Improve your management experience with new HPE StoreEasy management console version 1.1

[StorageExperts]

The HPE StoreEasy management console 1.1 is here! Autonomous updating, numerous workflow improvements and an entirely new notification system make this the first big update to the new StoreEasy management experience.

We just announced version 1.1 of the management console for our sixth-generation HPE StoreEasy 1000 storage family, laying the foundation to autonomously deliver more improvements over the coming months. The new release primarily reduces the administrative time required and stress involved wih maintaining software versions on their StoreEasy systems. Numerous workflow improvements and an all-new notification system ensure that operators optimally configure the system and never miss critical system events.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the new capabilities this release offers and what challenges this beautiful management tool solves for customers already using the sixth-generation HPE StoreEasy 1000 network-attached storage products.

Autonomous updating of HPE software

We  deeply understand that infrastructure administrators are already challenged in maintaining IT infrastructure compatibility with firmware and software updates. The management console software for HPE StoreEasy is designed to simplify managing NAS, not to burden administrators with yet another component that needs manually-driven maintenance to stay “up-to-date” and take advantage of new capabilities. For that reason, we’ve developed the autonomous update capability.

Once enabled on systems with Internet access, the management console will autonomously install and verify latest software updates for the console. This is done periodically when the management console is not in use by administrators.

Since the management console is not part of the data path, updates won’t disrupt file share access to end users and clients. However, if you employ strict update policies and you want to stay in control of system updates, we have you covered. Choose from four new update options:

• Automatic install: With this option enabled, the management console will ensure it is always up-to-date. It will periodically check, download, verify authenticity and integrity of update packages, install and ensure installation success- all without requiring any administrator involvement. If anything goes wrong during any of these stages, the management console will maintain its prior version and automatically roll back so you’re always able to manage your system when you need to.
• Automatic download: This option is similar to the option for automatic install, but lets you decide when and if you want to install the latest version. We’re providing comprehensive information about the changes in each release, right in the management console user interface. You can then decide if and when you want to update, which is just a button-click away.
• Notify of update availability: You can instruct the management console to just inform you about available updates. This option allows you to control and restrict what data is downloaded to the system, putting you in control over the full update process.
• Offline update: We’re also providing the option to completely disable the update functionality for systems that don’t have an option for accessing the Internet. With the update functionality disabled, you can still update the system using the packages available for download on the HPE Support Center.

The automatic installation of updates option ensures you’re always benefiting from latest improvements to the management console and I strongly recommend turning it on.

System notification engine

Over the last year, we’ve spent countless hours on designing and optimizing workflows in the management console to ensure anyone can use the file storage functionality of the system with ease. At the same time, we’ve invested in reducing the amount of time you have to spend using it. This is embodied in the new notification engine.

It informs you—the owner of the system—about system events that require your attention. You can trust this notification engine to inform you about hardware related events that might put your data availability at risk and ensures immediate corrective measures are taken. This is designed to work in IT environments where enterprise class monitoring and alerting services are not available or out of budget.

Additionally, if you have not acquired a StoreEasy system directly from HPE but through another trusted supplier, the management console allows you to inform your technician to be notified in addition to yourself. So instead of you maintaining the system and performing corrective measures, your trusted partner is enabled to easily do these in a timely manner.

 There's more!

These are just two of the many enhancements that we’ve made in version 1.1 of the HPE StoreEasy management console that simpliies file storage management for Windows Storage Server 2016. You can experience all of them if you go to https://hpe.com/downloads/storeeasy-management and download the latest release for your sixth-generation HPE StoreEasy 1000 systems. Also, don’t forget to explore some of our file storage demonstration videos on YouTube.

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Meet Around the Storage Block blogger Tobias Flitsch, WW Technical Product Manager, HPE Storage. Tobias has been working in storage for more than seven years. As a former solution architect and now as a technical product manager, his focus is on various different scale-up and scale-out file and object storage solutions.