Dell EqualLogic Host Integration Tools for Microsoft ...

Document Number: 110-6327-EN Rev. R1 October 2020

Dell EqualLogic Host Integration Tools for Microsoft Edition Version 5.4 Release Notes

This document contains important product information and restrictions for version 5.4 of the Dell EqualLogic Host Integration Tools for Microsoft Edition software kit.

Topics:

? Revision History ? Platforms Affected ? HIT/ME Components ? Supported Versions of the Windows Operating System ? Requirements ? New in This Release ? Issues Corrected in Version 5.4 ? Usage Constraints ? Known Issues ? Support Resources ? Copyright

Revision History

Revision R1

Date October 2020

Description Version 5.4 initial release

Platforms Affected

Affected platforms include software, firmware, and Microsoft Windows operating systems.

Firmware

For all operating systems, use PS Series firmware version 9.x or later.

Hardware

Host Integration Tools for Microsoft Edition (HIT/ME) version 5.4 supports all PS and FS Series hardware platforms.

Supported Applications

Through the ASM/ME, HIT/ME supports backup and restore operations for the following applications: SQL Server 2016 and SQL Server 2017 System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) 2016 and SCVMM 2019

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NOTE: SCVMM PowerShell should be used for importing EqualLogic SMP provider for SCVMM 2016. Hyper-V Exchange Server 2016 and Exchange Server 2019 SharePoint 2016 and SharePoint 2019

Microsoft Windows Operating Systems

HIT/ME version 5.4 runs on any of the following Microsoft Windows 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems: Windows Client 10 Windows Server 2012 R2, 2016, and 2019 Windows Server Core 2012 R2, 2016, and 2019

HIT/ME Components

Host Integration Tools for Microsoft Edition (HIT/ME) includes the user-selectable components described in the following table:

Table 1. HIT/ME Tools Components

Component

Description

Remote Setup Wizard (RSW)

Initializes a PS Series storage array

Remote Setup Command Line Interface (RSWCLI)

Provides a command-line alternative to the Remote Setup Wizard. Also enables you to configure multipath I/O settings and configure access to a PS Series group.

Multipath I/O device-specific module (MPIO/DSM)

Supports redundant network paths between a computer and the PS Series group for high availability and high performance.

Auto-Snapshot Manager/Microsoft Edition (ASM/ME) Creates and manages Smart Copies (snapshots, clones, and replicas of PS Series iSCSI volumes).

Use the alternate command-line interface, ASMCLI, for custom operations and scripting.

VSS Provider Virtual Disk Service Provider (VDS) Storage Management Provider (SMP) PowerShell Tools EqualLogic MPIO Configuration Tool

Used by Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) to manage applicationconsistent Smart Copies

Used by VDS version 1.1 and Storage Manager for SANs to create and manage volumes in a group

Manages storage groups on Windows 10 and Windows Server 2012 R2 or later operating systems

Manages one or many PS Series groups through a comprehensive set of PowerShell Tool cmdlets

EqualLogic MPIO Configuration Tool is a new Graphical User Interface (GUI) application (EqlMPIOConfigurator.exe), which provides same user interface as the HIT/ME MPIO Configuration tab.

Supported Versions of the Windows Operating System

The following tables list supported versions of the Windows operating system and identify Host Integration Tools components that do not support specific operating system versions.

NOTE: The capability to import EqualLogic storage to PowerStore is supported for PS Series version 10.0.3 with Microsoft? Windows Server 2012 R2 and Microsoft Windows Server 2016.

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NOTE: If the Host Integration Kit is installed with the capability to import EqualLogic volumes to a PowerStore array, see the Importing External Storage to PowerStore Guide for supported operating systems.

Table 2. Windows Desktop Operating System Support Component RSW Remote Setup CLI MPIO/DSM ASM/ME VSS Provider VDS Provider PowerShell tools Storage Management Provider (SMP) Rethinning driver EqualLogic MPIO Configuration Tool

Windows 10 Yes Yes No No No No Yes Yes No No

Table 3. Windows Server and Server Core Support

Component

Windows Server

2012 R2, 2016, and 2019

RSW

Yes

Remote Setup CLI

Yes

MPIO/DSM

Yes

ASM/ME

Yes

VSS Provider

Yes

VDS Provider

Yes

PowerShell tools

Yes

Storage Management Provider (SMP)

Yes

Rethinning driver

No

EqualLogic MPIO Configuration Tool

Yes

Windows Server Core 2012 R2, 2016, and 2019

No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No

Requirements

To install and use HIT/ME, your environment must meet the firmware and software requirements listed in the following table.

