Dell Storage with Microsoft Storage Spaces Support Matrix

What's New!

Updated:

02/17/2017 Added new Toshiba drives.

9/12/2016 Removed a restriction on the supported switches. 

9/02/2016: Update firmware and drivers, updated boot drive versions, updated RDMA adapter versions, updated host bus adapter version, updated KBs, and updated storage enclosure versions.

8/22/2016: Updated server firmware and drivers, server boot drives, RDMA adapters, SAS host bus adapters, Microsoft KBs, and supported HDD and SSDs.

8/1/2016: Updated KB list and added a configuration update table.

Introduction  (Back to top)

This document provides information about supported software, firmware, and hardware versions for the Dell Storage with Microsoft Storage Spaces solution (DSMS). The DSMS is a software-defined storage (SDS) platform that uses Microsoft Storage Spaces and Dell servers, storage, and networking to create a scalable file-server solution.

You can use this solution as a Scale-Out File Server (SOFS) or as a Converged solution. The SOFS solution uses the SOFS role with clustered Storage Spaces, in a disaggregated solution, where the compute workloads run on client servers separate from the storage nodes. The client servers use Server Message Block (SMB) to access SOFS file shares on the storage nodes. The Converged solution uses the Hyper-V role with clustered Storage Spaces, where the compute workloads run directly on the server cluster nodes.

This document is intended to support DSMS configurations, which have unique solution SKUs called Solution IDs. These DSMS solution IDs are required when ordering a DSMS configuration, and to access the benefits such as performance and sizing, optimized server and storage components, single-payload updates, and solution-level technical support. If you are in a geographical area outside of the US, the solution IDs are not available at this time. However, you may reference the configuration name instead. For the complete list of configuration solution IDs, see Dell Storage with Microsoft Storage Spaces Configurations and Solution IDs available at Dell Tech Center.

DSMS solution rules  (Back to top)

This section contains consideration rules when using DSMS.

Supported storage enclosures   (Back to top)

Each storage enclosure has two Enclosure Management Modules (EMMs). Both EMMs must have the same firmware version. You must upgrade each EMM individually. EMMs do not automatically synchronize firmware versions.

Supported configurations   (Back to top)

Each configuration is defined in an AxB notation, where A is the number of storage nodes or servers and B is the number of SAS-attached storage enclosures.

Supported SMB client servers   (Back to top)

The DSMS solution supports any Dell PowerEdge 12th or 13th generation server as an SMB client server for SOFS configurations.

Supported server firmware and drivers   (Back to top)

This section provides information about the supported firmware and drivers by the DSMS solution.

Supported server boot drives   (Back to top)

This section provides information about the supported boot drives by the DSMS solution.

Supported NDC and NIC   (Back to top)

This section provides information about supported Network Daughter Cards (NDC) and Network Interface Cards (NIC) adapters.

Supported RDMA adapters   (Back to top)

This section provides information about RDMA adapters supported by the DSMS solution.

Supported SAS host bus adapters   (Back to top)

This section provides information about SAS Host Bus Adapters (HBA) supported by the DSMS solution.

Supported server operating systems   (Back to top)

This section provides information about the supported DSMS server node operating systems (OS). DSMS supports the following Full Server and Server Core installations:

• Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard (SOFS and Converged configurations)
• Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter (Converged)

The associated hotfixes for the following Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) articles are required for all DSMS installations:

• KB3000483
• KB3000850
• KB3021910
• KB3034344
• KB3014069
• KB3020338
• KB3025091
• KB3045171
• KB3072000
• KB3072380
• KB3073062
• KB3079904
• KB3121261
• KB3123538

Supported switches   (Back to top)

This section provides information about the supported switches by DSMS solution.

• Supported switches for management traffic: Supports any switch with at least 1 GbE-capable port.

• Supported switches for Cluster and SMB client traffic: The following tables provides details about the supported switches.

NOTE: DSMS also supports third party switches with the same requirements.

Requirements for non-dell switches:

• Managed switch
• Layer-3 Ethernet routing capable
• VLAN segmenting
• 802.3x Asymmetric Flow Control (Rx Only) or Data Center Bridging (Mellanox)
• Quality-of-Service, Class-of-Service (Mellanox)
• MTU Frame Size >= 9 KB
• Non-oversubscribed switch backplane fabric

NOTE: Multiple lossless classes are not allowed on the same switch (for example, RoCE and iSCSI).

Supported HDD and SSD models for storage enclosures   (Back to top)

This section provides information about HDD and SSD supported by the DSMS solution.

NOTE: All physical disk I/O must be prior to performing firmware updates for physical disks in the storage enclosures.

* Only available for the DSMS 1400 series

Contacting Dell   (Back to top)

Dell provides several online and telephone-based support and service options. If you do not have an active internet connection, you can find contact information about your purchase invoice, packing slip, bill, or Dell product catalog. Availability varies by country and product, and some services may not be available in your area. To contact Dell for sales, technical assistance, or customer-service issues:

1. Go to Dell.com/support.
2. Select your country from the drop-down menu on the lower right corner of the page.
3. For customized support:
   • Enter your system Service Tag in the Enter your Service Tag field.
   • Click Submit.
   • The support page that lists the various support categories is displayed.
4. For general support:
   • Select your product category.
   • Select your product segment.
   • Select your product. The support page that lists the various support categories is displayed.
5. For contact details of Dell Global Technical Support:
   • Click Global Technical Support.
   • The Contact Technical Support page is displayed with details to call, chat, or e-mail the Dell Global Technical Support team.

Quick Resource Locator 

Use the Quick Resource Locator (QRL) to get immediate access to DSMS Solution information. This information provides access to reference documentation, a link to the Dell support page, and links to hardware-specific QRL pages, which include how-to videos. You can access this information by visiting www.dell.com/QRL or by using your smartphone or tablet and scanning the QR code below. You can also click the image below to go directly to the DSMS QRL location.

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The information in this publication is provided “as is.” Dell Inc. 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 software described in this publication requires an applicable software license.

Copyright © 2017 Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. All Rights Reserved. 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.

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