Deploy Dell PowerFlex v3.6.x

Install the SDC on an ESXi-based server and connect it to PowerFlex using esxcli

Install the SDC with the appropriate parameters to connect it to an existing PowerFlex system. This procedure is relevant both for adding more SDCs to an existing system, and for adding SDCs to a two-layer system during initial deployment activities.

Prerequisites

Ensure that you have:

The virtual IP address or MDM IP address of the existing system. If an MDM virtual IP address is not in use, obtain the IP addresses of all the MDM managers.
NOTE: Obtain and include the IP addresses of as many potential manager MDMs as possible when performing this task, to make it easier to switch MDMs in the future. You can add a total of eight IP addresses.
Login credentials for the intended SDC host
The required installation software package for your SDC's operating system (available from the zipped software packages that can be downloaded from the Customer Support site)
A GUID string for the SDC. These strings can be generated by tools that are freely available online. The GUID needs to conform to OSF DCE 1.1. The expected format is xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx where each x can be a digit (0–9) or a letter (a–f).

About this task

The following procedure explains how to manually install an external SDC on an ESXi-based using esxcli in command line.

NOTE: This procedure requires two server reboots.

Steps

On the ESXi-based server on which you are installing the SDC, set the acceptance level:
```
esxcli software acceptance set --level PartnerSupported
```

Install the SDC:

Option	Description
ESXi 6.x	esxcli software vib install -d `<path_to_zip_file>` where `<path_to_zip_file>` is the absolute path to the SDC ZIP file. NOTE: The SDC offline ESXi 6.0 bundle is the same for all ESXi 6.x versions.
ESXi 7	esxcli software component apply -d `<path_to_zip_file>` where `<path_to_zip_file>` is the absolute path to the SDC ZIP file.

Option

Description

ESXi 6.x

esxcli software vib install -d <path_to_zip_file>

where <path_to_zip_file> is the absolute path to the SDC ZIP file.

NOTE: The SDC offline ESXi 6.0 bundle is the same for all ESXi 6.x versions.

ESXi 7

esxcli software component apply -d <path_to_zip_file>

where <path_to_zip_file> is the absolute path to the SDC ZIP file.

Get permission to reboot the ESXi-based server, and perform a graceful reboot cycle to load the SDC driver on the server.
In a first-time install, the SDC will not automatically boot up at this point. Further configuration and an additional reboot are required, as described in this procedure.
Set the IP address of the MDM:
```
esxcli system module parameters set -m scini -p "IoctlIniGuidStr=<XXXXXX> IoctlMdmIPStr=<LIST_VIP_MDM_IPS> IoctlMdmPasswordStr=<ip>-<password>"
```
where
- <LIST_VIP_MDM_IPS> is a comma-separated list of all the MDM IP addresses, or the virtual IP address of the MDM. Do not include tiebreaker addresses here.
  - Separate the IP addresses of the same MDM cluster with a “,” symbol.
  - Separate multiple MDM clusters with the “+” symbol.
    In the following example, there are two MDM clusters. The first has two IP addresses and the second has only one:
    
    10.20.30.40,50.60.70.80+11.22.33.44
- <XXXXXX> is the user-generated GUID string. Example GUID: 12345678-90AB-CDEF-1234-567890ABCDEF
- Optional: IoctlMdmPasswordStr is used for SDC authentication to the MDM for access to the PowerFlex system.
Back up the parameters:
```
/bin/auto-backup.sh
```
Perform another graceful reboot cycle.
Ensure that the driver is loaded:
```
vmkload_mod -l | grep scini
```
Output similar to the following indicates that the driver is loaded:
```
scini 2 808
```
The SDC component is installed on the ESXi-based server.

Results

The SDC is installed on the ESXi-based server and is connected to PowerFlex.

Next steps

In newly deployed systems, perform the post-deployment tasks described in this guide.

In existing systems, map volumes to the new SDCs that you added to the system.

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