’s utilization.
A remote protection session can be limited upon creating or while its already running
Enabling or disabling this feature isn’t disruptive and does not require pausing the replication session
Note that limiting a remote protection session’s bandwidth may prevent the user from meeting his RPO target
NR Improvements – Session QoS – Internal Implementation
Although this feature has many similarities to the QoS feature, it’s implementation is quite different.
For QoS, the component originating the I/O operation is the host, and therefore, the system cannot assume which R module receives I/O operations and how the load distributes.
To overcome this difficulty, the QoS mechanism is implemented in the R modules, and is dynamic depending on which paths the host sends I/O to.
When talking about native replication, the component originating the I/O operation is the C module.
Each C module has to perform a snap DIFF on an equal subset of a CG and transfer it.
As the assumption is that all C modules have the same amount of work – the system will divide the allowed bandwidth equally between C modules.
C modules will then push a limited amount of data to R modules – Eventually resulting with the expected bandwidth
If a Storage Controller fails, C module bandwidth limitation is updated by the SYM and these start to push more I/O to R modules – Resulting in the expected performance.
Although a user limits a bandwidth of a session, we do not commit to reaching that limitation as the environment may prevent it from doing so:
Security Fixed Issues
Issue |
Tracking Number |
The zsh, DHCP, procps and yum-utils packages have been updated to remove reported vulnerabilities. |
XIO-62398 |
Fixed Issues in XMS Ver. 6.2.1-36
General Fixed Issues
Issue |
Tracking Number |
Adding more than 64 Initiators to an Initiator Group may fail. |
XIO-60911 |
CLI incorrectly allows user to provide a privacy key. |
XIO-62501 |
Performance Statistics collection may fail. |
XIO-62617 |
XMS log file documents many occurrences of missing table logs. |
XIO-54856 |
The modify-technician-port-tunnel command may fail following an XMS reboot. |
XIO-62365 |
XMS may become slow due to high memory usage. |
XIO-63041 |
ESRS-VE gateway may incorrectly report being disconnected. |
XIO-62882 |
Cluster shared memory utilization is not exposed via RESTful API. |
XIO-63030 |
With the ESRS-VE Call Home Notification configuration, configuration files that were successfully sent to the ESRS-VE gateway(s) are deleted and not kept in the XMS root partition. |
XIO-63079 |
XMS log file may wrongfully report “cluster_not_found” alerts. |
XIO-60001 |
WebUI Fixed Issues
Issue |
Tracking Number |
WebUI naming of DAE SAS ports and fans have been corrected. |
XIO-49528 |
Modifying a legacy ESRS gateway to an ESRS-VE gateway may fail. |
XIO-62348 |
User password does not accept all characters. |
XIO-62325 |
Protection Schedulers are deprecated in versions prior to 6.1 |
XIO-62470 |
Re-configuring the Call Home Notification from legacy ESRS-GW to ESRS-VE using the WebUI interface may not prompt the user for RSA SecureID credentials. For further information, refer to Dell EMC KB# 524862 (https://support.emc.com/kb/524862). |
XIO-62031 |
The WebUI limits QoS policy Burst percentage to 100%. To configure larger values, use the XMCLI. |
XIO-61917 |
A “read-only” role user is allowed to acknowledge Alerts via the WebUI. |
XIO-60755 |
WebUI Improvements – New “Reset Password” button
A new WebUI API exposes the option of regenerating CHAP credentials for IP links
This functionality is already part of the XMCLI
WebUI Improvements – Ethernet interface Properties
The WebUI allows modifying a specific Ethernet port’s:
To access this UI – On the top toolbar hit the “Settings” gear icon > Navigate to “Cluster Settings” > “Interfaces”
Note that the cluster’s defined MTU is a general setting that applies to all iSCSI ports – However, this setting allows you to override a specific port’s setting.
WebUI Improvements – Navigate with Selection
“Navigate With Selection” drop down menu should be offered in the following screens:
WebUI Improvements – Easy QoS Policy Assignment
WebUI Improvements – Consistency Group improvements
A Consistency Group has a new “Management Locked” attribute.
This attribute defines whether all of this CG’s volumes are “Management Locked”:
As a reminder – Once an object is set as “Management Locked”:
Note that a CG is set to “Management Locked” can still be deleted (this operation will not delete the volumes inside the CG nor remove their “Management Locked” attribute)
WebUI Improvements – Volume Mapping improvements
IG > Vol/CG
The “Mapping” UI was enhanced to display data in a more intuitive way:
Here is an example for when a user reaches the “Mapping” UI via selecting a volume:
Other optimized flows are:
Mapping an Initiator Group to a Volume, CG, or Snapshot Set – Where the “Volume”, “CG”, or “Snapshot Set” are the Source and “Initiator Groups” are the Target
WebUI Improvements – “Right Click” integration
The WebUI allows using a mouse “Right Click” to easily perform management activities in the:
The menu will offer all management activities except “Tagging” related actions
WebUI Improvements – Snapshot Set Deletion improvements
Deleting multiple protection session snapshot sets takes place when a user doesn’t require irrelevant data or wants to free up space in his DR site.
To reduce repetitive snapshot set deletion operations – The UI offers a new option of deleting all snapshot sets taken within a given timeframe.
This operation can only be performed via WebUI.
WebUI Improvements – Browser Compatibility
WebUI Improvements – New Screen Resolution Support
12.5″ Laptop
CloudIQ Fixed Issues
Issue |
Tracking Number |
Performance data may not be available in CloudIQ. |
XIO-62753 |
Native Replication Fixed Issues
Issue |
Tracking Number |
Native Replication sessions scalability limits are not enforced. |
XIO-58921 |
Security Fixed Issues
Issue |
Tracking Number |
The zsh, DHCP, procps, python-twisted-web and kernel packages have been updated to remove reported vulnerabilities. |
XIO-62397 |
Cluster and Hardware Upgrade Fixed Issues
Issue |
Tracking Number |
Single to dual X-Brick OCE may fail. |
XIO-62794 |
AppSync Fixed Issues
Issue |
Tracking Number |
Registering an AppSync server when the XMS is managing only pre-6.2.0 XIOS clusters returns the “Add AppSync Failed” error. To overcome this limitation, the following conditions should exist: XMS version 6.2.0 At least one cluster running XIOS 6.2.0 (to work with the pre-6.2.0 XIOS clusters) |
XIO-63156 |
The “VM Restore to Alternate Copy” wizard offers irrelevant datastores for recovery. |
XIO-62023 |
When configuring vCenter user credentials, the “\” character cannot be used. Use the “user@domain” format instead. |
XIO-61834 |
AppSync integration Improvements
VM Exclusion: Provide the ability to exclude/include VMs from service plan execution. There should be a new button in the Service Plans tab titled “Include/Exclude VMs”.
Provide an expandable Advanced setting in the screen above, which displays toggle between:
Include a retry option after a failed attempt to add AppSync Server. In case of unsuccessful registration, the input window should not disappear and all inputs should be preserved so user can adjust.
Provide ability to protect multiple datastores in one operation. The Datastores Tab →All & Protected should allow multi selection of multiple datastores, with the ability to select Protect: Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Run Now