PowerVault ME5: How to Generate an Access Key and Pin to Enable SupportAssist

Summary: SupportAssist implementation on PowerVault ME5 models ME5012, ME5024, and ME5084 must be enabled using an Access Key and PIN two-factor authentication method.

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Instructions

Change Notice:
Dell has changed the SupportAssist enablement process beginning April 03, 2023 by enabling the access key at the factory. Administrators who buy PowerVault ME5 series systems after this date are not required to generate an Access key and PIN to authenticate the initial connection to the Dell endpoint used by SupportAssist. Systems shipped prior to this date must generate and enter the access key and PIN to make the SupportAssist connection to the Dell endpoint. If you are unsure when your PowerVault ME5 series array shipped, enter the product service tag on Dell Support. Click Review Services. The Start date gives you an indication of when the system shipped.

Change Notice:

Dell has changed the SupportAssist enablement process beginning April 03, 2023 by enabling the access key at the factory.

Administrators who buy PowerVault ME5 series systems after this date are not required to generate an Access key and PIN to authenticate the initial connection to the Dell endpoint used by SupportAssist. Systems shipped prior to this date must generate and enter the access key and PIN to make the SupportAssist connection to the Dell endpoint.

If you are unsure when your PowerVault ME5 series array shipped, enter the product service tag on Dell Support.

Click Review Services. The Start date gives you an indication of when the system shipped.

Review services status

When SupportAssist is enabled, PowerVault ME5 administrators have access to the following services:

Information alerts about availability of updated controller module firmware and or disk drive firmware for your PowerVault ME5.
The abilities to send support bundle to Dell technical support agents.
Proactive case creation if hardware faults (for example, disk failure)
Access to the APEX AIOps (formerly CloudIQ) service so you can monitor the status and performance of the ME5 using a web browser or smartphone app. This service requires an active ProSupport or ProSupport Plus contract. For more information, see Dell APEX AIOps Infrastructure Observability: A Detailed Review

Procedure

Go to Dell Support and log in to your account. If the account is a validated business account, a black check beside your username is seen.

Screenshot of validated Dell Support user

If the checkmark beside the username is yellow or green, see Dell article: How to Register for Access to Dell Technologies Online Support or Upgrade an Existing Account contact Dell Technical Support for assistance to generate an access key.

NOTE: This may take a few days for backend verification of the account to be completed.

Once you have logged into the Dell Support, enter your PowerVault ME5 service tag or select your PowerVault ME5 model from the product listings.

NOTE: If you do not know the ME5 service tag, see Dell article: ME5: How to locate the PowerVault enclosure service tag.

In the Overview tab, under Quick links, click the Generate Access key.

Product Overview on Dell Support Site

Figure 1: Dell support page

Enter your PowerVault ME5 system service tag and pick from the list to proceed and Create PIN.

If you receive the message "We could not find the site you were searching, verify if you have access to the site.", contact Dell Support for assistance. This message typically occurs when an account from a company that does not own the asset is used to try to generate the access key. To resolve this, the administrator from the company responsible for day-to-day management of the asset should register the account as shown in Dell article: How to Register for Access to Dell Technologies Online Support or Upgrade an Existing Account.

NOTE: In some instances, this may require completion of a form to transfer the asset to your company. See Dell article Ownership Transfer, and Dell Product Registration Guides.

Generate Access Key screen

Figure 2: Generate Access key.

Create a Four-digit numeric PIN. Write this number down. It is required later.

PIN Code creation screen

Figure 3: Enter PIN.

Click Generate Access Key. When you click Done, the access key is sent to your email address.

Done button display screen

Figure 4: Send Access key by email.

You receive an email from:

Service Connectivity Team email address

You can now go to enable SupportAssist and APEX AIOps (CloudIQ) support on your PowerVault ME5 using PowerVault Manager or the ME5 command-line interface.

NOTE: The access key expires in 7 days.

NOTE: You do not receive the access key if the email alias indicates that this is a group such as support@, info@ or helpdesk@.

Contact Dell Support for assistance generating the access key.

Access Key Mail Sample

Figure 5: Sample key

Additional Information

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