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G
GeordieGuy
1 Message
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May 2nd, 2015 22:00
Upgrading code, disruptive?
Hi folks, this is more a sanity check than a straight up question because I think I know the answer. We need to upgrade a bunch of drive firmware that EMC are assisting us with, but we've been asked the following first;
"The current block code version is R32 P015 and file code version is 7.1.56.5 which are out of date and we highly recommend you to perform code upgrade to latest version R32 P216 and 7.1.76.4 before upgrading drive firmware."
I know where the bits of USM are to check, download and perform this upgrade, but need to understand if it's disruptive. We only use block (it's unified but we don't use file), and it supports a vSphere environment where each host has two hbas, one two each controller. Will the upgrade be performed on one controller first, lose connectivity while it reboots, then be done on the other when the first is back up?
Drive firmware updates are disruptive by nature - you're taking the disk off-line to flash the firmware. In most case that I've heard about (disclaimer - I have never upgrading the firmware on an array, but I have upgraded disk firmware on a PC) you need a period of time off-line while the disks upgrade. The support engineer helping with this will have the complete details.
glen
brettesinclair
2 Intern
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715 Posts
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Posted May 4th, 2015 15:00
Glen, normal drive firmware updates are not disruptive to data services and can be done online via usm. USM does an assessment to see if it can be done ndu, which is normally the case. (IME)
I've done it many times, and never had an issue. Upgrading vault drives takes a lot longer, as it automatically executes rebuilds on them.
brettesinclair
2 Intern
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715 Posts
533
1
Posted May 3rd, 2015 15:00
Generally as long as your multi-pathing is setup correctly, a block only upgrade will be non-disruptive.
File upgrades have a short interruption.
Carefully read any release notes to see if there may be any gotchas.
Also, if you have paid for premium support, you are entitled to have the upgrades managed and done for you by EMC. This can be a good option if you're unsure.