FOS upgrade from 5.3.0a to 6.4.0b for DS-5000B

Hi,

Thanks for the reply.

I wish the the execution is as straight forward  as the answer was.

For the starters 5.3 > 6.0 upgrade is a hurdle since , I am not able to find any 6.0.x FOS packages available for download in powerlink.

After going through lot of upgrade docs which come as part of FOS package, I have concluded the below mentioned upgrade path

                    5.3.0a -> 6.1.0j -> 6.2.0c -> 6.3.1a -> 6.4.0b

Can somebody validate this ?? any pitfalls I should be wary of ??

download FOS Admin guide for 6.4 (for some reason in can't find it Mybrocade.com ..maybe you can).  Your upgrade path will be like this:

5.3 > 6.0 > 6.1 > 6.2 > 6.3 > 6.4

i just finished upgrading Brocade 4024 and it took about 20 minutes to do one level upgrade, not sure it will be any faster on your switch. Do try to get your hands on the admin guide as there could be some specifics for your model. I don't remember if upgrade from 5.3 to 6.0 was non-disruptive, i know for a fact that it's non-disruptive from 6.x to another 6.x. Obvously you want to do one fabric at a time just in case, with 2 hours you will be stretched for time. Are you running in interop mode ?

HI,

Thanks for the reply.

I guess you are right, found below mentioned note in 6.1.0j upgrade doc.

"Upgrading from versions prior to Fabric OS 6.0.x are not allowed. The switch must be running a minimum version of 6.0.0b in order to upgrade."

Looks like I need to contact my CE to get 6.0.x FOS.

Thanks again.

The upgrade procedure will also tell you what rev you can upgrade from and the release notes will tell you which switches the FOS supports.

Hello,

In regards to your statement about FOS 6. 0.x not being on Powerlink, you are correct.  Powerlink only has currently EMC supported FOS versions posted to it.  All FOS 6.0.0x are EMC End of Service Life (EOSL) so the FOS is not posted.   Please also note that FOS posted on Powerlink is only for EMC customers with Enhanced Support Contracts who are required to do their own FOS upgrades.   Customers with Premium Support can contact their local EMC Field Support who will take care of the entire upgrade process for them including the EOSL code versions are available and that Change Control ensues the upgrades are as smooth as possible.   Do you know which version of EMC support you have on your switches?

Thank you.

I had to do a series of 5.3 to 6.0x FOS upgrades a while back and despite the obligatory warnings that popped up they were totally non-disruptive. And that was with McData Native fabric interop mode on the switch.

that's good, i remember now that it was disruptive for me because my McData was in open fabric mode and when upgrading to 6.x i had to change Brocade 4020 to interop 3 from interop 1.

Grate............Thanks.

Regards.