Firmware Upgrade Policy for Private Cloud Appliance (PCA)

Asset ID:	1-79-1610373.1
Update Date:	2018-04-18
Keywords:

Solution Type Predictive Self-Healing Sure

Solution 1610373.1 : Firmware Upgrade Policy for Private Cloud Appliance (PCA)

Applies to:

Oracle Virtual Compute Appliance X3-2 Hardware - Version All Versions and later
Oracle Virtual Compute Appliance X4-2 Hardware - Version All Versions and later
Private Cloud Appliance X5-2 Hardware - Version All Versions and later
Private Cloud Appliance X6-2 Server Upgrade - Version All Versions and later
Private Cloud Appliance X7-2 Server Upgrade - Version All Versions and later
Linux x86-64

Purpose

Describe the firmware upgrade policy for the Oracle Virtual Compute Appliance (OVCA) and Private Cloud Appliance (PCA).

Details

Note: The product was originally called Oracle Virtual Compute Appliance (OVCA) At the 2.0.5 image, the product name was changed to Private Cloud Appliance (PCA). This document applies to both PCA and OVCA.

Firmware Upgrade Policy

1. In general you should not update the firmware on any of the PCA components unless specifically mentioned in the product documentation Release Notes. The same upgrade policy applies for PCA OVM -- it is not supported to upgrade the PCA OVM outside of PCA image upgrades.
Per the Eng PCA 2.0.1 TOI: Support, customers, or the field can upgrade FW on the ES1-14, NM2-36 or ZFS storage appliance only if DEV has given the okay first. No other FW upgrades are allowed.

2. One exception is if a faulty component is replaced and the firmware of the replaced component is at a lower (or higher) level than what is normally shipped with the PCA then the firmware must be upgraded (or downgraded.) Some components may not allow for firmware downgrading.

3. Another exception is when other support documents specifically mentions an error condition affects PCA. Such as:

Engineered Systems: 300GB, 600GB, 900GB and 1.2TB Disk Firmware Upgrade to Address Unrecoverable Read Errors (Doc ID 2076283.1)

4. If a firmware update is needed, the qualified firmware is located on the PCA. Refer to the following documents for image specific detail. Installing firmware that is not included on the appliance (such as newer versions found elsewhere on My Oracle Support) could result in an unsupported appliance configuration.

Firmware Versions for Private Cloud Appliance (PCA) 2.3.3 (Doc ID 2387792.1)
Firmware Versions for Private Cloud Appliance (PCA) 2.3.2 (Doc ID 2338180.1)
Firmware Versions for Private Cloud Appliance (PCA) 2.3.1 (Doc ID 2270283.1)
Firmware Versions for Private Cloud Appliance (PCA) 2.2.2 (Doc ID 2206499.1)
Firmware Versions for Private Cloud Appliance (PCA) 2.2.1 (Doc ID 2172776.1)
Firmware Versions for Private Cloud Appliance (PCA) 2.1.1 (Doc ID 2173268.1)
Firmware Versions for Private Cloud Appliance (PCA) 2.0.5 (Doc ID 2173274.1)
Firmware Versions prior to image 2.0.5 are currently not available for this document, but can be found in /nfs/shared_storage/mgmt_image/firmware.

5. It may be necessary to upgrade to the latest PCA image version in order to get updated component firmware.

6. The PCA image upgrade process does not check nor upgrade any internal component firmware unless mentioned in the product documentation Release Notes.

7. For example, if the Release Notes say newer ES1-24 (or IB switch) firmware is included, the image upgrade process does automatically upgrade the ES1-24 (or IB switch) firmware. If it is determined you need the firmware updated on the ES1-24 (or IB switch) it must manually be done.

References

<NOTE:2076843.1> - How to Update HDD Firmware on VCA (Virtual Cloud Appliance) and PCA (Private Cloud Appliance) Management and Compute Nodes per Doc ID 2076283.1
<NOTE:2076283.1> - Engineered Systems: 300GB, 600GB, 900GB and 1.2TB Disk Firmware Upgrade to Address Unrecoverable Read Errors

Attachments

This solution has no attachment