PX Upgrade to 3.5 or Higher Version - "flag provided but not defined: -max_storage_nodes_per_zone"

PX Upgrade from a version lower than 3.5.0 to version 3.5.0 or later
PX installation with cloud drives

When a PX upgrade is triggered from a version lower than 3.5.0 to version 3.5.0 or later, the following error is observed.

flag provided but not defined: -max_storage_nodes_per_zone

time="2026-01-07T21:23:31-06:00" level=error msg="USAGE ERROR: Could not parse options, flag provided but not defined: -max_storage_nodes_per_zone\n"

Below are the possible causes which can lead to the issue.

• The Portworx Operator version in use is earlier than 25.5.0.
  
  • MaxStorageNodesPerZone parameter was removed starting with PX version 3.5.0.
  • If spec.cloudStorage.MaxStorageNodesPerZone is specified in the StorageCluster configuration
    • Operator versions 25.5.0 and later will not pass this parameter to the PX cluster pods.
    • Operator versions earlier than 25.5.0 will still pass max_storage_nodes_per_zone as a PX pod argument, which can lead to this issue
• max_storage_nodes_per_zone parameter may be configured under stc portworx.io/misc-args annotation
  
  • Some legacy PX installations still include MaxStorageNodesPerZone within the portworx.io/misc-args annotation
  • Even when using Operator version 25.5.0 or later, any values specified in portworx.io/misc-args are passed directly to oci-monitor without modification.

• If the Portworx Operator version is earlier than 25.5.0, upgrade it to version 25.5.0 or later.
• If max_storage_nodes_per_zone is configured in the portworx.io/misc-args StorageCluster annotation, remove this parameter.