Common questions about netapp disk firmware update https://ontap-netapp.blogspot.com/

1. Common Questions about NetApp Disk Firmware Update
How disk firmware is updated?
 Disk firmware is updated automatically during ONTAP upgrade.
 Disk firmware is updated automatically via ‘Background' disk
firmware update.
 Disk firmware is updated manually.
Disk firmware is updated automatically during ONTAP upgrade:
When you upgrade Data ONTAP, disk firmware is updated
automatically if the firmware on the disks is older than the firmware
that is bundled with the Data ONTAP system files.
Disk firmware is updated automatically via 'Background' disk
firmware update.
By default, disk firmware updates take place automatically in the
background, thus ensuring the continuity of storage system services.
Nonetheless, you must download and install the latest disk firmware
before performing an NDU. In this process - Disks are offlined one at a
time and then firmware is updated on them. The disk is onlined after
the firmware update and a mini/optimized reconstruct happens for any

2. writes which occurred while the disk was offline. Hence, provides the
highest degree of safety.
How 'Background' disk firmware update is performed?
1. Download the most recent Disk firmware package from the NetApp
Support Site. (Link is provided at the end of this document)
2. Unzip or gunzip the file.
3. Mount the filer's root directory.
4. Each storage system is shipped with a /etc/disk_fw directory, which
is a place holder for disk firmware files. Copy the files downloaded in
the first step into the /<mountpoint>/etc/disk_fw directory.
5. Data ONTAP scans the /etc/disk_fw directory for new disk firmware
every two minutes (Provided 'raid.background_disk_fw_update.enable'
is set to ON, by default it is set to ON.)
Is it enabled by default?
Yes. The option is:
'raid.background_disk_fw_update.enable', which is set to ON by
default. You should not change the default value unless you are
directed to do so by technical support.

3. How long does 'Background' disk firmware update takes?
Background disk firmware updates take place with one disk at a time
and require approximately 2.5 minutes per disk. Although it is not likely
that all the disks attached to your systems would need firmware
updates at the same time, it is a best practice to wait at least 2.5
minutes for every disk attached to a controller before proceeding with
a Data ONTAP NDU.
What is the difference between 'Background' disk firmware update &
Disk firmware updated manually?
Background disk firmware updates take place serially with one disk at a
time and require approximately 2.5 minutes per disk. Whereas when
you update disk firmware manually by running:
filer> disk_fw_update
It updates all the disks parallel/together.
What risk are involved when updating disk firmware parallel?
Since updating the disk FW involves spinning the drive down and back
up again, it is possible that a volume can become offline if upgrading 2
or more of the same drive types in the same RAID group. This is
because when you upgrade disk firmware, you are upgrading the disk
firmware of all the same drive types in parallel. When encountering a
situation like this, it is best to schedule a maintenance window to

4. upgrade the disk firmware for all disks. The other alternative is to:
Upgrade the drive firmware one drive at a time as done via background
process.
filer> disk_fw_update
Downloading disk firmware can be disruptive to the system.
It involves spinning down and then spinning up all
affected disks, and suspending all disk I/O to all disks while
that is happening. This may take up to 4 minutes to complete.
This delay may cause clients to hang.
Are you sure you want to continue with firmware update? y
[Note: You can ignore disk error messages for disks being updated
until this update completes.]
filer>

5. Thu xx xx xx GMT [dyn_dev_qual_admin:info]: Firmware is up-to-date
on all disk drives
To update single/selective disk manually:
Run filer>disk_fw_update <ha>.<dr>
Where <ha> is the host adapter and <dr> is the drive number
Do I need to update the Disk Qualification Package after disk firmware
update?
Yes. As per the NetApp documentation, Customers running Data
ONTAP® 7.3 and later releases need to download the current version of
the Disk Qualification Package (DQP) after the disk firmware update.
Attention: If you are running Data ONTAP 7.2.7 or earlier, do not install
the DQP. This DQP is not backward compatible with Data ONTAP 7.2.x.
Adding this DQP or any of the newly qualified drives to your NetApp
storage system might cause a serious storage disruption.
The Disk Qualification Package (DQP) adds full support for newly
qualified disk drives. Each time you update disk firmware or add new
disk types or sizes to the storage system, you also need to update the
DQP.

6. You need to download and install the DQP in the following situations:
•Whenever you add a new disk type or size to the node
For example, if you already have 1-TB disks and add 2-TB disks, you
need to check for the latest DQP update.
•Whenever you update the disk firmware
•Whenever newer disk firmware or DQP files are available.
How to determine the version of Disk Qualification Package files you
have for Data ONTAP releases 7.3 and later?
 To determine the version of Disk Qualification Package files that
you have on your 7-mode system, enter the following command:
filer>rdfile /etc/qual_devices_v3
#########
# This file is auto generated by the script file.
# Copyright (c) 2000 NetApp Inc.
# All rights reserved.
#
# Datecode: 20130228
#

7. #########
 To determine the version of Disk Qualification Package files that
you have on your c-mode system, enter the following command:
filer ::> node run -node <nodename> -command rdfile
/etc/qual_devices_v3
#########
# This file is auto generated by the script file.
# Copyright (c) 2000 NetApp Inc.
# All rights reserved.
#
# Datecode: 20121108
#
########
The header of the file contains a date code. Compare that date code
with the file’s latest available date code. If your date code is less than
the latest date code, download and install the latest version of the Disk
Qualification Package

8. Downloads:
Disk Qualification Package (DQP):
http://support.netapp.com/NOW/download/tools/diskqual
Disk firmware Package:
http://support.netapp.com/NOW/download/tools/diskfw/
Note: On configurations using software-based disk ownership both
automatic and manual downloads update firmware only for those disks
owned by the local filer. Disks owned by the partner filer are updated
when the automatic download or the manual disk_fw_update
command is executed on that particular node. Disks that are owned by
neither filer are not updated. To update all disks, you must assign
ownership to the unowned disks before running the disk_fw_update
command.
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