Pillar Axiom 600 Storage System
 

PLA-Support>Sun Systems>DISK>Axiom>SN-DK: Ax600
 

In this Document

Symptoms

Cause

Solution

Verify Current Disk Drive Firmware

Update Disk Drive Firmware

References

Applies to:

Symptoms

This document addresses this issue for Axiom 600s running R4.x software only. Axioms running R5.x should reference <Document 2073338.1> Pillar Axiom: 300GB and 600GB Disk Firmware Upgrade to Address Unrecoverable Read Errors for the Axiom 600 Running R5.x.

Unrecoverable read errors may occur on certain disk drive models in the Axiom 600. The affected drive models and firmware versions are listed below.

Cause

The vendor has determined that unrecoverable read errors may occur on certain disk drive models when a burst of I/O activity follows an extended idle period.  However, the Axiom system architecture is such that extended idle periods on any disk drive is extremely unlikely.  As such, the likelihood of this problem occurring in an Axiom is very low.  Customers wishing to upgrade to the latest drive firmware should ensure data is properly backed up and perform the upgrade during a maintenance window.

Solution

This issue is alleviated by installing firmware version P820. This is the vendor version, which is not viewable in the Axiom. Vendor firmware version P820 displays as either 2052-00047-03 or 2052-00049-03, depending on the drive model. To install this fix, follow these instructions. Updating drive firmware is an offline activity.  It is estimated that each iteration of a firmware upgrade will take between 1 and 2 hours depending on the Axiom configuration.

Verify Current Disk Drive Firmware

1. Determine how many Fibre Channel (FC) Bricks are in your configuration and what their Fully Qualified Names (FQNs) are.  In the Pillar Axiom Storage Services Manager (Web based GUI), select the Health tab and then Bricks under Hardware.  Note the number of FC Bricks and their FQNs.  In the example below, there is only one FC Brick:
   
   
   
   
   NOTE: The pdscli utility is the only way to determine if any of the drives in an Axiom are affected by this issue in R4.x.  This utility can be downloaded by pointing a browser at the shared IP address of the Axiom, logging in, select the Support tab and then Utilities Download and Command Line Interface.  Then in the Actions pull-down menu at the bottom, select the appropriate platform.
    
2. Using the FC Brick information gathered above, run the following command:
   C:\>pdscli sub -u administrator -p pillar -H <Axiom_Shared_IP> GetBrickDetails Brick[#]=/Brick00# > BRICK-#.txt

   where # is the number of the Brick.  Here is an example for Brick005:

   C:\>pdscli sub -u administrator -p pillar -H xx.xx.xx.xx GetBrickDetails Brick[5]=/Brick005 > BRICK-5.txt
   Error List:
       Parameter Name:
           Brick[1]
       Parameter XPath:
           /MCCRequest/GetBrickDetails/Brick[1]
       Parameter Error (3020):
           Cannot find optional fully qualified name (FQN). Try again.
       Parameter Name:
           Brick[1]
       Parameter XPath:
           /MCCRequest/GetBrickDetails/Brick[2]
       Parameter Error (3020):
           Cannot find optional fully qualified name (FQN). Try again.
       Parameter Name:
           Brick[1]
       Parameter XPath:
           /MCCRequest/GetBrickDetails/Brick[3]
       Parameter Error (3020):
           Cannot find optional fully qualified name (FQN). Try again.
       Parameter Name:
           Brick[1]
       Parameter XPath:
           /MCCRequest/GetBrickDetails/Brick[4]
       Parameter Error (3020):
           Cannot find optional fully qualified name (FQN). Try again.
   C:\>

    

   NOTE: The above errors can be ignored as long as the offending Brick is not the one being queried.
    
3. Repeat the above commands for the remaining FC Bricks.
4. Search each of the files for any of the firmware versions listed above (2052-00047-01/-02 or 2052-00049-01/-02).  The output will look something like this:
   DiskDrive[10]
     DiskDriveNumber:                    9
     HardwareComponentStatus:            Normal
     Model:                              1450-00298-30 <================== Part Number
     MfgModel:                           3501-00030-01
     SerialNumber:                       3QP1ZFA3
     FirmwareVersion:                    2052-00047-01 <================== Firmware Version
     Spare:                              false
     LastScrubCompletedTime:             2015-11-16T10:50:21-08:00
     driveType:                          HDD
   
   If any drives are found that have the downrev versions of this firmware, they must be upgraded to the -03 version to avoid this issue.

Update Disk Drive Firmware

So as not to create a new Service Request, be sure to disable Callhome before starting any firmware upgrades.  See <Document 1535352.1> Pillar Axiom: How to Disable Call Home to Prevent Automatic Service Request ASR Generation for details.

If one or more of the affected drives are identified, the Axiom must first be upgraded to R4.6.21 using Patch 22184952.  Upgrade the Axiom Storage Service Manager software using the directions in <Document 1517987.1> Pillar Axiom: Software/Firmware Upgrade Procedures R4.x to R4.x.  For those Axioms already running R4.6.21, you will only need to download the drive firmware part of that patch (p22184952_4621_Generic_3of3.zip).

With the Axiom running R4.6.21 and the appropriate drive firmware package downloaded and unzipped, the drive firmware upgrade process can start.

1. Stage, but do NOT install, the AxX00_N9_999999-999999.tgz compatibility package, found under support directory of the 3of3 patch.
   a.  From the Support tab, select Software Modules under Software Configuration, then at the bottom middle, use the pull-down menu to select Update Software.
   b.  In the resultant pop-up window, select the Upload Package button and then browse for the compatibility package.
   c.  Once the update and validation processes are completed, click OK and the output will look like this:
   
   
   
   d.  Click on OK to return to Software Modules page.
   
   
2. Stage the appropriate drive firmware package found under the drivefw directory of the 3of3 patch.  This example uses Ax600_DP_040621-010000.2052-00047-03
   
   
   
   
   
3. Verify that the boxes to the left of the drive firmware version to be installed and Restart System are checked. Then press OK.
4. Confirm the proper drive firmware and click OK:
   
   
   
   
5. Within a few minutes the Axiom will reboot and upgrade the drive firmware.
   
   
   NOTE:  If the Health tab were to be selected, it would show that ALL components were being upgraded.  But only the drive firmware selected in step 3 is being updated.
    
6. Re-stage, but do NOT install, the Axx00_N9_999999-999999.tgz compatibility package.
7. If applicable, repeat steps 2 through 6 for the second drive type.  When finished, the compatibility package should be staged.
8. When all drive firmware upgrades have been completed, follow the instructions at the end of <Document 1535352.1> Pillar Axiom: How to Disable Call Home to Prevent Automatic Service Request ASR Generation to re-enable call-home.

References

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