NetApp HCI User Manual

Upgrade your NetApp HCI or SolidFire system
Upgrades overview
The content in this section introduces recommended upgrade sequences for components
in a NetApp HCI system or SolidFire all-flash storage system.
System upgrade sequences content describes the tasks that are needed to complete a NetApp HCI system
or SolidFire all-flash storage system upgrade. Ideally these procedures are performed as part of the larger
upgrade sequence and not in isolation. If a component-based upgrade or update is needed, see the procedure
prerequisites to ensure additional complexities are addressed.
vSphere upgrade sequences including Element Plug-in for vCenter Server content describes additional
pre- and post-upgrade steps required to re-install the Element Plug-in for vCenter Server.
System upgrade sequences
Choose one of the following sequences based on your system:
• Upgrade your NetApp HCI installation for version 1.8.
• Upgrade your NetApp SolidFire all-flash storage system for Element 12.2.
vSphere upgrade sequences including Element Plug-in for vCenter Server
Choose one of the following sequences based on your system:
• Upgrade your vSphere components for a NetApp HCI system with the Element Plug-in for vCenter Server.
• Upgrade your vSphere components for a NetApp SolidFire storage system with the Element Plug-in for
vCenter Server.
Find more information
• NetApp Element Plug-in for vCenter Server
• SolidFire and Element Documentation Center
Upgrade sequences
Upgrade your NetApp HCI system for version 1.8
You can keep your NetApp HCI system up-to-date after deployment by sequentially
upgrading all NetApp HCI software components.
These components include management services, HealthTools, NetApp Hybrid Cloud Control (HCC), Element
software, management node, compute firmware, compute drivers, and the Element Plug-in for vCenter Server.
What you’ll need
• You are running management node 11.3 or later. Newer versions of the management node have a modular
architecture that provides individual services.

NetApp HCI Specifications

General

Product Type	Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI)
Data Services	Data protection, encryption
Connectivity	10 GbE, 25 GbE, 40 GbE, 100 GbE
Hypervisor Support	VMware vSphere
Management Node	Included in the solution
Storage Media	SSD and HDD
Node Types	Compute nodes, storage nodes
Storage Protocols	iSCSI
Data Reduction	Deduplication, compression, thin provisioning
High Availability	Built-in redundancy