Release Notes

Dell EMC PowerPath and PowerPath/VE Family

for Windows
Version 6.4 and minor releases

Release Notes
302-005-452
01
January 2019

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........................................................................................................4
l Known problems and limitations..............................................................................5
l Technical notes..................................................................................................... 13
l Environment and system requirements................................................................. 15
l PowerPath packages.............................................................................................19
l Installation and upgrade........................................................................................20
l Documentation...................................................................................................... 21
l Troubleshooting and getting help..........................................................................22
l Reporting a problem............................................................................................. 22
Release Notes

Revision history
The following table presents the revision history of this document.

Table 1 Revision history

Revision Date Description

01 January 2019 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 Dell 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 Dell 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.

2 Dell EMC PowerPath and PowerPath/VE Family for Windows 6.4 and minor releases Release Notes
 Release Notes

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.
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 6.4
This section describes new features in PowerPath

PowerMaxOS support
Support for PowerMax OS version 5978 SR includes FX Licensing.
Refer ESM for information on latest code availability.

Windows Server 2019 support

PowerPath 6.4 supports Windows Server 2019 edition.

Dell SC Series array support

Support for Dell SC arrays running SCOS 7.3.2 and 7.3.10.

Dell EMC Unity storage system support

Support for Dell EMC Unity storage systems running Operating Environment 4.4.x and
4.5.x. Unity devices are managed by the unity class.

VPLEX GeoSynchrony support

Support for VPLEX GeoSynchrony 6.1, 6.1 Patch 01 SP1.

XtremIO firmware support

Support for XtremIO X2 running firmware version 6.2.0 and 6.2.0 SP1.

Support changes
This section describes changed behavior, end-of-life announcements (deprecations),
and other support changes.

PowerPath Migration Enabler 3

Release Notes

Changed behavior
This section describes changed behavior with functionality in fresh PowerPath
installations. On upgrade, the previous settings might be retained where appropriate.

Dell EMC rebranding

The name of this software has been changed from EMC PowerPath to Dell EMC
PowerPath. The name has been updated wherever possible.

OpenSSL removal
OpenSSL is needed to start EMC PowerPath Remote Management Component
service.
Install OpenSSL 1.0.x version library in the default windows system directory C:
\Windows\System32 for remote management feature to work.

Fixed problems
This section lists fixed problems by product.

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
PPWI-1073 For VMAX, auto host registration registers Windows Server 2019 operating system 6.3 6.4
as Windows 2016.

PPWI-983 The vcredist logs are not available in PowerPath install logs location 6.3 6.4

PPWI-954 In Windows 2008 R2 Server, the following error message 6.3 6.4

"Error extracting "'SETUP_1.CAB':Failure writing to target file."

is displayed when you try to upgrade from PowerPath 6.0 SP2 to 6.3 version

PPWI-936 PowerMax Device Usage entries are created with blank hostname after the host 6.3 6.4
restarts.

PPWI-929 The PowerMax Data LUN is automatically detected without manual re-scan in 6.3 6.4
presence of the LUNZ.

PPWI-682 The "Name of process using dev" field is blank for mounted SRDF A/A PowerMax 6.3 6.4
device.

PPWI-675 The mount stats process name displays the full path instead of the executable name. 6.3 6.4

PowerPath Migration Enabler fixed problems

4 Dell EMC PowerPath and PowerPath/VE Family for Windows 6.4 and minor releases Release Notes
 Release Notes

Table 3 PowerPath Migration Enabler fixed problems

Problem Problem summary Found in Fixed in

number version version
PPWI-1030 In Windows Server 2019 cluster setup, the PowerPath migration with clusters 6.3 6.4
fails at sync state with target fault error.

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
l Known interoperability problems
l Limitations

PowerPath multipathing known problems

The following table shows the known problems in PowerPath multipathing.

Table 4 PowerPath multipathing known problems

Problem Problem summary Workaround or resolution

number
PPWI-1134, Online help is not displayed in Windows Server 2019. None.
PPWI-1104

PPWI-1095 Upgrade from PowerPath 6.3 to 6.4 requires two None.

reboots on Windows Server 2019.

PPWI-1091 The PowerPath Administration GUI crashes when the Run powermt check reconfig manually to remove
user configures mismatched paths in the mismatched paths state.
administration GUI.

PPWI-1055 The PowerPath installation shows the warning Run powermt check_registration manually for
the FX licence to be set on the host.
Failed to set policy on FX device
recognition and the host is unlicensed

. This is an intermittent issue.

