What are the best practices for upgrading Controller Firmware 06.xx, 07.

xx,
and 08.xx?

KB ID: 3013330 Version: 6.0 Published date: 06/20/2014 Views: 721

Answer
Determining when to upgrade:
Why upgrade?
o New Features.
o Bug Fixes.
Before upgrading, obtain the latest information on Firmware:
o Release Notes.
o Compatibility Matrix.
Upgrade Process:
o Use the correct order when performing Firmware Upgrades.
o Always read release notes.
o Perform Controller Firmware and NVSRAM upgrades online, unless otherwise stated.
o ESM firmware upgrades can be perfomed live, but like the controllers, only 1 at a time, so as to maintain
the alternate path.
All other components require downtime:
o Multi-path driver, HBA, Data Host OS.
o Drive firmware stop all I/O to the virtual disk.
Upgrade order:
Storage management software.
Note: Always upgrade the storage management software first.
Multi-path/Failover driver
HBA driver.
NVSRAM.
Controller Firmware.
ESM Firmware.
Drive Firmware.
Note: Always read the release notes to see if there are any dependencies for the order for the upgrade, as it
might change with a particular release.
Controller Firmware Upgrade Path:

Step 1:
If starting with a Firmware 06.xx version earlier than 06.14, first begin by upgrading to version 06.60 using the
storage manager or CLI.
If starting with 06.14 or later or upgrading beyond version 06.60, continue with Step 2.
Step 2:
From 06.14 or later, first upgrade to version 07.15 using the upgrade utility manager.
If starting with or upgrading beyond version 07.15, continue with Step 3.
Step 3:
From version 07.15, first upgrade to version 07.50 using the storage manager or CLI.
If starting with or upgrading beyond version 07.50, continue with Step 4.
Step 4:
From version 07.50, 07.60, or 07.70 upgrade to version 07.80 using the storage manager or CLI.
Step 5:
From version 07.75, you must first upgrade to 07.77, and then upgrade to 07.80 or higher.
Note: For more information, see article 2016658: Controllers do not allow an upgrade from CFW 07.75 or earlier to
CFW 07.80
Step 6:
To upgrade to 07.83 or 07.84 from 07.80 or earlier:
For 26xx: first upgrade to 07.70 or later (see note above for controllers on 07.75)
For 49xx: first upgrade to 07.60 or later
For 54xx: first upgrade to 07.80 or later
For 7091: first upgrade to 07.60 or later
Step 7:
To Upgrade to 07.86 or 08.10 from 07.84 or earlier:
For 26xx: first upgrade to 07.70 or later (see note above for controllers on 07.75)
For 54xx: first upgrade to 07.80 or later
For 55xx: 07.86 is first release for this platform upgrade directly to 08.10
Upgrade Times:
Storage manager and the associate drivers and utilities will take approximately 35 minutes to upgrade.
ESM Firmware will take approximately 5 minutes per tray to upgrade
Controller firmware and NVSRAM will take approximately 5-35 minutes to upgrade.
Hard drive firmware will take approximately 2 minutes per drive to upgrade, but it is possible to complete
parallel firmware upgrades.
Related KB Articles:
KB ID: 1014605 - How To Upgrade Controller Firmware 07.xx and 08.xx CFW
KB ID: 1014607 - How To Upgrade Controller NVSRAM 07.xx and 08.xx CFW
KB ID: 1013634 - How To Upgrade ESM Firmware 07.xx and 08.xx CFW
KB ID: 1014606 - How To Upgrade Drive Firmware 07.xx and 08.xx CFW