Getting Started; Upgrade Overview; Upgrade Paths - HP EVA P6000 Software Manual

1 Getting started

This chapter provides information about required kits and reference documentation. Before you
perform the upgrade procedures, ensure that your system meets the requirements.
IMPORTANT:
supports all HP P6000 Enterprise Virtual Arrays and all previous EVA3000/5000,
EVA4000/6000/8000, EVA4100/6100/8100, and EVA4400/6400/8400 arrays.
General references to HP P6000 Command View may also refer to earlier versions of HP Command
View EVA. P6000 is the new branding for the Enterprise Virtual Array product family.

Upgrade overview

Depending on the upgrade path for your configuration, you can perform an upgrade either online
or offline.
Resynchronization
Resynchronization is the process of restarting the controllers at the end of a controller software
upgrade to begin execution of the new controller software. In an online controller software upgrade,
I/O processing is temporarily disrupted during resynchronization. Resynchronization is complete
when the controller host ports come online and are ready to accept host commands. In an online
upgrade, after resynchronization is complete, an additional delay may occur before host I/O
processing resumes while hosts recover from the disruption. The recovery time is not solely dependent
on the controllers and therefore is not specified by this document. Only the time required to complete
resynchronization is specified. User knowledge of the external environment, including applications,
is required to evaluate the overall impact of the I/O disruption that occurs during an online controller
software upgrade.
Online upgrade
The controller software is upgraded while the controllers are processing I/O. The controllers
resynchronize simultaneously while hosts and applications continue to run. Resynchronization
during an online upgrade represents a single disruption of I/O, not the multiple disruptions seen
with some upgrade types. However, you must consider host and application timeouts when
performing an online upgrade.
Offline upgrade (shutdown upgrade)
All host I/O to the array must be stopped. All applications and hosts are shut down before you
begin the controller upgrade and restarted when the upgrade is complete.
An offline upgrade requires scheduling time with application managers and having staff available
to shut down and restart applications and hosts. While actual upgrade time may be short, offline
upgrades can require several hours to complete, from the time the first application shuts down until
all hosts and applications have returned to service.

Upgrade paths

For details about supported upgrade and downgrade paths, see Table 3.1, Upgrade support for
controller software versions, and Table 3.2, Downgrade support for controller software versions,
respectively, in the HP P6000 Enterprise Virtual Array Compatibility Reference. See
6) for the link to this document.
HP P6000 Command View (formerly HP StorageWorks Command View EVA)
Table 1 (page
Upgrade overview 5