PS Series: Important Firmware Update Considerations and why you should upgrade
Summary:This article contains important firmware information for Dell PS Series of storage products.
Please select a product to check article relevancy
This article applies to This article does not apply toThis article is not tied to any specific product.Not all product versions are identified in this article.
Why should I upgrade, what are the most recent PS Series updates and how can I find out about the new features and enhancements provided by the updates?
Dell Technologies is committed to protecting customer data. For this purpose, Dell has developed many essential improvements and new features in the PS Series firmware. Dell's recommendation is to update the PS Series array firmware to the latest versions to leverage these enhancements. The recommended firmware release is the latest PS Series v10.0.x or v9.1.x firmware. Version 10.0.3 includes all the available improvements and features and is considered the recommended release as of 2019.
Both the v9.1.x & v10.0.x versions include significant improvements and fixes in the following important areas:
Overall array stability and internal resource management
Secure communications (SHA, TLS, SSL, Java)
Support for a mix of 512n and 4Kn drive formats for field replacements
Snapshot compression (for PS6210 & PS6610 models)
PS Series to SC Series replication
Asynchronous and synchronous replication
Hard drive error handling
Cache backup battery life for PS4210, PS6210 & PS6610 models
Offloaded copy function
Capacity balancing within multi-member pools
Support for latest hard drive firmware kits
In addition to the above, versions 9.x and 10.X have the following new features:
V9.1.x
Performance improvements
Replication - thin reserve and Cross Platform Replication (XPR)
Support for SCP protocol
Security enhancements shared SSH keys
Fast vacate
Network configuration enhancements
Active Directory integration enhancements
SNMP enhancements
V10.0.x
Secure erase
SCSI Unmaps and XCOPY Support for vVol Datastores
Active Directory search path optimization
Maintenance Pools
Fixes for false cache battery errors on PS4210, PS6210, PS6610
Replication fixes
Fixes "context missing" errors with SANHQ
Supports newer Java Runtimes
Critical fixes for Cross Platform Replication (XPR)
All XPR users should upgrade to latest 10.0.x
Time-to-Live support for XPR
In addition to PS firmware, Dell works closely with our hard drive and SSD manufacturers to improve drive quality and drive lifetimes. Maintaining the latest drive firmware update package improves error handling and the overall quality of your system. This hard drive firmware kit upgrades qualifying drives to the latest firmware and is inclusive of all earlier kits. The recommended PS Series Hard Drive firmware is version 13.0 as of 2019. Hard drive firmware kit v13.0 will not install on older firmware arrays.
A: The PS array firmware and Release Notes can be downloaded from the Support section of Dell.com You need a valid login and Dell ProSupport contract to download the array firmware.
A: DSUM is the Dell Storage Update Manager. It is a lightweight utility that simplifies updating PS Series (EqualLogic) Storage arrays. DSUM also updates drive firmware and install language packs. Drive firmware packages are important for a longer and healthier life for all your hard drives.
A: DSUM automatically compares your current firmware version to the newest firmware versions (N, N-1) and gives you all the steps necessary to get there safely. If you manage multiple groups, it allows you to easily re-use (in a repository) already downloaded firmware packages.
A: In rare circumstances, it may negatively impact array operations. The release notes highlight issues addressed with firmware updates. Items designated with [CRITICAL] indicate a potential production impact.
A: Dell Technologies recommends customers to maintain a current backup, as per the business' established practices and policies. See "Planning and Prerequisites" chapter in the EqualLogic Firmware update document.
A: While snapshots are not considered backups (they are local point in time copies and insufficient to provide a recovery point in case when the array is inaccessible), completed replication to a DR site is indeed a valid backup step.
A: Yes, however see chapter "PS Series Array Preparation - Known Limitations and Recommendations/Minimizing Host Disruption" in the EqualLogic Firmware update document.
Quote:
The firmware update process requires updating the firmware code and restarting each array controller. To reduce the impact of the controller restart operation on the host operating system and applications, the firmware update process occurs as a rolling controller update. During this process, a controller failover event causes the host initiators to log out and then log back in to the volumes connected to the SAN. If you have implemented the EqualLogic best practices for host settings and network design, this logout/login process has minimal effect on host volumes. The update process does not impact data integrity or result in any data loss.
For more information about minimizing host disruption, see Dell EqualLogic PS Series Storage Arrays iSCSI Initiator and Operating System Considerations: Optimizing Your SAN Environment for High Availability on the support website, eqlsupport.dell.com.
A: The determination of such should be made considering the environments' optimization for high availability; previously performed updates and risk management practices are decisional factors for establishing such. Optimize your SAN for high availability by reading and implementing the best practices documented in Dell EqualLogic PS Series Storage Arrays iSCSI Initiator and Operating System Considerations: Optimizing Your SAN Environment for High Availability. Dell Technologies recommends that you perform firmware updates during periods of low activity. If possible, perform the update after a backup.
A: While the execution of the update does not pose any additional risks than regular SAN usage (for example, when certain failures may rarely occur and which are covered by the SAN's multiple redundancies), see Planning and Prerequisites chapter in the EqualLogic Firmware update document [1] for recommendations and group health checklist.
A: The firmware update, unpack, and overall execution time depends on the platform type and minimally on the current workload. For example, a legacy array may take 20-30 min or more to upgrade, while a PS6210/PS6610 may complete the same upgrade well under 10 minutes. Note that the iSCSI sessions minimal disruptive time is only during the actual failover action and should be taking well under 60 seconds, which is the typical timeout value when initiators are configured as per relevant best practices.
A: Once the firmware package has been uploaded to the PS Series array and the firmware has begun the installation process, the current secondary/passive controller module is updated and then restarted. Then the process repeats the firmware installation on the active controller module. When the firmware update process successfully completes, the controller modules have changed roles.
A: Dell Technologies recommends that all PS Series group members run the same version of the storage array firmware. In multi-version configurations, the group can support only the functionality and fixes that are common to all versions. New features introduced with newer firmware will not be active until all arrays within a group are updated to the same firmware version.
Ensure that all currently running host software is compatible with the PS Series Firmware to be installed. Dell Storage software can be checked in the matrix on the support site (login required).
Before the update, ensure that the array is accessible from both controllers over the network (failover/failback).
Verify the arrays to be updated are in a healthy state (No hardware errors or failures) using SAN HQ or the array UI.
The migration of an array or volume is not allowed during a firmware update.
Do not update if free pool space is below 5% or 100 GB per pool member; whichever is less.
If an FS appliance exists with the PS Series array group, you must first update the PS Series array group.
Updates should be done during periods of low I/O or preferably during a scheduled maintenance window. Do not update if the array group is near or at maximum I/O load. SAN HQ is the preferred tool to monitor and measure I/O load.
No replication collections should be running or scheduled to start during the firmware update process. If any "in-progress" replications are running, wait for them to complete or cancel them. Then 'PAUSE' all replication collection schedules before performing the update.
A: The compressed update kit available from the Dell EqualLogic Customer Support site includes two update files, a 32-bit version and a 64-bit version. After you download the .zip file, when you install the update, the wizard will ask you to select the kit to install. If you have array models PS60x0, PS65x0, or PS-M4110, select the 32-bit kit. If you have array models PS41x0, PS4210, PS61x0, PS6210, or PS6610, select the 64-bit kit. The Dell Storage Update Manger extracts the correct kit, based on your configuration.