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Troubleshooting and Maintenance Manual for LightPulse Adapters Page 8
Installation Checklist
This checklist covers installation of drivers and utilities. In addition to this checklist, verify with your
storage and system providers for any specific instruction they may provide. Some OEM vendors will
repackage drivers and utilities.
• Verify recommended driver, firmware, and boot versions from your storage and system
providers. Many storage and system providers qualify specific adapter models, driver, and
firmware releases. Using qualified storage and system provider solutions will ensure you have a
supported SAN configuration.
• Verify releases for storage and system providers that have a page on the Emulex Web
site. If the storage or system provider is not listed, contact them to verify their preferred driver
releases. If the storage and system provider does not have preference, Emulex recommends
the latest driver and firmware releases. Latest releases ensure the latest enhancements and
bug fixes. For latest driver and utilities, refer to the Emulex Web site.
• Review the prerequisites and compatibility sections in the driver user manual. This will
ensure that you meet the minimal requirements for each driver you are installing. The manual
lists supported firmware versions and OS releases. It may contain other information regarding
tested SAN environments.
• Follow the installation instructions in the Emulex driver and utilities manuals. The manual
has step-by-step instructions that can be followed for easy installation of the driver. It is available
at the above URL and on the same page as the driver download. Utilities are packaged with the
driver kits or listed separately on the driver page. Use the same utilities bundled with the driver
kit. Running older utilities with newer drivers can render some utility features inoperative.
Upgrade Checklist
• Upgrade adapter firmware. Old adapter firmware running with a newer driver can produce
unexpected behavior from the adapter. Always use the version recommended by your storage or
system provider. Use the latest released version if they have no preference as stated above. In
either case, make sure the version you intend to use is the same or newer than the minimum
recommended version specified in the driver manual (see the Prerequisites and Compatibility
section). Whenever possible, ensure the adapter firmware has been updated to the appropriate
version prior to updating drivers.
• Upgrade adapter boot code. Adapter boot code allows the adapter to act as a host boot path
device. It is not required if the OS is loaded from an internal hard disk. The exception to this is
the Emulex SBus adapters, as they do require boot code. Consult with your storage and system
providers to see if they require boot code installed in the adapter and if so, which version. Boot
code manuals are located on the same page as the firmware images. Use the same utilities to
upgrade adapter boot code as you would to upgrade adapter firmware.
• Upgrade the driver and utilities. Utilities are packaged with the driver kits or listed separately
on the driver page. It is important when upgrading a driver, upgrade the utilities associated with
it as well. Running older utilities with newer drivers can render some utility features inoperative.
Refer to the driver manual for specific upgrade procedures of the driver and utilities. Some
utilities and their manuals must be downloaded and installed separately from the driver install.
Check the driver download page for the specifics of each. They may be different for each OS.