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Prepare for an ONTAP software upgrade

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Properly preparing for an ONTAP software upgrade helps you identify and mitigate potential upgrade risks or blockers before you begin the upgrade process. During upgrade preparation, you can also identify any special considerations you might need to account for before you upgrade. For example, if SSL FIPs mode is enabled on your cluster and the administrator accounts use SSH public keys for authentication, you need to verify that the host key algorithm is supported in your target ONTAP release.

You should do the following to prepare for an upgrade:

  1. Create an upgrade plan.

    If you have an active SupportEdge contract for Active IQ Digital Advisor, plan your upgrade with Upgrade Advisor. If you do not have access to Active IQ Digital Advisor, create your own upgrade plan.

  2. Choose your target ONTAP release.

  3. Review the ONTAP release notes for the target release.

    The “Upgrade cautions” section describes potential issues that you should be aware of before upgrading to the new release. The “What's new” and “Known problems and limitations” sections describe new system behavior after upgrading to the new release.

  4. Confirm ONTAP support for your hardware configuration.

    Your hardware platform, cluster management switches and MetroCluster IP switches must support the target release. If your cluster is configured for SAN, the SAN configuration must be fully supported.

  5. Use Active IQ Config Advisor to verify that you have no common configuration errors.

  6. Review the supported ONTAP upgrade paths to determine if you can perform a direct upgrade or if you need to complete the upgrade in stages.

  7. Verify your LIF failover configuration.

    Before you perform an upgrade, you need to verify that the cluster's failover policies and failover groups are configured correctly.

  8. Verify your SVM routing configuration.

  9. Verify special considerations for your cluster.

    If certain configurations exist on your cluster, there are specific actions you need to take before you begin an ONTAP software upgrade.

  10. Reboot the SP or BMC.