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Upgrade process overview for Data ONTAP-v systems

Before beginning to upgrade Data ONTAP software, you should plan the upgrade and familiarize yourself with the required steps.

  1. Plan your upgrade by familiarizing yourself with requirements and issues before you upgrade:
    • Review the Release Notes for your upgrade target release.
    • Understand any requirements for upgrading to the target release from your existing software.
    • Create a back-out plan, in the unlikely event that you need to revert or downgrade to the Data ONTAP release that was running on your system before the upgrade.
    • Note any potential changes to your system after the upgrade.
    • If you run the SnapMirror software, identify storage systems with destination and source volumes.
  2. If necessary, perform any required preparatory procedures before upgrading to the new Data ONTAP release:
    • Verify that the versions of VMware vSphere and vSphere SDK for Perl are compatible with your upgrade target release.

      If the new version of Data ONTAP requires new vSphere software, install the new vSphere software first.

      For more information about software compatibility, see the Release Notes for your Data ONTAP upgrade target release.

    • Ensure that you have a current Snapshot copy of the root volume of any system being upgraded.
  3. Obtain the appropriate software image from the NetApp Support Site.

    Copy the image to your storage system or to an HTTP server on your network.

  4. Install the Data ONTAP software image on your storage system.

    Extract the system files from the software image you copied to your system.

  5. Download the new Data ONTAP system files to the boot device.

    The upgrade process is finished when your system reboots with the new version of Data ONTAP.

  6. Verify that the version of dvadmin (the Data ONTAP-v administration tool) is compatible with your upgrade target release.

    See the Release Notes for your Data ONTAP upgrade target release.

    If you need to upgrade dvadmin, you should install the upgrade after the new version of Data ONTAP has been installed. For dvadmin upgrade instructions, see the Data ONTAP-v Administration Tool Installation Guide.

  7. Verify that your systems are operating as expected after the upgrade.

    Before returning storage systems to production, you should check the status of configured functionality and re-enable any functionality that was suspended before the upgrade.