Software And Hardware Compatibility And Upgrades; Software And Firmware Support Code Upgrades; Determining Firmware Levels - IBM DS3500 Installation, User's, And Maintenance Manual

The battery chargers in the power supplies perform a battery learn test when the storage subsystem is
started for the first time and on a regularly scheduled interval thereafter. Data caching starts after the
battery tests are completed.
The condition of the battery is indicated by an LED on the rear of the controller (see "Controller LEDs"
on page 4-9 for the location of the battery fault LED and conditions that the LED indicates). You can also
check the status of the battery using the Storage Manager client software.

Software and hardware compatibility and upgrades

The latest controller firmware, NVSRAM firmware, ESM firmware, and drive firmware must be installed
to ensure optimal functionality, manageability, and reliability.

Software and firmware support code upgrades

To enable support for the DS3500, you must make sure that your system software and firmware are at the
latest levels. To find the latest Storage Manager software, controller firmware, NVSRAM, ESM firmware,
and drive firmware, check the firmware readme files.
The DS3500 was initially shipped with controller firmware version 7.70.16.01. With controller firmware
version 7.77.xx.xx, the following capabilities and support are available:
v Standard feature extended capabilities added with controller firmware version 7.77.xx.xx:
– The number of supported logical drives per subsystem is increased to 512 from 256 .
– The number of logical drives that can be assigned to a host partition is increased to 256 from 32.
v Premium feature extended capabilities added with controller firmware version 7.77.xx.xx:
– The number of drives per subsystem can be increased to 192 from 96. To obtain this optional
capability, you must purchase a 96 to 192 drive expansion premium feature.
– The number of host partitions supported per subsystem can be increased to 128 from 64. To obtain
this optional support, you must purchase the appropriate host partition upgrade to the 128
partitions host partitions premium feature for the currently enabled 4, 8, 16, 32 or 64 host partitions.
– For the FlashCopy premium feature, the number of FlashCopy logical drives per subsystem is
increased to 256 from 64. To obtain this capability, you must have a purchased FlashCopy premium
feature. No additional purchase is required.
– For the VolumeCopy premium feature, the number of VolumeCopy logical drives per subsystem is
increased to 256. To obtain this optional capability, you must have a purchased VolumeCopy
premium feature. No additional purchase is required.
– The number of remote mirroring logical drives can be increased from 8 to a 16. To obtain this
optional support, an 8 to 16 mirrors upgrade premium feature must be purchased in addition to the
standard remote mirroring premium feature.
v Hardware support added with controller firmware version 7.77.xx.xx:
– Support is provided for the 10 Gbps iSCSI host card.
– Support is provided for the DS3524 model with DC power supplies.
See the DS Storage Manager 10 Installation and Host Support Guide for your operating system for
instructions that describe how to install the DS3500 controller firmware, EXP3500 ESM firmware, and
Storage Manager host software.

Determining firmware levels

To determine the firmware levels of the DS3500 storage subsystem, the connected storage enclosures, and
the installed drives, use the Storage Manager software that is used to manage the DS3500 storage
subsystem.
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System Storage DS3500 and EXP3500: Installation, User's, and Maintenance Guide