Error upgrading disk firmware to work in Dell MD3220 storage unit

Question

I have a bunch of disks that were being used in a few Dell R620 raid arrays. I then bought an MD3220 unit and wanted to use the drives on the MD3220 unit instead.

Currently, the drives are showing not compatible with the chassis (Unsupported). I then found this firmware update that seems to make them compatible.
https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-in/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=ng0x5

I tried to upgrade the firmware on one of the drives and get the following error...
"No physical disks in this array are compatible with this package file."

dell_error_upgrading _disk_firmware.png

How can I upgrade the firmware on these drives to make them work with the MD3220? It is possible, right? They are being used in another Dell server, I would think so.

tapelibraryfixer · Answer

going by the product id it looks the like they are Clarion\VNX disks which may mean there 520k block size aswell as the firmware being differant.

Arvo Bowen III · Answer

So are you saying there are two drives with the same model number that are different?

DiegoLopez · Answer

Hello @Arvo Bowen III,

I just want to quickly step in to confirm that the R620 disks may surely not be compatible with the MD3220 as disks for MD contains much different firmware versions.

A firmware change on a disk is not officially supported. So I hope maybe another community member can help you on that.

Regards.

Arvo Bowen III · Answer

A few quick questions...

They are the same disks though correct? Just different firmware?
Is it still the stance of Dell to ONLY allow Dell branded/badged drives for MD storage appliances? If that view has changed is there a 3rd party application that will be able to update the firmware on the drives? Because Dell MDSM does not want to play ball still. If the drives are not supported with the correct firmware MDSM wont give you the time of day.
In general, why would Dell not use the same firmware on the drives for the R620s as the MD3220 unit? If they are the same drive and Dell wants to only allow drives they sell to be used, shouldn't that be something used across the board?

Thanks!

Dell-DylanJ · Answer

Firmware is going to be the big difference. Generally speaking, you can't cross firmware from a disk intended for use with a server and one intended for use in a storage device. That's not to say you won't be able to find some 3rd party utility to force it, but there's nothing I could recommend (and nothing to my general knowledge, either). As to your questions about firmware, I don't believe we'll be able to give you a satisfactory answer, because we don't have access to firmware knowledge in any further detail beyond what is posted on the public support page.

If you have a specific Dell part number you can share, I'd be happy to confirm whether or not the MD3220 and the R620 have a common disk. I wouldn't be terribly surprised to see that being the case, though.

PowerVault

Error upgrading disk firmware to work in Dell MD3220 storage unit

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