PPWI-997 In Windows Server 2019, the PowerPath multipathing Open Device Manager, click the View menu, click
disks under the disk drives in Device Manager are Show Hidden Devices, to view the hidden disks.
hidden.

PPWI-943 The PowerPath installation fails when installing on Uninstall Microsoft Visual Studio 2017 and retry
Windows 2008 R2 64 bit or above. PowerPath installation.

PPWI-915 After PowerPath upgrade, the PowerPath Admin GUI Uninstall McAfee, then reinstall PowerPath and install
and powermt does not display the storage array and McAfee again.
volume details if McAfee firewall is enabled. The

Known problems and limitations 5

Release Notes
Table 4 PowerPath multipathing known problems (continued)
Problem Problem summary
number
following error message is displayed in the application
event log:
PowerPath EMC PowerPath Error: MPAPI:
Error:I/O error.
PPWI-827 During NDM operation, PowerMax device does not
display the correct 'Device Usage" information after
"cutoversync" complete state.
PPWI-707 PowerPath installation fails if Microsoft automatic
update is off in Windows Host.
PPWI-614 The source device paths show dead after NDM revert
operation.
PPWI-552 SC controller reboot does not change storage
interface name for the device with IOs.
PPWI-386 The EMCManagementComponent service is not
stopping correctly in a particular host.
PPWI-48 If HBAs are disabled and enabled, PowerPath may
display stale/incorrect information for some of the
paths that come back alive.
PPWI-10 After running powermt remove on a ghost path, the
powermt display perf dev command might
throw an error for the corresponding pseudo device
and PMI says that the device is not under PowerPath
control.
441176 On canceling the UAC elevation prompt during
change/repair of PowerPath with the Uninstall/
Change program option from Control panel,
PowerPath installation might display a misleading error
message.
433073 The powermt restore command takes a longer
execution time when there is a large number of
outstanding I/Os.
6 Dell EMC PowerPath and PowerPath/VE Family for Windows 6.4 and minor releases Release Notes
Workaround or resolution
None.
Install the Universal C Runtime update for Visual
Studio 2017.
Rescan the devices after NDM revert operation.
Run powermt restore on affected device(s) or sc
class.
Do the following steps. This process enables the user
to upgrade from PowerPath 5.7.x to any version.
l Stop EMC PowerPath Remote Management
component service manually from
services.msc.
l End the task EmcpMgmtComp from the Task
Manager.
This issue occurs when the path enumeration order
changes during HBA enable, causing SCSI addresses of
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.
Wait for two perfmon intervals to get the performance
data for the device that has new paths added or
existing paths deleted.
None. Ignore the error messages. With UAC enabled
host, non-administrator users need to provide the
admin user credential to proceed with PowerPath
change/repair installation.
None.
 Release Notes

Table 4 PowerPath multipathing known problems (continued)

Problem Problem summary Workaround or resolution

number
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

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

PowerPath multipathing known problems 7

Release Notes

Table 4 PowerPath multipathing known problems (continued)

Problem Problem summary Workaround or resolution

number
software as well preventing the devices from been
claimed by MPIO.

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
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 5 Migration Enabler known problems

Problem Problem summary Workaround or resolution

number
PPWI-640 During cluster migration cleanup, the source cluster The disk comes online after few minutes. The recovery
disk goes offline after resource failover and failback. and cleanup actions work after the disk comes online.

PPWI-537 When PPME session is in progress, more than normal None.

IOs are seen on non-migration node. The IOPS
normalizes after the cleanup.

PPWI-457 In 5 node-cluster, the error None

PPME error(22): Target faulted, must abort

migration

reported on many handles and different disks.

PPWI-343 PPME for Clusters fails when a node is moved to Starting with Windows Server 2016, cluster nodes can
Quarantine state in MSFC. be put in a special state called Quarantined. When
nodes are put in a Quarantined state, the PPME
clustered migrations that are running in the cluster
could return a target fault. Depending on the state of
migration, a user intervention may be needed. This
behavior occurs because the cluster resource
communication needed for the PPME to function is

8 Dell EMC PowerPath and PowerPath/VE Family for Windows 6.4 and minor releases Release Notes
 Release Notes

Table 5 Migration Enabler known problems (continued)

Problem Problem summary Workaround or resolution

number
hampered temporarily or permanently based on the
duration and result of the Quarantine.

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.

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.

PowerPath Migration Enabler known problems 9

Release Notes

Table 5 Migration Enabler known problems (continued)

Problem Problem summary Workaround or resolution

number
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 6 Known interoperability problems

Problem Problem summary Workaround or resolution

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
PowerPath display on a host, that has proximity based
auto-standby enabled for those Dell SC array class
devices, may show the paths to the functional
secondary side being marked as dead. This does not
affect application I/Os.
For Live Volumes from array running code 7.3 and
above, enable "Report Non-Optimized Path" option
from Dell SC manager, to prevent I/O to secondary
side.

