The Isilon (Now called PowerScale) simulator is available from Dell. It allow you to run the Isilon platform in Virtual Machines. It is not designed for production workloads, but I use it and test out things like API integrations and update processes.

The Patching/Upgrade process is pretty straight forward, but isn’t you normal OS update.

Step 1: Update IOCA and run to create a plan.

IOCA is the Isilon On Cluster Analysis tool. Its a perl script from DellEMC that is regularly updated and can check your cluster is in good health.

Get the latest version.

SANCHC3ISI2-1#   curl --disable-epsv -O ftp.emc.com/pub/rcm/Isilon/tools/IOCA 

  % Total    % Received % Xferd  Average Speed   Time    Time     Time  Current
                                 Dload  Upload   Total   Spent    Left  Speed

100  729k  100  729k    0     0   103k      0  0:00:07  0:00:07 --:--:--  173k
# 

And run it saying what version you want to upgrade to. You can simply run it without arguments to get a report.

SANCHC3ISI2-1# perl IOCA -u 9.1.0.9

Isilon On-Cluster Analysis                        0.1364
Live Cluster Analysis                             Thu Aug 12 09:47:05 2021
Cluster Name                                      SANCHC3ISI2
Cluster GUID                                      005056a4a9fc40b79460b1055c74d0908f79
Node Count                                        3
Current OneFS Version                             9.1.0.8
Destination OneFS Version                         9.1.0.9
OneFS Version                                     PASS
KB 544854                                         PASS
Node Compatibility                                PASS
Supportability                                    FAIL
  FAIL: Isilon OneFS simulators are not entitled to any support from Isilon for product-related questions.
  INFO: For more information on Isilon product support life refer to https://support.emc.com/docu45445_Isilon-Product-Availability.pdf
System Partition Free Space                       PASS
Highly Recommended Patches                        WARN
  WARN: 9.1.0.9_GA-RUP_2021-07_PSP-1248 is recommended for the destination OneFS 9.1.0.9.
  DETAILS: Installed Patches: 9.1.0.8_GA-RUP_2021-06_PSP-1118, 9.X_GA-TOOLS_2021-06_PSP-1306, HealthCheck_9.1.0_2021-06
Cluster Capacity                                  PASS
Cluster Health Status                             PASS
Critical Events                                   PASS
Jobs Status                                       PASS
Cluster Services                                  PASS
Services - Monitoring                             PASS
Processes                                         PASS
IB Interfaces Active                              PASS
Node Uptime                                       PASS (52 days)
Upgrade Agent Port                                PASS
Upgrade Status                                    PASS
Hardware Status                                   PASS
Memory                                            PASS
Drives Health                                     PASS
SmartConnect Service IP                           PASS
Maintenance Mode                                  PASS
Duplicate Gateway Priority                        PASS
All Enabled Protocols                             PASS
SyncIQ                                            PASS
NDMP                                              PASS
HDFS                                              PASS
Authentication Status                             PASS
NFS                                               FAIL
  CRITICAL: The NFS service is disabled.  If the customer does not use NFS this may be expected and the 'NFS issues detected' may be ignored.
  CRITICAL: NFS issues detected on the following nodes: 1-3
Licenses                                          PASS
Access Zones                                      PASS (2)
Contact Information                               PASS
Cluster Encoding                                  PASS (utf-8)
CloudPools                                        PASS
Cluster Time Zone                                 PASS (Pacific/Auckland)
KB 530050                                         PASS
KB 496993                                         PASS
KB519423                                          PASS
KB 540071                                         PASS
KB 535582                                         PASS
DialHome & Remote Connectivity                    PASS
  DETAILS: SRS is not enabled
ETAs                                              PASS

UPGRADE ISSUE DETECTED



The following information should be included to the customer:

