Dell EMC PowerFlex: Operations Management Foundations Lab

PowerFlex is a software-defined storage platform that provides predictable performance and resiliency at scale. PowerFlex is comprised of lightweight building blocks. The four main components include the "Storage Data Server" (SDS) which is the supplier of storage, the "Storage Data Client" (SDC) which is the consumer of storage, the "Metadata Manager" (MDM) which is the storage cluster manager, and the "Storage Data Replicator" (SDR) which handles replication activities. Supporting components include the "PowerFlex Gateway" used for installation, centralized log collection, and facilitating REST API calls to and from the MDM. The PowerFlex Lightweight Installation Agent, which receives software packages from the gateway and installs them on it's local host. The PowerFlex Graphical User Interface (GUI) also known as the presentation server which is the primary HTML5 interface for daily operations. For non-graphical operations the "PowerFlex Command Line Interface" (scli) is used. 

In this lab we will cover a brief history of the product and dive into the latest features and functionality offered.

This lab provides a foundational understanding of the PowerFlex software-defined storage platform. The goal of the lab is to familiarize you with the various components for the PowerFlex operating system and conducting daily operations.

• 1 x Windows 10 (Jumpbox)
• 1 x CentOS 8.2 (PowerFlex Gateway)
• 1 x CentOS 8.2 (PowerFlex Graphical User Interface)
• 3 x Centos 8.2 (PowerFlex Storage Nodes)
• 1 x CentOS 8.2 (Linux host for testing)
• 1 x Windows Server 2016 (Windows host for testing)