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Considerations for signed versus unsigned E-Series drive firmware packages

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Applies to

  • NetApp E-Series
  • Signed Drive Firmware applies only to 11.80 or newer SANtricity OS

Answer

  1. Can I replace a drive with signed firmware with a drive with unsigned firmware?
    • Yes, because signed and unsigned only matters when user is upgrading the drive firmware.
  2. Can I use unsigned firmware when upgrading drive firmware on a system running 11.80 SANtricity OS?
    • No, signed drive firmware is required for upgrades starting in 11.80 SANtricity OS.
  3. Can drives with signed and unsigned drive firmware co-exist in an E-Series system?
    • Yes, because signed and unsigned only matters when user is upgrading the drive firmware and makes no difference once the firmware is on the drive.

Additional Information

  1. Signed SANtricity OS (11.80+) will only validate a signed drive firmware during the drive upgrade's firmware selection in SANtricity.
  2. User will be provided with a zip file with signed and unsigned firmware files when downloading drive firmware from our support site, and user needs to determine which to use depending on current SANtricity OS on the system:
    1. If system is on 11.80 or higher, then the user needs to select the signed firmware file.
      • If the user selects an unsigned firmware file, it will be rejected.
    2. If system is on pre-11.80 (11.75, 11.53, etc.), then the user needs to select the unsigned firmware file.
      • If the user selects a signed firmware file, it will be rejected
  3. If the drive firmware is already applied to the drives, then for any SANtricity OS release it does not matter if the drive firmware file was signed or unsigned.

 

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