PowerPath Family For Windows 6.2 and Minor Releases Release Notes

Release Notes
EMC PowerPath and PowerPath/VE Family for

Windows
Version 6.2 and minor releases
Release Notes
302-003-525
01
July 2017
These release notes contain supplemental information about PowerPath. Topics include:
l Revision history...................................................................................................... 2
l Product description................................................................................................ 2
l New features and changes......................................................................................3
l Fixed problems....................................................................................................... 5
l Known problems and limitations..............................................................................5
l Technical notes..................................................................................................... 12
l Environment and system requirements..................................................................14
l PowerPath packages.............................................................................................19
l Installation and upgrade........................................................................................ 19
l Documentation..................................................................................................... 20
l Troubleshooting and getting help.......................................................................... 21
l Reporting a problem.............................................................................................. 21
Release Notes
Revision history
The following table presents the revision history of this document.
Table 1 Revision history
Revision Date Description

01 July 2017 First release of the product
Product description
This section describes the PowerPath family of products.
The PowerPath family of products include: PowerPath multipathing, Migration

Enabler, and Serviceability feature of PowerPath Management Appliance (previously
known as PowerPath Configuration Checker).
The PowerPath multipathing license includes Migration Enabler functionality for all
Migration Enabler technology types. Migration Enabler, and Serviceability feature of
PowerPath Management Appliance does not require a separate product license. If you
have questions about your license, contact your Customer Support Representative.
Note
These release notes covers the PowerPath major, minor, and service pack releases.
For patch release details refer to the patch Readme available on EMC Online Support.
Throughout this document, wherever PowerPath for Windows is mentioned, it refers

to PowerPath and PowerPath/VE for Windows Hyper-V, unless otherwise noted.
PowerPath multipathing
PowerPath is a server-resident software solution designed to enhance performance
and application availability.
PowerPath:
l combines automatic load balancing, path failover, and multiple path I/O capabilities
into one integrated package.
l enhances application availability by providing load balancing, automatic path
failover, and recovery functionality.
l supports servers, including cluster servers, connected to EMC and third-party
arrays.
PowerPath for Windows is a path management application specifically designed to
work within the Microsoft Multipathing I/O (MPIO) framework.
PowerPath Migration Enabler

PowerPath Migration Enabler is a host-based migration tool that allows you to migrate
data between supported storage systems.
Migration Enabler uses the PowerPath filter driver, in conjunction with an underlying
technology, to provide nondisruptive or minimally disruptive data migrations.
2 PowerPath and PowerPath/VE Family for Windows 6.2 and minor releases Release Notes
Release Notes
The underlying technologies for Migration Enabler are Open Replicator for Symmetrix
(OR) and HostCopy (host-based copy). The PowerPath Migration Enabler User Guide
provides additional information.
New features and changes

This section describes new PowerPath features by version.
Earlier versions of PowerPath may be qualified with the following product versions.
The E-Lab Interoperability Navigator provides complete, up-to-date qualification
information.
New features
This section describes new features and functionality.
PowerPath 6.2
This section describes new features in PowerPath.
Dell SC Series array support

Support for Dell SC arrays running SCOS 7.2.10.
VNX/VNXe OE firmware support

Support for VNX/VNXe Block OE 05.33.008.5.xxx, 05.33.009.5.xxx, and
05.33.0010.5.xxx and support for File OE 8.1.8.xx, 8.1.9.xx, and 8.1.10.xx.
VPLEX GeoSynchrony support

Support for VPLEX GeoSynchrony 6.0 SP1 P2.
XtremIO firmware support

Support for XtremIO running firmware version 4.0.25.
VMAX3 release support

Support for VMAX3 950F array, VMAX3 HYPERMAX version 5977.1125.1125 which
includes NDM, and Solution Enabler 8.4.0.3 on all the supported VMAX3 arrays.
iSCSI NIC IP display feature for Microsoft Software iSCSI initiator

Enable this feature to see the iSCSI NIC IP for every path in the powermt display. For
detailed steps, refer to the section "Enabling and disabling the iSCSI NIC IP display
feature" in the PowerPath and PowerPath/VE Family for Windows Installation and
Administration Guide.
Thin-aware PowerPath Migration Enabler migrations into VPLEX

PowerPath Migration Enabler respects thin-awareness when migrating to VPLEX.
PowerPath Migration Enabler will not write to the target LU unless there is non-zero
New features and changes 3

Release Notes
data to be copied from the source. PowerPath Migration Enabler optimizes migrations
of large LUs when the writes to the target LU are slower than the reads.
Serviceability feature of PowerPath Management Appliance

PowerPath Management Appliance supports PowerPath Configuration Checker
features and is incorporated as Serviceability Data.
Enhancements to event logging