You cannot use an unsupported instance of an application (such as SQL) on the same computer as a supported instance. Doing so might cause HIT/ME to operate incorrectly. HIT/ME supports only the host bus adapters (HBAs) specified in the following table:

NOTE: During installation, the HIT/ME kit disables the MPIO Path Verification for devices claimed by the Dell EqualLogic MPIO DSM. This step prevents a potential problem that could introduce a delay in reconnecting to iSCSI volumes during a Dell EqualLogic PS Series firmware update or controller failover.

Table 4. Supported Software and Firmware Versions

Product

Revision

PS Series firmware

For all operating systems, use PS Series firmware version 9.x or later

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Table 4. Supported Software and Firmware Versions (continued)

Product

Revision

PowerShell Tools

Windows PowerShell Tools version 4.0, 5.0, and 5.1

SharePoint

SharePoint 2016 with September update (KB3118289) SharePoint 2019 with July update (KB4484453)

Exchange Server

Exchange Server 2016 Exchange Server 2019

Virtual Disk Service (VDS) SQL Server (SQL Express is unsupported)

Version 1.1 SQL Server 2017 and SQL Server 2016

Hyper-V

Windows Server 2012 R2 Windows Server 2016 (standard checkpoints only) Windows Sever 2019

System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM)

SCVMM 2016 SCVMM 2019

QLogic QLA405x and QLE406x iSCSI initiator HBAs

Firmware version 3.0.1.49 and BIOS version 1.14 with Windows driver version 2.1.4.26

On the QLogic driver downloads page, follow the link specific for Dell EqualLogic models

Broadcom NetXtreme II iSCSI initiator HBA

Version 12.8 driver suite

New in This Release

New features in HIT/ME version 5.4 include: Support for PS Series firmware version 10.0.3 Support for importing EqualLogic storage to PowerStore

Issues Corrected in Version 5.4

The following issues were fixed in HIT/ME version 5.4: Corrected the Free space calculation in the PowerShell command Get-EqlMember. In the Installation wizard, the default Setup Type is changed to Custom and includes only mandatory features.

Usage Constraints

The following usage constraints exist in this release of HIT/ME:

Windows Server 2012 R2 or Later and Windows 10

This section describes usage constraints that are specific to Windows Server 2012 R2 or later and Windows 10 operating systems.

Incorrect Report of a Device as In-Use

Windows Server 2012 might incorrectly notify you that a device is in use when you try to log out from an iSCSI target. This issue can occur even though no application is using files on any volume associated with the iSCSI target.

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Consequently, the relevant task wizards in Auto-Snapshot Manager (or ASMCLI commands) such as Unmount, Logoff, or Delete might display a Volume in use error. If you encounter this problem and you are certain that no application is using the volume, you can select the Ignore option in Auto-Snapshot Manager or you can set the disk offline on Windows Server 2012 by using the following procedure:

CAUTION: Following this procedure (using either the ASM/ME GUI or the ASMCLI) when one or more files are in use might result in data loss or corruption. 1. Identify the correct iSCSI target. 2. Launch the command prompt by clicking Start Run, then type cmd. 3. Enter diskpart at the Windows command prompt to display the DISKPART> prompt. 4. Enter list volume to list all volumes known to Windows. 5. Examine the column headed Volume ### and identify the volume (or volumes) associated with the iSCSI target. 6. Enter select volume volume_name, where volume_name is the volume that you identified in the previous step. 7. Enter offline disk to set the physical disk for the volume offline. 8. Enter exit to close the diskpart menu. 9. Enter exit to close the command window. After setting the disk offline, you can successfully log out from the iSCSI target using the iSCSI initiator GUI or CLI.

Unsupported PowerShell Cmdlets for Windows 10 or Windows Server 2012 R2 or Later

The Storage Management Provider (SMP) does not support the following PowerShell cmdlets in Windows 10 and Windows Server 2012 R2 or later: New-StoragePool Remove-StoragePool Add-PhysicalDisk Add-VirtualDiskToMaskingSet Rename-MaskingSet Repair-VirtualDisk Set-PhysicalDisk Set-ResiliencySetting Reset-PhysicalDisk Remove-InitiatorId

HIT Must Be Installed on Each VM in a Windows Server Configuration

In a Windows Server configuration using Cluster Shared Volumes, HIT/ME must be installed on each VM. Installing HIT/ME ensures Smart Copies of VMs will work correctly in all configurations, including Enterprise, Datacenter, Core, or any other Windows Server release configuration. This requirement applies whether you start the Smart Copy operation or when you create a schedule from the VM or the Volume node in the ASM/ME GUI. If HIT/ME is not installed on each VM, you can create a Smart Copy, but an error displays stating that ASM/ME could not open a connection to the VM. The Smart Copy will not be file-system consistent, but is crash consistent with respect to the file system in the VM. You might have to run the chkdsk utility the next time the VM restarts.

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