Storage System Software Upgrade AX150

AX150-SeriesUpgrading FLARE Operating

Environment SoftwareDecember 18, 2005

This document describes how to upgrade your AX150 FLARE™ OperatingEnvironment (OE) - the storage-system software that includes sharedstorage control, Navisphere® Express, and snapshot management software.The FLARE OE upgrade process is disruptive and will require that theAX150 storage system be inaccessible to attached servers for a period oftime.

Topics in this document include

Upgrading your environment......................................................... 2Before You Start............................................................................. 3Installing a new version of FLARE OE software............................... 4

1

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Upgrading your environment

When you upgrade software on the storage system, you must alsoupgrade software on all servers connected to the storage system.Always upgrade to the latest versions of Navisphere Storage SystemInitialization Utility, Navisphere Server Utility, and PowerPath®,which are available on the AX150 support website. For information onaccessing the AX150 support website, refer to the support informationthat shipped with your storage system.

For supported HBA drivers and Fibre Channel switch firmware, refer tothe Supported Configurations document under Technical descriptionson the AX150 support website.

2 Upgrading FLARE Operating Environment Software

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Before You Start

You must stop I/O between the server and the storage system beforeyou install new software, so schedule the installation for a time whenstopping I/O to the storage system is most convenient.

You will use Navisphere Express to install newer versions of softwareon the storage system.

If you launch Navisphere Express from an Internet Explorer (IE) browser,downloading the software to the storage system may take a long time or maytime out. To work around this situation, see the Microsoft Knowledge BaseArticle - 329781 on the Microsoft support website.

To complete the upgrade procedure, the following conditions mustbe met:

❑ The storage system must not have any faulted components; in otherwords each component listed on the Navisphere Express ViewComponents page must have a green check before it.

❑ No server is sending I/O to virtual disks on the storage system. Ifdata is sent to a virtual disk during the installation, it will be lost.

❑ You must upgrade all servers connected to the storage systemwith the latest version of the HBA driver, PowerPath, NavisphereServer Utility, and Navisphere Storage System InitializationUtility. For the latest versions, refer to AX150 support website. Toperform the upgrades, generate the customized document for yourconfiguration from the Install section on the AX150 support website.

❑ You must upgrade all servers to the latest Fibre Channel switchfirmware. For the latest version refer to AX150 support website. Forinformation on how to upgrade the switch firmware, refer to theUpgrade section on the AX150 support website.

❑ Any Microsoft Windows® 2000 server connected to the storagesystem should have Service Pack 4 installed on it. While this is nota requirement, we strongly recommend it.

Upgrading FLARE Operating Environment Software 3

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Installing a new version of FLARE OE software

You should always install the latest version of the FLARE OE software.

During the software installation operation, you will not be able to

Access data (since you must stop I/O)

Create any disk pools

Create or expand virtual disks

Prepare, start, or run snapshots

Preparing snapshots for the software installation

If you are using the snapshot management software on the storagesystem, follow the steps below to prevent snapshots from beinginterrupted during software installation:

Once the software installation is complete, you can restart snapshots andrestore access to them as described later.

1. Remove each secondary server’s access to snapshots on the storagesystem:

On a Linux®, NetWare®, or Solaris™ secondary server — Startthe Navisphere Server Utility on the secondary server, andselect option 5.

On a Windows® secondary server — Start the NavisphereServer Utility on the secondary server, and select RemoveAccess to a Snapshot.

2. On each source server, stop all snapshots on the storage system:

On a Linux, NetWare or Solaris source server — Start theNavisphere Server Utility on the source server, and select option3.


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On a Windows source server — Start the Navisphere ServerUtility on the server, and select Stop a Snapshot.

Installing updated FLARE OE

! CAUTION

During the installation procedure

The storage system must not have any faulted or transitioningcomponents.

The storage system must not be sending data to or receiving datafrom a server.

You must not power down or reboot the storage system, powerdown an SP, or remove any components. By doing so, you maynot be able to restart the storage system. When the installationprocess is complete, the storage system reboots automatically.

