PowerFlex 3.X: How to Upgrade to Version 3.7.0 Using Backup and Restore Method

• From the PFxM UI, click Settings > Backup and Restore.
• From the Backup and Restore page, click Backup Now.
• Select one of the following:
  • To use existing backup settings, check the box next to Use Backup Directory Path and Encryption Password from Backup Settings and Details.
  • To use custom backup settings, perform the following:
    • In the Backup Directory Path box, enter a file path where the backup file is saved using either NFS (host:/share_path) or CIFS (\\host\share_path\).
    • If a username and password are required to access the backup location, enter them in the appropriate boxes. (Backup Directory User Name and Backup Directory Password) 
    • In the Encryption Password and Confirm Encryption Password boxes, enter the password that is used to encrypt the backup. (This password is required to restore the file, so write it down.)
• Click Test Connection
  • If successful, go to the next steps
  • If unsuccessful, check your settings and try again.
• Click Backup Now
  • This process may take some time depending on the size of your PFxM appliance.
  • A job shows as in progress on the Settings > Jobs page until the backup is completed.
  • Once the job is complete, confirm it was successful by checking the following:
    • Settings > Backup and Restore page, under Settings and Details, it should show the Last Backup Date and Last Backup Status.
    • Check the share location where you backed up the file for the backup tar.gz and tar.gz.sum files.

• SSH to the PFxM appliance
  • The default login is delladmin/delladmin
• Run the following command to list the configured interfaces:

ifconfig

• The output shows something similar to the following. You should have at a minimum an IP address configured on ens160, but also configured IP addresses on ens192 (iDRAC interface) and ens224 (OS Installation/PXE interface) for most systems. Write down the configured IPs for use later when deploying the new PFxM OVA.

• Get the default gateway and DNS information for the appliance by running this command:

cat /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-ens160

• Log in to the Management Controller VMware vCenter.
• Right-click the PowerFlex Manager appliance.
• Click Power > Shutdown Guest OS

• Log in to the Management Controller VMware vCenter.
• Right-click the PFxM appliance.
• Select Snapshots > Take Snapshot.
• Clear Snapshot the virtual machine's memory and enter a description.
• Click OK.
• Once the snapshot is complete, rename the existing PowerFlex Manager appliance to something similar <PFxM_VM_name>_old if you want to use the same VM name.

• Before you begin, download the PowerFlex Manager OVA and compatibility management file from the Dell Technologies support website and save them to a location that is accessible by vCenter and PowerFlex Manager locally.
  • Note: The compatibility management file is a new file required in PowerFlex Manager 3.7 and must be uploaded to the appliance later in this process.
• Log in to the Management Controller VMware vCenter or Management ESXi host.
• Right-click the Management host or cluster and select Deploy OVF Template. The Deploy OVF Template wizard opens.
  • On the Select Template page, enter the URL where the OVA is located or select Local File and browse to the location where the OVA is saved and click Next.
  • On the Selected Name and Folder page, enter a name for the VM (up to 80 characters), and select a data center to deploy it to. Click Next.
  • On the Select a Compute Resource page, select a location where the VM is deployed. Click Next.
  • On the Review Details page, verify that the details are correct and click Next.
  • On the License Agreements page, read the agreement, select I accept all license agreements, and click Next.
  • On the Select Storage page, complete the following:
    • Select Thin provision from the Select virtual disk format menu.
    • Select a Datastore from the Datastore Clusters menu to use and click Next.
  • On the Select Networks page, complete the following:
    • Select a Destination Network for the ESXi Management (ens160) source network.
    • Select a Destination Network for the OS Installation (ens224) source network.
    • Select a Destination Network for the OOB Management (ens192) source network.
    • Click Next
  • On the Ready to Complete page, review the configuration data and click Finish to deploy the PowerFlex Manager appliance.
  • Wait for the OVA to finish deploying and then go to the next step.