The event log attaches details of the path configuration or path failure for Path Alive
and Path Dead.
Support changes
This section describes changed behavior, end-of-life announcements (deprecations),
and other support changes.
Changed behavior
This section describes changed behavior with functionality in fresh PowerPath
installations. On upgrade, the previous settings might be retained where appropriate.
Powermt display command enhanced to show VMAX2 and VMAX3

arrays during migration
In earlier versions, only the VMAX2 paths and IDs displayed during migration.
The powermt display command was enhanced to display the paths and IDs from both
the VMAX2 and VMAX3 arrays during migration. This includes the Symmetrix IDs and
the logical device IDs. When NDM migration completes, the VMAX2 arrays are
removed from view and only the VMAX3 paths and IDs display.
The following example shows the paths and IDs from both VMAX2 and VMAX3 during
migration.
Pseudo name=harddisk86
Symmetrix ID=000197200863, 000195700879
Logical device ID=0374B, 2238
Device WWN=60000970000195700879533032323338
state=alive; policy=SymmOpt; queued-IOs=0
===============================================================
--------------- Host ------------ - Stor - -- I/O Path -- -- Stats
---
### HW Path I/O Paths Interf. Mode State Q-IOs
Errors
==============================================================
5 port5\path0\tgt7\lun0 c5t7d0 FA 6e:31 active alive 0 0
Release Notes
License warning displays

Displays a license warning message for every powermt command in case the license is
not added to the PowerPath host. Note that some commands already have the license
warning or error message.
Proximity-based autostandby for VMAX

The proximity-based autostandby for VMAX is set to off by default.
TimeFinder/Clone (SYMCLONE) support removed

PowerPath for Windows 6.1 was the last version to support TimeFinder/Clone
(SYMCLONE) with Migration Enabler.
Fixed problems
This section lists fixed problems by product.
l PowerPath multipathing fixed problems
l PowerPath Migration Enabler fixed problems
PowerPath multipathing fixed problems

The following table shows the fixed problems in PowerPath multipathing.
Table 2 PowerPath multipathing fixed problems
Problem Problem summary Found in Fixed in

number version version
PPCC-161 When a Dell SC controller restarts, logical units that are owned by that controller 6.1 6.2
may continue to display paths to the failed controller (for example, powermt
storage interface/GUI Storage Port) as alive. This is only a display issue that does
not affect application IOs. This issue happens because on a controller restart, Dell
SC fails over the virtual ports seamlessly to the other controller and the host is not
aware of the failover.
For Dell SC array controllers with 6 digit controller IDs, PowerPath shows only the
last five digits in the display (Storage Interface in powermt/Storage Port
PowerPath Admin Console).
PPCC-158 On hosts running PowerPath 6.1 and earlier with XtremIO v2/X2 with controllers 6.1 6.2
having 4 iSCSI port configuration, the user friendly port name (Storage Interface in
powermt/StoragePort in Windows PowerPath Admin Console) displays only the
port number for the 2 upper ports. These ports are identified with numbers ending
with 7 and 8.
Known problems and limitations

This section lists the known problems and limitations by product.
l PowerPath multipathing known problems
l PowerPath Migration Enabler known problems
Fixed problems 5
Release Notes
l Known interoperability problems

l Limitations
PowerPath multipathing known problems

The following table shows the known problems in PowerPath multipathing.
Table 3 PowerPath multipathing known problems
Problem Problem summary Workaround or resolution

number
PPWI-48 If HBAs are disabled and enabled, PowerPath may This issue occurs when the path enumeration order
display stale/incorrect information for some of the changes during HBA enable, causing SCSI addresses of
paths that come back alive. existing dead paths to be interchanged with alive paths
from same volume, resulting in some CLI and GUI
information to become outdated.
To prevent this issue, enable HBA persistent binding
during disable/enable operation.
PPWI-10 After running powermt remove on a ghost path, the Wait for two perfmon intervals to get the performance
powermt display perf dev command might data for the device that has new paths added or
throw an error for the corresponding pseudo device existing paths deleted.
and PMI says that the device is not under PowerPath
control.
441176 On canceling the UAC elevation prompt during None. Ignore the error messages. With UAC enabled
change/repair of PowerPath with the Uninstall/ host, non-administrator users need to provide the
Change program option from Control panel, admin user credential to proceed with PowerPath
PowerPath installation might display a misleading error change/repair installation.
message.
433073 The powermt restore command takes a longer None.

execution time when there is a large number of
outstanding I/Os.
431116 The Automatic Host-Array Registration functionality When deploying a new array for the first time,
fails if only LUNZs are presented. manually register the initiator. Also, ensure that the
hostname you have registered in the newly deployed
array is the same as the hostname on the Windows
host.
431087 When an XtremIO LUN name is modified from the None. This issue does not occur with XtremIO 4.0 or
array side, PowerPath is not able to display the newly later.
modified LUN name even after running the powermt
update lun_names command because of a known
issue with XtremIO.
428028 Running the powermt check force command can None.

