Deploy Dell PowerFlex v3.6.x

Add components to an existing system

Add components to an existing system, using the CSV file and the PowerFlex Gateway.

1. Point your browser to the URL of the PowerFlex Installer, and log in using your credentials.
2. For components that were not installed previously, upload installation packages:
   1. At the top of the Welcome window, click Packages.
      You may need to re-authenticate.
   2. From the Manage Installation Packages page, click Browse, and browse to the extracted PowerFlex component packages. Select all the required files, and then click Open.

      Select these packages for each operating system type that will be used in your PowerFlex system:

      • MDM
      • SDS
      • SDC
      • LIA
      • RFcache XCACHE package (optional; required for Medium Granularity Storage Pool acceleration)
      • VASAPROVIDER package (optional; required for VMware vVols)
      • SDR (optional; required for the replication feature)
   3. Click Upload.

      The uploaded installation packages appear in the packages table.

   4. Click Proceed to Install.
   The PowerFlex software packages have been uploaded to the PowerFlex Installer, in preparation for deployment
3. On the Provide Installation Topology page, click Browse, browse to the location of the installation CSV file, select the file, and click Open.
4. Next to New installation, click the down-arrow and select Add to existing sys.
5. Click Upload Installation CSV.
   After successful upload of the CSV file, the Installation Configuration tab appears.
6. Enter the following:
   1. For MDM Credentials, enter the IP address or host name of the system's primary MDM, and its password.
   2. For LIA Authentication, select the LIA authentication mode used in your system (Native or LDAP).
      • If native authentication is used for LIA, enter the password in the password and confirm password boxes.
      • If LDAP authentication is used for LIA, for LDAP Authentication, enter values in the LDAP Server URI, LDAP Group, LDAP BaseDN, LDAP UserName and LDAP password boxes.
7. Review the displayed information, by scrolling through the tables, and by hovering over the blue hyperlinks. To view the password that will be configured for a specific component, click show.
   If you have not done so yet, keep a record of all the passwords that you have assigned to the system components.
8. If new Storage Pools were added to the CSV file, configure them as described in the following step. Do not change any configurations of existing Storage Pools. If no Storage Pools were added, skip the next step.
9. Scroll down to the Storage Pool Configuration section of the table, select values for the following items. If the CSV file contained values in the Storage Pool Configuration section, the values will already appear here. These values are mandatory.
   • The expected Device Media Type
   • The External Acceleration type (if used):
     • none—No devices are accelerated by a non-PowerFlex read or write cache
     • read—All devices are accelerated by a non-PowerFlex read cache
     • write—All devices are accelerated by a non-PowerFlex write cache
     • read_and_write—All devices are accelerated by both non-PowerFlex read and write cache

     This input is required in order to prevent the generation of false alerts for media type mismatches. For example, if an HDD device is added which the SDS perceives as being too fast to fit the HDD criteria, alerts might be generated. External acceleration/caching is explained in the Getting to Know Dell PowerFlex Guide.

   • Data Layout type (use with caution; data layout type cannot be changed after Storage Pool creation)
   • If Fine Granularity data layout is selected, select a Fine Granularity ACCP (Acceleration Pool), and a Compression Method
   • If Medium Granularity data layout is selected, the Zero Padding option is available for selection. Use with caution, because the zero padding setting can only be changed in Storage Pools without any storage devices.
   • Replication Journal Capacity Percentage must be defined if SDRs are deployed in the system. For more information about calculating the appropriate value for your system, refer to the Getting to Know Dell PowerFlex Guide.
   NOTE: Fine Granularity can only be selected if the Storage Pool contains NVDIMMs and SSDs.
10. Click Start Installation.
11. At the top of the screen, click the Monitor tab.

    The Install - query screen appears.

    In the query stage, the PowerFlex Installer validates that there are no previously installed PowerFlex components on any of the requested nodes.

    When extending an existing system, the query phase does expect to find currently-installed nodes.

    You can change the display by selecting the following:

    • Auto Refresh (default)
    • Hide Completed Successfully
    • Show All Phases

    At the end of each phase, a status message is displayed.

    If an error message is displayed during the process, you can try to resolve the problem and then retry the failed operations (with the Retry failed button), continue to the next phase, or abort the installation.

    NOTE: Once you proceed to the next stage, you will not be able to use the PowerFlex Installer to retry failed tasks.
12. When the query phase is complete, close the status message, and at the top right side of the screen, click Start upload phase.

    The Install - upload screen appears, displaying which PowerFlex packages are being uploaded to each server, and the status of each command.

13. When the upload phase is complete, close the status message, and at the top right side of the screen, click Start install phase.

    The Install - install screen appears, displaying the status of the installation commands.

14. When the install phase is complete, close the status message, and at the top right side of the screen, click Start configure phase.

    The Install - configure screen appears, displaying the status of the configuration commands.

15. When all processes are finished, close the status message, and click Mark operation completed.
    The PowerFlex system installation is complete!

    NOTE: Marking the operation completed signals to the PowerFlex Installer that it can now be used for other installations, upgrades, and so on.

    The post-installation notes appear, directing you to the steps necessary to start using your storage.

16. For two-layer systems, if SDCs were not deployed in the previous steps, install them now. For more information, see "Install SDC on frontend servers."