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Microsoft Support Matrix

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  1. Supported Microsoft Product Versions
  2. Microsoft Features and Roles
    1. File Systems
    2. Hyper-V
    3. Offloaded Data Transfer
  3. FlashArray Integrations
    1. Pure Storage® FlashArray Management Extension for SQL Server Management Studio
    2. Pure Storage® FlashArray Management Extension for Windows Admin Center
    3. Pure Storage® FlashArray Management Pack for System Center Operations Manager
    4. Pure Storage® PowerShell Software Development Kit
      1. Version 1
      2. Version 2
    5. Pure Storage® Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) Hardware Provider
    6. System Center Virtual Machine Manager

 

Supported Microsoft Product Versions

  • Versions of Microsoft Windows Server and other Microsoft server products such as Microsoft SQL Server are fully supported with Pure integrations up to the Extended End Date listed in the Microsoft Lifecycle documentation. For Windows Server, the OS you are deploying should be certified with the FlashArray storage you are using. See the bullet point below for more details.
  • Pure Storage FlashArray Purity Operating Environment versions are supported until they reach end of life as documented in Purity//FA End of Life Annoucnements.
  • Microsoft's Windows Server Catalog has details on Windows Server versions that are certified with Pure Storage FlashArray products. This link takes you to a list of all FlashArray products in the Windows Server Catalog. Here are direct links for FlashArray//C, FlashArray//X, and FlashArray//XL. Ensure that the array is certified for the OS version you are deploying.

Microsoft Features and Roles

Click to jump to the specific topic

File Systems

Disks can be formatted with one of two different file systems in Windows Server: New Technology File System (NTFS) and Resilient File System (ReFS). Pure Storage recommends the use of NTFS. As noted below, ReFS is fully supported but has caveats. For more information, see the article Windows Server File Systems FAQ for FlashArray.

File System Notes
NTFS Fully Supported with no caveats on all versions of Windows currently supported.
ReFS

Fully Supported. Check the Application best practices for configuration recommendations.

Caveats:

  • Cluster Shared Volumes (CSVs) will not use Direct IO, consider NTFS.
  • ODX will not function with ReFS.
  • Commands such as TRIM and UNMAP are not supported.
  • Many applications do not support ReFS deduplication.
  • Many applications only support logs and database files on ReFS.
  • Many applications require specific operating system hotfixes for ReFS.
  • Many applications require specific application settings to enable ReFS.
  • Many applications require all data integrity features to be disabled on ReFS partitions.
  • Many applications achieve both better data reduction and greater IO performance with NTFS.
  • ReFS cannot be used as a boot volume (system drive) and cannot hold the paging file.

Hyper-V

Hyper-V is Microsoft's is hypervisor for virtualizing workloads. For more topics related to Hyper-V and FlashArray, see this section in the Microsoft Platform Guide.

Hyper-V Variant Notes
Hyper-V Server This is the standalone Hyper-V product and is fully supported with no caveats on all versions of Hyper-V Server currently supported. Note that Microsoft's last version of Hyper-V Server is 2019.
Hyper-V Server Role in Windows Server Fully supported with no caveats on all versions of Windows Server currently supported.

Offloaded Data Transfer

Introduced in Windows Server 2012, Offloaded Data Transfer (ODX) provides direct data transfer within or between storage arrays by bypassing the host system. ODX support was introduced in Purity 4.10. ODX is supported for Windows Server for:

For more information on ODX and FlashArray, see the ODX topic in the Microsoft Platform Guide.

ODX is not supported with PODs in ActiveCluster and ActiveDR.

FlashArray Integrations

Click to jump to the specific integration:

 

FlashArray Integrations support information changes frequently based on updates to operating systems and features. Please refer back to this article for the latest information. Older, unsupported versions may still be listed for informational purposes only.

 

Pure Storage® FlashArray Management Extension for SQL Server Management Studio

Pure Storage integrates with the main administration tool for SQL Server, SQL Server Management Studio. For more information, see the topic Pure Storage FlashArray Management Extension for SQL Server Management Studio in the Microsoft Platform Guide.

 

Note: Versions older than 1.1.96.0 are end-of-life and no longer supported.

