*See update for SAN/iQ 9.5 at http://cosonok.blogspot.com/2011/11/saniq-95.html
1: Why upgrade to SAN/iQ 9.0?
1: Why upgrade to SAN/iQ 9.0?
2: How to upgrade?
1: Why upgrade to SAN/iQ 9.0?
SAN/iQ 9.0 - out since November 2010 - offers many enhancements over 8.5 (see page 4 of the 'SAN/iQ 9.0 release notes' / 'P4000 SAN Solution software release notes' from http://www.hp.com/go/P4000downloads or - for convenience - these have been copied to Appendix B below,) of particular note:
i: Network RAID 5 on 3 nodes (previously required 4 nodes)
ii: iSCSI session auto rebalancing
iii: Automatic online upgrades
HP recommends all customers running 8.x and earlier versions upgrade to 9.0.
2: How to upgrade?
All the information is available in the 'SAN/iQ 9.0 release notes' / 'P4000 SAN Solution software release notes' from http://www.hp.com/go/P4000downloads and highly recommend reading this
Quick notes (taken from the SAN/iQ 9.0 release notes):
1: The upgrade to release 9.0 is available for the platforms listed in Appendix C
2: Two methods of upgrading -
i: Using automated online upgrades
ii: Upgrading the software in an offline environment
3: Using automated online upgrades -
i: Select Configuration Summary in the Navigation pane of the CMC
ii: Select the Upgrades tab
iii: Click Start Download to begin the upgrade process
4: CAUTION - VSA upgrades - ensure your processor architecture is 64-bit capable with the VT processor extensions enabled in the BIOS, if your environment is not 64-bit capable do not upgrade to SAN/iQ 9.0 VSA or FOM
5: Can upgrade from version 7.0 SP1 or later to 9.0 (direct upgrades from 8.X; upgrading from 7.0 SP1 must first upgrade to 8.5 and this can be done automatically by the automatic upgrades feature)
6: STEP 1 – install the release 9.0 CMC
7: Pre-upgrade tasks:
i: Verify each cluster has a VIP configured
ii: Plan for downtime of Network RAID-0 volumes which will go offline whilst the upgrade is in process
8: Upgrade the following components in this order:
i: The CMC, including CLI, MIBs and FOM.
ii: Any patches or other components as indicated during the Upgrade process, in the Install Action Required window.
iii: The DSM for MPIO (If you are running 7.x version of the HP StorageWorks P4000 DSM for MPIO , the installer prompts you to first uninstall that version before installing the current version.)
iv: The SAN/iQ software.
v: The remaining Solution Pack components, the VSS Provider and the Authentication Console as required.
9: Upgrading the software in an offline environment
Downloading files
i: Install the 9.0 CMC on a computer that can connect to the Internet outside of a firewall.
ii: Start the CMC.
iii: Select Configuration Summary and click the Upgrades tab. Click Start Download to download
all the upgrade and patch files to the computer where the CMC is installed.
iv: Click Help > Preferences > Upgrades.
v: Note the download directory. This is where all the upgrade files were downloaded. The default
location in Microsoft Windows is Program Files > HP > P4000 > UI > downloads.
vi: Close the CMC.
vii: Return the computer to your own network.
viii: Copy the downloaded files to a network share location or portable media, or use the CMC on
that computer to upgrade your storage systems. If you do copy the files to a network location,
any CMC you use to do upgrades must point to that network location to see the files.
a. Click Help > Preferences > Upgrades.
b. Browse to the network location where you copied the files.
c. Click OK to close the Preferences window and continue with the upgrade.
10: If upgrading management groups with Remote Copy associations you should upgrade the remote management groups first.
PS I always try to avoid using the word I and putting personal comments into my posts, today I will make an exception to this and say that I absolutely love SAN/iQ, with its ease of use and powerful features, it is an absolute SAN administrators dream come true (lives up to the wisdom of Albert Einstein's “everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.” ) To the team that make it – hats off to you!
Appendix A – Useful links
In the Storage section, navigate to the following locations
• Disk Storage Systems >
In the Storage section, navigate to the following locations
• Disk Storage Systems
• Storage Software > Storage Virtualization Software
Appendix B – SAN/iQ 9.0 Enhancements (from SAN/iQ 9.0 release notes)
The 9.0 release is a comprehensive release that includes enhancements in the following areas:
• New global configurations — Email, SNMP, DNS, remote syslog, and upgrades are done at the
management group
• Automated online upgrade management — Identifies, downloads, and applies updates more
easily
• Alarms and Events enhancements — Reduced quantity, configured globally, new severity levels
• Storage system alarms
• Network RAID 5 and 6 enhancements — No longer require snapshots, Network RAID 5 on clusters
of three or more, Network RAID 6 on clusters of five or more
• VMware VAAI vStorage offloads — Full copy, Block Zeroing, and Hardware Assisted Locking for
faster VM deployment and less load on ESX servers
• New Best Practice Analyzer rules — Checks for consistent RAID and network settings
• P4000 Centralized Management Console enhancements — More map views, new volume icons
that represent status and RAID, reduced numbers of pop ups, user ability to change CMC font
sizes and default names
• Host server cluster management — Automated assignment of volumes to many servers that make
up an application cluster
• Server aware sites — Servers and server clusters can be assigned to sites to improve load balancing
• HP Insight Remote Support replaces LeftHand Service Console
• HP SIM monitoring support (6.2)
• Localization for Japan, China, and Korea
• MPIO improvements — Host network load balancing in DSM for MPIO and native windows MPIO
support
• iSCSI session management improvements — Sessions are automatically rebalanced after systems
come back online and when systems are added. Sessions are automatically disconnected when
volumes are unassigned from servers
• Improved PGR / Microsoft Failover Cluster scalability — Up to 256 iSCSI sessions per volume
with Microsoft Failover Clusters utilizing PGR
• Cross-Version Remote Copy — Release 9.0 SAN/iQ software can remote copy to and from version
8.5, 8.1, and 8.0 management groups
• Remote Copy bandwidth — Now managed independently of management group bandwidth
• CLI improvements — New commands to manage schedules, SNMP, and servers
• Application-Managed Snapshots support Microsoft Windows CSV
Appendix C – Platforms supported for release 9.0 (from SAN/iQ 9.0 release notes)
Upgrades to release 9.0 software are available for the following platforms
• HP StorageWorks P4300 G2
• HP StorageWorks P4500 G2
• HP StorageWorks P4800 G2
• HP LeftHand P4300
• HP LeftHand P4500
• VSA for ESX and for Hyper-V
• Failover Manager for ESX and for Hyper-V
• NSM 2120 G2
• NSM 2060 G2
• NSM 2120
• DL 320s
• IBM x3650
• Dell 2950
• NSM 4150
• NSM 2060
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