SolidFire Monthly Newsletter

May, 2022

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This newsletter is also posted on Field Portal. Please bookmark this location.

SolidFire Software
Element 12.5
o Current version of Element available for download on NSS beginning May 16, 2022.
o Element 12.5 introduces full UI support for customizable protection domains, expanding
the options to design for enhanced resiliency and failure isolation – this full GA feature
eliminates the required FPVR introduced in 12.0.
o Element 12.5 enables node level command-line access using customer pre-defined
system accounts and signed SSH keys.
o An addition to the Element UI Volume table includes the identification of primary and
secondary nodes for volume access.

Element 12.3.2
o This release contains the mitigation that closes the Element software exposure to the
Apache Log4j vulnerability. NetApp SolidFire storage clusters with the Virtual Volumes
(vVols) feature enabled were exposed to this vulnerability.

Element 12.3.1
o An updated version of Element 12.3.1 was released to address a field issue when
upgrading H610S nodes from Element 11.8/12.0 and the associated BMC firmware.
o Element 12.3.1 is a patch release for 12.3. It primarily addresses field issues that were
observed while upgrading to 12.3 and includes enhancements to the SolidFire eSDS
HCL (hardware compatibility list).
o Customers already on Element 12.3 can remain on that version, for customers
upgrading from earlier versions, it is recommended to go to 12.3.1.
o Element 12.3.1 introduces support for HPE DL380 Server as an eSDS host platform.
o Element 12.3.1 introduces support for dynamic CPU node rating for eSDS host
platforms. eSDS can now support the full range of Intel Gold and Silver Cascade Lake
generation CPUs, a range of 24 CPU models. The dynamic node rating feature assigns
a QoS IOPS rating between 50K and 100K to the host server based on the CPU.

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May, 2022

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# of CPU Cores eSDS Node IOPS Rating

8 Cores 50K IOPS
10 Cores 60K IOPS
12 Cores 75K IOPS
16+ Cores 100K IOPS

Element 12.3
o Element 12.3.0 introduces the FIFO snapshot queue feature.
o Snapshot serialization and retention feature.
o Software encryption at rest enhancements.
o Security enhancements and firmware updates.
o Includes SMART health checks on drives.

Element 12.2
o Element 12.2 introduces SolidFire Enterprise software defined storage (eSDS) with
support for Dell R640 and HPE DL360 Server platforms.
o Software Encryption at Rest.
o Maintenance mode, which enables storage nodes to be taken offline while preventing a
full sync of all data.
o Enhanced volume access security.
o Fully qualified domain name (FQDN) access to UIs.
o Security enhancements and firmware updates.
o New SMART warning for failing drives using health data from the drives.

Element 12.0
o Element 12.0 includes a critical upgrade for all H-series storage nodes.
o Includes security, stability, and quality improvements for H610S nodes.
o Element 12.0 introduces multi-factor authentication, session-based web UI logins,
external key management (EKM) enhancements, faster upgrades, and contains stability
and functionality improvements.
o Element 12.0 introduces support for customizable protection domains – this feature is in
Limited Release (FPVR required) for 12.0.

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May, 2022

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o Note: For H610S storage nodes that are running Element 11.7 or older, the upgrade to
Element 12.0 requires a power disconnect process. If you are upgrading an Element
11.8 storage cluster to Element 12.0, the power disconnect process is not required.

Element 11.8
o Maintenance release - critical firmware updates for H610S nodes.
o Element 11.8 will remain in Full Support stage through June 30, 2022.

Element 11.7 to 9.0

o Element releases of version 11.7 to 9.0 are currently in Limited Support stage.

Element 8.x (and prior)

o Element releases of version 8.x and earlier are in Obsolete stage.

Default Shipping Versions for Element OS

o Element 12.3.0 is currently shipping on all new NetApp SolidFire H610S storage nodes
from the factory. The update to 12.5 is scheduled for June 22, 2022.

SolidFire Platforms
SolidFire eSDS HCL
Platform Raw Capacity
HPE DL360 34.5TB (9x 3.84TB SSDs)
HPE DL380 57.6TB (15x 3.84TB SSDs)
Dell R640 34.5TB (9x 3.84TB SSDs)

H-series Storage Nodes

o H610S-1 (12x 960GB NVMe SSDs)
o H610S-1-NE (12x 960GB NVMe Non-Encrypted SSDs)
o H610S-2 (12x 1.92TB NVMe SSDs)
o H610S-2-NE (12x 1.92TB NVMe Non-Encrypted SSDs)
o H610S-4 (12x 3.84TB NVMe SSDs)
o H610S-4-NE (12x 3.84TB NVMe Non-Encrypted SSDs)

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May, 2022

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SolidFire Storage Firmware Bundle

o Storage Firmware Bundle version 2.146.2 was released on February 22, 2022. This
version of the storage firmware bundle contains the latest component firmware for
various NetApp SolidFire/HCI storage nodes.
o Component firmware includes BIOS, BMC, Drive firmware and support for new
drives.
o The latest Storage Firmware Bundle can be downloaded from the NetApp
Element Storage_Firmware_Bundle Download Page.
o For more information reference the Storage Firmware Bundle 2.146 release
notes.

