Dell PowerEdge 1750 PowerEdge RAID Controller 4/Di Firmware Update Version: 421S Criticality: Recommended TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 Introduction 2.0 Performing the Firmware Upgrade 3.0 Important Information 4.0 Fixes 5.0 Enhancements 6.0 Known Limitations 1.0 Introduction This firmware update delivers bug fixes and enhancements for the PowerEdge Expandable RAID Controller 4/Di in PowerEdge 1750 systems. Component Current Version Previous Version Firmware 421S 413O BIOS H430 H418 Ctrl-M U827 U821 Boot Block R.2.1.9 2.1.2 2.0 Performing the Firmware Upgrade Webpack Instructions: --------------------- This program creates a bootable diskette to upgrade the firmware of the controllers. You will need a formatted 3 1/2 inch floppy diskette for the following procedure. 1. Download the file to a directory on your hard drive. The file downloaded is a self extracting executable. 2. Insert a blank diskette into the system's diskette drive. 3. Double click on the file that you downloaded and follow the instructions on the screen to extract the files to the diskette. 4. Insert the diskette into the system with the RAID controller for which you want to update the firmware and boot the system. 5. Follow the instructions on the screen to update the firmware. NOTICE: Pflash.exe will be executed automatically and will report existing code level and prompt you to reconfirm before starting the firmware upgrade process. To perform this process in non-interactive mode please execute, Pflash /? and read about possible command line switches. 6. Remove the diskette and reboot the system. Windows Update Package Instructions: ------------------------------------ Download 1. Click the "Download Now" link to download the file. 2. If the Export Compliance Disclaimer window appears, click the "I agree" link to accept the agreement. 3. When the File Download window appears, click "Save" to save the file to your hard drive. Installation Before you begin the firmware update, stop all I/O operations and utilities. 1. Browse to the location where you downloaded the file and double-click the new file. 2. Read over the release information presented in the dialog window. 3. Download and install any prerequisites identified in the dialog window before proceeding. 4. Install any necessary Embedded Systems Management firmware prior to this BIOS update. 5. Click the Install button. 6. Follow the remaining prompts to perform the update. The Update Package can also be used with Dell OpenManage Server Administrator. See the Dell Update Package User's Guide for more information. Linux Update Package Instructions: ---------------------------------- Download 1. Click the "Download Now" link to download the file. 2. If the Export Compliance Disclaimer window appears, click the "I agree" link to accept the agreement. 3. When the File Download window appears, click "Save" to save the file to your hard drive. Installation Before you begin the firmware update, stop all I/O operations and utilities. 1. Read over the release information presented by executing the ./.bin --version command from the shell. 2. Download and install any prerequisites identified in the above step before proceeding. 3. Run the update by executing ./.bin from the shell. 4. Follow the remaining prompts to perform the update. 3.0 Important Information Firmware upgrade while controller is doing background I/O task: The firmware upgrade may fail if any of the RAID controllers in the system are performing an I/O background task. (ie. check consistency, background initialization, rebuild, or reconstruction). Allow the background task to complete before attempting to upgrade the firmware. Patrol Read tasks will not affect a firmware upgrade. Current RAID configuration will not be modified or cleared during the Firmware Upgrade process. The program will stop at the "Flash Download" screen with the following message: "Consistency Check of logical drive(s) in progress for adapter-X. Failed Writing Image on Adapter X with Baseport ...". Universal CTRL-M: Multiple adapters can be configured from CTRL-M, but the adapter must be selected using "Select Adapter" and should be verified before performing any configuration changes. Verifying Cache Integrity: When there is data in cache from an improper shutdown, the system may take up to sixty seconds to verify that the data in the cache is correct and does not contain any errors. The delay may appear to be a system hang, but this behavior is normal and is required to confirm the integrity of the data. TTY History: This firmware update package will disable the TTY History debug feature. If this feature is required for additional debug, then it must be reenabled after the firmware update has completed and the system has been rebooted. 4.0 Fixes 1. Fixed an issue that optimized cache flush algorithms while switching between no read-ahead to read-ahead cache modes. 2. Fixed an issue where Windows systems would blue screen during a long erase. 3. Fixed an issue where Linux systems would experience IO timeouts during a long erase. 4. Modified the Fast Initialization function to delete all operation system partition table information. 5. Fixed an issue where a Seagate hard drive model M3637 was not negotiating correctly with PERC 4 adapters. 6. Modified Ctrl-M to clear physical drive media error count upon drive replacement. Note: System must be powered on during the drive replacement in order for media errors to be cleared. 7. Fixed a performance degradation issue when using RAID 10 virtual disks, when configured to use no read ahead or write caching and direct IO on PERC4 controllers. 5.0 Enhancements 1. Added Patrol Read feature. Patrol Read involves the review of the system for possible hard drive errors that could lead to drive failure, then action to correct the errors. The goal is to protect data integrity by detecting physical drive failures before the failures can damage data. Patrol Read adjusts the amount of RAID controller resources dedicated to Patrol Read operations based on outstanding disk I/O. 2. Added Rebuild Checkpoint feature. The Dell PERC firmware has a feature to resume a rebuild on a physical drive in case of an abrupt power loss or if the server rebooted in the middle of a rebuild operation. 3. Enhanced write algorithms to increase I/O performance for RAID 5 and RAID 50 virtual disks using four or more disks that are configured to use write-through write cache mode. 6.0 Known Limitations 1. Powering off a tape device during a system backup may cause operating system errors to occur.