Dell PowerStore Operate key terms

A single PowerStore appliance controller unit containing CPUs, memory, and front-end and back-end ports. Two nodes pair into an appliance, and multiple appliances form a cluster.

A pair of PowerStore nodes working as a highly available unit. Each appliance owns its own drives and serves I/O independently while participating in the cluster.

The top-level PowerStore management and scale-out unit containing one to four appliances. It presents a single management interface and shared namespace to hosts and administrators.

A PowerStore deployment model that serves both block (SAN) and file (NAS) protocols from the same appliance. It requires the NAS personality and file-capable nodes.

A PowerStore configuration serving only block storage over Fibre Channel, iSCSI, or NVMe-oF. File services are not enabled, so no NAS servers or shares exist.

The solid-state media used in PowerStore enclosures for persistent storage. Drives are organized into RAID extents and are not exposed directly to hosts.

A fixed-size slice of a physical drive that PowerStore uses as the building block for RAID and storage pools. Extents are distributed across drives to balance load.

PowerStore's RAID layout that spreads data and parity across extents on many drives, allowing faster rebuilds and better performance than traditional small RAID groups.

A logical collection of drive extents from which volumes and file systems draw capacity. Pools present thin-provisioned capacity and can be expanded by adding drives.

The address used to reach PowerStore Manager and the REST API for administration. It is separate from the storage data IPs used by hosts.

The data-path network carrying block or file I/O between hosts and PowerStore nodes. It is distinct from the management network and is configured per node.

The guided setup in PowerStore Manager that discovers an unconfigured system and sets cluster name, management networking, and initial credentials before first use.

The web-based graphical interface used to configure, monitor, and manage a PowerStore cluster, including provisioning, replication, and support operations.

The programmatic HTTPS interface for PowerStore automation and integration. It exposes resources such as volumes, hosts, and policies and is used by CLI and third-party tools.

A thin-provisioned block storage object presented to hosts as a LUN or namespace. Volumes belong to a storage pool and can carry protection and QoS policies.

Allocating logical capacity to volumes or file systems without reserving physical space up front. Space is consumed only as data is written, requiring capacity monitoring.

A container that groups related volumes so they can be managed, mapped, and protected together, commonly used for consistency across application data and logs.

The association that grants a specific host access to a volume or volume group. Without a mapping, a host cannot see or write to the block storage.

A record representing a server that consumes PowerStore storage. It groups initiators and is used for mapping volumes and applying host-level policies.

The unique identifier a host uses to log in to storage, such as a Fibre Channel WWN or an iSCSI IQN. Initiators are registered under a host object.

A collection of hosts that share access to the same volumes, typically used for clustered applications where every node must see identical storage.

A block storage protocol that carries SCSI commands over TCP/IP. PowerStore supports it on data ports with CHAP authentication and multiple portal addresses.

A dedicated high-speed block storage network using FC switches or direct connections. PowerStore nodes present FC ports identified by worldwide names.

NVMe over Fabrics transports the NVMe command set across Fibre Channel or TCP networks, offering lower latency than legacy SCSI protocols for block access.

The fabric configuration on FC switches that permits only specified initiator and target ports to communicate. Correct zoning is required before hosts can see volumes.

Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol used to authenticate iSCSI initiators and targets. PowerStore supports one-way and mutual CHAP for access control.

The file-service object in a unified PowerStore system that owns file systems, shares, and network interfaces. It must be created before SMB or NFS exports exist.

A file share exported over the SMB protocol from a NAS server, with options for access-based enumeration, offline availability, and Windows ACL permissions.

A file export over NFS from a NAS server, controlled by host access lists and export options. It is commonly used for Linux and VMware workloads.

A file-level storage container on a NAS server that holds directories and files. It consumes pool capacity and can be protected by snapshots and replication.

A point-in-time, space-efficient copy of a volume or file system. Snapshots are typically created by protection policies and can be used for restore or clone.

A rule set that defines snapshot schedules and replication rules applied to volumes, volume groups, or file systems. It automates data protection without manual steps.

A component of a protection policy specifying how often snapshots are taken and how many are retained. Multiple rules can be combined in one policy.

Asynchronous copying of protected storage from a source system to a remote PowerStore system for disaster recovery. It requires a remote system and matching policies.

A paired PowerStore cluster registered as a replication target. Connectivity and credentials must be validated before replication sessions can be created.

A space-efficient writable copy of a volume or snapshot that shares unchanged blocks with its parent. Writes diverge from the source over time.

A notification generated by PowerStore when a condition needs attention, such as a hardware fault or capacity threshold. Alerts carry severity and can trigger email or SNMP.

An unsolicited message sent from PowerStore to a management station when an event occurs. It enables integration with external monitoring platforms.

Measured statistics such as IOPS, bandwidth, and latency collected per volume, host, or node. They are used to identify bottlenecks and validate service levels.

A policy limiting maximum IOPS or bandwidth for volumes or volume groups to prevent a workload from consuming shared resources unfairly.

The remote connectivity feature that sends telemetry and alerts to Dell support and enables automated case creation and remote troubleshooting.

The process of applying PowerStoreOS or drive firmware updates to a cluster. It uses a health check and nondisruptive rolling update across nodes.

A privileged local account used for advanced service tasks and support access. Its use is restricted and should be controlled under security policy.

The assignment of permissions to users based on roles such as administrator, storage operator, or read-only. It limits what each account can change.

The ability to partition a PowerStore cluster so separate tenants or teams have isolated resources and visibility. It relies on resource groups and scoped access.

A record of administrative and security-relevant actions performed on the cluster. It supports compliance investigations and change tracking.