Dell PowerStore Operate 2023 key terms

PowerStore appliance design in which both storage nodes run the same software image and can serve block, file, and vVol workloads, with either node able to take over the other's services after a failure.

A PowerStore base enclosure containing two active-active nodes, internal NVMe drives, and power/cooling components; multiple appliances can be clustered and managed as one system.

Automatic process where the surviving node assumes the identity, IP addresses, and I/O services of a failed partner node so hosts keep accessing data with minimal interruption.

A set of up to four PowerStore appliances managed together under one management IP address, allowing volumes and hosts to span appliances and enabling nondisruptive mobility between them.

Non-volatile memory express solid-state drive used for all PowerStore internal storage; drives are dual-ported and accessed over PCIe fabrics rather than SAS or SATA.

Spare capacity policy in which reserved drives or capacity are held back so the system can rebuild data automatically after a drive failure without operator intervention.

Optional lightweight component, deployed as a virtual machine, that provides a tie-breaking vote so a two-appliance cluster can survive the loss of one whole appliance.

Address assigned to the cluster for PowerStore Manager access, REST API calls, and support connectivity; it floats between nodes so management stays reachable during failover.

Dedicated data-path network carrying host I/O over Fibre Channel, iSCSI, or NVMe-oF; kept separate from the management network for performance and security.

Guided workflow that discovers an unconfigured appliance, sets management addresses, creates the cluster, applies licenses, and prepares storage networks before hosts are connected.

Tool that scans the local subnet for PowerStore appliances with unconfigured or unknown management addresses so an administrator can begin initial setup.

Browser-based graphical interface used to provision storage, configure protection policies, monitor health and capacity, run upgrades, and collect support materials for the cluster.

Configuration that decides which events generate notifications, their severity, and whether email or other delivery targets receive them, helping operations staff react to faults quickly.

Scheduled or on-demand assessment that reviews configuration, capacity, and component status against best practices and reports issues with recommended remediation steps.

Logical block storage unit presented to a host, with a defined size, protection policy, and one or more mapped host connections; the basic provisioning object in PowerStore.

Container that groups volumes so they share consistent snapshot and replication operations, commonly used to keep related volumes of one application consistent.

Object representing a server that consumes storage, defined by its initiators (FC WWNs, iSCSI IQNs, or NVMe NQNs) and used to map volumes or volume groups.

Collection of hosts that are mapped to storage together, simplifying administration of clusters where several servers need identical access to the same volumes.

Identifier a host uses on the storage network, such as a Fibre Channel worldwide name, an iSCSI qualified name, or an NVMe qualified name, registered in PowerStore for mapping.

Reusable rule set that defines snapshot frequency and retention, and optionally replication to a remote system, applied to volumes, volume groups, and file systems.

Point-in-time, space-efficient copy of a volume or volume group created by a protection policy or manually, used for rollback and for creating consistent test copies.

Writable copy of a volume or snapshot that shares unchanged data with its parent and consumes capacity only for blocks that are later modified.

Asynchronous or synchronous copying of volume data to a remote PowerStore system for disaster recovery, managed through protection policies and remote system definitions.

Configuration object describing a partner cluster or array, including its management address and credentials, that is required before replication sessions can be created.

Fabric switch configuration that permits specific host and storage port pairs to communicate; incorrect zoning is a common cause of hosts failing to see mapped volumes.

SCSI commands carried over TCP/IP, letting hosts access PowerStore volumes through standard Ethernet networks using IQN initiators and discovery addresses.

Protocol that extends NVMe commands over a network fabric, supported by PowerStore for low-latency host connectivity using NVMe qualified names and dedicated data ports.

Nondisruptive migration of a volume between appliances in the same cluster, used to rebalance load or free capacity without taking the volume offline.

Allocation method where a volume reports its full size to the host but consumes physical capacity only as data is written, so monitoring oversubscription is essential.

Historical view of used and available capacity that helps forecast growth, plan expansions, and detect unexpected consumption from snapshots or thin provisioning.

Measured value such as IOPS, bandwidth, or latency, viewable at system, appliance, volume, or host level to identify bottlenecks and validate service levels.

Software update process that upgrades one node at a time while the partner continues serving I/O, so hosts keep access throughout the procedure.

Bundle of logs, configuration data, and diagnostics collected through PowerStore Manager and sent to support for troubleshooting or proactive system review.

Privileged local account used by authorized personnel for advanced service tasks; its password should be controlled and changed according to site security policy.

Scheduled gathering of system configuration and performance information used for support analysis and for tracking the health of the environment over time.