Dell Unity: SupportAssist Limitations for Unity OE 5.3

Summary: This article discusses the limitations of SupportAssist in Unity OE version 5.3.

This article applies to This article does not apply to This article is not tied to any specific product. Not all product versions are identified in this article.
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Symptoms

SupportAssist (ESE) is integrated into Unity v5.3 release to replace Secure Remote Services for physical Unity systems from Unity v5.3 onwards.
Scenarios and symptoms are explained in the Resolution section of this article.

Cause

These limitations may occur due to conditions in Unity, SupportAssist or Secure Connect Gateway (SCG).

Resolution

Limitation #1 Updated proxy configuration does not take effective for remote access of SupportAssist.
Occurring Condition
  1. Unity has no network connection to Dell Support Zone (esrs3-core.emc.com) but only through proxy.
  2. Direct connection in inbound or outbound mode and "Use Global Proxy server" is selected in SupportAssist.
  3. Some proxy server settings like IP address, port, username, or password must be updated.
User Impact Dell Support cannot connect to the Unity system remotely after the proxy setting change.
Workaround  After modifying the proxy settings:
1. Disable and enable SupportAssist. 
OR
2. SSH into Unity, and manually run "svc_supportassist r" to restart the SupportAssist service.
 
 
Limitation #2 After upgrading the Unity OE code to version 5.3, an alert may occur in certain situations. This alert indicates that Secure Remote Services failed to convert to SupportAssist. This leads to a broken Secure Remote Services connection.
Occurring Condition Integrated Secure Remote Services with proxy server was configured on 5.2 or earlier version. Unity has no network connection to Dell Support Zone (esrs3-core.emc.com) but only through proxy. Unity OE code is upgraded to 5.3.
User Impact A previous connection is lost, and SupportAssist is not initialized.
A post-upgrade alert is in Unisphere: 14:38004b Migration from Integrated Secure Remote Services to SupportAssist failed. Configure SupportAssist manually.
Workaround  Once the OE upgrade completes, manually initialize and configure SupportAssist with Access Key and PIN.
 
 
Limitation #3 SupportAssist does not support Policy Manager in "Connect Directly" mode.
Occurring Condition Upgrading Unity OE code 5.2 or older to v5.3, when Policy Manager is configured with Integrated Secure Remote Services in Unity 5.2 or older.
User Impact
  • After the upgrade to v5.3, the Policy Manager settings will be lost, and Policy Manager will no longer manage the network communication between Unity and the Dell Support Zone.
  • Post-upgrade Alert: 14:38004d Policy manager is not supported by SupportAssist. Previous Policy manager (%2) has been removed during migration from Secure Remote Services.
Workaround  To continue using Policy Manager, select "Connect through a gateway" mode in SupportAssist and configure SCG. Then configure Policy Manager in SCG.
 
 
Limitation #4 SupportAssist does not support SOCKS type proxy server.
Occurring Condition Integrated Secure Remote Services is enabled with SOCKS type proxy server prior to upgrade.
(OR) SOCKS proxy is configured, and Use Global Proxy Settings is selected on 5.3.
User Impact Users see a pre-upgrade, health check error which blocks the upgrade.
(OR) An error is displayed and SupportAssist cannot be enabled on 5.3.
Workaround  Use an HTTP type proxy instead.
 
 
Limitation #5 Centralized Secure Remote Services (5.2 and prior) supports Secure Remote Services gateway(3.x), SAE gateway (4.x), or Secure Connection Gateway(5.z).
SupportAssist (5.3) only supports Secure Connection Gateway version 5.12.00.10 and later.
Occurring Condition Secure Remote Services gateway(3.x), SAE(4.y), or SCG (lower than 5.12) was used in centralized Secure Remote Services prior to the upgrade.
User Impact Users see a pre-upgrade health check error that blocks Unity OE upgrade.
image.png
Workaround  Upgrade to SCG 5.12 or later version before starting the Unity upgrade.
 
 
Limitation #6 Upgrading the GEN 3 key to GEN 4 universal key fails when a GEN 4 is present in the Dell Support Zone.
Occurring Condition A system has already enabled SupportAssist while running OE 5.3 or later, then it is reinitialized to a release earlier than 5.3. ESRS is configured on it, and then upgrades to 5.3 again.
User Impact
  1. SupportAssist is not initialized automatically during the upgrade to 5.3. The Secure Remote Services connection fails to automatically get converted to SupportAssist connection.
  2. Post-upgrade Alert: 14:38004b Migration from Integrated Secure Remote Services to SupportAssist failed. Configure SupportAssist manually.
Workaround  Contact Dell Support.
 
