Pure1: Activate and Monitor SafeMode online now
[ NOTE: machine translation with the help of DeepL translator without additional proofreading and spell checking ]
A few weeks ago, I published a two-part article on the topic of ransomware and "SafeMode" as a native storage security feature - a life insurance for your company data. If you haven't read this post yet, I can only recommend it to you: 'Ransom(A)ware' - native Storage Feature as a Life Insurance for your Company (read Part 1 | Part 2).
If you have already read this article, you are certainly aware of the risks of ransomware. You have already created or are working on further improving RansomAwareness, which is essential nowadays. Pure Storage Snapshots on FlashArray and FlashBlade have always been immutable, high performance and highly storage efficient and have already helped customers recover from ransomware attacks.
SafeMode adds additional protection to snapshots to prevent hackers from compromising admin credentials to a storage array to irrevocably delete snapshots.
Pure1 as a free cloud management and monitoring platform for all your Pure Storage systems is already a very powerful tool with countless functions/features. Thanks to integrated AI, Pure1 helps to further optimize your storage systems and workloads.
Now Pure1 is extended with SafeMode functionality. In the future it will be possible to request activations or changes and monitor your systems with SafeMode. However, the activation or change is still only possible together with Pure Storage Support in compliance with SafeMode processes.
With the introduction of Pure1 Manage - SafeMode Assessment, a new menu item "Assessment" has been added (Overview > Assessment > SafeMode).
In the dashboard, the Appliance SafeMode box has been added to provide a quick overview of how many systems are currently secured by SafeMode.
In addition, an icon has been added to the various array views (Card, Expanded Card, List View) to indicate whether SafeMode is enabled for the system.
Assessment menu
The Overview > Assessment > SafeMode page provides a system-wide overview of the protected arrays. From this page, you can request activation and changes, and also monitor SafeMode.
There are different SafeMode states for the appliances:
Enabled (Green icon): SafeMode is enabled for the selected appliance. For FlashArray, SafeMode is enabled globally. For FlashBlade, SafeMode can be enabled for files and/or objects.
Disabled: SafeMode is not enabled for your appliances. Hover over the appliance name to bring up the window where you can make an appointment with Pure support to enable SafeMode.
Partial (Blue icon): FlashBlade specific status. SafeMode is enabled for files or objects, but not both.
Upgrade Required: SafeMode is not supported in the current version and an upgrade is required for activation.
If you are planning to use SafeMode, the assessment also shows you whether the requirements for the storage operating system (Purity) are met or whether a Purity upgrade is necessary beforehand.
For documentation purposes or for security audits, the information can also be exported as CSV for further use.
SafeMode Request/Activation
If you have decided to use SafeMode, you can conveniently request an activation via the menu. The newly implemented workflow is very similar to a support case when booking a Purity upgrade. I also wrote a post about this: "Pure1: Simply Book Your Storage Upgrades and Relax. 4free Upgrade Service Included @ Pure Storage.". If an update for SafeMode activation is pending, you can create an upgrade ticket for corresponding appliance before. It is also possible to request changes (Request Change) for already activated SafeMode appliances here. An example of a change would be the adjustment of the SafeMode retention or an unscheduled immediate deletion of snapshots.
The "Request SafeMode" button starts a kind of wizard for booking appointments. It is possible to request an activation/change of several appliances at the same time.
It is important to have read and understood the SafeMode Best Practices so that nothing stands in the way of an ideal setup and backup of your company's data.
More info - Links
All officially published setting options in the GUI but also CLI can be read via the "on-board" user guides of the Pure Storage systems.
Click on "Help" in the Purity main menu.
The User Guide is structured like the main menu and can be opened downwards. A search function is also integrated - within here you can also search for keywords.
WEB: Pure Storage (Pure1) support portal - Ticket system and support *(requires registered FlashSystems)
PHONE: Pure Storage phone support: GER - (+49) (0)800 7239467; INTERNATIONAL - (+1) 650 7294088
WEB: Pure Storage OFFICIAL blog