Hey everyone, I'm currently interning at an IT MSP and have been assigned the task of performing a firmware upgrade on the drives of a customer's HPE MSA 2060 SAN. The documentation mentions that I need to "stop I/O to the storage system" before proceeding, but I'm not entirely sure how to accomplish that. I'm working in a Hyper-V Failover Cluster setup where we utilize Cluster Shared Volumes (CSVs). Can I just put the CSV disks into 'Maintenance Mode' using the Failover Cluster Manager? To ensure everything goes smoothly during the downtime, my plan is to: 1. Create production checkpoints of all VMs. 2. Shut down all VMs via the Failover Cluster Manager. 3. Set all Cluster Shared Volumes, including the Quorum, into maintenance mode. 4. Only after that start the SAN firmware update. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Also, just to clarify, it's an air-gap system with only one SAN.
4 Answers
Actually, you don't have to completely stop I/O! If your storage is under low I/O conditions, you can perform the upgrade safely outside peak hours—maybe after work. If you shut down all VMs, you'll have almost zero I/O, so there's no need to mess with the CSV. Just keep an eye on the performance metrics before you start!
Exactly! Our setups with MSA often have super low I/O during off hours, so it’s usually not a problem.
If this SAN is your only one in the cluster, you might be in a bind because you'll need to shut everything down. Just to be on the safe side, make sure you have backups on multiple devices. If it gets too complex, consider mounting another SAN temporarily to offload storage while you do the update.
That’s a solid plan! Multiple backups are key here, especially with critical upgrades.
Definitely a smart move! It’ll save you a ton of hassle in case anything goes wrong.
Just playing devil's advocate here, but have you discussed this with your MSP? They should be guiding you through critical processes like this to avoid setting you up if something goes wrong. It's a significant responsibility for an intern to handle all by themselves.
For real! A critical upgrade like this should be supervised by someone with more experience.
Right? I can't believe they're letting an intern manage that without more oversight. It's risky!
That's a pretty tricky situation, especially for an intern. Ideally, your MSP should provide you with clear guidelines for this process. But if you're looking to stop I/O, shutting down all VMs as you mentioned is a solid first step. Once they’re off, putting the CSVs in maintenance mode should basically take care of the I/O issue. Just make sure you have those backups ready, just in case!
Exactly, you don’t want to be the one responsible if something goes wrong. Always better safe than sorry!
Totally agree! It's always best to be prepared for anything. Backups should be your top priority before diving into any firmware update.
Exactly! Timing is key; just do it when the load is light, and you'll be fine.