Dell PowerScale

License: PRO+ (Professional Edition or higher)
Module Type: Alternate Scanner
Author: Diskover Data, Inc.

Overview / Use Cases

The Dell PowerScale alternate scanner lets you index files directly from Dell PowerScale (Isilon) clusters via a REST API — capturing rich storage metadata like physical and logical sizing, data protection levels, SSD strategies, compression status, and file properties all in a single crawl pass. Instead of scanning the filesystem and then enriching metadata afterward, this scanner pulls everything at once, giving you a complete picture of your PowerScale storage right from the start.

All of this metadata is indexed into Elasticsearch and fully searchable through the Diskover Web UI, appearing alongside standard file information like name, path, size, and timestamps.

Who Benefits and How

Storage Administrators — Analyze storage tier utilization across your cluster. See which files live on hot, warm, or cold tiers, verify that SmartPools policies are placing data correctly, and identify misallocated files that are driving up storage costs.

Capacity Planners — Understand the real cost of data protection overhead. Compare physical vs. logical sizes across file populations to see how much storage is consumed by protection policies, and use compression ratios to identify space-saving opportunities.

Compliance & Security Teams — Audit file permissions (Unix mode, ACLs, ownership) across the entire cluster from a single search interface. Identify files with overly permissive access, incorrect ownership, or protection levels that don't meet policy requirements.

Media & Content Professionals — Track SSD placement for performance-sensitive media files. Verify that frequently accessed project files are on the right storage tier and that completed projects have been properly migrated to archive tiers.

Understanding Dell PowerScale

Dell PowerScale (formerly Isilon) is a scale-out NAS platform that presents a single filesystem (/ifs) across a cluster of nodes. Understanding a few key PowerScale concepts will help you make the most of the metadata this scanner collects.

Storage Tiers and Pools

PowerScale organizes storage into node pools (groups of similar hardware) and tiers (logical groupings of pools). SmartPools policies control where files are placed based on criteria like age, size, or access patterns.

Data Protection Levels

PowerScale protects data using a notation like +2d:1n, which means the cluster can survive 2 simultaneous drive failures and 1 node failure. The scanner captures both the current protection level and the target level — if these don't match, the file is in the process of being re-protected.

SSD Strategies

PowerScale uses SSD storage strategically. The SSD strategy determines what data is placed on SSDs:

File Properties

The scanner captures several boolean properties that reveal how PowerScale is handling each file:

Requirements

System Requirements

Python Dependencies

All required Python packages (requests, urllib3) are included with the standard Diskover installation. No additional package installation is needed.

Dell PowerScale API Requirements

This scanner communicates with a custom REST API utility called ps_scan_server, developed by Dell Engineering specifically for high-performance metadata retrieval. This utility must be installed and running on your PowerScale cluster before the scanner can operate.

Important: Access to the ps_scan_server utility requires a Request for Product Qualification (RPQ) process with Dell. The source code is maintained at https://github.com/diskoverdata/diskover-solution-development/tree/main/Dell. Please contact Diskover Support to initiate the RPQ process with Dell.

PowerScale API Server (ps_scan_server)

The PowerScale alternate scanner requires a custom API server (ps_scan_server) to be deployed and running on your Dell PowerScale (OneFS) cluster. This API server was developed by the Dell CAE (Customer Advisory Engineering) Team and provides the high-performance interface between Diskover and your PowerScale storage metadata.

Important: The deployment of ps_scan_server on your OneFS nodes requires an RPQ (Request for Product Qualification) process to be completed with Dell. Please reach out to Diskover Support to initiate this process!

Source Code Location

The most up-to-date version of ps_scan_server and its supporting libraries are maintained in the DiskoverData GitHub repository:

GitHub Repository: https://github.com/diskoverdata/diskover-solution-development/tree/main/Dell

The repository contains:

• ps_scan_api_server.py — The main API server script

• /helpers directory — Helper modules required by the API server

• /libs directory — Python libraries required by the API server

Network Requirements

The Diskover worker nodes and the OneFS system must be able to communicate over the network. Specifically, the Diskover worker node must be able to reach the OneFS system on Port 4242 (or your configured API port).