For information about OneFS compatibility with Hadoop, review the Using Hadoop with OneFS - Isilon Info Hub [https://www.dell.com/support/article/sln318813/using-hadoop-with-onefs-isilon-info-hub].
--------------------
Overview of Upgrade Steps
--------------------
1: Patch Install (Reboot)(Rolling) (0.8 hours)
Current Code: 9.1.0.8
Upgrading To: 9.1.0.9
Patch: 9.1.0.9_GA-RUP_2021-07_PSP-1248
Nodes: 1-3 (3 nodes)

Estimated total duration: 0.8 hours
--------------------
Release Notes
--------------------
OneFS 9.1.0 RUP README: https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/000181149


The following files will need to be downloaded to /ifs/data/:

9.1.0.9_GA-RUP_2021-07_PSP-1248
Code: https://dl.dell.com/downloads/DL105153
sha256: 4d7d9d74628808341c4b7c282a588f7138ab7dbe4806c866a9c41df592e63d2c


The following upgrade plan is for scheduling activities to be performed by Remote Proactive:

System Details:
Cluster Name: SANCHC3ISI2
Number of Nodes: 3
Replication Status (SyncIQ): No
Compliance Mode: No
Current OneFS: 9.1.0.8
Destination OneFS: 9.1.0.9

Schedule the following activities:
1: Isilon 1 Hour
Current Code: 9.1.0.8
Upgrading To: 9.1.0.9
Additional Comments: 
# Activity Type: Patch Install (Reboot)(Rolling) (0.8 hours)
# Current Code: 9.1.0.8
# Upgrading To: 9.1.0.9
# Patch: 9.1.0.9_GA-RUP_2021-07_PSP-1248
#                                                                                                                 
 

SANCHC3ISI2-1# 

This is a pretty simple 1 step upgrade. There is one issue detected. I don’t care, I’m not using NFS in this instance. Because it is a simulator then there are no Firmware packages to update. The IOCA script gives you an update plan, tells you how long it thinks it will take, and tells you what to download and where from.

Step 2: Download and Unpack the patch

Download the Rollup patches from Dell, transfer to the cluster and save in the /ifs/data directory. Unpack the patch.

SANCHC3ISI2-1# ls -ltr 9.1.0.9_GA-RUP_2021-07_PSP-1248.tgz  

-rw-r--r--     1 root  wheel  50092910 Aug 12 09:36 9.1.0.9_GA-RUP_2021-07_PSP-1248.tgz
#                                                                                                                 
 

SANCHC3ISI2-1# tar -xvzf 9.1.0.9_GA-RUP_2021-07_PSP-1248.tgz

x 9.1.0.9_GA-RUP_2021-07_PSP-1248.pkg
x Manifest.sha256
x Manifest.sha256.signed
x Manifest.sha256.signed.tsr
x README_9.1.0.9_GA-RUP_2021-07_PSP-1248.txt
#  

The README file tells you the command to install the patch you have just downloaded, along with normal detail about resolved issues.

6. To install this patch, run the following command:

   WARNING: The following command will reboot all of the nodes in the
   cluster simultaneously. To install the patch and then reboot each node
   in succession, use '--rolling' instead of '--simultaneous' parameter.
   For more information, see the Installation/Removal Impacts section
   of the README.

   isi upgrade patches install
   9.1.0.9_GA-RUP_2021-07_PSP-1248.pkg --simultaneous

Step 3: Install the Patch

Request to install the patch. Note use the –rolling option to reboot one node at a time rather than all at once.

SANCHC3ISI2-1# isi upgrade patches install 9.1.0.9_GA-RUP_2021-07_PSP-1248.pkg --rolling

The below patches are deprecated by this patch and will be removed automatically:
- 9.1.0.8_GA-RUP_2021-06_PSP-1118
Would you like to proceed? (yes/[no]): yes
This patch request will require nodes in the cluster to be rebooted either in succession or simultaneously, depending on the options you supplied. Both scenarios can result in lost connectivity. Would you like to proceed? (yes/[no]): yes
Requested install of patch 9.1.0.9_GA-RUP_2021-07_PSP-1248.
#                                                                                                                 
 

SANCHC3ISI2-1# 

The patches will then install in the background. This will take some time. The node that you are logged into will reboot. reconnect and keep checking. The command below shows the status. Eventually the old RUP patch will be removed and the current will show as installed.