Versions / Features 2.5.521.0 
(Sep 2022)		 2.5.510.0 
(Dec 2021)		 2.0.433.0 
(Nov 2021)		 1.1.100.0 
(Oct 2021)
vSphere & ESXi 7.0+ that is not end of life Supported Supported Supported Supported
Windows Server 2022 (Core and Desktop Experience) Supported(1) Supported(1) Supported(1) Supported(1)
Windows Server 2019 (Core & Desktop Experience) Supported(1) Supported(1) Supported(1) Not Tested(1)
Windows Server 2016 (Core & Desktop Experience) Not Tested(1) Supported(1) Supported(1) Not Tested(1)
Windows Server 2012 R2 (Core & Desktop Experience) Not Tested(1) Not Tested(1) Not Tested(1) Not Tested(1)
Windows Server 2012 (Core & Desktop Experience) Not Tested(1) Not Tested(1) Not Tested(1) Not Tested(1)
Windows 10 Supported(2) Supported(2) Not Implemented Not Implemented
vVol Supported Supported Not Implemented Not Implemented
vSphere Physical Raw Device Mapping (pRDM) disk Supported Supported Supported Supported
FA ActiveCluster Supported Supported Supported Supported
FA Protection Groups Supported(3) Supported(3) Supported(3) Supported
FA Purity 6.1+ that is not end-of-life Supported Supported Supported Supported
Microsoft SQL Server 2014+ that is not end-of-life Supported Supported Supported Supported

(1) Server Core can run SQL Server but available drive letters cannot be enumerated if VMware Tools is not installed on the VM. See How to Install VMware Tools in Windows Server Core for a step by step walkthrough.
(2) Windows 10 can be the SSMS host where the extension is installed. Since hardware VSS providers are not supported on client operating systems, Windows 10 clients that have SQL Server cannot be backed up with the FA SSMS Extension.
(3) Mounted Snapshots will now be created inside of the POD.

Pure Storage® FlashArray Management Extension for Windows Admin Center

Windows Admin Center (WAC) is a remote management tool for Windows Server-based environments. Pure integrates with WAC via the Pure Storage FlashArray Management Extension for Windows Admin Center. For more information, see the related topic in the Microsoft Platform Guide. 

Versions / Features v1.0.61
(July 2020)

Windows Admin Center 2110.2 (Build 1.3.53858.0)

  • Windows Server 2022 Desktop Experience(2)
  • Windows Server 2019 Desktop Experience(2)
  • Windows Server 2016 Desktop Experience(2)
  • Windows 11(2)
  • Windows 10(2)

Supported(1)(2)

 

(1) Windows Admin Center (non-preview) releases are supported continuously, based on Microsoft's Modern Lifecycle Policy. This means that only the latest version of Windows Admin Center is serviced and supported, and users must stay current by upgrading to the latest Windows Admin Center release within 30 days of availability to remain supported. See Windows Admin Center support policy for more details.
(2) See Microsoft documentation for supported operating systems.

Pure Storage® FlashArray Management Pack for System Center Operations Manager

System Center Operations Manager (SCOM) is a tool that provides monitoring, alerting, and insights into your environment. Pure Storage has a management pack that integrates with SCOM. For more information, see the related topic in the Microsoft Platform Guide.

Versions

v2.0.19
(August 2022)

 v1.2.20
(May 2022)		 v1.2.12
(Aug 2021)		 v1.2.9
(Jan 2021)
FlashArray Purity 6.1.0 or later Supported Supported Supported Supported
Systems Center Operations Manager 2022 Supported(1,3) Supported(1) Not fully tested Not fully tested
Systems Center Operations Manager 2019 Supported(1,3) Supported(1) Supported(1) Supported(1)
Systems Center Operations Manager 2016 Supported(1,3) Supported(1) Supported(1) Supported(1)
Systems Center Operations Manager 2012 R2 (End of Microsoft extended support is July 2022) Not Supported(2) Supported(1)(2) Supported(1)(2) Supported(1)(2)

(1) SCOM Cumulative Rollup (CU) releases are best-effort supported within 90 days of release from Microsoft.

(2) This version is no longer tested with new releases. End of extended support is July 2022.