Installing on OneFS

After completing the Dell RPQ process and receiving approval, follow these steps to deploy the API server on your PowerScale cluster:

1. Upload the API server package to your OneFS host:

# Copy the API server package to the OneFS host
scp /path/to/ps_scan_api_server.tgz root@onefshost:/tmp/

2. SSH to your OneFS host and create a directory for the API server:

# SSH to OneFS host
ssh root@onefshost

# Create a run directory for the ps_scan code
cd /
mkdir ps_scan_api_server

# Move and extract the code
mv /tmp/ps_scan_api_server.tgz /ps_scan_api_server/
cd /ps_scan_api_server
tar -xvzf ps_scan_api_server.tgz

3. Start the API server:

Since OneFS does not use systemd or init.d, we recommend running the API server in a screen session so it can run persistently in the background:

# Start a screen session
screen -S diskover

# Navigate to the API server directory and execute
cd /ps_scan_api_server/
python3 ps_scan_api_server.py

# Detach from screen session (the API server continues running)
# Press: CTRL+A, then release and press: d

Helpful screen commands:

• screen -ls — List all screen sessions

• screen -r diskover — Reattach to the diskover screen session

• screen -S diskover -X quit — Terminate the diskover screen session

For a complete reference of screen commands, see: Screen Quick Reference

Note: The API server does not output anything to the console during normal operation—it simply runs and waits for connections. As long as the process is running, Diskover will be able to connect to it.

Multi-Node Clusters

For PowerScale clusters with multiple nodes, you may need to deploy and run the API server on each node. Configure the Diskover scanner with multiple hosts to enable load balancing across all API server instances:

hosts:
  - http://powerscale-node1:4242
  - http://powerscale-node2:4242
  - http://powerscale-node3:4242

The scanner uses round-robin load balancing to distribute requests across all configured hosts, improving throughput for large crawls.

Installation

Step 1: Install Scanner Package

Linux:

dnf install diskover-scanner-powerscale

Windows:

The scanner files are included with the Diskover Windows installation. No separate installation step is required.

Install locations:

• Linux: /opt/diskover/scanners/scandir_powerscale/

• Windows: C:\Program Files\Diskover\scanners\scandir_powerscale\

Step 2: Verify Installation

Confirm the required Python packages are available:

python3 -c "import requests; print('requests version:', requests.__version__)"
python3 -c "import urllib3; print('urllib3 version:', urllib3.__version__)"

Both packages should report their version numbers without errors.

Step 3: Verify API Connectivity

Test that your Diskover server can reach the PowerScale API:

curl "http://your-powerscale-api-host:4242/cluster_storage_stats"

A successful response returns JSON containing cluster storage statistics (ifs.bytes.total, ifs.bytes.free, ifs.bytes.avail). If this fails, check your network configuration, firewall rules, and confirm the ps_scan_server utility is running on the PowerScale cluster.

Configuration

Configuration is managed through the Diskover Admin UI at Settings > Alternate Scanners > PowerScale.

Configuration Parameters

Path Mapping Parameters

Path mappings translate the paths your Diskover server sees (mount points) into the corresponding native OneFS paths that the PowerScale API expects. Each entry contains:

For example, if your PowerScale /ifs/data share is mounted at /mnt/isilon/data on your Diskover server, you would configure:

• from_path: /mnt/isilon/data

• to_path: /ifs/data

When the scanner encounters a file at /mnt/isilon/data/projects/report.pdf, it translates the path to /ifs/data/projects/report.pdf for the API request.

