H201983: Recommended drive firmware upgrade - IBM Disk Systems

Source

RETAIN tip: H201983

Symptom

Under idle conditions, some drives may exhibit a higher than expected failure rate.

The affected drives are listed below:

Fibre Channel Drives
Product ID	Size
ST373455FC	73 GB
ST3146855FC	146 GB
ST3300655FC	300 GB
ST3450856FC	450 GB
ST3300656FC	300 GB
ST3146356FC	146 GB
ST3450056FC	450 GB
ST3300056FC	300 GB
ST3146756FC	146 GB
ST3600057FC	600 GB
ST3450857FC	450 GB
ST3300657FC	300 GB
ST3600957FC	600 GB
ST3450757FC	450 GB
ST3300557FC	300 GB

Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) and Nearline SAS (NL-SAS) Drives
Product ID	Size
ST373455SS	73 GB
ST3146855SS	146 GB
ST3300655SS	300 GB
ST3450856SS	450 GB
ST3300656SS	300 GB
ST3146356SS	146 GB
ST9300603SS	300 GB
ST9146803SS	146 GB
ST9300503SS	300 GB
ST9146852SS	146 GB
ST3600057SS	600 GB
ST3450857SS	450 GB
ST3300657SS	300 GB
ST3600957SS	600 GB
ST9500430SS	500 GB
ST9600204SS	600 GB
ST9600104SS	600 GB
ST32000444SS	2 terabytes (TB)
ST31000424SS	1 TB
ST3300555SS	300 GB
ST3146755SS	146 GB
ST373355SS	73 GB

Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) Drives
Product ID	Size
ST31000340NS	1 TB
ST3750330NS	750 GB
ST3500320NS	500 GB

Affected configurations

The system may be any of the following IBM servers:

• DS4300 (FAStT600) Dual Controller and Turbo Storage Server, type 1722, any model
  
• DS4500 (FAStT900) Storage Server, type 1742, any model
  
• DS4700 Storage Server, type 1814, any model
  
• DS4800 Storage Server, type 1815, any model
  
• EXP3000, type 1727, any model
  
• IBM System Storage DS3200, type 1726, any model
  
• IBM System Storage DS3300, type 1726, any model
  
• IBM System Storage DS3400, type 1726, any model
  
• IBM System Storage DS3950 Express, type 1814, any model
  
• IBM System Storage DS5020 Disk Controller (1814-20A), any model
  
• IBM System Storage DS5100 Storage Controller, type 1818, any model
  
• IBM System Storage DS5300 Storage Controller, type 1818, any model
  

The system is configured with one or more of the following IBM Options:

• EXP395 Express Expansion Unit (1814-92H), any model
  
• EXP420 Storage Enclosure, type 1812, any model
  
• EXP810 Storage Enclosure, type 1812, any model
  
• IBM System Storage EXP3512 Express, type 1746-A2E
  
• IBM System Storage EXP3524 Express, type 1746-A4E
  
• IBM System Storage EXP5000 Storage Expansion Unit, type 1818, any model
  
• IBM System Storage EXP5060 High Density Enclosure, type 1818, any model
  
• IBM System Storage EXP520 Storage Expansion Unit (1814-52A), any model
  

This tip is not software specific.

Workaround

Upgrade the drive firmware to the level listed in the following (or later):

Fibre Channel Drives
Product ID	Firmware Level
ST373455FC	B97A
ST3146855FC	B97A
ST3300655FC	B97A
ST3450856FC	B98A
ST3300656FC	B98A
ST3146356FC	B98A
ST3450056FC	E098
ST3300056FC	E098
ST3146756FC	E098
ST3600057FC	B9A2
ST3450857FC	B9A2
ST3300657FC	B9A2
ST3600957FC	E9A2
ST3450757FC	E9A2
ST3300557FC	E9A2

Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) and Nearline SAS (NL-SAS) Drives
Product ID	Firmware Level
ST373455SS	BA2D
ST3146855SS	BA2D
ST3300655SS	BA2D
ST3450856SS	BA4C
ST3300656SS	BA4C
ST3146356SS	BA4C
ST9300603SS	B53B
ST9146803SS	B53B
ST9300503SS	E536
ST9146852SS	B629
ST3600057SS	BA56
ST3450857SS	BA56
ST3300657SS	BA56
ST3600957SS	EA53
ST9500430SS	BD14
ST9600204SS	B547
ST9600104SS	E543
ST32000444SS	BC26
ST31000424SS	BC26
ST3300555SS	BA38
ST3146755SS	BA38
ST373355SS	BA38

Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) Drives
Product ID	Firmware Level
ST31000340NS	BB14
ST3750330NS	BB14
ST3500320NS	BB14

These firmware files are available in the IBM DS ESM or hard drive firmware package version 1.78 (or later) or the IBM DS3K hard drive firmware package version 4.11 (or later).

Additional information

This update will enhance the drive firmware with improved algorithms that manage the drive's idle-time behavior.