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 PowerPath proximity-based autostandby
Live Volumes, PowerPath does not display information for SC 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.

10 Dell EMC PowerPath and PowerPath/VE Family for Windows 6.4 and minor releases Release Notes
 Release Notes

Table 6 Known interoperability problems (continued)

Problem Problem summary Workaround or resolution

number
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
on a host where VxVM 6.0 has been installed and then
uninstalled leaves all the Symmetrix devices yellow
banged and removed from PowerPath control.
Perform one of the following steps:
l If system has not been rebooted after Veritas
uninstallation, run PowerPath 6.0 repair and
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): Target’s max transfer

attribute is too small

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.

Known interoperability problems 11

Release Notes

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.
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 arrays and later.
l CSV maintenance mode is not supported.

12 Dell EMC PowerPath and PowerPath/VE Family for Windows 6.4 and minor releases Release Notes
 Release Notes

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.

Licensing PowerPath through FX Licensing

PowerPath gets licensed automatically when it detects any data device from
PowerMax with FX software package. If PowerPath is already licensed using a license
key, it continues to use it, even if FX is available. If the license key expires, PowerPath
detects FX license automatically.
If the host with only FX license has all the PowerMax data devices removed,
PowerPath is unlicensed on subsequent reboot.

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 is followed by Window Device Manager manual rescan to ensure proper
functioning of PowerPath capabilities. The Windows Device Manager manual
rescan is not required for PowerMax LUNs.
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

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:

Technical notes 13
Release Notes

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 server’s 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.

Table 7 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 storage interface for Dell SC may display different port numbers from Dell Storage
Manager port names
The PowerPath storage interface for Dell Storage Center displays the last two digits
of a front end port's WWPN, which may differ from the friendly name assigned to the
port in the Dell Storage Manager. This issue applies to all models and is working as
expected. To workaround this issue, include the last two digits of the WWPN in the

14 Dell EMC PowerPath and PowerPath/VE Family for Windows 6.4 and minor releases Release Notes
 Release Notes

Storage Center front end port's friendly names. This action helps the storage
administrator to associate the port name with the PowerPath display.

For example, name the ports spa.1.05 and spa.2.06. These names combine the friendly
names (spa.1 and spa.2) with the last two digits of the WWPN (05 and 06).

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 Dell
EMC storage systems and third-party storage systems, refer to the E-Lab
Interoperability Navigator.
The E-Lab Interoperability Navigator is a web-based, searchable database of
configuration information.

Note

The information in E-Lab Interoperability Navigator takes precedence over the

information in this release notes in case of inconsistency.

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 8 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, 7.3, 7.4

Cluster Shared Volumes are supported only on Windows Server 2008 R2 and later.

Environment and system requirements 15

Release Notes

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 9 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 10 File systems

Technology PowerPath multipathing Migration Enabler

FAT 32 Yes Yes

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 11 Host operating system

Technology PowerPath PowerPath

multipathing Migration Enabler
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)

Windows Server 2019 (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.

16 Dell EMC PowerPath and PowerPath/VE Family for Windows 6.4 and minor releases Release Notes
 Release Notes

Supported Windows Server distribution notes

The following list provides a quick overview of supported Windows Server
distributions. Support is for x64 only.
Windows Server 2008
On Windows Server 2008 R2, the host must have KB 2921916 and 3033929 or
their superseded KBs installed to support the SHA-2 drivers of PowerPath 6.1 and
later releases. Check on Microsoft Support to identify the superseded KBs of
KB2921916 and KB3033929 respectively. 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 prerequisite KBs. The host must also
have Microsoft hotfix KB-979710 only when Microsoft Failover Cluster feature is
installed.

Windows Server 2019

On Windows Server 2019, the PowerPath multipathing disks are hidden. The disks
are displayed in PowerPath CLI and Admin GUI. The hidden disks do not affect
the PowerPath functionalities. Upgrade from PowerPath 6.3 to PowerPath 6.4
requires two reboots on Windows Server 2019.

Running PowerPath in Hyper-V VMs (guest operating systems)

In Hyper-V VMs, PowerPath supports:
l iSCSI through software initiator.
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 12 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 PowerMax 5977.x

Solutions Enabler 9.0 or later for Yes Yes; required for OR

VMAX3 PowerMax 5978.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 Dell 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.

