cx4 flare upgrade part3 v0.1

7/29/2019 CX4 FLARE Upgrade Part3 v0.1

1/24

penguinpunk.netupgrading FLARE on an EMC CLARiiON CX4 part 3revision 0.1

synopsis

The following is a simple document providing visual guidance on the process requiredupgrade the FLARE code on an EMC CLARiiON CX4 array.


2/24

penguinpunk.net upgrading FLARE on an EMC CLARiiON CX4 - part 3 - revision 0.1

table of contents

introduction ................................................................................................................................ 3process ...................................................................................................................................... 4part 3 - installing FLARE code ................................................................................................... 4table of figures

Figure 1 - Install Software .......................................................................................................... 4Figure 2 - Welcome to the Install Software Wizard ................................................................... 5Figure 3 - Custom Install ........................................................................................................... 5Figure 4 - Pre-Staged Packages ............................................................................................... 6Figure 5 - Server readiness for software update ....................................................................... 7Figure 6 - Override HA status for all servers warning ............................................................... 7Figure 7 - Override HA status for all servers ............................................................................. 8Figure 8 - Diagnostic Information Step - Gathering information ................................................ 8Figure 9 - Diagnostic Information Step ...................................................................................... 9Figure 10 - Diagnostic Information Step - Use existing information ........................................ 10Figure 11 - Rule Checks .......................................................................................................... 10

Figure 12 - Rule Checks Warnings .......................................................................................... 11Figure 13 - Processor Utilisation Check .................................................................................. 12Figure 14 - Acceptable Processor Utilisation .......................................................................... 12Figure 15 - Non-Disruptive Upgrade Delay ............................................................................. 13Figure 16 - ESRS IP Client Notification ................................................................................... 14Figure 17 - Confirmation .......................................................................................................... 14Figure 18 - Software Maintenance Status ............................................................................... 15Figure 19 - Software Maintenance Status - Show Steps......................................................... 16Figure 20 - Software Maintenance Status - Further Progress ................................................. 17Figure 21 - Software Maintenance Status - Further Progress ................................................. 18Figure 22 - Software Maintenance Status - Complete ............................................................ 18Figure 23 - Post-install Tasks .................................................................................................. 19Figure 24 - USM - Diagnostics - Diagnostics .......................................................................... 20

Figure 25 - LCC Firmware (FRUMON) Status ........................................................................ 20Figure 26 - LCC Firmware (FRUMON) Status ........................................................................ 21Figure 27 - Commit Packages - Confirm ................................................................................. 22Figure 28 - Commit Packages - Progress ............................................................................... 22Figure 29 - Commit Packages - Commit successful ............................................................... 23Figure 30 - Finish ..................................................................................................................... 24


3/24


introduction

The following is part 3 in a series of simple documents aimed at providing visual guidance onthe process required upgrade the FLARE code on an EMC CLARiiON CX4 array. Thesedocuments assume that a version of FLARE 30 is already installed on the array, although thesteps for FLARE 29 and below are not significantly different.

These documents assume that you have access to EMCs Unisphere Service Manager(USM) on a Windows platform, and that you have downloaded copies of the FLARE code,Recovery Image and Utility Partition Image.

These documents are not intended as a replacement for EMCs official procedure guides, butrather should be used in conjunction with documentation available from Powerlink(http://powerlink.emc.com). You should also refer to http://www.emc.com/cx4support forcustomized documentation. The normal warnings and caveats apply when upgradingfirmware on an array, particularly if it has data on it that is valuable to you. Backup first, anddont come crying to me if you break something.


4/24


process

There are 4 basic steps to upgrading FLARE code on a CX4 array:

Installing / upgrading Unisphere Service Manager (covered in part 1);

Preparing for Installation (covered in part 2)

Upgrading FLARE code (covered in part 3);

Upgrading the Recovery Image (covered in part 4); and

Upgrading the Utility Partition (covered in part 4).

part 3 - installing FLARE code

So now it gets really exciting. Thats right, its time to actually load some code on the array. Iknow, youre trembling with anticipation. And the first time you do it, it will be pretty exciting.After a few hundred, its not quite as riveting. But I digress.

Once the installation preparation process is completed (covered in part 2 of this series),youre ready to move on to the next phase by clicking on Install Software (Step 2).

Figure 1 - Install Software

As youve already completed the Prepare for Installation step, you have the option to performan Express Install.


5/24


Figure 2 - Welcome to the Install Software Wizard

In this example, however, Ive selected Custom Install to demonstrate all of the steps that gointo upgrading the code. Ill provide examples of an express install at a later point in thisdocument series. Click next to proceed with the Custom Install.

Figure 3 - Custom Install


6/24


During the previous phase, the software was pre-staged for deployment. Confirm that it is thecorrect version and click on Next. At this point you could also choose to change the softwareyoure installing.

Figure 4 - Pre-Staged Packages

Once again, youll need to confirm the HA status of the servers attached to the array.


7/24


Figure 5 - Server readiness for software update

If you know there will be availability issues with these servers, I suggest you rectify theseissues first.

Figure 6 - Override HA status for all servers warning


8/24


Once youve done that, you can select to override the warning and click Next to continue withthe installation.

Figure 7 - Override HA status for all servers

At this point, USM checks in the repository for diagnostic information.

