StorSimple 5000/7000 Series: Software Update (Software Version 2.1.1.548) Now Available

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A new software update for StorSimple 5000 and 7000 series appliances, version 2.1.1.548 is now available for download.

The following enhancements were introduced in this StorSimple release:

  • Automated space reclamation optimization – When data is deleted on thinly provisioned volumes, the unused storage blocks need to be reclaimed. This release has improved the space reclamation process from the cloud resulting in the unused space becoming available faster as compared to the previous versions.
  • Improvements and bug fixes have been made to the driver software.

Some features of previous update (version 2.1.1.500 and 2.1.1.518) which are included in this release are:

  1. Support for Migration from 5000/7000 series  to 8000 series applianceImproved feature offerings of the 8000 series appliances include efficient centralized management of multiple appliances through StorSimple Manager service, better class of hardware and updated firmware, virtual appliances, data mobility as well as features in the future roadmap. With this release, you can export an encrypted configuration file from their 5000-7000 series appliance, enabling migration to StorSimple 8000 series appliance. The file can be encrypted by a user-supplied or an automatically generated key.
  2. Support for latest Microsoft Azure Storage APIStorSimple 5000/7000 series devices using software versions older than 2.1.1.500 use a version of the Azure Storage Services APIs older than February 12, 2012. Versions 2.1.1.500 onwards contain an upgrade to the latest version of the Storage service APIs. We strongly recommend upgrading to the latest software version, 2.1.1.518, to gain the benefits of the new features and improvements in this version.
  3. Support for Azure ZRS (Zone redundant storage)StorSimple 5000/7000 series now supports Azure storage accounts created with the ‘Zone Redundant’ replication option. Zone-redundant storage replicates your data across two to three facilities, either within a single region or across two regions, providing higher durability than Locally Redundant Storage (LRS), at a lower cost point per unit of storage than the Geo-Redundant Storage (GRS) offering. More information on Azure Storage Redundancy Options is available as part of MSDN documentation here.

 

Note:

  1. Version v2.1.1.548 is a software only release and there is no Firmware upgrade patch associated with it as previous release. The most up-to-date firmware version continues to be v2.1.1.461. There is a link to this firmware version in the upgrade guide for software version v2.1.1.548. If you are unsure which firmware version is installed on your appliance, running the 2.1.1.461 upgrade is recommended. If the firmware is already the latest version, re-running the upgrade will not cause any issues. The upgrade process will detect that the latest version is already installed and will make no changes.
  2. Version v2.1.1.548 is compatible only with v2.1.1.500 and above and not compatible with previous versions of Appliance software as it contains a metadata change. For example, if your appliance is on v2.1.1.548 and you do a controller replacement with a controller having an older software version, it would require a mandatory upgrade to v2.1.1.548 as well.