Crystal firmware 7.10.xx.xx upgrades will require a special Upgrade Utiltiy to install.

Asset ID:	1-73-1019209.1
Update Date:	2010-08-17
Keywords:

Solution Type FAB (standard) Sure

Solution 1019209.1 : Crystal firmware 7.10.xx.xx upgrades will require a special Upgrade Utiltiy to install.

Impact

Upgrading an STK6140/STK6540/FLX380 Array to firmware 07.10.xx.xx can only be acomplished on an idle and optimal system. It also requires the use of a special Upgrade Utility in order to load the firmware.

This is a one-time event as once the array is running 07.10.xx.xx firmware, future releases will again be able to be upgraded using the established methods.

Contributing Factors

There are several new features available with the Crystal firmware release. Among them are...

   RAID 6 (STK6140 only)
   Volume sizes beyond 2 TBytes
   Enhancements in number of Storage Domains allowed.
   Enhancements in the number of Remote Mirrors allowed.
   Enhancements in the number of Volume Copies allowed.
   Enhancements in the number of Snapshots allowed.

The offline requirement for this upgrade is because of the internal reorganization necessary to enable these features. While Crystal is not a mandatory firmware upgrade, customers wishing to take advantage of these features must upgrade.

Symptoms

Attempts to upgrade the array to firmware 07.10.xx.xx from earlier versions will not succeed. In the CAM Browser interface, you will not even be prompted that an upgrade is needed. If you attempt to manually perform the upgrade using csmservice, you will see a message like:

# ./csmservice -i -a 6140-1 -p /opt/SUNWstkcam/share/fw/images/nge/ RC_07102510_crystal_apollo_399x.dlp
Analyzing Firmware
Servicing request to update Controller
... Loading controller firmware
... ... Saving Controller Info
Error from updating controller. Caught exception: /opt/SUNWstkcam/share/fw/images/nge/RC_07102510_crystal_apollo_399x.dlp - Incompatible firmware file
The task failed due to an internal error.
#

Note: It is possible to successfully download the NVSRAM using csmservice, but doing so will put incompatible NVSRAM and firmware on the controller. Do NOT attempt to do this!

Root Cause

Because of internal changes to the array's data structures, aka DACstore, it is not possible to do this upgrade on a system using the existing array management tools. This is true for both CAM (Common Array Manager) and SANtricity managed arrays.

Corrective Action

Workaround

No workaround available - reference Resolution section below.

Resolution

Currently neither CAM nor SANtricity allow for this type of upgrade to be successfully completed. This issue can only be resolved by obtaining and installing an Upgrade Utility program. The utility, procedure and firmware are now available to all Sun badged personnel at http://usr.sfbay.sun.com (search for "crystal").

Note that this is still not a customer installable firmware and requires that it be performed by a Sun-Badge Engineer. It is no longer a requirement to open an escalation into the Tier 3/Backline organization to acquire the software. Please follow the normal SSE engagement processes on customer request for this upgrade.

Also check the PTS website (http://pts-storage.west/products/SE6130/crystal.html) for the latest breaking news on the upgrade process.

Crystal firmware (7.xx.xx.xx) is only for the STK6140/6540 and FLX380 arrays. Do NOT attempt to use this upgrade on SE6130, FLX2x0 or STK5xx0 arrays.

For information about FAB documents, its release processes, implementation strategies and billing information, go to the following URL:

http://tns.central/fab

For Sun Authorized Service Providers go to:

http://tns.central/SPE/fab/

In addition to the above you may email:

[email protected]

Modification History
22-Aug-2008: updated Resolution section to reflect new procedures for the upgrade process and a warning about arrays that should not be upgraded.
17-Feb-2009: updated link to USR in Resolution section as this site changed domains.

Internal Contributor/submitter
[email protected]

Internal Eng Responsible Engineer
[email protected] Responsible Manager: [email protected]

Internal Services Knowledge Engineer
[email protected]

Internal Eng Business Unit Group
NWS (Network Storage)

Internal Sun Alert & FAB Admin Info
21-Apr-2008: Completed draft and sent to Extended Review.
24-Apr-2008: No feedback from Ext Rvw - sending to Publish.
16-Dec-2009: Replaced Product with Swordfish Nomenclature

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