sometimes fail to remove some dead paths, with the
following error message:
ERROR: Cannot remove device that is in use:

device_name
Release Notes
Table 3 PowerPath multipathing known problems (continued)

number
427046 Even after enabling the Report SCSI Name String For a NetApp HA pair, the following properties must be
Inquiry Descriptor setting (report_scsi_name) on both set for an initiator group (using the igroup command)
the controllers, the Windows PowerPath Administrator before installing PowerPath:
GUI displays the NetApp arrays as Unknown.
l The report_scsi_name property must be set to
yes (enabled) for both controllers of the pair.
l The ALUA property must be set to yes (enabled)
for both controllers.
For example,
system1> igroup show -v <initiator group

name>
<Initiator group name> (FCP):
OS Type: windows
Member: 10:00:00:00:c9:ac:58:ec (logged in
on: vtic)
Member: 10:00:00:00:c9:ac:58:ed (logged in
on: vtic, 1b)
UUID: 4e4eb665-fff8-11e2-98b7-123478563412
ALUA: Yes
Report SCSI Name in Inquiry Descriptor: Yes
424772 If a host has both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses, only IPv4 None.
address is used. This is related to a more generic issue
with dual-NIC hosts where an arbitrary IP address is
registered.
413430 PPREMOVEALL removes all device strings that are Add required device strings to
supported by PowerPath from MPDEV supported MPIOSupportedDeviceList manually.
device list (MPIOSupportedDeviceList), even if
support for certain arrays was not installed by
PowerPath.
In case of multiple multipathing software residing on
host, PPRemoveAll might affect other multipath
software as well preventing the devices from been
claimed by MPIO.
399788 Fresh installation of PowerPath on Windows 2008 x64 Restart and retry PowerPath installation. If problem
host fails by displaying an error message. persists, contact Microsoft support for assistance.
This occurs because PowerPath executables are linked
with Visual Studio 2005 SP1 runtime libraries.
PowerPath installs the Visual Studio 2005 SP1
redistributable packages as pre-requisites.
399269, The following commands do not remove dead paths to Use powermt check to remove the dead paths.
397341 a device if at least one path to the device is alive:
l powermt remove dev=all
l powermt remove dev=device_name
l powermt remove
PowerPath multipathing known problems 7

Release Notes
Table 3 PowerPath multipathing known problems (continued)

number
and throw the following error message:
ERROR: Cannot remove device that is in use:

device_name
328730, The system state backup fails after uninstalling None.

327297 PowerPath due to PowerPath drivers listed in
PnPLockdown files.
PowerPath Migration Enabler known problems

The following table shows the known problems in PowerPath Migration Enabler.
Table 4 Migration Enabler known problems

number
445882 If an MSCS CSV involved in a migration fails over with Before planned CSV failover, ensure that there are no
application writes, Migration Enabler may report a application writes to the CSV. If the CSV fails over and
target fault. Migration Enabler reports a target fault, abort the
migration.
421216 When attempting to perform a cleanup operation If cluster migrations are happening simultaneously in
against a large number of cluster migrations, large numbers, there can be a delay period as the
powermig cleanup command fails with the following failover nodes need some time to cleanup. Run the
message: powermig recover command.
PPME error(79): Not all nodes have reached

the correct state to complete this
operation, please try this or the recover
command again later.
420905 In MSCS cluster environments, powermig setup If you are performing a cluster migration, turn off the
command succeeds if -cluster option is not Maintenance Mode for the cluster disk.
specified for the source cluster disk which is in
Maintenance Mode.
419666 Repairing PowerPath on the node that is owning Before repairing PowerPath on node A, move Quorum
Quorum disk causes temporary Quorum disk failure. resource from node A to node B.
409778 After migrating to a target device larger than the Remove the device and restore is. You can do this
source device, I/O larger than the source device may using device manager or devcon tool.
fail. For example, after migrating from iSCSI LUN
1. Identify the pseudo device on MPIO bus which is
harddisk47 (Maximum Transfer Length=256k) to FC
related to the given disk device (PhysicalDrive#)
LUN harddisk10 (Maximum Transfer Length=512k), I/O
and remove it.
on harddisk10 larger than 256k fail.
2. After removal, select Scan for new hardware in
device manager to let system rediscover the
device.
Release Notes
Table 4 Migration Enabler known problems (continued)

number
324184, Pass-through LUN gets reconfigured on Hyper-V child Before data migration is committed, manually perform
323890, partition during data migration. This leads to failure of the following steps:
384106 the application running on the passthrough LUN in the
1. Shut down the application that is using the pass-
child partition.
through LUN in the child partition. Alternatively,
shut down the child partition.
2. Commit the data migration and clean up the data
migration session.
3. Perform disk rescan in the child partition and
reconfigure the application that was running on the
pass-through LUN, if necessary.
4. Restart the application that was running on the
pass-through LUN on the child partition.
Alternatively, restart the child partition, and
reconfigure the application if necessary.
323222 PowerPath data migration cannot survive from a host None.

reboot when the HostCopy migration session across
different transports from Fibre Channel to iSCSI
software initiator is outstanding. If a reboot does
occur, the migration session may require recovery.
296865 If the powermig pause and powermig resume None.

commands are executed multiple times on the same
handle Migration Enabler does not give any message to
the user.
Known interoperability problems

