The Dell PowerStore NDU process follows a specific internal orchestration sequence to ensure data availability. First, the Primary node (the orchestrator) is prepared (Step 1), followed by the Peer node (Step 2), which involves staging the upgrade packages. The Peer node is upgraded first (Step 3) while the Primary continues to serve I/O. The Commit step (Step 4) acts as a checkpoint to finalize the Peer's successful upgrade and readiness before the system proceeds to the final step: Upgrade old primary (Step 5). This last step typically involves failing over I/O to the newly upgraded Peer (now the active primary) and upgrading the remaining node.

Dell PowerStore Upgrades Participant Guide, Section: "Non-Disruptive Upgrade Operational Steps" (Referenced in training material for exam D-PST-MN-A-24).

Dell PowerStore Maintenance Achievement (D-PST-MN-A-24) Exam Guide, Topic: "Perform PowerStore NDU and maintenance operations."

Dell Technologies, "Dell PowerStore: Clustering and High Availability," White Paper (General reference for Node A/B failover logic during upgrades).

Within the Dell EMC PowerStore Initial Configuration Wizard (ICW), setting a VLAN ID to 0 for a network interface specifies that the traffic for that network will be untagged. This is the standard method to configure an interface to operate on the native VLAN of the connected physical switch port. According to IEEE 802.1Q standards, VLAN IDs 1-4094 are used for tagging frames to identify their VLAN membership. A value of 0 is used by the PowerStore system to indicate that no VLAN tag should be applied to the outgoing Ethernet frames.

A. Default route is set: A default route is a Layer 3 routing configuration, which is distinct from the Layer 2 VLAN tagging setting.

B. Network will pass tagged traffic: This is incorrect. Tagged traffic requires a specific, non-zero VLAN ID (typically 1-4094) to be assigned.

D. Static route is set: Similar to a default route, a static route is a Layer 3 configuration and is independent of the VLAN ID.

1. Dell PowerStore: Networking Guide for PowerStore T Models (for PowerStoreOS 3.5)

Page 24

Section: "Management network". The guide states: "The management network can be configured with or without a VLAN ID. If no VLAN ID is configured

the management traffic is untagged." In the ICW user interface

setting the VLAN ID to 0 is the implementation for selecting an untagged network.

2. Dell PowerStore: Planning Guide (for PowerStoreOS 3.0)

Page 31

Section: "Network considerations". This guide details the need to plan for either tagged or untagged networks. It clarifies that using a VLAN ID is for tagged traffic

implicitly confirming that not using a specific ID (i.e.

setting it to 0) results in untagged traffic.

A Dell EMC PowerStore T appliance is architected with two nodes (Node A and Node B) for high availability. The storage network is used for host I/O via protocols like iSCSI or NVMe/TCP. To ensure continuous data access and support the dual-node architecture, each node must have its own IP address on the storage network. This allows hosts to connect to either node, which is essential for failover and load balancing. Therefore, the absolute minimum requirement is one IP address for Node A and one for Node B, resulting in a total of two IP addresses.

A. 3: This is more than the minimum required. While a valid number for some configurations, it is not the base requirement for functionality.

B. 1: A single IP address would be a single point of failure, as it could only be assigned to one of the two nodes, defeating the high-availability design.

D. 4: This is a common best practice for redundancy (two IPs per node), but it is not the minimum number required to establish basic storage network connectivity.

1. Dell Technologies. (2023). Dell PowerStore: Networking Guide for PowerStore T Models. Page 13

Section: "Storage network". The document states

"For PowerStore T models

the storage network is configured during the initial configuration process. During this process

you are prompted to configure at least one storage IP address for each node in the appliance."

2. Dell Technologies. (2023). Dell PowerStore: Planning Guide. Page 21

Section: "Network IP address planning"

Table 6 "Storage network". The planning worksheet explicitly lists separate entries for "Node A Storage IP Address" and "Node B Storage IP Address

" confirming a minimum of two are required for the initial setup.

A single Dell EMC PowerStore 9000T appliance supports a maximum of three expansion enclosures. These are 2U, 25-drive enclosures that connect to the base enclosure using 100 Gb/s QSFP SAS backend ports. This scalability allows for significant capacity expansion beyond the initial 2U base appliance, enabling the system to grow with storage demands while maintaining a unified management interface. All PowerStore T models, from the 1000T to the 9000T, share this same maximum limit for expansion enclosures per appliance.

A. 8: This is incorrect. No single PowerStore T appliance supports eight expansion enclosures. This number exceeds the documented hardware limit.

C. 4: This is incorrect. The maximum supported number of expansion enclosures for a single PowerStore T appliance is three.

D. 2: This is incorrect. While an appliance can be configured with two expansion enclosures, this is not the maximum supported limit.

1. Dell Technologies. (2023). Dell PowerStore T Models Spec Sheet. Page 2

"Scalability" table

row "Max expansion enclosures per appliance". The value for the PowerStore 9000T is listed as "3".

2. Dell Technologies. (2023). Dell PowerStore: Hardware Information Guide. Page 13

Section: "Expansion enclosure". The guide states

"A PowerStore T model appliance supports up to three expansion enclosures."

3. Dell Technologies. (2023). Dell PowerStore: Introduction to the Platform White Paper. Page 11

Section: "Expansion Enclosures". It specifies

"A PowerStore T appliance can support up to three 2U 25-drive expansion enclosures."

The exhibit displays the hardware view within the Dell PowerStore Manager interface. The "Mode" column explicitly designates the operational role of each appliance within the cluster. As shown, the first appliance is labeled "Primary" and the second is "Secondary". This column is the direct and sole indicator of which appliance serves as the primary in the configuration. The primary appliance is responsible for managing the cluster and handling I/O operations.

A. Service Tag: This is a unique hardware identifier for service and support purposes; it does not indicate the appliance's operational role within a cluster.

C. Model: This column identifies the specific hardware model (e.g., PowerStore 500T). Both appliances can be the same model, but only one will be primary.

D. IP Address: This is the management network address for the appliance. While the primary appliance has an IP, the address itself does not define its role.

1. Dell PowerStore: Manager Overview (Version 3.0)

Page 11

"Hardware > Appliances". The document provides a screenshot of the Appliances page and states: "The Appliances page provides details about the appliances in the cluster... The Mode column indicates whether the appliance is the primary or secondary appliance in the cluster."

2. Dell PowerStore: Administration Guide (Version 3.0)

Page 58

Section "View information about the appliances in the cluster". The guide describes the information available on the Hardware > Appliances page

explicitly mentioning that the "Mode" column shows if the appliance is "Primary" or "Secondary".