Figure 8 - Diagnostic Information Step - Gathering information


9/24


Assuming that it hasnt been too long between when you performed the Pre-installation andwhen youre upgrading the software, it should be safe to use the existing diagnosticinformation.

Figure 9 - Diagnostic Information Step

Select Use the existing diagnostic information and click Next to continue.


10/24


Figure 10 - Diagnostic Information Step - Use existing information

USM then performs a series of Rules Checks to ensure that everything is in order for theinstallation to proceed.

Figure 11 - Rule Checks


11/24


Note in this example that a scheduled activity will be interrupted by the NDU. While this isnt aproblem for the lab Im using, you should be mindful of such interruptions in a productionscenario. If youre happy with the results of the Rules Checks, and there are no Errors, youcan click Next to proceed to the next step.

Figure 12 - Rule Checks Warnings

USM then checks that processor utilisation on the array is acceptable. The point of this is that,for a period of time while storage processors reboot, all of the arrays workload will be hostedby one SP. If the CPU is already getting belted, it might be wise to re-schedule. This checkcan be overridden, but I dont recommend that you do this on production arrays.


12/24


Figure 13 - Processor Utilisation Check

In this example, the lab array is doing sweet FA, so click on Next to continue.

Figure 14 - Acceptable Processor Utilisation


13/24


Set the NDU delay here. Note that by default it is set to 360 seconds, and it is stronglyrecommended that you dont change this setting unless you have a particularly good reason.

Figure 15 - Non-Disruptive Upgrade Delay

On the next screen youll be notified that the ESRS IP Client (also known as CLARalert) willbe disabled until the upgrade is complete. This is EMCs way of being nice to their triage staffby not sending false positive alerts when SPs reboot.


14/24


Figure 16 - ESRS IP Client Notification

You ready to go? USM is ready to go, so click Next to go.

Figure 17 - Confirmation


15/24


And were off and running. If youre like me, you wont want to move from your desk while thisis going just in case. But you should probably relax and maybe go and get a bite to eat,because it will take a while to complete.

Figure 18 - Software Maintenance Status

If you click on Show Steps you can see the, er, steps that its going through.


16/24


Figure 19 - Software Maintenance Status - Show Steps

Like I said, it will take a while to complete. Although the Estimated Total Time Remaining israrely accurate.


17/24


Figure 20 - Software Maintenance Status - Further Progress

At this point its rebooting the Secondary SP (SP B). It always does it on SP B first, in casetheres a problem. It seems that recovering an array is easier to do when SP A is not totally

broken.


18/24


Figure 21 - Software Maintenance Status - Further Progress

And its done. And all green ticks to boot. Hooray!

Figure 22 - Software Maintenance Status - Complete


19/24


At this point USM offers to commit the FLARE code on the array. While the array is runningnew code at this stage, if the software is not committed, it is possible to roll the software back.However, it should be noted that, while you can service I/O while FLARE is not committed,you cant do useful things like bind LUNs, RAID Groups and Storage Pools. So unless theresan obvious problem, most folk will take a punt and commit the packages. If youve got no

storage configuration tasks on the horizon, leave it a day or two and make sure theres noobvious problems. Of course, if youve just upgraded to Release 30.524 so you can support3TB drives on the array, and you have a guy ready to shunt those drives in a DAE themoment the code is committed, then you might not be able to wait that long. Before youcommit the FLARE code, you should check whether the LCC firmware has been successfullyupgraded. On a small array with a few DAEs, this wont take too long. On a larger array (aCX4-960 with 64 DAEs for example) this might take a little longer.

Figure 23 - Post-install Tasks

In USM, go to the Diagnostics section. Under the Tools section on the right-hand side ofUSM, you can select the LCC and Power Supply Firmware Update Status option.


20/24


Figure 24 - USM - Diagnostics - Diagnostics

This screen provides information on the status of LCC Firmware (FRUMON) updates that arekicked off by installing new versions of FLARE. Not every version of FLARE has new LCCfirmware, but its always a good idea to check.

Figure 25 - LCC Firmware (FRUMON) Status


21/24


When you click on Show details youll get a screen full of LCC revisions. Depending on thenumber and type of DAEs, the time it takes to complete this operation will vary greatly, andcan be time consuming.

Figure 26 - LCC Firmware (FRUMON) Status

Once the LCC firmware is complete and youre happy that everything is working as expected,you can commit the FLARE code. To do this, click on the Run button in the Post-install Tasksscreen. Youll also get a warning about write cache. But that shouldnt worry you becauseyoure doing this during a quiet period on the array, right?


22/24


Figure 27 - Commit Packages - Confirm

This takes a little time to complete.

Figure 28 - Commit Packages - Progress


23/24


Once its complete, therell be a nice green tick in the Details column and you can click onNext to continue.

Figure 29 - Commit Packages - Commit successful

The Finish screen provides information on the completed activities and lets you know thatyoure finished. If youve registered your array for support with EMC or a third-party supportprovider, you can automatically notify them of the upgrade at this point. Of course youveprobably already talked to them about the upgrade, or you dont have support, or you prefer todo it the old-fashioned way. Its your choice.


24/24


Figure 30 - Finish

cx4 flare upgrade part3 v0.1

Documents