- Notes, cautions, and warnings
- Getting started
- New user setup
- Configure and provision a new storage system
- Using the PowerVault Manager interface
- System concepts
- About virtual and linear storage
- About disk groups
- About RAID levels
- About ADAPT
- About SSDs
- About SSD read cache
- About spares
- About pools
- About volumes and volume groups
- About volume cache options
- About thin provisioning
- About automated tiered storage
- About initiators, hosts, and host groups
- About volume mapping
- About operating with a single controller
- About snapshots
- About copying volumes
- About reconstruction
- About quick rebuild
- About performance statistics
- About firmware updates
- About managed logs
- About SupportAssist
- About CloudIQ
- About configuring DNS settings
- About replicating virtual volumes
- About the Full Disk Encryption feature
- About data protection with a single controller
- Working in the Home topic
- Guided setup
- Provisioning disk groups and pools
- Attaching hosts and volumes in the Host Setup wizard
- Overall system status
- Configuring system settings
- Managing scheduled tasks
- Working in the System topic
- Viewing system components
- Systems Settings panel
- Resetting host ports
- Rescanning disk channels
- Clearing disk metadata
- Updating firmware
- Changing FDE settings
- Configuring advanced settings
- Changing disk settings
- Changing system cache settings
- Configuring partner firmware update
- Configuring system utilities
- Using maintenance mode
- Restarting or shutting down controllers
- Working in the Hosts topic
- Working in the Pools topic
- Working in the Volumes topic
- Viewing volumes
- Creating a virtual volume
- Creating a linear volume
- Modifying a volume
- Copying a volume or snapshot
- Abort a volume copy
- Adding volumes to a volume group
- Removing volumes from a volume group
- Renaming a volume group
- Remove volume groups
- Rolling back a virtual volume
- Deleting volumes and snapshots
- Creating snapshots
- Resetting a snapshot
- Creating a replication set from the Volumes topic
- Initiating or scheduling a replication from the Volumes topic
- Manage replication schedules from the Volumes topic
- Working in the Mappings topic
- Working in the Replications topic
- About replicating virtual volumes in the Replications topic
- Replication prerequisites
- Replication process
- Creating a virtual pool for replication
- Setting up snapshot space management in the context of replication
- Replication and empty allocated pages
- Disaster recovery
- Accessing the data while keeping the replication set intact
- Accessing the data from the backup system as if it were the primary system
- Disaster recovery procedures
- Viewing replications
- Querying a peer connection
- Creating a peer connection
- Modifying a peer connection
- Deleting a peer connection
- Creating a replication set from the Replications topic
- Modifying a replication set
- Deleting a replication set
- Initiating or scheduling a replication from the Replications topic
- Stopping a replication
- Suspending a replication
- Resuming a replication
- Manage replication schedules from the Replications topic
- About replicating virtual volumes in the Replications topic
- Working in the Performance topic
- Working in the banner and footer
- Banner and footer overview
- Viewing system information
- Viewing certificate information
- Viewing connection information
- Viewing system date and time information
- Viewing user information
- Viewing health information
- Viewing event information
- Viewing capacity information
- Viewing host information
- Viewing tier information
- Viewing recent system activity
- Other management interfaces
- SNMP reference
- Using FTP and SFTP
- Using SMI-S
- Using SLP
- Administering a log-collection system
- Best practices
- System configuration limits
- Glossary of terms
Dell PowerVault ME4 Series Storage System Administrator’s Guide
About firmware updates
Controller modules, expansion modules, and disk drives contain firmware that operate them. As newer firmware versions become available, they may be installed at the factory or at a customer maintenance depot or they may be installed by storage-system administrators at customer sites. For a dual-controller system, the following firmware-update scenarios are supported:
- The administrator installs a new firmware version in one controller and wants that version to be transferred to the partner controller.
- In a system that has been qualified with a specific firmware version, the administrator replaces one controller module and wants the firmware version in the remaining controller to be transferred to the new controller (which might contain older or newer firmware).
When a controller module is installed into an enclosure at the factory, the enclosure midplane serial number and firmware-update timestamp are recorded for each firmware component in controller flash memory, and will not be erased when the configuration is changed or is reset to defaults. These two pieces of data are not present in controller modules that are not factory-installed and are used as replacements.
Updating controller firmware with the Partner Firmware Update (PFU) option enabled will ensure that the same firmware version is installed in both controller modules. PFU uses the following algorithm to determine which controller module will update its partner:
- If both controllers are running the same firmware version, no change is made.
- If the firmware in only one controller has the proper midplane serial number then the firmware, midplane serial number, and attributes of that controller are transferred to the partner controller. Subsequently, the firmware update behavior for both controllers depends on the system settings.
- If the firmware in both controllers has the proper midplane serial number then the firmware having the latest firmware-update timestamp is transferred to the partner controller.
- If the firmware in neither controller has the proper midplane serial number, then the firmware version in controller A is transferred to controller B.
NOTE:Dell
recommends always updating controller firmware with the PFU option enabled unless otherwise directed by Tech Support.
For information about the procedures to update firmware in controller modules, expansion modules, and disk drives, see Updating firmware. That topic also describes how to use the activity progress interface to view detailed information about the progress of a firmware-update operation.
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