Support summary 17
Release Notes

Table 13 Storage systems

Technology PowerPath multipathing Migration Enabler

Dell SC Series running SCOS Yes Yes; with HostCopy only
6.7.x, 7.1.x, 7.2.x, 7.3.x

VMAX3 Family running Yes Yes; with HostCopy and OR

HYPERMAX OS 5977

PowerMax family running Yes Yes; with HostCopy and OR

PowerMax OS 5978

Unity systems running OE Yes Yes; with HostCopy and OR

4.0.x, 4.1.x, 4.2.x, 4.3.x, 4.4.x,
4.5.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, 6.1.x

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

4.0.x., 6.0.x, 6.1.x, 6.2.x

Dell EMC PowerPath Management Appliance support summary

Dell EMC 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.

Table 14 Protocol

Technology PowerPath multipathing Migration Enabler

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. Refer to Known Problems and Limitations section for limitations
for Migrations

18 Dell EMC PowerPath and PowerPath/VE Family for Windows 6.4 and minor releases Release Notes
 Release Notes

Virtually provisioned (thin) devices support summary

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

Table 15 Thin devices

Technology PowerPath multipathing Migration Enabler

Symmetrix Enginuity/ Yes Yes
HYPERMAX/PowerMax
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 16 Volume managers

Technology PowerPath multipathing Migration Enabler

Logical Disk Manager Yes Yes

Veritas Storage Foundation Yes No

(VSF)/InfoScale 6.1.x, 7.1,
7.3, 7.4

Veritas Volume Manager Yes Yes

(VxVM) 6.1.x, 7.3, 7.4

VSF is supported only when Dynamic Multipathing (DMP) is disabled.

Connectivity requirements
Install HBAs, their supporting firmware versions, and other network components using
the manufacturer’s directions and the settings specified in the E-Lab Interoperability
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 Dell
EMC Online Support. The software archive package includes the install executable for
PowerPath.

Connectivity requirements 19
Release Notes

Table 17 Software packages

PowerPath release Package

6.4 DellEMCPower.X64.signed.6.4.b220.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 Dell 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 Dell SC arrays and other third-party storage systems, refer
to your vendor's 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.

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.

20 Dell EMC PowerPath and PowerPath/VE Family for Windows 6.4 and minor releases Release Notes
 Release Notes

Table 18 Upgrade paths

Version Windows Server 2008 R2 2012, 2012 R2 2016 2019

2008 (x64-based
version)
PowerPath 6.4 Direct upgrade is not from PowerPath from PowerPath from PowerPath from PowerPath 6.3.x
supported. Upgrade 5.5.x, 5.7.x, 6.0.x, 5.5.1, 5.7.x, 6.0.x, 6.1.x, 6.2.x, 6.3.x
the operating system 6.1.x, 6.2.x, 6.3.x 6.1.x, 6.2.x, 6.3.x
and then upgrade
PowerPath

On Windows Server 2008 R2, the host must have KB 2921916 and 3033929 or their
superseded KBs installed to support the SHA-2 drivers of PowerPath 6.1 and later
releases. Check on Microsoft Support to identify the superseded KBs of KB2921916
and KB3033929 respectively. 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.

Post-upgrade proximity-based autostandby settings

After upgrading to PowerPath 6.3.x and later, the PowerPath versions retain their
proximity-based autostandby values.

Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable package installed with PowerPath

The following table summarizes the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable package that
is installed with PowerPath.

Table 19 Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable packages

Microsoft Visual C++ 2017 (X86) Version

Redistributable (X64) Version
PowerPath 6.4.x 14.14.26429.4 14.14.26429.4

Documentation
This section lists the PowerPath and Dell EMC storage system related documentation.
l Related PowerPath documentation
l Related documentation
Electronic versions of all PowerPath manuals are available on Dell 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
Cross-platform documentation
The following is a list of the PowerPath documents that are not platform specific.

Post-upgrade proximity-based autostandby settings 21

Release Notes

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 Dell EMC
PowerPath Virtual Appliance products, licensing, and service, go to the Dell EMC
Online Support website (registration required).
Technical support
For technical support, go to Dell 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.

Note

EMC Grab version 4.8.1 is required to collect PowerPath 6.4 information.

22 Dell EMC PowerPath and PowerPath/VE Family for Windows 6.4 and minor releases Release Notes
 Release Notes

You can download emcgrab from the Dell 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.

Reporting a problem 23
Release Notes

Copyright © 1998-2019 Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved.

Published January 2019

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.

24 Dell EMC PowerPath and PowerPath/VE Family for Windows 6.4 and minor releases Release Notes