The following table shows the known interoperability problems with PowerPath. The
issues reside outside of the PowerPath code.
Table 5 Known interoperability problems

number
PPCC-160 If a Primary<->Secondary sides of a SC Live Volume Disable the PowerPath proximity-based autostandby
swap at any time due to any reason, a PowerPath host for SC arrays.
that has proximity based auto-standby enabled for
those Dell SC array class devices, will not be able to
automatically identify the swap. As a result, the host
will continue sending I/O down to the secondary paths
(primary before swap).
If the primary side of a SC Live Volume fails, a Disable the PowerPath proximity-based autostandby
PowerPath display on a host, that has proximity based for SC arrays.
auto-standby enabled for those Dell SC array class
devices, may show the paths to the functional
Known interoperability problems 9

Release Notes
Table 5 Known interoperability problems (continued)

number
secondary side being marked as dead. This does not
affect application I/Os.
PPWI-397 For SC Live Volumes, the storage interface controller None.

numbers might not match the actual controllers to
which the path is configured. This mismatch happens
because the secondary array spoofs the array number
of the primary array.
If the proximity-based auto-standby is enabled for SC Disable the proximity-based auto-standby for SC
Live Volumes, PowerPath does not display information arrays.
about both sides of the volume. This happens because
the secondary array spoofs the array number of the
primary array.
448972 Microsoft update KB2955163 causes MPIO/DSM The fix for this issue is provided in a Microsoft update
events to not be formatted in the system event log. found in KB-3045992.
The problem blocks operation of PowerPath
Management Pack for Microsoft Operations Manager
(SCOM) as it relies on the events logged by
PowerPath to generate path alerts.
411075, All Paths Dead message is observed during inter- Use VPLEX firmware version 5.0.1 patch 1 or later.
410700 cluster link failure on a HA clustered node to which
preferred VPEX cluster is connected. The issue is seen
only with VPLEX firmware 5.0.1 version.
405736 Because of a Veritas issue, installation of PowerPath Perform one of the following steps:
on a host where VxVM 6.0 has been installed and then
l If system has not been rebooted after Veritas
uninstalled leaves all the Symmetrix devices yellow
uninstallation, run PowerPath 6.0 repair and
banged and removed from PowerPath control.
reboot the system to add the missing device
strings back to MPDEV SupportedDeviceList.
l If system has been rebooted after Veritas
uninstallation:
1. Run PowerPath 6.0 repair.

2. Run ppinstall reinstall -hwid $sdl
3. Reboot the system.
339544 Emulex OCM (OneCommand Manager) is slow to Install VPLEX GeoSynchrony 4.2.
install when a VPLEX LUNZ is visible to the host.
VPLEX tracking number: zephyr-q9228
333290 If Migration Enabler pre-setup check fails because the Use the HBA management utility to change the
maximum transfer length for the target LUN is smaller maximum transfer length by lowering it on the source
than it is for the source LUN, powermig setup fails HBA or increasing it on the target HBA. Reboot may be
with the following error message: required after the change.
PPME error (66): Targets max transfer

attribute is too small
Release Notes
Table 5 Known interoperability problems (continued)

number
This may be caused when HBA cards from different
vendors or when a mixture of protocols (Fibre Channel
and iSCSI) are used on the same host.
327730 On a two node cluster setup with Cluster Shared The fix for this issue is provided in Microsoft hotfix
Volume (CSV) configured, performing cluster failover KB-979710. This hotfix is required only when Microsoft
by disabling the HBA's alternatively on nodes Failover Cluster feature is installed.
repeatedly leads to ?? on all CSV disks.
307014 After updating the driver software with disk.sys on None. Microsoft TAP bug# 443492.
Microsoft Windows 2008 R2 hosts, the PowerPath
devices under Device Manager display as PowerPath
Devices instead of DGC RAID XX Multi-Path
Disk Device or EMC Symmetrix Multi-
Path Device. This is a Microsoft Windows 2008
R2 driver installation issue.
296973 On reconnecting one of the NIC cables immediately The fix for this issue is provided in Microsoft hotfix
(within a few seconds) after all of the NIC cables were KB-970658.
disconnected, the device enumeration may take longer
to complete on iSCSI setups running Windows Server
2008. This issue is observed only with heavy I/Os on
30 or more devices which may lead to a device rescan
freeze and I/O failures for a longer period than
expected.
Limitations
This section lists the limitations by product.
l PowerPath multipathing limitations
l PowerPath Migration Enabler limitations
PowerPath multipathing limitations

This section lists the PowerPath multipathing limitations.
PowerPath for Windows includes the following limitations:

l On Windows Server 2008 and later, disks are marked offline when first added to
the host. The user must manually enable these offline disks before they can be
used. To avoid this issue run the following command in diskpart, san
policy=onlineall. This command configures the system to leave new SAN
drives online.
l After a back-end failure, path failures (where the path state transitions from alive
to dead) cause a nonzero error count. While the error count should be the same
for all devices, it may differ across devices (due to Windows Plug and Play
behavior). Run powermt restore to reset the error count.
l VPLEX has known limitations with NDU (non-disruptive upgrades). Refer to the
VPLEX documentation and VPLEX tracking zephyr-q7910 for more information.
Limitations 11
Release Notes
l Boot from SAN on 4k sector size LUNs is not supported. Use only 512 sector size
LUNs as boot LUNs in a Boot from SAN environment. 4k sector size LUNs are
restricted to application data.
l With iSCSI devices, PowerPath upgrade asks for a second reboot.
PowerPath Migration Enabler limitations

