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E-Series Systems

Complete controller upgrade

Contributors netapp-driley NetAppZacharyWambold netapp-jolieg netapp-jsnyder
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Complete the controller upgrade by powering on the controller shelf and validating the controller software version. Then, you can collect support data and resume operations.

If you are upgrading controllers in a duplex controller-drive tray, repeat all steps to complete the upgrade for the second controller.

Step 1: Power on controller

You must power on the controller shelf to confirm that it is working correctly.

Steps

  1. Turn on the power switch on the rear of each drive tray that is connected to the controller-drive tray.

  2. Wait two minutes for the drives to spin up.

  3. Turn on the power switch on the rear of the controller-drive tray.

  4. Wait three minutes for the power-up process to complete.

  5. If you are performing a complete controller replacement for either E2800 or E5700 controllers, proceed to one of the following procedures based on your drive security scenario.

    Complete controller replacement type Procedure and prerequisites

    All unsecured drives, neither External or Internal Key Management

    Proceed to the next step.

    Mix of secured and unsecured drives, Internal Key Management

    You first must create an internal security key and then import the security key manually to unlock the secured drives. After the drives are unlocked, you can access the drives.

    1. Create internal security key

    2. Controller swap with internal key management and one or more drives secured

    3. Run the SMclient command, set allDrives nativeState.

    4. Wait for both controllers to reboot.

    All secured drives, Internal Key Management

    Controller swap with internal key management and one or more drives secured

    Mix of secured and unsecured drives, External Key Management

    Proceed to the next step.

    After performing the controller replacement, the controllers will automatically resynchronize with the External Key Management Server and the drives will unlock and be accessible.

    Note If you receive a seven-segment display lock-down code of L5 after performing a controller replacement of mixed secured drives with internal key management, contact technical support.

    All secured drives, External Key Management, you have temporarily switched back to Internal Key Management for the controller replacement procedure

    You must first unlock the secured drives using the Internal Key Management procedure. After the drives are unlocked, then you transition back to External Key Management by creating a new external security key for the storage array.

    1. Controller swap with internal key management and one or more drives secured

    2. Create external security key

    3. Run the SMclient command, set allDrives nativeState.

    4. Wait for both controllers to reboot.

    All secured drives, External Key Management, you have not temporarily switched to Internal Key Management for the controller replacement procedure

    Controller swap with external key management and all drives secured. See External key management for detailed instructions.

Step 2: Check status of controllers and trays

You can use the LEDs and the storage management software to check the status of your controllers and trays.

Steps

  1. Look at the LEDs on controller A to make sure that it is booting correctly.

    The Host Link Service Action Required LEDs turn green during the reboot.

    After the controller successfully completes rebooting, you can then discover the new controller canister by using the storage management software.

  2. If any of the controller-drive tray's Service Action Required LEDs are on, or if the Controller Service Action Required LED is on:

    1. Check that the controller canister has been installed correctly and that all of the cables are correctly seated. Reinstall the controller canister, if necessary.

    2. Check the controller-drive tray's Service Action Required LEDs and the Controller Service Action Required LED again. If the problem is not corrected, contact technical support.

  3. For a duplex configuration, repeat step 1 through step 2 for controller B.

  4. Using the LEDs and the storage management software, check the status of all of the trays in the storage array. If any component has a Needs Attention status, use the Recovery Guru to troubleshoot. If the problem is not resolved, contact technical support.

Step 3: Validate controller software version

You must ensure that your new controllers are running with the correct operating system (controller firmware) level and NVSRAM.

Steps

  1. If your controller upgrade involves a protocol change (for example, Fibre Channel to iSCSI), and you already have hosts defined for your storage array, associate the new host ports with your hosts:

    1. From System Manager, select Storage › Hosts.

    2. Select the host to which the ports will be associated, and then click View/Edit Settings.

      A dialog box appears that shows the current host settings.

    3. Click the Host Ports tab.

      The dialog box shows the current host port identifiers.

    4. To update the host port identifier information associated with each host, replace the host port IDs from the old host adapters with the new host port IDs for the new host adapter.

    5. Repeat step d for each host.

    6. Click Save.

    For information about compatible hardware, refer to the NetApp Interoperability Matrix and the NetApp Hardware Universe.

  2. If Write Back Caching was disabled for all thin volumes in preparing for the headswap, re-enable Write Back Caching.

    1. From System Manager, select Storage › Volumes.

    2. Select any volume, and then select More › Change cache settings.

      The Change Cache Setting dialog box appears. All volumes on the storage array appear in this dialog box.

    3. Select the Basic tab and enable the settings for read caching and write caching.

    4. Click Save.

  3. If SAML was disabled in preparing for the headswap, re-enable SAML.

    1. From System Manager, select Settings › Access Management.

    2. Select the SAML tab, and then follow the instructions on the page.

  4. Gather support data about your storage array by using either the GUI or the CLI:

    • Use System Manager to collect and save a support bundle of your storage array.

      • From System Manager, select Support › Support Center › Diagnostics tab. Then select Collect Support Data and click Collect.

        The file is saved in the Downloads folder for your browser with the name support-data.7z.

        If your shelf contains drawers, the diagnostics data for that shelf is archived in a separate zipped file named tray-component-state-capture.7z

    • Use the CLI to run the save storageArray supportData command to gather comprehensive support data about the storage array.

      Note Gathering support data can temporarily impact performance on your storage array.

  5. Alert NetApp Technical Support to the changes that you made to the configuration of your storage array.

    1. Get the serial number of the controller-drive tray that you recorded in Prepare to upgrade controllers.

    2. Log in to the NetApp support site at mysupport.netapp.com/eservice/assistant.

    3. Select Product Registration from the drop-down list under Category 1.

    4. Enter the following text in the Comments text box, substituting the serial number of your controller-drive tray for serial number:

      Please create alert against Serial Number: serial number. The alert name should be “E-Series Upgrade”. The alert text should read as follows:

      “Attention: The controllers in this system have been upgraded from the original configuration. Verify the controller configuration before ordering replacement controllers and notify dispatch that the system has been upgraded.”

    5. Click the Submit button at the bottom of the form.

What's next?

Your controller upgrade is complete and you can resume normal operations.