KB823980 Patch on PV715N

Yes, it did require a reboot :(  Last time this NAS was rebooted was when it was moved over 1 year ago!

And my kb823980scan tool also was reporting the NAS as NOT patched. 

Nevertheless, it seems to run normally since the patch was applied.  No problems to report. 

I am definitely not going to put anymore patches/software on it unless it becomes critical like this one however.

The critical ones is all that I installed.  That last post sounded like I installed the other ones as well.

I searched the Dell site for info on updating the PV715N.  I didn't
find much.  Here is how I finally installed the critical updates.

Updates can be performed in two ways.
1) Manually - by searching for updates, putting them on the NAS, and executing them.
2) Using the Windows Update feature.  That's the Microsoft program that searches for updates on the MS site, and then presents you with the choices.

If you want to use the Windows Update Feature you need to enable it.  The DELL document "Installing Critical Updates from Microsoft on DELL PowerVault NAS Systems [June 2003]" explains how to activate this feature.  It is disabled by default on DELL NAS systems.  The activation process requires that you get to a command-prompt on the system.

To get a command prompt:  Login to the NAS using the browser.  The "PowerVault NAS Manager" displays in the browser window.  Go to the "maintenance" tab. Open "terminal-services".  You get another login prompt.  Then the "DELL PowerVault NAS Desktop" appears.  There is no run command, so make a shortcut to cmd.exe and put it on the "DELL PowerVault NAS Desktop" so you can access it easily.  To do this, open "MyAppliance", open C: drive, navigate to c:\winnt\system32\cmd.exe and put a shortcut on the desktop.  Use this command prompt to enter the commands to activate Windows Update Feature, as outlined in the DELL referenced above.

Reboot needed??  Maybe.

Find the current os level of the server:  Get back to the "DELL PowerVault NAS Desktop", open the ControlPanel, then open AdministrativeTools, and then ComputerManagement.  Under SystemTools open SystemInfo and click on SystemSummary.  Note the OS and service pack already installed.

Use Windows Update to install critical updates:  Close the ControlPanel.  Open it again.  Click on WindowsUpdate [below the text under the ControlPanel logo].  A window opens to the Microsoft update site, and you get a list of updates you can install.  I went through the list and only installed critical patches that seemed to apply to the system.  I did not apply patches for things I don't run on the server itself, like InternetExplorer.

Note:  After I rebooted I got a bunch of ServiceControlManager errors.  The errors showed up in the PowerVault NAS Manager "status" tab, and and Status notice in the middle of the "PowerVault NAS Manager" window showed "status - critical".  [These statuses are from the EventLog, and can also be accessed through the. "DELL PowerVault NAS Desktop".]  To delete them, click on the "status" tab, click on a status, and then click on the delete button that shows up in the lower section of the screen.  Deleting these status notices does not delete them from the EventLog.  When they are all deleted, the status turns back to a green "normal".  I then rebooted and did not see these status messages again.

Note:  I had some problems accessing my system after I rebooted.  I use a static IP address, so I pinged it and it came back "host unreachable".  I powered off and back on, and still couldn't access the server.  I finally did get access.  I realized that sometimes the system was not booting up.  Watch the drive access lights so you can recognize when the server is booting correctly.  Then - when you reboot it, watch to make sure the lights show that the server actually booted up all the way.  I had to reboot the NAS 5 times before it finally booted up.

--  Doug

Dell will support installing hotfixes to most Windows NAS appliances.  735, 75x, 77x  can accept any hotfix / service pack (except SP4).  715 or 725 you can install critical patches, but you should contact technical support for other.  The reason behind this is the special requirements that were used to install win2k SAK onto the 715 / 725 hardware platform.  We have seen certian patches that worked fine on other Win2k SAK NAS appliances, but break the 715 or 725.