SANCHC3ISI2-1# iisi upgrade patches list

Patch Name                      Description                         Status    
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9.1.0.8_GA-RUP_2021-06_PSP-1118 Multiple Userspace and Kernel Fixes AdHoc     
9.1.0.9_GA-RUP_2021-07_PSP-1248 Multiple Userspace and Kernel Fixes Installing
9.X_GA-TOOLS_2021-06_PSP-1306   Support Tools                       Installed 
HealthCheck_9.1.0_2021-06       [9.1.0 UHC 2021-06] HealthCheck RUP Installed 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: 4
#                                                                                                                 
 

SANCHC3ISI2-1# 

#                                                                                                                 
                                                                           

*** FINAL System shutdown message from root@SANCHC3ISI2-1 ***                



System going down IMMEDIATELY  

SANCHC3ISI2-1# isi upgrade patches list

Patch Name                      Description                         Status    
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9.1.0.8_GA-RUP_2021-06_PSP-1118 Multiple Userspace and Kernel Fixes AdHoc     
9.1.0.9_GA-RUP_2021-07_PSP-1248 Multiple Userspace and Kernel Fixes Installing
9.X_GA-TOOLS_2021-06_PSP-1306   Support Tools                       Installed 
HealthCheck_9.1.0_2021-06       [9.1.0 UHC 2021-06] HealthCheck RUP Installed 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: 4
#   
SANCHC3ISI2-1# isi upgrade patches list

Patch Name                      Description                         Status   
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
9.1.0.9_GA-RUP_2021-07_PSP-1248 Multiple Userspace and Kernel Fixes Installed
9.X_GA-TOOLS_2021-06_PSP-1306   Support Tools                       Installed
HealthCheck_9.1.0_2021-06       [9.1.0 UHC 2021-06] HealthCheck RUP Installed
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: 3
#                                                                               
 

SANCHC3ISI2-1# 

All done. OneFS upgraded to latest rollup with minimal impact to running services.

Patching Isilon Simulator
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3 thoughts on “Patching Isilon Simulator

  • 2022-07-06 at 8:28 am
    Permalink

    Major upgrades can be done in similar fashion, except instead od downloading and unpacking the patch, you download and install an upgrade bundle. (IOCA provides the path)
    Unpack that and install with similar command:

    SANCHC3ISI2-1# isi upgrade cluster start –rolling OneFS_v9.2.1.13_Install_2022-06.tar.gz
    You are about to start a rolling UPGRADE, are you sure? (yes/[no]): yes
    The upgrade has been successfully initiated.
    `isi upgrade view [–interactive | -i]` or the web ui can be used to monitor the process.

    Reply
  • 2022-08-11 at 9:41 pm
    Permalink

    isi u v -i (isi upgrade view interactive) keeps refreshing upgrade view in shell while doing upgrades.

    Reply
  • 2023-02-23 at 7:42 am
    Permalink

    As of 9.4 the packages are no longer in pkg format, they are in isi format. Same process applies, but README is less detailed and doesn’t have the explicit install commands listed.

    -rw——- 1 root wheel 78621765 Feb 23 08:31 9.4.0.12_GA-RUP_2023-02_PSP-3079.isi

    SANCHC3ISI2-1# isi upgrade patches install /ifs/data/9.4.0.12_GA-RUP_2023-02_PSP-3079.isi –rolling
    The below patches are deprecated by this patch and will be removed automatically:
    – 9.4.0.11_GA-RUP_2023-01_PSP-3035
    Would you like to proceed? (yes/[no]): yes
    This patch request will require nodes in the cluster to be rebooted based on the options you supplied and will result in lost connectivity. Would you like to proceed? (yes/[no]): yes
    Requested install of patch 9.4.0.12_GA-RUP_2023-02_PSP-3079.isi.

    Reply

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