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Equallogic Firmware updates - don't go to 5.0.0?
I have a number of Equallogic arrays that are in need of firmware updates to get them up to snuff. the lowest version is 4.3.7, the highest is the newest unit at 5.2.2. I would like to get them all at least close to current. I read the docs that said to upgrade the 4.3.7 boxes, I need to go to the 5.0.0 version first, then update to 5.0.1, then on, but on the docs for 5.0.0. they say NOT to install it as you will have issues. So if I cannot update from 4.3.7 to 5.0.0, then how can I get to 5.0.8 or 5.2.8?
Thanks
Ed.
DELL-Joe S
7 Technologist
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June 4th, 2013 07:00
From 4.3.x you would update to 5.0.8.
Then update the 5.0.8’s to 5.2.2 (to get all the member in the group at the same FW version).
Then you can update the members to 5.2.8.
Ensure you do the required restart of the array when told to do so between each FW update (do not skip this step).
-joe
Anonymous
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June 4th, 2013 08:00
You don't have to do the 5.2.2 step. Upgrade 5.0.8 to 5.2.8, and upgrade the other 5.2.2 to 5.2.8. 5.2.2 and 5.2.8 are at the same compatibility level, and for the short term it's OK to have them mixed. You can't leave them mixed of course.
When going from one major rev to the next, you can use the latest in that higher step. I.e. if 5.0.9 came out, you can go from 4.3.7 to 5.0.9. If 5.2.9 is out, you could then go to it from 5.0.9. You don't have to do every intermediate step.
5.0.0 and 5.0.1 are special cases. If you are ALREADY at those versions, you first have to go to 5.0.2. Once all 5.0.0/5.0.1 members are at 5.0.2, you can go to latest 5.2.x, then latest 6.0.x if you wish.
Since you are doing upgrades, you should consider going all the way up to 6.0.4. That's the most current version, and when 7.0 ships, you'll have to be at 6.0.x in order to upgrade to 7.0.
Regards,
joergriether
127 Posts
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June 6th, 2013 07:00
the most important rule for you: DON´T go to 5.0.0 OR 5.0.1. Both these fw´s would cause you trouble and btw, these fw versions were removed from the download area long ago ;-) Thus, i tell you this in case you somehow downloaded these in the past and have kept them.
joergriether
127 Posts
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June 6th, 2013 07:00
if you don´t have the luxury to do a rolling upgrade (with "luxury-space" i always like to call it) you have to put some faith in the upgrade process ;-) - but i can assure you the upgrade procedure is pretty smooth and secure since quite a long time now ;) - only one exception: you somehow forgot to put network cables in the secondary controller and own a device pre 61xx.
croftale
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June 6th, 2013 07:00
Thanks. I will get the latest 5.0.x version. If I can I will get them up to 6, but it is hard to do in a 24/7 environment.
croftale
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June 6th, 2013 08:00
Yeah, I get leery though. I did an upgrade when we were moving our production environment to another part of the DC. Nice because they had to bring down the servers. However, one array would not update one of the controllers. I finally had to give up. Talked to the Dell rep and he said that next time pull one of the controllers, update the other and then reinsert the controller. That would mean I would have to take down my systems while the one controller reboots and then reinsert the other controller and HOPE it copies over.
the other thing is that I updated the monitoring software and now get emails about drive firmware. Most of the other reports I got was due to low disk space, which we knew because we are using most of the array. We don't use the snapshots or anything like that, just straight storage, but you can't shut off the alert.
The disk firmware upgrade is the one that has me nervous. I would assume I have to take everything down prior to that.
croftale
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June 6th, 2013 08:00
I do have pre-6100 units and all cables are filled. I would be onsite anyway with a com cable anyway.
Anonymous
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June 6th, 2013 09:00
Disk upgrades do NOT require downtime. The disks are upgraded one at a time, the array has the ability to reboot the drives individually to update the firmware. It's an important thing to do.
Re: Space. Even if you are not using snapshots, replication, unallocated free space is needed to provide the best possible performance. Especially in multimember pools. So it should be addressed. Even just thin provisioning volumes could help here.
Re: Upgrades. If you ever have a problem upgrading, open a support case. I don't like the suggestion of pulling a controller then trying to upgrade the other later. The most common problem is with the compaq flash media itself. So if the write fails during the upgrade process, odds are it will fail when the updated primary copies the updated code to the lower revision CM later. You have to re-run the update command, but without having a KIT file on the member.
Another good reason to go to 6.0, besides getting the benefits of fixes and enhancements like support for SCSI UNMAP (aka space reclimation) is that when 7.0 ships you'll be one step away to upgrade.
croftale
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June 7th, 2013 14:00
Okay, upgraded two of the boxes to 5.2.8, but getting errors on drive firmware. The only drive firmware update I see on the download page is the SATA one. Where do I find the drive updates?
Anonymous
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June 7th, 2013 15:00
You'll need to open a case in that case.
Dev Mgr
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June 7th, 2013 21:00
One easy way I found to find drive firmware (if there is one), is to search for the drive model after you log into the Equallogic support site.