PowerScale: Microsoft Azure freeze impacts on Virtual PowerScale OneFS
Summary: Are there impacts to Virtual PowerScale OneFS on the Microsoft Azure platform, if Azure initiates a freeze?
Symptoms
Dell has no control or power from the perspective and level of the OneFS side concerning the freeze events if they occur. The hypervisor (Azure) layer entirely governs and controls that. Dell has limited ability to report on detected freeze incidents.
The freeze event from the Windows Azure level is separate from and outside of the OneFS ecosystem and infrastructure. OneFS internal operations are unaffected by external actions, which are beyond our control or intervention. This is not a OneFS code issue. The virtual level of OneFS receives a signal from the Azure level notifying it of the freeze event. OneFS then (after the freeze) provides a notification of the information it was given. The freeze may momentarily pause CPUs and network access to the specific node. OneFS internal operations remain unaffected. However, active network operations to the node may be briefly interrupted, and new connections during the freeze may fail.
Cause
Things like freezes are an inherent part of related Microsoft systems:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/maintenance-and-updates
Resolution
No action is possible regarding freezes from the OneFS point of view. If you do happen to detect an issue related to freezes that is impacting:
- Open a Support case on your cluster.
- Cite this KB article directly.
- Ask the case to be routed to the "Admin" team on OneFS support for initial review.