(3) This version is only tested on upgrade from v1.2.9, v1.2.12, and v1.2.20.

Pure Storage® PowerShell Software Development Kit

For more information on the SDK, see the topic Pure Storage FlashArray PowerShell SDK in the Microsoft Platform Guide.

Version 1

Note: The PowerShell SDK v1 is dependent on the version of PowerShell and .Net Framework, not specifically the Windows operating system version. The only requirements for the operating system is that it be 64-bit and support TLS protocol versions 1.1 or later.

 

Versions / Features 1.19.49
(May 2022)		 1.19.37
(Jan 2022)		 1.17.16
(Jan 2021)
FlashArray Purity API 1.7 to 1.19 Supported (1) Supported (1) Supported (1)
.Net Framework 4.5 Supported Supported Supported
PowerShell 3.0 to 5.1.x Supported (2) Supported (2) Supported (2)
Windows OS 64-bit Supported Supported Supported

(1) Some cmdlets may be restricted or limited by the REST API version that was implemented with a specific Purity version. The online cmdlet Help will designate any such limitations or restrictions. For a cross-reference of Purity versions to API versions, please reference this article.
(2) Requires Windows Management Framework 5.1 or later. See this document for more information on WMF versions and compatibility.

Version 2

Note: The PowerShell SDK v2 is dependent on the version of PowerShell and .Net Core, not specifically the Windows, Linux, or MacOS operating system version. The only requirements for the operating system is that it be 64-bit and support TLS protocol versions 1.1 or later.

Versions / Features

2.16.12.0
(November 2022)

 2.2.276
(May 2022)		 2.2.272
(Aug 2020)
FlashArray Purity API 2.0 through 2.16 Supported (1)(2) Supported (1)(2) Supported (1)(2)
PowerShell 7.1.x or later (.net Core) Supported Supported Supported
PowerShell 6.x Core (.net Core) Supported Not Implemented Not Implemented
PowerShell 5.1.x (.Net Framework 4.7.2 or later) Supported Supported Supported
Windows OS 64-bit Supported Supported Supported

(1) Some cmdlets may be restricted or limited by the REST API version that was implemented with a specific Purity version. The online cmdlet Help will designate any such limitations or restrictions.For a cross-reference of Purity versions to API versions, please reference this article.
(2) Purity API version 2.0, initially released in Purity 5.3.0, is the minimum version required to be present on the array for the SDK v2.

Pure Storage® Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) Hardware Provider

For more information and to download the Pure Storage® VSS Hardware provider, see the topic Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) Hardware Provider in the Microsoft Platform Guide. 

Note: Versions older than 1.6.0 are end-of-life and no longer supported.

Versions / Features 2.5.251.0
(Sep 2022)		 1.8.96.0
(Sep 2021)
Windows Server 2022 Server (Core & Desktop Experience) Supported Supported
Windows Server 2019 Server (Core & Desktop Experience) Supported Supported
Windows Server 2016 Server (Core & Desktop Experience) Not Tested Not Tested
Windows Server 2012 R2 (Core & Desktop Experience) Not Tested Not Tested
Windows Server 2012 (Core & Desktop Experience) Not Tested Not Tested
Windows Client (11, 10, 8, 7, etc) Not Implemented by Microsoft Not Implemented by Microsoft
Cluster Shared Volume (CSV) Supported Supported
VMware RDM/vVol, Hyper-V Pass-Through Disk Unsupported Unsupported
FA ActiveCluster Supported Supported
FA Protection Groups Supported Supported
FA Purity 6.1+ that is not end-of-life Supported Supported

 

System Center Virtual Machine Manager

Pure Storage® integrates with System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) through the use of the Storage Management Initiative Specification (SMI-S). SMI-S allows for connectivity to the FlashArray through SMI-S CIMXML. For more information and how to configure this integration, see the topic System Center Virtual Machine Manager in the Microsoft Platform Guide.

The table below shows the different versions of SCVMM and the version(s) of Purity//FA required.

 

SCVMM Version  Purity//FA Support
2022 Only non-EOL versions of Purity//FA are supported. Refer to the document Purity //FA End of Life Announcements to see if your Purity version is end of life.

2019

2016

2012