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Guidelines for upgrading controllers

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To understand whether you can use aggregate relocation (ARL), keeping the old system chassis and disks, depends on the system upgrade configuration and ONTAP version.

Supported upgrades for ARL

Controller upgrades are supported for certain system configurations. To view the list of supported systems and minimum ONTAP versions, see Overview.

If you have received a new AFF A150, FAS2820, AFF A900, or FAS9500 as a complete system, including a new chassis, refer to References to link to the Use "system controller replace" commands to upgrade controller hardware running ONTAP 9.8 or later content.

Controller upgrade using ARL is supported on systems configured with SnapLock Enterprise and SnapLock Compliance volumes.

Two-node switchless clusters

If you are upgrading nodes in a two-node switchless cluster, you can leave the nodes in the switchless cluster while performing the upgrade. You do not need to convert them to a switched cluster.

Switch attached clusters

If you are upgrading nodes in a cluster that is connected to a cluster switch, you must verify that the make, model, firmware version, RCF, and ONTAP version running on the switch will be same the same as those running on the replacement controller after the upgrade. If required, you must perform the switch upgrade before upgrading the controllers using the ARL procedure described in this documentation.

Troubleshoot

If any problems occur while upgrading the controllers, see the Troubleshoot section at the end of the procedure for more information and possible solutions.

If you do not find a solution to the problem you encountered, contact technical support.