YAML Configuration Example

# Diskover Admin Configuration
Diskover:
  Alternate Scanners:
    Powerscale:
      Default:
        hosts:
          - https://powerscale-api-1.example.com:4242
          - https://powerscale-api-2.example.com:4242
        user: diskover_api_user
        password: your_secure_password
        include_acls: false
        translate_names: false
        limit: 5000
        pscale_fields: []
        path_mappings:
          - from_path: /mnt/isilon/data
            to_path: /ifs/data
          - from_path: /mnt/isilon/archive
            to_path: /ifs/archive

Configuration via Diskover Admin

1. Navigate to Settings > Alternate Scanners > PowerScale

2. Enter your API host URLs in the hosts list

3. Provide API credentials (user and password)

4. Configure path mappings for each mount point

5. Optionally enable include_acls or translate_names if needed

6. Optionally configure pscale_fields to limit which fields are collected

7. Save the configuration

Sample Configuration in Diskover Admin:

Configuration Examples

Standard Configuration — Full Metadata Collection

This is the recommended starting point. It collects all available PowerScale metadata using a single API host:

Diskover:
  Alternate Scanners:
    Powerscale:
      Default:
        hosts:
          - https://powerscale-api.example.com:4242
        user: diskover_svc
        password: secure_password
        include_acls: false
        translate_names: false
        limit: 5000
        pscale_fields: []
        path_mappings:
          - from_path: /mnt/isilon/data
            to_path: /ifs/data

High-Performance Configuration — Selective Fields with Load Balancing

For large environments where you want to minimize API overhead and index size, retrieve only the fields you need and distribute requests across multiple API hosts:

Diskover:
  Alternate Scanners:
    Powerscale:
      Default:
        hosts:
          - https://pscale-node1.example.com:4242
          - https://pscale-node2.example.com:4242
          - https://pscale-node3.example.com:4242
        user: diskover_svc
        password: secure_password
        include_acls: false
        translate_names: false
        limit: 10000
        pscale_fields:
          - size_physical
          - size_logical
          - size_protection
          - protection_current
          - protection_target
          - pool_target_data_name
          - ssd_strategy_name
          - file_is_compressed
          - file_is_deduped
          - file_compression_ratio
        path_mappings:
          - from_path: /mnt/isilon/data
            to_path: /ifs/data
          - from_path: /mnt/isilon/archive
            to_path: /ifs/archive

Usage / Execution

The PowerScale scanner is a standard alternate scanner that integrates with diskover.py using the --altscanner flag.

Basic Usage

Linux:

cd /opt/diskover
python3 diskover.py --altscanner scandir_powerscale /mnt/isilon/data

Windows:

cd "C:\Program Files\Diskover"
python diskover.py --altscanner scandir_powerscale /mnt/isilon/data

Path Format Reference

Note: The path you provide should be the mount point path as seen by the Diskover server, not the native OneFS path. The scanner translates paths automatically using your configured path mappings.

Advanced Usage Examples

Custom index name:

python3 diskover.py -i diskover-powerscale-data --altscanner scandir_powerscale /mnt/isilon/data

Debug logging for troubleshooting:

python3 diskover.py --altscanner scandir_powerscale --loglevel DEBUG /mnt/isilon/data

Using a named configuration:

python3 diskover.py --altscanner scandir_powerscale -c production-cluster /mnt/isilon/production

Integration with Index Tasks

To run the PowerScale scanner as part of a scheduled Index Task, configure the task with:

Sample Alternate Scanner configuration for a Diskover Scan Task:

Performance Tips

• Add multiple API hosts — The scanner uses round-robin load balancing to distribute requests across all configured hosts. Adding more hosts improves throughput for large crawls.

• Increase the limit parameter — For directories with many files, increasing from the default 5000 to 10000 reduces the number of API round trips. Reduce to 1000 if memory is a constraint.

• Use selective field collection — If you only need specific metadata (e.g., just tiering and compression info), configure pscale_fields to retrieve only those fields. This reduces API response sizes and Elasticsearch index storage.

