Asset ID:	1-73-1000979.1
Update Date:	2014-01-22
Keywords:

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Solution Type  FAB (standard) Sure

Solution  1000979.1 :   FAB: Standard: Reactive: Jumping Major Revisions When Performing Firmware Upgrades is Contrary to Brocade's Best Practices  


PreviouslyPublishedAs
201299

***Checked for relevance on 22-Jan-2014***

Product
Brocade SilkWorm 3850 Fabric Switch
Brocade SilkWorm 24000 Director
Brocade SilkWorm 3250 Fabric Switch
Brocade 200E Switch
Brocade 2800 1 GB 16-Port Switch
Brocade 48000 Director
Brocade 4100 Switch
Brocade SilkWorm 3900 Switch
Brocade 2400 1 GB 8-Port Switch


Impact

When performing firmware upgrades, jumping major revisions is contrary to Brocade's Best Practices for firmware upgrade recommendations. Unplanned outages/failures due to firmware issue upgrades can be avoided by following Brocade's "Best Practices" document, which can be found at:

http://pts-storage.us.oracle.com/products/Switch/local/brocade/fwupdate_bestpractice.pdf

Also see Sun Alert 1000538.1 at:

https://support.us.oracle.com/oip/faces/secure/km/DocumentDisplay.jspx?id=1000538.1

Symptoms

When upgrading a SilkWorm from Fabric OS v4.2.x directly to Fabric OS v5.0.x, with no interim steps, the firmware upgrade operation may fail.

Workaround

No workaround available - see Resolution section below.

Resolution

Brocade does not mention that jumping revisions will definitely cause problems.  However they recommend not to do so in the best practices guide for firmware upgrades.

Brocade's document states, "while upgrades of two releases is supported, single release upgrades are recommended."

Brocade supports firmware upgrades within two feature releases (a feature release is a major release indicated by the second digit "Y" of the release number, for example, X.Y.Z); while upgrades of two releases is supported, single release upgrades are recommended.

Following are the major upgrade versions for the Fabric OS:

• v4.0
• v4.1
• v4.2
• v4.4.0
• v5.0.x
• v5.1.0

Important: On initial setup of a factory-delivered switch, make sure that all IP addresses have been set and the switch has been rebooted prior to running a firmware download.

Related Information

• https://support.us.oracle.com/oip/faces/secure/km/DocumentDisplay.jspx?id=1000538.1
• Other: TSB-2006-022-A (Technical Support Bulletin from Brocade)

Modification History:

22-Jan-2014: Maintenance check for relevance/currency, no change in content

Previously Published As
102572
Internal Contributor/submitter
sushil.shirke@sun.com

Internal Eng Business Unit Group
SSG ES (Enterprise Systems)

Internal Eng Responsible Engineer
sushil.shirke@sun.com

Internal Services Knowledge Engineer
sean.hassall@sun.com

Internal Escalation ID
1-17965377

Internal Kasp FAB Legacy ID
102572

Internal Sun Alert & FAB Admin Info
Critical Category:
Significant Change Date: 2006-08-16
Avoidance: Workaround
Responsible Manager: null
Original Admin Info: [WF 16-Aug-2006, Sean Hassall: sending to Publish

Product_uuid
238622e0-665b-11d8-9e3a-080020a9ed93|Brocade SilkWorm 3850 Fabric Switch
24f55d62-6656-11d8-9e3a-080020a9ed93|Brocade SilkWorm 24000 Director
46630362-52b2-11d8-9e3a-080020a9ed93|Brocade SilkWorm 3250 Fabric Switch
48af8b63-fe46-11d9-a8ca-080020a9ed93|Brocade 200E Switch
55c99ee1-f8fd-11d7-84cb-080020a9ed93|Brocade 2800 1 GB 16-Port Switch
c5741319-fe44-11d9-a8ca-080020a9ed93|Brocade 48000 Director
dd0032a7-6698-11d9-a841-080020a9ed93|Brocade 4100 Switch
f4a61c18-557a-11d7-8ec5-9ccb03c88fd7|Brocade SilkWorm 3900 Switch
f563d849-f8fb-11d7-84cb-080020a9ed93|Brocade 2400 1 GB 8-Port Switch

Attachments

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