This section lists the Migration Enabler limitations.
PowerPath for Windows includes the following limitations:

l Do not rename a logical unit that is involved in a migration session. (PowerPath
does not prevent you from doing so.)
l Migration Enabler migration can be done only between same block size devices.
l If the Migration Enabler host uses different HBAs to access the source and target
logical devices, the HBAs must be comparable in every way; there cannot even be
different revisions of the same HBA.
l The maximum number of concurrent migrations that continue after a graceful
reboot is 60. Attempting more than 60 migrations may result in a fault state
(targetLUfault or sourceLUfault).
l With the HostCopy technology type, you can start as many migration sessions as
desired but only 8 sessions will be in the copy state at any given point in time.
l Migration Enabler Open Replicator technology type does not support throttling
with VMAX3 array.
l CSV maintenance mode is not supported.
l When one or modes enter into Quarantine mode in Windows Server 2016 cluster,
ongoing powermig migrations fail. Powermig does not support Quarantine mode.
Technical notes
This section describes technical notes by product.
l PowerPath multipathing technical notes
l PowerPath Migration Enabler technical notes
PowerPath multipathing technical notes

This section lists the PowerPath multipathing technical notes.
Manually rescanning devices from Windows Device Manager

Manually rescan devices from Windows Device Manager in the following scenarios:
l Any kind of SAN configuration changes at the host, in the network, or at the back
end must be followed by Window Device Managers manual rescan to ensure
proper functioning of PowerPath capabilities.
l The log-off session from Microsoft iSCSI initiator must be followed by a manual
device rescan from Windows Device Manager.
PowerPath support NetApp devices using ALUA enabled only
Release Notes
PowerPath is supported only with ALUA mode of operation for NetApp initiator
groups. If you do not use ALUA, then the PowerPath CLI and Windows PowerPath
Administrator GUI might not work as expected.
Performance metrics and the powermt commands

When you run the powermt check or powermt remove command, performance
metrics for all devices under PowerPath control might be affected. Performance data
will resume in two sampling intervals.
Pseudo LUNs configured as pass-through disks in Hyper-V configurations

If a PowerPath pseudo LUN is configured as a pass-through disk in Hyper-V, some
hardware configuration changes and operations may change the PnP (plug and play)
device instance ID of the pass-through disk. This invalidates the Hyper-V virtual
machine (VM) configuration.
The following operations may invalidate pass-through disk settings in Hyper-V child
partition configuration:
l Fresh PowerPath installation on a parent partition where all pass-through disks will
be managed by PowerPath.
l PowerPath upgrade on a parent partition where all pass-through disks have been
or will be managed by PowerPath.
The corrective action to take in these instances is to reconfigure the pass-through
disks for the Hyper-V VM.
Virtual machines not starting automatically

After PowerPath installation and system reboot, all drives go offline and VMs are
prevented from starting automatically.
This is expected behavior on Windows Server 2008 and later and Windows Server
2008 R2 when using the default SAN policy (OfflineShared). This can be resolved by
using DiskPart SAN to change the policy to OnlineAll or powering on the VM after
manually changing the disk status to Online from Disk Management after PowerPath
installation and reboot.
Unity, VNX, and CLARiiON failover mode values

The following table describes failover mode values and compatibility with PowerPath
platforms.
The Array failover mode field appears only when PowerPath manages Unity, VNX, and
CLARiiON arrays. The failover mode setting applies to a servers HBA ports, and is
configured through the Unity/VNX OE Unisphere and CLARiiON Navisphere GUI or
CLI. For more information about array failover modes, refer to the Unity, VNX, and
CLARiiON documentation.
After changing the devices failover mode, a host reboot is required for PowerPath to
recognize the change.
PowerPath multipathing technical notes 13

Release Notes
Table 6 Failover modes
Failover mode Failover mode PowerPath support

name
0 LUN-based trespass Not supported with PowerPath.
1 PNR Supported with PowerPath for Solaris.
2 dynamic Not supported with PowerPath.

multipathing (DMP)
3 passive always ready Not supported with PowerPath for Linux,

(PAR) Solaris. PAR is supported with NDU.
4 asymmetric logical Supported with PowerPath for AIX, Linux,

unit access (ALUA) Solaris, Windows. Limitations with ALUA may
apply. ALUA is supported with NDU.
PowerPath Migration Enabler technical notes

This section lists the Migration Enabler technical notes.
Adding a disk to a Cluster Shared Volume fails

If you try to add a cluster disk (available storage) configured for Migration Enabler to
cluster shared volumes, then the addition fails with the error "Other resources are
dependent on this resource".
Procedure
l Add the cluster disk to CSV after cleaning up the migration in which it is involved.
Environment and system requirements

This section lists interoperability and host configuration information not found in other
sources, and it provides references to where you can find more information.
l E-Lab Interoperability Navigator
l Support Summary
E-Lab Interoperability Navigator