SolidFire Management and EcoSystems

Software

SolidFire Management Services/Hybrid Cloud Control UI (runs on mNode)

o Version 2.20 (latest version)
o Support for new NetApp managed online software repository for automated
downloads.
o Easy UI toggle to enable and disable SSH for the management node.
o Version 2.19
o Manage more clusters under single instance
o New maintenance mode functionality
o Supportability and quality enhancements
o Version 2.18
o Upgrade and supportability improvements
o Version 2.17
o Security updates for Element VCP
o Scalability improvements

SolidFire eSDS Interoperability

o The current SolidFire eSDS certified solution details can be found on the NetApp
Interoperability Matrix Tool: Interoperability Matrix Tool (netapp.com).
o Configuration components include server, processor, memory, drives & firmware,
cache device & firmware, host OS, Element, NICs.

Veeam Snapshot for Element For SolidFire

o Available with Veeam Snapshot for 9.5 update 4

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May, 2022

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NetApp Element vROPs plug-in

o Element plug-in for VMware vRealize Operations manager

NetApp Element vRO 1.4.0.172

o vRO plug-in for SolidFire/HCI

NetApp Element vCenter Plugin 4.9

o VCP 4.7 included with management node 12.5 and management services 2.20
o Supports vSphere 7.0 U1, U2 and 6.7U1, U3 and 6.5

NetApp Element vCenter Plugin 4.8

o VCP 4.8 included with management services 2.19
o Supports vSphere 7.0 U1, U2 and 6.7U1, U3

NetApp Element vCenter Plugin 4.7

o VCP 4.7 included with management node 12.3 and management services 2.18
o Supports vSphere 7.0 U1, U2 and 6.7U1, U3

NetApp Element vCenter Plugin 4.6

o VCP 4.6 included with management services 2.17
o Supports vSphere 6.7U1 and 6.5U2

NetApp Element vCenter Plugin 4.5

o VCP 4.5 included with management node 12.2
o Supports vSphere 6.7U1 and 6.5U2

NetApp Element vCenter Plugin 4.3

o VCP 4.3 included with management node 11.3 compatilibilty which includes enabling
Active IQ telemetry using install and upgrade scripts as well as adding a proxy server
through install or upgrade scripts.

NetApp Element vCenter Plugin 4.2

o VCP 4.2 supports vCenter 6.7
o VCP 4.2 includes an update to HTML 5
o VCP 4.2 automcatically mounts vSphere hosts

NetApp Element SRA for VMware SRM 2.0

o FC support

NetApp Element and SDK Suite 1.5

o Posted on November 29, 2017
o Current with Element releases through 10.0

The locations of the releases:

SDK, PowerShell and CLI have all been posted to NSS.

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 SolidFire Monthly Newsletter
May, 2022

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Additionally the products have been posted to the following external sites:
Python SDK
PyPi - https://pypi.python.org/pypi/solidfire-sdk-python
GitHub - https://solidfire.github.io/solidfire-sdk-python/

Java SDK
GitHub - https://solidfire.github.io/solidfire-sdk-java/
Also available through Maven Central repository

.NET SDK
GitHub - http://solidfire.github.io/sdk-dotnet/
Nuget - https://www.nuget.org/packages/SolidFire.SDK/

CLI
PyPi - https://pypi.python.org/pypi/solidfire-cli
GitHub - https://github.com/solidfire/solidfire-cli

SolidFire EOA Update

Platform EOA Policy
o NetApp offers 3 years of feature upgrades after EOA
o NetApp offers an additional 2 years of HW support and critical patches after end of
upgrades
o NetApp guarantees that customers can purchase cluster compatible nodes for 5 years
after EOA. (May require SW update and/or feature limitations)

Current EOA programs

o SF 2x4 nodes (H410S-11110, H410S-21110, H410S-31110)
 EOA – 3/2/2021
 End of Upgrades – 3/2025
 End of Support Life – 3/2027

o SF series Gen 2 nodes (SF4805, SF9605, SF19210, SF38410, and SF-FCN-01 (SED &
NON-SED))
 EOA – 9/28/18

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May, 2022

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 End of Upgrades – 10/31/21

 End of Support Life – 10/31/23

o SF series (FC0025)
 End of Support Life – 3/15/22

o SF 9608/FlexPod SF
 EOA – 12/8/18
 End of Upgrades – 1/31/22
 End of Support Life – 1/31/24

Software Lifecycle Definitions

o Full Support - The time period where NetApp provides full support for a version of a
software product, including: technical support, root cause analysis, documentation and
software available online, maintenance and Service Updates (example: patch releases).
o Limited Support - The time period where NetApp provides partial support for a version of
a software product, including: Technical support, root cause analysis, documentation
and software available online. Service Updates, maintenance and patch releases are not
provided for versions under limited support.
o Obsolete - Support and information about a version of a software product is no longer
available.

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