Upgrade To XCS 6.220

[AZayed]

Dears,
Good day,

I have EVA8000 which has HSV210 controller running XCS v6.00 everything working probably. We don't have any issues. But I'm wondering should I upgrade to XCS v6.220 or just leave everything as is??

Also, what is the benefits from upgrading the HSV ?? Always, HP recommend using the latest one.

Finally, what should I upgrade too, SAN switches , HP CV , HP-UX FC PCI driver .... ??

Thanks a lot for your recommendation

[Marcus Schack · Accepted solution]

HP generally will only support you when you are within 2 revisions of current firmware. So that would by why you should keep up. Some of the benefits may be that the new updates may fix issues which could affect your site. Generally, I would recommend that you always stay within 2 revision and maybe schedule an outage once a year to do these upgrades.

[Steven Clementi]

XCS 6.00 is a couple of revisions behind now. Though not totally old, it still is old and there may be fixes in the code that you are not aware of and/or "enchanements"

"what should I upgrade too, SAN switches , HP CV , HP-UX FC PCI driver .... ??"

This depends on what your current versions are... and models of hardware.

If you are at XCS 6.00, then you are possibly/likely to be at Command View 6.0x or earlier. CV 9.2 is now available... you are 3 major revisions out of date, or maybe more (or maybe not).

What model SAN Switches do you have?

As far as HBA's are concerned, updated bios/firmware sometimes enhances performance and driver packages with updated driver settings can also enchane performance.

There are lots of different things to "look" at when upgrading your SAN. IMO, talk to your reseller to see if they can provide a "SAN Health Check" to determine where you are currently at now. Some resellers charge for this, some do not.


Steven

[AZayed]

Hi All,
Thanks for reply.

I know that I'm too behind I just look-up for my SAN switch , I have HP StorageWorks 4/32B SAN Switch running v5.1.0d but the latest one is v6.2.2a

Also, my CV is 6 but there is CV v9 which require minimum XCS 6.220

Regarding my HSV210 it's running v6.00

I know all my SAN equipment firmware are old. But know I'm considering to upgrade them all. What should I do? what steps I have to throw to achieve successful upgrade?

Thanks

[Víctor Cespón]

Update the EVA environment before the EVA. Switches to 6.2.x or 6.3.x depending on model.

Sever HBA firmware and driver to the ones recommended on SPOCK (http://h20272.www2.hp.com/)

Then EVA to 6110 and from there to 6220 and Command View 9.2.

Firmware upgrades are not optional, new versions are there for a reason. If you update OS on the servers or add new hardware and do not update firmware on the EVA you could run into trouble.

[Rob Leadbeater]

Hi,

Before moving to Command View EVA > 6 you will need to ensure that you have the correct licenses for your EVA.

Versions 6 and earlier of CV EVA didn't enforce the LTU (License To Use). Later versions do...


Cheers,

Rob

[AZayed]

Hi Rob,
Thanks for your replay, How can I know this ??

Thanks

[Rob Leadbeater]

Hi,

When you purchased your EVA, one of the parts that you will have ordered is the LTU. You will normally have either multiple 1TB licenses or an unlimited license.

See here:

http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/storage/software/cmdvieweva/licensing.html

It is quite common for users to have upgraded the hardware on their EVAs, adding lots of drives, without purchasing the required license to use, if they didn't already have an unlimited license - because the old versions of CV EVA didn't enforce it.

Consequently upgrading might be expensive...

Unforunately I don't believe there is any way to determine from the EVA or from Command View, what licenses you currently have...

Regards,

Rob

[AZayed]

Hi Rob,

Thanks for reply, I have Unlimited lic. And you can check your lic. from Agent Option -> Lic. Option -> view ...

So, can I upgrade to CV 9 in case I have ULT ??

Thanks

[Rob Leadbeater]

Yes you can upgrade to CV EVA 9, but you will need the license key to enter during the installation.

This should have been sent to you if you've got a valid support contract.

If you don't have them then you have to request them. I think there's details somewhere on the link I posted previously.

Cheers,
Rob