For interoperability information, such as information about the hardware, software,
and networked storage components that are tested and compatible with both EMC
storage systems and third-party storage systems, refer to the E-Lab Interoperability
Navigator.
Note
The information in E-Lab Interoperability Navigator takes precedence over the

information in this release notes in case of inconsistency.
The E-Lab Interoperability Navigator is a web-based, searchable database of

configuration information.
Release Notes
Support summary
The following tables summarize what has been qualified PowerPath as of the general
availability date. These tables do not provide a comprehensive list of all supported
products and versions.
The E-Lab Interoperability Navigator provides complete, up-to-date qualification
information and supported operating system versions.
Cluster environment support summary

The following table summarizes support for cluster environments.
Table 7 Cluster environments
Technology PowerPath multipathing Migration Enabler

Microsoft Failover Cluster Yes Yes
(MSFC)
Microsoft Failover Cluster Yes Yes

Cluster Shared Volumes
(CSV)
Veritas Cluster Server (VCS) Yes Yes

6.1.x, 7.1
Cluster Shared Volumes are supported only on Windows Server 2008 R2 and later.
Some third-party arrays are not compatible with MSFC/MSCS on Windows Servers
2008 and Windows Server 2012. Arrays are required to support SCSI-3 reservations.
Refer to the vendor for support.
When migrating devices in a cluster configuration, you should select one node to
remain active and all secondary nodes should be shutdown during the migration, the
only exception being MSFS/MSCS and CSV cluster environment, where you do not
have to shutdown any nodes in the cluster to perform a cluster migration.
Dynamic disks support summary

The following table summarizes support for dynamic disks.
Table 8 Dynamic disks
Technology PowerPath multipathing PowerPath Migration

Enabler
Dynamic disks Yes Yes
File system support summary

The following table summarizes support for file systems.
Table 9 File systems

FAT 32 Yes Yes
Support summary 15
Release Notes
Table 9 File systems (continued)

NTFS Yes Yes
Resilient File System (ReFS) Yes Yes
Host operating system support summary

The following table summarizes support for the host operating systems.
Table 10 Host operating system
Technology PowerPath Migration Enabler

multipathing
Windows Server 2008 R2 Yes Yes
Windows Server 2012, 2012 R2 Yes Yes

(including Server Core and Hyper-V)
Windows Server 2016 (including Server Yes Yes

Core and Hyper-V)
Nano Server for Windows Server 2016 is not supported.

Server Core for Windows Server 2008 R2 is not supported with PowerPath 6.0 SP1 or
later.
Beginning with PowerPath Version 6.1, Windows Server 2008 is supported only
through Request for Product Qualification (RPQ).
Supported Windows Server distribution notes

The following list provides a quick overview of supported Windows Server
distributions. Support is for x64 only. If you require support for 32-bit, submit a
Request for Product Qualification (RPQ).
Windows Server 2008
On Windows Server 2008 R2, the host must have KB 2921916 and 3033929
installed to support the PowerPath 6.1 SHA-2 drivers. Run NO_KBCHECK=1 during
CLI-based installation to avoid the verification of the installed KBs. The host must
also have Microsoft hotfix KB-979710 only when Microsoft Failover Cluster
feature is installed.
A Windows Server 2008-based computer stops responding when using a Device
Specific Module (DSM) that plugs into MPIO. Additionally, other applications and
services that are simultaneously running may stop working. The supported and
downloadable Microsoft hotfix, 958912, is available from the Microsoft support
website.
Running PowerPath in Hyper-V VMs (guest operating systems)

In Hyper-V VMs, PowerPath supports:
l iSCSI through software initiator.
Release Notes
l Virtual Fibre Channel for Hyper-V (available in Windows Server 2012 and later)
that provides the guest operating system with unmediated access to a SAN
through vHBA.
Host software support summary

The following table summarizes support for host software.
Table 11 Host software
Technology PowerPath Migration Enabler

multipathing
Solutions Enabler 7.6 or later for Yes Yes; required for OR
VMAX2
Solutions Enabler 8.1 or later for Yes Yes; required for OR

VMAX3 HYPERMAX 5977.x
Physical and virtual storage system support summary

The following table summarizes support for physical and virtual storage systems.
The information in the Simple Support Matrix for EMC VPLEX and GeoSynchrony and E-
Lab Interoperability Navigator takes precedence over the information in this release
notice. Refer to them for a complete list of supported storage systems and for more
detailed support information.
Table 12 Storage systems

Dell SC Series running SCOS Yes Yes; with HostCopy only
6.7.x, 7.1.x, 7.2.x
VMAX3 Family running Yes Yes; with HostCopy and OR

HYPERMAX OS 5977
Unity systems running OE Yes Yes; with HostCopy and OR

4.0.x, 4.1.x
VNXe2 series running OE Yes Yes; with HostCopy and OR

3.0.x, 3.1.x
VPLEX running Yes Yes; with HostCopy only

GeoSynchrony 5.x, 6.x
XtremIO running 2.4.x, 3.0, Yes Yes; with HostCopy and OR

4.0.x
PowerPath Management Appliance support summary

PowerPath Management Appliance supports the latest versions of PowerPath. The
PowerPath Management Appliance Release Notes provides the supported versions.
Protocol support summary