If any virtual disks assigned to Windows servers are configured asdynamic disks, these disks may go offline as a result of the softwareinstallation. To avoid this, we strongly recommend that you shutdown any Windows servers with dynamic disks before continuing.

1. From the “Register to download” section of the AX150 supportwebsite, download the latest version of the AX150-Series FLARE OEsoftware onto the server from which you will install the software.

This FLARE OE software is in a .zip file.

2. Start Navisphere Express on the storage system.

3. Wait until no storage-system components are in a transitioning statebefore continuing.

You can view the current state of storage-system components on theNavisphere Express View Components page.

4. In the Navisphere Express navigation pane under System, clickSoftware.

5. On the System Software page, click Upgrade Software.

6. Either enter the path for the software .zip file you just downloadedor browse for it, and click Upgrade.


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7. Monitor the status of the installation in the Software UpgradeStatus window.

After the installation is complete, the storage system rebootsautomatically. When the storage system reboots, you may see anerror message, such as Action Cancelled, in the browser.

If you see an error message, close the browser, and wait for thestorage system to complete the reboot (this could take a couple ofminutes). The SP Boot/Fault light on the rear of each SP will stopblinking when the reboot completes. Then reopen the browser andrestart Navisphere Express for the storage system.

You cannot restart Navisphere Express for the storage system until thereboot is complete.

If you do not see an error message, wait until the reboot is complete(the SP Boot/Fault light on the rear of each SP stops blinking)before continuing.

8. Verify that the installation was successful:

a. In the Navisphere Express navigation pane under System, clickSoftware.

b. Verify that the correct version of the FLARE OperatingEnvironment is installed.

Restarting snapshots

If you are using the snapshot management software on the storagesystem and you want to restart snapshots:

Snapshots you restart will start at the point in time that you start them, and notat the time when you stopped them.

1. On each source server, restart each snapshot you stopped:

On a Windows source server - Start the Navisphere Server Utilityon the server, and select Start a Snapshot.

On a Linux, NetWare, or Solaris source server - Start theNavisphere Server Utility on the source server, and select option 2.


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2. If you removed any secondary server’s access to snapshots on thestorage system, re-establish the server’s access to the snapshots:

On a Windows secondary server - Start the Navisphere ServerUtility on the server, and select Allow Access to a Snapshot.

On a Linux, NetWare, or Solaris server - Start the NavisphereServer Utility on the secondary server, and select option 4.

3. Restart I/O to the storage system.

When to install a new language pack

A Navisphere Express language pack is updated only if the NavisphereExpress user interface (UI) changes in the FLARE OE. Before you installthe new version of the language pack, text changes in the NavisphereExpress UI are displayed in English; unchanged text continues to bedisplayed in the language. To ensure that all text changes in NavisphereExpress UI are displayed in the language, you should update thelanguage pack as soon as the new version is available.

Typically, a language pack update is available after the FLARE OE versionis available.

To determine if the Navisphere Express UI changed in a new FLAREOE version, refer to the Integrated Management Software releasenotes on the AX150 support website. For information on installing alanguage pack, refer to the Upgrade section on the AX150 supportwebsite. For information on accessing the AX150 support website, referto the support information that shipped with your storage system.


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Copyright © 2005 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

EMC believes the information in this publication is accurate as of its publication date. Theinformation is subject to change without notice.

THE INFORMATION IN THIS PUBLICATION IS PROVIDED AS IS. EMC CORPORATIONMAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND WITH RESPECT TOTHE INFORMATION IN THIS PUBLICATION, AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS IMPLIEDWARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Use, copying, and distribution of any EMC software described in this publication requires anapplicable software license.

Trademark Information

EMC2, EMC, CLARiiON, Navisphere, and PowerPath are registered trademarks and Access Logix,FLARE, MirrorView, SAN Copy, and SnapView are trademarks of EMC Corporation.

All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.


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Storage System Software Upgrade AX150