Nimble OS v2.0

[a_user57]

Curious how many customers have jumped onto OS 2.0? We are 1.4.9, but I am contemplating making the move to 2.0. Obviously some feedback on stability would be helpful. Likewise, any estimated timelines on when Nimble might be updating 2.0 to GA?

[Nick_Dyer]

Hi CW,

2.0.6 officially reached GA standards this week and so is now available for customers to update without caveats. We are still on a steady, slow rollout of customers through whitelisting for the time being.

I personally have had customers running 2.0 for the last 4-5 months without any hiccups, so whilst I would be cautious in upgrading I don't believe it's a *huge* jump... if you have a single array not much has changed under the hood!

[marc136]

Good Day....

CW, do you have a single array running 1.4.9 that you simply want to upgrade to 2.0.6 OR do you have a couple arrays running 1.4.9 that you would like to upgrade to 2.0.6 and bring them into the same Group?

Where are you based Sir?  We can have your local Nimble Storage Field Team get in contact with you to answer all of your 2.0 questions.

Thank you.

Marc

[nglick57]

Hi CW,

Not sure if you're interested, but I've written some blogs on upgrading from 1.x to 2.x and new features.  Hope these help you out:

Now Introducing Nimble Scale-Out!  This IS The Storage You're Looking For!

Nimble Scale-Out - The Curtain is Drawn - Part I

Nimble Scale-Out - The Curtain is Drawn - Part II - What's a Group?

Nimble Scale-Out - The Curtain is Drawn - Part II - What's a Group? - Part II (How Many Parts Do We Got In This Thing?)

Nimble Scale-Out - The Curtain is Drawn - Part III - Let's Talk About Pools?

Neil

[Daniel-san]

Nick how can 2.0 be GA and 'available', and yet still not be showing as *available* to paying customers such as myself?  I've been hearing 'it'll be ready next week' for the last few *months* from our Nimble team, yet still, as of 2/6/14, when I attempt to download the update, it shows nothing is available.

If it's GA, I'd think I should not have to jump through any special hoops to actually *get* something that is supposedly 'available' to us.  Can you clarify what is going on with 2.0 please?  Thank you.

[a_user57]

Thanks guys! I agree with Daniel here. 2.0.6 is not available to download from the SAN management interface. Likewise, when trying to download it from the support website, it shows (Contact Support) in the Software download link, and does not provide the file. Seems support is a little behind, or maybe this is region specific as to who is being presented the option to download 2.0.6 right now? So that when it starts bombing arrays,there will be a more limited customer base to support?? Just kidding by the way.

[a_user57]

This would be for multiple arrays, yes. I am not in a rush to deploy. If it is not made available via direct download then we are not in a hurry to jump on the bandwagon. I did want to deploy it to our production arrays however before we go live, then I could have piece of mind knowing we are standardized on the latest (production / GA) release of the OS with a new feature set. Otherwise, I am not prepared to have to worry about stability problems, if there is a reason this has not been published to customers yet.

[chris24]

Nimble run checks on arrays before white-listing them based on their auto supports, if they match certain conditions then the download is made available. If not they are prompted to contact support so a TSE can validate the array.

One such fail condition for example might be not sending auto supports.

[Daniel-san]

the problem here is the convoluted and inconsistent messaging from various Nimble employees - as a customer and even as a partner, it's VERY confusing when Nimble employee A says 'it's been available since x' and Nimble employee B says 'no - it's still NOT available' and then Nimble employee C says something like 'it's conditionally available once you've met certain pre-reqs'

You guys really need to get your messaging consistent and clearer for your customers and partners soon.

[Nick_Dyer]

Hi Daniel,

Thank you for your feedback. 2.0 has been on a careful, slow rollout for the last 3-4 months through whitelisting as described in my original reply. Through that time it was classed as Release Candidate and not available for "mission critical" production workloads. This week 2.0.6 passed our standards for code being GA worthy, and thus is now available for customers to use without caveats; but at the same time it's still on a slow rollout.

If you wish to access 2.0.6 and it's not showing as available to download - please contact support. It may be that the system is blacklisted due to some configuration that would be invalid in 2.0.6.

Ultimately, if we were to blanket release 2.0.6 to the whole user base without being cautious it could prove problematic should a bug be encountered (I saw this happen 2 or 3 times in my previous life at EQL, for example). Cautious > Eager when it comes to software releases.