The following table summarizes support for protocols.
Support summary 17
Release Notes
Table 13 Protocol

Fibre Channel Yes Yes
Fibre Channel over Ethernet Yes Yes

(FCoE)
iSCSI Yes Yes
Migrations from Fibre Channel to iSCSI or from iSCSI to Fibre Channel are supported
with HostCopy only.
VMAX3 Family and XtremIO are supported only on Fibre Channel.
Virtually provisioned (thin) devices support summary

The following table summarizes support for virtually provisioned (thin) devices.
Table 14 Thin devices

Symmetrix Enginuity/ Yes Yes
HYPERMAX Operating
Environment
CLARiiON FLARE and the Yes Yes

Virtual Provisioning enabler or
VNX OE
VPLEX 5.5 SP1 and above Yes Yes

with XIO devices as the
backend
Volume manager support summary

The following table summarizes support for volume managers.
Table 15 Volume managers

Logical Disk Manager Yes Yes
Veritas Storage Foundation Yes No

(VSF)/InfoScale 6.1.x, 7.1
Veritas Volume Manager Yes Yes

(VxVM) 6.1.x
VSF is supported only when Dynamic Multipathing (DMP) is disabled.
Connectivity requirements
Install HBAs, their supporting firmware versions, and other network components using
the manufacturers directions and the settings specified in the E-Lab Interoperability
Release Notes
Navigator. Using incorrect settings can cause erratic failover behavior or extended
response time for system I/O.
PowerPath packages
The following table lists the PowerPath packages available for download from EMC
Online Support. The software archive package includes the install executable for
PowerPath.
Table 16 Software packages
PowerPath release Package

6.2 EMCPower.X64.signed.6.2.b160.zip
Installation and upgrade

This section highlights PowerPath installation and upgrade.
The installation and administration guide provides more information.
Installing and upgrading PowerPath

To install or upgrade PowerPath, follow the instructions in the installation and
administration guide available on EMC Online Support.
Storage system configuration

Before you install PowerPath set up connections between a storage system and a
host.
The host connectivity guide provides information on setting up connections for
CLARiiON, Symmetrix, Unity, VNX, VPLEX, and XtremIO systems. For information on
setting up connections for third-party storage systems, refer to your vendors
documentation.
Install or upgrade aborts after an PowerPath Encryption with RSA license is detected
If an PowerPath Encryption with RSA license is detected on the system during an
install or upgrade from PowerPath 5.x to the latest version of PowerPath, the install
or upgrade is aborted.
Perform the following procedure to prepare the host before install or upgrade.
Procedure
1. Migrate the data on encrypted LUNs to non-encrypted LUNs.
2. Turn off encryption for all LUNs.
3. Remove the PowerPath Encryption with RSA license.
4. Install or upgrade to the latest version of PowerPath.
PowerPath packages 19
Release Notes
Supported PowerPath upgrade paths

The following list summarizes the supported upgrade paths. These upgrade paths
refer to upgrading only PowerPath on your current operating system and not
upgrading your operating system as well.
You can upgrade directly from earlier PowerPath versions installed on these operating
systems. You can also perform a fresh installation by uninstalling earlier PowerPath
versions and installing the latest.
Table 17 Upgrade paths
Windows Server 2008 2008 R2 2012, 2012 R2 2016

(x64-based version)
PowerPath 6.2 Direct upgrade is not from PowerPath 5.5.x, from PowerPath 5.5.1, from PowerPath 6.1.x
supported. Upgrade the 5.7.x, 6.0.x, 6.1.x 5.7.x, 6.0.x, 6.1.x
operating system and then
upgrade PowerPath
On Windows Server 2008 R2, the host must have KB 2921916 and 3033929 installed
to support the PowerPath 6.1 SHA-2 drivers. Run NO_KBCHECK=1 during a CLI-based
installation if the KBs or their superseded KBs are already installed. This option avoids
the verification of already installed pre-requisite KBs.
Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable package installed with PowerPath

The following table summarizes the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable package that
is installed with PowerPath.
Table 18 Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable packages
Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 (X86) Version

Redistributable (X64) Version
PowerPath 6.2.x 9.0.30729.6161 9.0.30729.6161
Documentation
This section lists the PowerPath and EMC storage system related documentation.
l Related PowerPath documentation
l Related documentation
Electronic versions of all PowerPath manuals are available on EMC Online Support.
These manuals are updated periodically.
Related PowerPath documentation

