Dell PowerVault MD3220 - Manual (Page 195)

Management: Firmware Downloads 195
Downloading Physical Disk Firmware
CAUTION: When updating physical disk firmware, you must stop all I/O activity to
the array to prevent data loss.
The physical disk firmware controls various features of the physical disk. The
disk array controller (DAC) uses this type of firmware. Physical disk firmware
stores information about the system configuration on an area of the physical
disk called DACstore. DACstore and the physical disk firmware enable easier
reconfiguration and migration of the physical disks. The physical disk
firmware performs these functions:
• The physical disk firmware records the location of the physical disk in an
expansion enclosure. If you take a physical disk out of an expansion
enclosure, you must insert it back into the same physical disk slot, or the
physical disk firmware cannot communicate with the RAID controller
module or other storage array components.
• RAID configuration information is stored in the physical disk firmware and
is used to communicate with other RAID components.
CAUTION: Risk of application errors – Downloading the firmware may cause
application errors.
Keep these important guidelines in mind when you download firmware to
avoid the risk of application errors:
• Downloading firmware incorrectly could result in damage to the physical
disks or loss of data. Perform downloads only under the guidance of your
Technical Support representative.
• Stop all I/O to the storage array before the download.
• Make sure that the firmware that you download to the physical disks are
compatible with the physical disks that you select.
• Do not make any configuration changes to the storage array while
downloading the firmware.
NOTE: Downloads can take several minutes to complete. During a download, the
Download Physical Disk - Progress dialog is displayed. Do not attempt another
operation when the Download Physical Disk - Progress dialog is shown.
book.book Page 195 Tuesday, June 18, 2013 2:53 PM