Spectra T50e - Update Drives Using ITDT; Updating Using the Update Drive Firmware Utility

Chapter 15—Maintaining the Drives Updating Drive Firmware
August 2017 User Guide—Spectra T50e Library
443
UPDATING DRIVE FIRMWARE
Overview Wheneveryouupdateyourlibraryfirmware,confirmthatyour
drivesareusingthecorrectfirmwareversion.Drivefirmwareupdatesare
alsooccasionallyrequiredtoresolvedriveissues.Whenupdateddrive
firmwareisavailable,scheduleadrivefirmwareupdateatyourearliest
convenience.
Themethodyouusetoupdate thedrivesdependsonthetypeofdrives
youareupdatingandyouroperatingenvironment.
Note: Ifyoucannotuseanyofthemethodsdescribedinthefollowing
sections,contactSpectraLogicTechnicalSupportforassistance
(seeContactingSpectraLogiconpage7).
User Privilege Requirements Theuserprivilegesrequiredtoperforma
drivefirmwareupdatedependonthemethodused.
 ITDT—Anyuserwithpermissionstousethehostcomputeronwhich
ITDTisinstalled.
 DriveUpdateFirmwareutility—Onlyauserwithsuperuseror
administratorpriv ilege s. 
Suggested Use
IBM Tape Diagnostic Tool (ITDT)
Touse,installtheITDTutilityonaSolaris,Linux,or
Windowshostconnectedtothedrivestobeupdated.
Theupdatetakes1‐2minutesperdrive.
Recommended
Update Drive Firmware Utility
Requiresafirmwareupdatetapeatthelatestfirmware
level.Theupdatetakesabout5minutesperdrive.
Updatesareperformedserially.
Available
Drive Update through Package Update NotRecommended
a
a. Contact Technical Support before using this wizard to update LTO-2 through LTO-4 drives. These drives
must remain empty and idle during the update, which may take up to 8 hours per drive.
Important
Always download drive firmware from the Spectra Logic Technical Support portal to
ensure that the latest firmware posted by the drive manufacturer was qualified by
Spectra Logic.
Important
After the drive firmware update is complete, you may need to reset the hosts
accessing the drives.
Important
Some operating environments require you to install device drivers before the
application software can correctly communicate with the drives. When you update
the drive firmware, you may also need to update the device driver for the drive (see
Updating Drive Device Drivers on page 455 for further instructions).
Important
DO NOT downgrade the firmware on a drive unless specifically instructed to do so
by Spectra Logic Technical Support.
Important
If you update an LTO-5 drive to firmware level D2A0, you may need to manually
reboot the drive at the end of the update process. If you update multiple drives, you
can save time by rebooting the library instead of each individual drive.