 
Limitation #7 Users can no longer switch to "Connect through a gateway" mode when "Connect directly" doesn’t work due to the SupportAssist container being in a bad state.
Occurring Condition
  1. "Connect directly" was configured
  2. SupportAssist container changes to a bad state, and an alert is generated: 14:380057(SupportAssist service has stopped working. Repair it using the svc_supportassist service command.)
User Impact Unable to use "Connect through a gateway" mode as an alternative.
Workaround  Fix the SupportAssist container that is in a bad state by running "svc_supportassist c" and then enable SupportAssist again.
 
 
Limitation #8 SupportAssist does not report any error when changing SCG to another that has a problem.
Occurring Condition
  1. SupportAssist is enabled in "Connect through a gateway" mode.
  2. Changing the gateway address to another SCG which cannot connect to the Dell Support Zone server.
User Impact There is a false indication of success when modifying the SCG address in the SupportAssist configuration.
Workaround  After updating the SCG address in a SupportAssist configuration, manually log in into SCG user interface and confirm that the connection is good.
 

The below limitations are also present in Secure Remote Services configuration (Unity OE code 5.2 and prior).
 
Limitation #9 SupportAssist does not support IPv6.
Occurring Condition 1. The Unity management port is configured with an IPv6 address only.
(Or)
2. Only the IPv6 address is specified as SCG address when configuring SupportAssist.
User Impact
  • For occurring condition 1, SupportAssist cannot be enabled in either mode "Connect Directly" or "Connect through a gateway."
  • For occurring condition 2, SupportAssist cannot be enabled when IPv6 is used for SCG.
  • This limitation exists in integrated Secure Remote Services and centralized Secure Remote Services too.
Workaround  For occurring condition 1, configure both an IPv4 address and IPv6 address to the Unity management port.
For occurring condition 2, Use IPv4 address or FQDN of SCG.
 
 
Limitation #10 Setting changes in SCG is not synced to SupportAssist.
Occurring Condition A user changes the remote access setting in SCG user interface rather than Unity Unisphere user interface
User Impact
  • Unity may report the wrong remote access state if a change has been made within the SCG.
  • The issue exists in centralized Secure Remote Services too.
Workaround  Do not manage any changes in SCG UI, only use Unity Unisphere user interface or UEMCL.
 
 
Limitation #11 Re-installed SCG does not restore the previous connection.
Occurring Condition Deploying a new SCG device (with the same IP address) to replace the one used in an existing configuration that has issues.
User Impact The connection is broken, and both Remote access and RSC stop working.
This issue exists in centralized Secure Remote Services too.
Workaround  Enable SupportAssist again with the same SCG address.
 
 
Limitation #12 SupportAssist does not report any error when SCG connection to Dell Support Zone is broken.
Occurring Condition SupportAssist is enabled using "Connect through a gateway" mode (Secure Connect Gateway). Connection was established successfully. Then the connection between the Secure Connect Gateway and Dell Support Zone is broken or the Dell Support Zone server is down.
User Impact
  • User is not aware that the Secure Connect Gateway(SCG) connection is already broken.
  • Call home or CloudIQ data cannot be sent to Dell.
  • Remote access does not work.
Workaround 
  • Configure email notifications on SCG to get notified of the overall health status. Fix the broken connection when notified. Refer Secure Connect Gateway User Guide for setting up email notifications.
  • In the SCG user interface, manually verify the network connection status between SCG and the Dell Support Zone servers. Refer Secure Connect Gateway User Guide.
 
 
Limitation #13 Active CLIviaSSH or Unisphere remote session is kept alive even after the user disables inbound connectivity in SupportAssist.
Occurring Condition User disables the Inbound connectivity for the remote access option when there is an active session.
(Or)
User disables the SupportAssist connection entirely when there is an active session.
User Impact Dell Support could browse the active remote access to the Unity system and change Unity.
Workaround  The user cannot disable the active inbound session.
Note:
1. The active session expires if left idle with no activity for 30+ minutes.
2. New remote access session cannot be initiated once the Inbound connectivity is disabled.
 
 
Limitation #14 Support can still establish the remote session after a user performs SupportAssist cleanup under some condition.
Occurring Condition
  • User initiates a cleanup operation in Unity either because the SupportAssist service is not in a good state (alert14:380057) or there is any difficulty in gracefully disabling the connection.
  • The SupportAssist disable request during cleanup fails.
User Impact
  • Dell Support could still remotely access the Unity system and change Unity.
  • This issue exists in 5.2 and prior versions of Unity.
Workaround  Contact Dell Support when you see error message as below after running a cleanup script.
image.png

Affected Products

Dell EMC Unity Family |Dell EMC Unity All Flash

Products

Dell EMC Unity
Article Properties
Article Number: 000210339
Article Type: Solution
Last Modified: 18 Jun 2024
Version:  4
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