This section lists the related PowerPath documentation for your environment.
l PowerPath and PowerPath/VE Family for Windows Release Notes (this document)
l PowerPath and PowerPath/VE for Windows Installation and Administration Guide
Release Notes
Cross-platform documentation
The following is a list of the PowerPath documents that are not platform specific.
l PowerPath Family CLI and System Messages Reference
l PowerPath Family Product Guide
l PowerPath Management Appliance Installation and Configuration Guide
l PowerPath Management Appliance Release Notes
l PowerPath Migration Enabler User Guide
Related documentation
This section lists the related documentation if your environment includes Symmetrix,
VNX, or CLARiiON storage systems.
l If your environment includes Dell SC arrays, refer to the Dell SC documentation.
l If your environment includes Symmetrix storage systems, refer to the Host
connectivity guides.
l If your environment includes VNX and CLARiiON storage systems, refer to the
following:
n VNX OE Support or CLARiiON Support home page
n Host connectivity guides, which provides basic information about the features
and setup procedures for host interfaces to VNX and CLARiiON storage
systems.
l If your environment includes other vendors storage systems, refer to the
appropriate documentation from your vendor.
Troubleshooting and getting help

Support, product, and licensing information can be obtained as follows.
Product information
For documentation, release notes, software updates, or information about EMC
products, licensing, and service, go to the EMC Online Support website (registration
required).
Technical support
For technical support, go to EMC Online Support and select Service Center. On the
Service Center page, you will see several options, including one to create a service
request. Note that to open a service request, you must have a valid support
agreement. Contact your Customer Support Representative for details about
obtaining a valid support agreement or with questions about your account.
Reporting a problem
The following describes how to report a problem.
If you find a problem in PowerPath, run the emcgrab utility, which collects system
and software configuration information. Submit the generated tar file, along with any
other supporting material, to your Customer Support Representative. EMC Grab
version 3.9 or later is required to collect information about HostCopy migrations. Grab
version 3.7 or later collects information about Migration Enabler for Open Replicator
or VPLEX.
Related documentation 21
Release Notes
You can download emcgrab from the EMC Online Support website. Refer to the
emcgrab ReadMe.txt file for prerequisite information and instructions on using the
utility.
If you encounter a problem with licensing, contact licensing@emc.com.
Release Notes
Copyright 1998-2017 Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved.
Published July 2017
Dell believes the information in this publication is accurate as of its publication date. The information is subject to change without notice.
THE INFORMATION IN THIS PUBLICATION IS PROVIDED AS-IS. DELL MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND WITH
RESPECT TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PUBLICATION, AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. USE, COPYING, AND DISTRIBUTION OF ANY DELL SOFTWARE DESCRIBED IN THIS PUBLICATION
REQUIRES AN APPLICABLE SOFTWARE LICENSE.
Dell, EMC, and other trademarks are trademarks of Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. Other trademarks may be the property of their respective owners.
Published in the USA.
Reporting a problem 23

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Release Notes

EMC PowerPath and PowerPath/VE Family for

Table 1 Revision history

Revision Date Description

The PowerPath family of products include: PowerPath multipathing, Migration

Throughout this document, wherever PowerPath for Windows is mentioned, it refers

PowerPath Migration Enabler

New features and changes

Dell SC Series array support

VNX/VNXe OE firmware support

VPLEX GeoSynchrony support

XtremIO firmware support

VMAX3 release support

iSCSI NIC IP display feature for Microsoft Software iSCSI initiator

Thin-aware PowerPath Migration Enabler migrations into VPLEX

New features and changes 3

Serviceability feature of PowerPath Management Appliance

Enhancements to event logging

Powermt display command enhanced to show VMAX2 and VMAX3

License warning displays

Proximity-based autostandby for VMAX

TimeFinder/Clone (SYMCLONE) support removed

PowerPath multipathing fixed problems

Table 2 PowerPath multipathing fixed problems

Problem Problem summary Found in Fixed in

Known problems and limitations

l Known interoperability problems

PowerPath multipathing known problems

Table 3 PowerPath multipathing known problems

Problem Problem summary Workaround or resolution

433073 The powermt restore command takes a longer None.

428028 Running the powermt check force command can None.

ERROR: Cannot remove device that is in use:

Table 3 PowerPath multipathing known problems (continued)

Problem Problem summary Workaround or resolution

system1> igroup show -v <initiator group

PowerPath multipathing known problems 7

Table 3 PowerPath multipathing known problems (continued)

Problem Problem summary Workaround or resolution

ERROR: Cannot remove device that is in use:

328730, The system state backup fails after uninstalling None.

PowerPath Migration Enabler known problems

Table 4 Migration Enabler known problems

Problem Problem summary Workaround or resolution

PPME error(79): Not all nodes have reached

Table 4 Migration Enabler known problems (continued)

Problem Problem summary Workaround or resolution

323222 PowerPath data migration cannot survive from a host None.

296865 If the powermig pause and powermig resume None.

Known interoperability problems

Table 5 Known interoperability problems

Problem Problem summary Workaround or resolution

Known interoperability problems 9

Table 5 Known interoperability problems (continued)

Problem Problem summary Workaround or resolution

PPWI-397 For SC Live Volumes, the storage interface controller None.

1. Run PowerPath 6.0 repair.

PPME error (66): Targets max transfer

Table 5 Known interoperability problems (continued)

Problem Problem summary Workaround or resolution

PowerPath multipathing limitations

PowerPath for Windows includes the following limitations:

PowerPath Migration Enabler limitations