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Abstract
IBM continues to evaluate the best practices in terms of supported ESS configurations and upgrade paths. These changes are based on test coverage and support considerations. The scenarios below will no longer be officially supported or considered in the normal test cycle.
Content
Problem Summary:
Recent ESS versions have exposed issues with certain support matrix and upgrade paths. To provide better overall quality and user experience, we have decided to make the following changes. We feel this will lead to more successful future upgrades and customer satisfaction.
Problem Determination:
- Migration from ESS 5.3.x (Legacy, xCAT-based offering) to ESS 6.1.x (container-based offering):
To migrate to the legacy container (ESS 6.1.x.x), which is offered on p8 or p9 EMS (LE only) you must first upgrade to ESS 5.3.7.x. Once you upgrade to this level you must upgrade to ESS 6.1.1.2 or higher. If you are at a level older than ESS 5.3.7.x then you must first get to ESS 5.3.7.x before completing an upgrade to ESS 6.1.1.2 or greater. Please reference the ESS 6.1.1.x Quick Deployment Guide via Appendix S.
- Consolidation of container-based offerings:
In a continued effort to reduce the complexity of various environments we now only support running xCAT or container-based solutions on the p8 EMS. You no longer can mix (for example) ESS 5.3.7.x (ESS Legacy LE) and ESS 6.1.x.x (ESS 3000) on the same p8 EMS. In this example you must convert the Legacy LE offering to the container version. The only exception in this scenario is if the ESS 3000 container version was 6.0.x.x (Scale 5.0.5.x) in this case there does not exist a legacy-based container offering.
- If both a P8 and P9 are currently owned by the customer, only the p9 EMS can be used. You must consolidate all containers and management functions to the single p9 EMS.
To help improve our product’s quality and remove field confusion, if both a p8 and p9 EMS are in the same environment only the p9 EMS is to be used. All management function (GUI, ESA, container deployment) will be run on the single EMS. This assumes some nodes in the storage cluster are already ESS 6.1.0.0 or higher. Stretch cluster is a unique exception and does not qualify for this statement (Though ideally both sides of the stretch cluster would be served by a p9 EMS). This change will improve the ease of managing the systems and will make upgrades simpler.
Recommendations:
Customers are highly encouraged to enact these recommendations as soon as possible and plan accordingly for the next upgrade or building-block add operation.
For questions please contact Support. Also see the Support Reference Guide at https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/ibm-elastic-storage-server-ess-support-reference-guide
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Document Information
Modified date:
07 November 2023
UID
ibm16491857