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Brocade Upgrade
During my next scheduled maintenance cycle, I'm planning on upgrading my Brocade switches from 6.1 to a newer/latest release. I see that 6.4 is out there now but I have a couple of questions...one I think I know the answer, the rest I'm not sure...
The release notes indicate that I need to step-upgrade from 6.1->6.2->6.3->6.4 - there are a lot of sub-versions listed and available out there. When something says "minimum release 6.1.0a can I assume this means that 6.1.0_8e1 is as high as this? If my version isn't high enough, will it bark at me? From the look of things, it appears that upgrading to the latest release of each in-between version will be sufficient.
The second question is about the items removed from the web tools - I have a very static environment and till now the web tools have been sufficient for what I need to do (i.e. set up zoning) - in the release notes it says something about functions moving to DCFM which I understand is free...am I going to need to install that in order to do simple aliases and zoning? The release notes just aren't that clear to me.
6.4 looks new - anyone have any "oh no don't upgrade to THAT" comments?
Dan
dynamox
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July 9th, 2010 04:00
Yes, you can go from 5.3 to 6.0 then to 6.1 > 6.2 and then 6.3. Run everything in your environment through E-Lab to make sure everything is in the support matrix.
ConnectrixHelpe
259 Posts
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June 30th, 2010 13:00
Hello,
FOS 6.4.x hasn't been EMC released in any version yet so I wouldn't recommend installing it any EMC based SAN. EMC is still testing a version of 6.4.0x for a future release. If you want to use FOS 6.4.x before EMC releases it and have EMC support it, you'll need to contact your local EMC support team beforehand so an RPQ can be submitted.
If you don't have the necessary version of FOS installed to upgrade you will be prompted so on the upgrade and it will fail. There are various issues you could run into on the upgrades through all the different versions so I strongly recommend you read through the various release notes for any issues and then check to see if your SAN could hit them. I'd also recommend only doing one path of the SAN at a time in case there are issues. If your switches are EMC supported I'd recommend that EMC do the upgrades as we have multiple checks in place to ensure for safe upgrades.
In regards to WebTools there was some functionality moved to DCFM. The release notes, WebTools Guide, and Admin Guide should provide you details on what has been moved. There is an useful chart in the release notes that shows what has been moved.
Thank you.
dynamox
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June 30th, 2010 13:00
Dan,
I can only comment on the step upgrade, when I went to 6.2.0e from 5.3 ..i had to first upgrade to 6.0 > 6.1 and then finally 6.2.0e. These are HP supported switches so I downloaded the latest release of each family. When I first opened a ticket with HP support they told me I can go from 5.3 to 6.0 and then go directly to 6.2.02 . Not so much ..firmwareupload command did “bark” at me when I tried to go from 6.0 to 6.2 .
Mousa_3lyan
13 Posts
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July 9th, 2010 03:00
Hi
i am going from 5.3.0 to 6.3.0b for two ed-48 in a fabric with ISL (one in main and one in DR)
can I go directly from 5.3.0 to 6.0.x
what should i check in my enviroment before doing the upgrade
Mousa_3lyan
13 Posts
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July 9th, 2010 10:00
Thanks Dynamox
what the thing i sould focus on
I am focusing on HBA FW , Driver and PowerPath , what else
and do i need to be worryregarding ISL link
hope that the guys who did the upgrade share with us the problems that they have faced
dynamox
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July 9th, 2010 10:00
you should get everything inline with support matrix. A lot of times things will continue to work just fine but if you do encounter issues, first thing out of support person mouth will be "upgrade code on XYZ". Might as well take care of it before the upgrade. You want to make sure all switches in the fabric are on the same or supported code level. I had problem with interop mode, in 5.3 it used to be mode 1 (brocade switch connected to mcdata switch), when i went to 6.x interop mode changed to 3.
DanJost
190 Posts
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July 15th, 2010 05:00
Just to follow up with this...
I ran into some unrelated issues during the quarterly maintenance and didn't have time for the switch upgrade. Perhaps during my next quarterly maintenance cycle I'll get to this and there will be yet-another variable to what is the the latest and greatest vs what is supported.
Dan
Ali_Kaunain
11 Posts
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July 15th, 2010 20:00
Sure Dan,
We'd be happy to help.
Take care,
Ali
Ayman_Talkhan
25 Posts
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August 9th, 2010 02:00
Hello Dan,
I see you posted a question regarding Brocade switches upgrade and that your question in this post appears to have been answered. Was this a correct or helpful answer? If so could you please mark the question as Answered (helpful or correct)? This shows your appreciation for the help you provide to other community members.
Thanks for your assistance and participation in the Support Forums.
Regards,
Ayman