How to shutdown VNXe 3100 using command line

svc_shutdown --help gives you more info. Also check out VNXe Service Commands documentation

@henriwithani

Hey Henri,

documentation is limited on the 3300 as well and I'm looking for the way to properly shut down my VNXe 3300. Simply switching off the SPS isn't possible since there is no SPS !

Hi RRR,

The shutdown process is same in all models of VNXe series. The Shutdown option available in GUI completely powers down the system. But the CLI commands will unload all softwares and leave both storage processors (SPs) in power on state. I've copied a portion of VNXe Service Command Guide below -

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The system-halt operation halts all SPs in the storage system. The system is left in a powered-on state with no software running. A physical power-cycle of the system is required to bring the system back online. The system-halt operation is available on VNXe system software revisions 2.2.0 and later.

Use Cases

Usage: svc_shutdown [ ] [ ]

Where are:

--help [-h]: Display this message

--halt: Halt the SP for reason code

Parameter

[ ]: A is self defined by the user.

--reboot [-r]: Reboot the system

Parameter

[ ]: A is self defined by the user.

--system-halt [--force]: Halt the complete system. force omits confirmation.

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There is no SPS (Standby Power Supply) in any VNXe models. Probably someone wanted to say SPs (plural) and ended up with all capitals. There are two power supplies which power their respective SPs. If one power supply fails the other one can take over supporting both SPs.

So to shutdown the system I need access to the GUI?

And by using the commandline, is downloading https://download.emc.com/downloads/DL31622_VNXe-Unisphere-CLI-(Windows-32-bit).exe the way to go? And svc_shutdown is one of the commands I can use after I've installed it?

Hi RRR,

Let me clarify my statements above.

There are three ways you can shutdown the VNXe system.

1. Through GUI - Settings > Service System > Select Shutdown and click Execute Service action. This Shutdown option has been introducted in version 2.2.0 and is available in all later versions. This Shuts down the system completely and only Power Supply's 'power LEDs' will be glowing to indicate there is incoming power.

2. Through Unisphere CLI using following command.

uemcli -d -u service -p /service/system shutdown

As you indicated, this Unisphere CLI (UEMCLI) should be downloaded from Support website and should be installed on any host (Windows/Linux/Solaris/Unix). After installing Unisphere CLI you can execute above mentioned command to shutdown. There is Unisphere CLI user guide also available in support website. This can be executed from a PuTTy session to VNXe management also.  This command is equivalent to GUI shutdown option which will powerdown the unit.

This was introduced in latest code release 2.4.0.20932 and not available in older versions.

3. Since there were no CLI options in older versions to shutdown the unit, we were suggesting people to use svc_shutdown command from PuTTy console. However this does not completely power down the system, it just unloads all software from memory. After issueing this command in case of power loss there wont be any damage in terms of software (like LUN corruption, OS image corruption, cache dirty etc.).

I hope this clarifies your query and helps you in what you want to achieve.

Please note, there is no command to power up the system remotely. Once shutdown, system should be powered on by disconnecting power cable and reconnecting.

Dinesh, this is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you. Now let's only hope there won't be a sudden power outage so I cannot bring the machine down manually.

I know this thread is old but I want to know how fast a VNXe will completely shutdown when the GUI is used.  In other words, if I do experience a power outage and need to shutdown quickly is that practical?  Or, will the VNXe clear cache and write to disk all cached data taking 10, 20, or 30 minutes or more?

Hello Tony,

VNXe takes a fair amount of time to shutdown when the event is triggered from GUI. As part of the process, all components of the storage stack are stopped in a specific order, cache is saved and the underlying Linux OS is shut down. This happens on both SPs. About 15 minutes is a fair estimate for the entire shutdown. This certainly varies depending on the kind of activity and load on the array.

In the event of a power failure, shutdown is not a suitable option. The BBU does not provide enough backup to complete the shutdown process. As soon as a power failure is detected, VNXe prioritizes user data and hence starts cache vaulting. Not much emphasis is given on gracefully shutting down other software and Linux components.

Shardul,

That's fairly similar to our CX300 that the VNXe replaced.  So, would a command-line shutdown be preferred in the event of a power failure?  What's the chance of corrupting data with a hard shutdown?

Tony,

In the event of power failures, the only type of corruption that we have noted on VNXe has been in the form of dirty cache. This is a rarity on newer code versions, unless the BBU runs out of charge (two or more power failures in a small window).

As far as the underlying storage software components are concerned, I have never seen an unclean shutdown directly affecting/corrupting the code running on the SP.

As mentioned previously, the BBU does not provide enough backup for the entire shutdown process to complete even through cli.

Thanks, Shardul.  That helps me.  I'm evaluating our emergency shutdown proceedure for our data center, which includes our VNXe.  It may prove beneficial to add some extended runtime modules.  Thanks again for the info.