Upgrading Firmware

The MegaRAID Storage Manager software enables you to easily upgrade the controller firmware. For limitations, see .

To avoid data loss because of dirty cache on the controller, the utility forces the virtual disks into Write Through mode after a firmware upgrade. It is in this mode until the server reboots. In Write Through mode, the controller sends a data transfer completion signal to the host when the disk subsystem has received all of the data in a transaction. This way, in case of a power outage, the controller does not discard the dirty cache.

Follow these steps to upgrade the firmware:

1.	In the left panel of the MegaRAID Storage Manager window, click the icon of the controller you want to upgrade.

2.	In the MegaRAID Storage Manager window, select Go To > Controller > Update Controller Firmware.

3.	Click Browse to locate the .rom update file, as shown in the following figure.

Figure 100. Update Controller Firmware Dialog

4.	After you locate the file, click Open.

The MegaRAID Storage Manager software displays the version of the existing firmware.

5.	When you are prompted to indicate whether you want to upgrade the firmware, click Yes.

A progress bar appears along with messages that indicate when an image opens and when an image downloads.

6.	After an image has been downloaded and if Online Firmware Update is supported on the controller, a confirmation message box appears that asks for your confirmation.

NOTE  If Online Firmware Update is not supported on the controller, the confirmation message box does not appear. Instead, after an image is downloaded, a message appears that indicates an image is being flashed. The controller is updated with the new firmware code contained in the.rom file. Reboot the system after the new firmware is flashed. The new firmware does not take effect until reboot.

If you click Yes in the confirmation message box, the progress bar continues with a message that indicates that an image is being flashed.

After the progress bar disappears, either of the following two messages appear in a message box.

New Firmware Version is flashed successfully. Online Firmware Update is not possible in this case. System reboot is required for the new firmware <version number> to take effect.

New Firmware Version is flashed successfully. Controller Reset will start now.

If the first message appears, reboot your system.

If the second message appears, the MegaRAID Storage Manager main menu window reappears. A Restart Started event appears in the log (at the bottom of the MegaRAID Storage Manager main menu window) and a progress bar appears that states Controller reset is in progress.

After the controller reset process is completed, the controller is updated with the new firmware code contained in the.rom file.

NOTE  While performing the Online Firmware Update method, there is a small window of time where the I/O transactions are held and the controller is automatically reset. This results in a timeout to your virtualized environments and causes I/O transaction errors. Choose the traditional firmware update method to avoid the controller reset.