Overview of vnx oe Block R5.32 and vnx oe File V7.1 hardware enhancements (IV)

Vnx oe Block R5.32 and vnx oe File V7.1

Hardware enhancement overview (4)

A new version is released for the vnx oe (Operating Environment) Operating Environment. The versions of the corresponding Block and File are vnx oe Block R5.32 and vnx oe File V7.1, respectively. At the same time, EMC released three hardware enhancements for the new version:

1. Dual-port 10GBase-T copper I/O module;

2. Dual-port 10GbE optical fiber I/O module;

3. VNX 7500 SP memory expansion.

This section describes how to upgrade VNX 7500 Storage Processor to 48 GB memory.

Introduction

The hardware upgrade must be performed in vnx oe Block R5.32 and File OE V7.1;

VNX 7500 Storage Processor has two versions: 24 GB and 48 GB. The existing VNX 7500 can be upgraded to 48 GB.

Use Upgrade Readiness Checker to verify Upgrade options

• Data-in-place conversion
• Block-to-uniied upgrade
• Memory Upgrade

 

Professional services required

• Both Block and File hardware require power failure;
• SP needs to be removed from the matrix;
• 4 GB DIMMs is replaced with 8 GB DIMMs.

5. Performance advantages

• The increase in write memory brings better system performance;
• Higher meta-data memory quota improves Thin-LUN performance.

Tools required

Two basic tools are required for memory Upgrade: Upgrade Readiness Checker and In-Family-Conversion packages:

Pgrade Readiness Checker (URC): This tool is part of the latest UnisphereService Manger version. This tool connects to the target system using an existing configuration file or creating a new file, to verify that the current configuration is used for memory upgrades.

In-Family-Conversion package: This tool puts the SP in the hold-In-POST state, allowing the customer to perform hardware and wiring Conversion changes before powering off the system. The following figure shows an NDU process window in which the conversion package is uploaded to VNX.

Replacement steps

 

Step 1: run URC and follow the URC wizard to obtain the upgrade preparation check report ".

 

 

 

 

The right figure shows the URC check result. In the results, you can see that the hardware upgrade is supported by the system, but check to find some problems that must be fixed, click "View Full Readiness Report for Details" to View the specific Report.

 

 

The URC detailed report provides the recommended steps to solve the problem.

 

In this example, you can see that vnx oe does not support such a large memory. The Block and File versions must be upgraded to the latest version, namely, Block R5.32 and File v7.1.39.2.

 

Step 2: Perform health check on the File and Block to disable the ConnectHome, E-mail, and NAS services. If Replication is configured, you need to disable the Replication function (option) and disable the DM power;

 

 

Step 3: install the In-Family-Conversion package. Connect to the SPA using a serial port. It takes several minutes to load the IFC package using the javaseccli command as shown in the figure.

 

 

Step 4: Turn Off the SP Power through SPS;

 

 

Step 5: Add memory for SP. Unplug the power supply and Storage Processor, 4 GB DIMMs will be replaced with 8 GB DIMMs, and power and Storage Processor will be reinstalled. In this way, the physical memory of the vnx sp is upgraded to 48 GB.

 

Step 6: Start the SP and run the command "/nas/sbin/t2reset pwron-s 2" to repeatedly start the DM on different Data movers;

 

 

Step 7: restore the DM operation status.