What are the best practices for upgrading E-Series Controller Firmware 07.xx, and 08.xx?
Applies to
- NetApp E-Series
- E-Series firmware releases: 7.xx and 8.xx
- NetApp StorageGRID appliances (see Before upgrading firmware section)
Answer
Why upgrade?
- New Features and Enhancements.
- Bug Fixes.
- Continued Supportability.
- Support for firmware versions is subject to end as newer firmware versions are released. To ensure that support can be provided, it is always recommended to be on the latest available firmware versions for all hardware platforms, controllers, ESMs (IOMs), and drives.
Before upgrading firmware:
- For StorageGRID Appliances:
- Review StorageGRID product documentation page for the upgrade procedure. Upgrading E-Series firmware in StorageGRID appliances require steps on the StorageGRID compute node/controller.
- Review StorageGRID Appliance page in interoperability matrix tool (link) for latest supported E-Series firmware within StorageGRID appliances.
- Before upgrading, obtain the latest information on Firmware:
- Release Notes.
- Compatibility Matrix.
- Before upgrading, address any outstanding technical issues, errors, or alerts being reported on the storage array.
| CAUTION: Upgrades should NOT be performed on non-optimal storage arrays unless directed by NetApp Support. Upgrading non-optimal storage arrays could potentially result in outages, corruption, or even data loss. NetApp Support should be engaged to restore the storage array to optimal and/or confirm there are no risks for upgrading in a non-optimal state. |
Upgrade order:
- SANtricity Unified Manager.
- Multi-path/Failover driver
- HBA (Host Bus Adapter) driver
- NVSRAM (Non-Volatile Static Random Access Memory) & E-Series Controller Firmware
- ESM (IOM) (Environment Services Module (Input/Output Module)) Firmware
- E-Series 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.
E-Series SANtricity OS Latest Compatible Release per Platform:
For list of currently supported platforms and releases, please visit the Software Version Support page.
| Platform | Latest Compatible Release |
| E26xx, E54xx and EF540 | 8.20.30.00 |
| E55xx and EF550 | 8.25.20.00 |
| E27xx, E56xx and EF560 | 8.40.60.05 |
| E28xx, E57xx, EF570, EF300 and EF600 | 11.80GA |
E-Series Controller Firmware Upgrade Path:
Note: It is not required but it is recommended to perform a staggered reboot of the controllers (reboot one at a time) prior to performing an E-Series controller firmware upgrade. This step refreshes all device discoveries and system component states as well as testing failover in preparation of the upgrade itself.
To upgrade to 08.40 (11.40) from 08.30 (11.30) or earlier: |
|
| Platform: E27xx | Upgrade from 08.10 or later releases directly to 8.40. 08.40 is the final code release for this platform. |
| Platforms: E56xx and EF560 | Upgrade from 08.25 or 08.30 directly to 08.40. (08.40 is the final code relase for this platform) |
| Platforms: E28xx and EF280 | Upgrade from 08.30 (11.30) directly to 08.40 (11.40). |
| Platforms: E57xx and EF570 | 08.40 (11.40) is first release for this platform. |
To upgrade from and to the following releases: 8.30 (11.30, 8.40 (11.40), 08.50 (11.50), 8.60 (11.60) or 8.70 (11.70) from 8.30 onward: |
|
| Platforms: E28xx and EF280 |
Upgrade directly to the latest desired release. (i.e upgrade directly from 8.40 to 8.70) |
| Platforms: E57xx and EF570 |
Upgrade directly to the latest desired release. (i.e upgrade directly from 8.50 to 8.70) |
| Platform: EF300 | Upgrade directly to the latest release. 8.70 is the first release for this platform. |
| Platform: EF600 | Upgrade directly to the latest release. 8.60 is the first release for this platform. |
To upgrade to 8.80 (11.80) - ONLY Possible from 11.70.5 |
|
| All Support Platforms | Upgrade to 11.80 release is ONLY possible if the system is running 11.70.5 release. |
Additional Information
- Storage manager and the associate drivers and utilities will take approximately 35 minutes to upgrade.
- ESM (IOM) (Environment Services Module (Input/Output Module)) Firmware will take approximately 5 minutes per tray to upgrade
- E-Series Controller firmware and NVSRAM (Non-Volatile Static Random Access Memory) will take approximately 5-35 minutes to upgrade.
- Offline E-Series drive firmware upgrade will take approximately 2 minutes per drive to upgrade, but it is possible to complete parallel firmware upgrades.
- Online E-Series drive firmware upgrade (08.20 and later controller firmware required) will take approximately 2 minutes but times will vary depending upon I/O load and other processes running on the storage.
- Online E-Series drive firmware upgrade can only be performed on one drive at a time.
- E-Series SANtricity software upgrade resolution guide
- E-Series SANtricity software upgrade issues resolution guide
- For E2800 and E5700 models, verify the Internal ethernet communication is good, using Cause section of the following KB