• Connect to the console of the new PFxM VM.
• You should see the Initial Appliance Configuration UI when you log in. If not, run pfxm_init_shell to open it.
• Click Network Configuration
• To configure the ESXi Management network (ens160), complete the following:
  • On the Network Connections page, select ens160 and click Edit the selected connection.
  • On the General tab, ensure the Automatically connect to this network when it is available box is checked.
  • Click the IPv4 Settings tab and from the Method list, select Manual.
  • In the Addresses pane, click Add, and enter the IP address, Netmask, and Gateway for this network.
  • Enter the DNS IP addresses in the DNS servers box.
  • Enter the DNS suffix in the search domain box.
  • Click Save.
• To configure the OOB management network, which is the dedicated iDRAC network, complete the following:
  • On the Network Connections page, select ens192 and click Edit the selected connection.
  • On the General tab, ensure the Automatically connect to this network when it is available box is checked.
  • Click the IPv4 Settings tab and from the Method list, select Manual.
  • In the Addresses pane, click Add, and enter the IP address and Netmask for this network.
  • Click the Routes button and ensure the Use this connection only for resources on this network box is checked and click OK.
  • Click Save.
• To configure the operating system installation network, which is the PXE network, complete the following:
  • On the Network Connections page, select ens224 and click Edit the selected connection.
  • On the General tab, ensure the Automatically connect to this network when it is available box is checked.
  • Click the IPv4 Settings tab and from the Method list, select Manual.
  • In the Addresses pane, click Add, and enter the IP address and Netmask for this network.
  • Click the Routes button and ensure the Use this connection only for resources on this network box is checked and click OK.
  • Click Save and close the Network Connections window by clicking the X button in the upper-right corner.
• Click Logout from the Initial Appliance Configuration UI.
• Log back into the PFxM appliance command line using delladmin
• To enable SSH on the PFxM appliance, complete the following:
  • Sudo to the root user: sudo su -
  • Enter the delladmin password
  • Type the following command to enable and start SSH:

systemctl enable sshd
systemctl start sshd

• Type Exit to return to the delladmin user prompt, and type Exit again to log out of the appliance.

• Log in to the PFxM web UI by entering the management IP address in a web browser.
  • The default login is admin/admin.
• In the UI, click Settings and click Backup and Restore.
• On the Backup and Restore page, click Restore Now.
• Enter the full path to the file that must be restored in one of the following formats:
  • NFS - host:/share/filename.tar.gz
  • CIFS - \\host\share\filename.tar.gz
• Enter the username and password in the Backup Directory User Name and Backup Directory Password fields to access the location where the backup file is stored.
• Enter the encryption password in the Encryption Password field that was set when the backup was performed.
• Click Test Connection
  • If successful, click Close and go to restore.
  • If unsuccessful, check the path and credentials and test again.
• Click Restore Now and Click Yes when the confirmation message is displayed.
  • The restore process starts and could take a couple of hours. The PFxM appliance reboots as a part of the process.

• Go to Settings > Compliance and OS repositories in the PFxM web UI.
• To resync the compliance bundle, click the Compliance Version tab, and the bundle is in an error state.
  • In the available actions drop-down, click Resynchronize for any repositories in an Error state.
  • It begins the resync process and the repository status change to Copying.
• To resync OS bundles, click the OS Image Repositories tab.
  • From the available actions drop-down, click Resynchronize for any repositories in an Error state. The resynchronize OS repository page is displayed.
  • Enter the user credentials and click Test Connection. You cannot edit the Source path and filename. 
    • If successful, go to the next step.
    • If unsuccessful, check the credentials and test again.
  • Click Resynchronize. The repository state changes to Copying.

• Go to Settings > Virtual Appliance Management in the PFxM web UI.
• In the Compatibility Management section, click Add and choose the method to load the file.
  • Option1: Download from configured Dell Secure Remote Services
  • Option2: Upload from local
    • This allows you to browse your local files and upload them to the PFxM appliance.
• Click Save.

• Delete the snapshot of an old PFxM appliance.
• Delete the old PFxM VM.
• Take a backup of the new PFxM appliance so there is a recovery point based on the new version.