• Check cluster load — The scanner generates API traffic on your PowerScale cluster. Schedule scans during off-peak hours for large environments or distribute the load with multiple API hosts.

Metadata Fields / Elasticsearch Mappings

The PowerScale scanner adds all of its metadata under a pscale object field in each Elasticsearch document. These fields appear alongside the standard Diskover file metadata (name, path, size, timestamps, etc.) and are fully searchable.

Size Metrics

Data Protection

Storage Pools

SSD Status

File Properties

Inode Information

Timestamps

Permissions

Elasticsearch Mapping Definition

{
  "mappings": {
    "properties": {
      "pscale": {
        "type": "object"
      }
    }
  }
}

Example Indexed Document

{
  "name": "project_data.mxf",
  "path": "/mnt/isilon/data/projects/project_data.mxf",
  "extension": "mxf",
  "size": 10737418240,
  "type": "file",
  "pscale": {
    "size_physical": 11811160064,
    "size_logical": 10737418240,
    "size_protection": 1073741824,
    "protection_current": "+2d:1n",
    "protection_target": "+2d:1n",
    "pool_target_data_name": "hot_tier",
    "pool_target_metadata_name": "ssd_pool",
    "ssd_status_name": "complete",
    "ssd_strategy_name": "metadata",
    "file_is_compressed": false,
    "file_is_deduped": false,
    "file_is_smartlinked": false,
    "perms_unix_bitmask": "0644",
    "perms_unix_uid": 1000,
    "perms_unix_gid": 1000
  }
}

Searching in Diskover

All PowerScale metadata fields are searchable using Diskover's standard query syntax. Fields are prefixed with pscale. in search queries.

Storage Tiering & Pool Queries

Compression & Deduplication Queries

Data Protection Queries

File Property Queries

Permission & Security Queries

Combined Queries

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Verifying the API Server is Running

If you're experiencing connection issues, first verify the API server is running on your OneFS host:

# Reattach to the screen session
screen -r diskover

# If the session doesn't exist, check for running processes
ps aux | grep ps_scan

# If not running, restart the API server
cd /ps_scan_api_server/
screen -S diskover
python3 ps_scan_api_server.py
# Press CTRL+A then d to detach

Debug Logging

Enable debug-level logging to see detailed API request and response information:

python3 /opt/diskover/diskover.py --altscanner scandir_powerscale --loglevel DEBUG /mnt/isilon/data

Log File Locations

• Linux: /var/log/diskover/diskover.log

• Windows: Check the Diskover service logs or configured log location

Diagnosing API Connectivity

Step 1 — Test basic connectivity:

nc -zv powerscale-api.example.com 4242

Step 2 — Test the cluster stats endpoint:

curl "http://powerscale-api.example.com:4242/cluster_storage_stats"

Step 3 — Test a directory listing:

curl "http://powerscale-api.example.com:4242/ps_stat/list?path=/ifs/data&type=diskover&limit=10"

Step 4 — Test a single file stat:

curl "http://powerscale-api.example.com:4242/ps_stat/single?path=/ifs/data/testfile.txt&type=diskover"

If any of these fail, check DNS resolution (nslookup/dig), firewall rules, and confirm the ps_scan_server service is running.

Diagnosing Path Mapping Issues

If files are scanned but PowerScale metadata is missing or you're seeing 404 errors, the most likely cause is a path mapping mismatch. To verify:

1. Check what path the scanner is sending to the API by running with --loglevel DEBUG

2. Manually test the translated path against the API:

   curl "http://powerscale-api:4242/ps_stat/single?path=/ifs/data/your/file.txt&type=diskover"

3. Confirm the file exists at that path on the PowerScale cluster

4. Ensure more specific path mappings appear before broader ones in the configuration

Support

• Diskover Documentation

• Diskover Support Portal

• Dell PowerScale Documentation

• ps_scan_server Source Code (RPQ Required)

Last Updated: April 2026
Diskover Data, Inc.