1. RAID_FRMW_WIN_R151928.EXE Driver
2. perc4e-FWCV522D-A17.txt File Contents

perc4e-FWCV522D-A17.txt Driver File Contents (RAID_FRMW_WIN_R151928.EXE)

Dell PowerEdge 2800 RAID Controller 4e/Di Firmware Update 

Version: 522D

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Performing the Firmware Upgrade
3.0 Important Information 
4.0 Fixes
5.0 Enhancements
6.0 Known Limitations


1.0   Introduction

This is a firmware update release for the PowerEdge 2800
Expandable RAID Controller 4e/Di.

Component		Current Version		Previous Version
Firmware			522D				522C
BIOS				H430				H430
Ctrl-M			U827				U827
Boot Block		     D.2.1.9		     D.2.1.9


2.0 Performing the Firmware Upgrade

Webpack Instructions:
---------------------

This program creates a bootable diskette to upgrade the firmware of the 
controllers. You will need a formatted 3 1/2 inch floppy diskette for the 
following procedure.

1. Download the file to a directory on your hard drive. The file downloaded is
   a self extracting executable.
2. Insert a blank diskette into the system's diskette drive.
3. Double click on the file that you downloaded and follow the instructions on
   the screen to extract the files to the diskette.
4. Insert the diskette into the system with the RAID controller for which you
   want to update the firmware and boot the system.
5. Follow the instructions on the screen to update the firmware.

NOTICE: Pflash.exe will be executed automatically and will report existing code 
        level and prompt you to reconfirm before starting the firmware upgrade 
        process.

To perform this process in non-interactive mode please execute,
   Pflash /?
and read about possible command line switches.

6. Remove the diskette and reboot the system.



Windows Update Package Instructions:
------------------------------------

Download

1. Click the "Download Now" link to download the file.
2. If the Export Compliance Disclaimer window appears, click the "I agree" link 
   to accept the agreement.
3. When the File Download window appears, click "Save" to save the file to your
   hard drive.

Installation

Before you begin the firmware update, stop all I/O operations and utilities.

1. Browse to the location where you downloaded the file and double-click the new
   file.
2. Read over the release information presented in the dialog window.
3. Download and install any prerequisites identified in the dialog window before
   proceeding.
4. Install any necessary Embedded Systems Management firmware prior to this BIOS
   update.
5. Click the Install button.
6. Follow the remaining prompts to perform the update.

The Update Package can also be used with Dell OpenManage Server Administrator. 
See the Dell Update Package User's Guide for more information.


Linux Update Package Instructions:
----------------------------------

Download 

1. Click the "Download Now" link to download the file. 
2. If the Export Compliance Disclaimer window appears, click the "I agree" link
   to accept the agreement. 
3. When the File Download window appears, click "Save" to save the file to your
   hard drive. 

Installation 

Before you begin the firmware update, stop all I/O operations and utilities.

1. Read over the release information presented by executing the 
   ./<filename>.bin --version  command from the shell. 
2. Download and install any prerequisites identified in the above step before 
   proceeding. 
3. Run the update by executing ./<filename>.bin from the shell. 
4. Follow the remaining prompts to perform the update. 


3.0 Important Information

Firmware upgrade while controller is doing background I/O task:
The firmware upgrade may fail if any of the RAID controllers in the system are
performing an I/O background task. (ie. check consistency, background initialization,
rebuild, or reconstruction).  Allow the background task to complete before attempting
to upgrade the firmware.  Patrol Read tasks will not affect a firmware upgrade.  
Current RAID configuration will not be modified or cleared during the Firmware
Upgrade process.

The program will stop at the "Flash Download" screen with the following message: 
"Consistency Check of logical drive(s) in progress for adapter-X. Failed Writing 
Image on Adapter X with Baseport ...".

Universal CTRL-M:
Multiple adapters can be configured from CTRL-M, but the adapter must be selected
using "Select Adapter" and should be verified before performing any configuration
changes.

Drive Migration:
When hard drives are moved from one controller to another, the target controller 
configuration must be cleared first to ensure a configuration mismatch does not occur. 

Verifying Cache Integrity:
When there is data in cache from an improper shutdown, the system may take up to sixty
seconds to verify that the data in the cache is correct and does not contain any
errors.  The delay may appear to be a system hang, but this behavior is normal and
is required to confirm the integrity of the data.

TTY History:
This firmware update package will disable the TTY History debug feature.  If 
this feature is required for additional debug, then it must be reenabled after the
firmware update has completed and the system has been rebooted.

Consistency check:
After installing this firmware and rebooting, a consistency check will automatically begin 
on RAID 5 and 50 virtual disks with 5 or more physical disks to ensure parity information is 
correct. The consistency check cannot be terminated and will resume at its last point following 
a reboot. This consistency check will appear as a Background Initialization but will only perform
a consistency check with no data being modified. The consistency check runs in the background,
allowing the virtual disks to remain accessible during the check. While this background check is 
designed to minimize performance impact, some degradation in performance may occur until the 
check is complete, especially under heavy I/O.

4.0 Fixes

1. This fix addresses a potential RAID rebuild issue in case of back to back disk failures.

5.0 History Changes

Changes from 522A to 522C

Component		Current Version		Previous Version
Firmware			522C				522A
BIOS				H430				H430
Ctrl-M			U827				U827
Boot Block		     D.2.1.9		     D.2.1.9

Bug Fixes:

1. Fixed issue on PERC Controllers where LUNs go missing in VMware ESX environments. 

2. Fix in firmware for PERC4e Dobson based controllers for correcting a Dobson Erratum workaround implementation, to counter a possible system freeze issue.

Changes from 521X to 522A

Component		Current Version		Previous Version
Firmware		522A			521X
BIOS			H430			H430
Ctrl-M			U827			U827
Boot Block		D.2.1.9			D.2.1.9

Bug Fixes:

1.  Fixed an issue that could cause a blue screen, file system error or system hang when using 
    EVPD inquiry commands.

2.  Fixed an issue where the write cache policy is reported incorrectly under rare circumstances.

Changes from 521S to 521X

Component		Current Version		Previous Version
Firmware		521X			521S
BIOS			H430			H430
Ctrl-M			U827			U827
Boot Block		D.2.1.9			D.2.1.9

Bug fixes:

1.  Resolved a potential blue screen or hang issue in systems with 8GB or more of system memory.

2.  Fixed an issue that could cause a blue screen or hang when Patrol Read finds a bad block
    on a RAID array that is configured in a sliced config, which is when 2 or more RAID arrays
    are created on the same set of physical disks.

3.  Fixed a timing issue that may occur when accessing RAID 5 or 50 arrays.

Changes from 516A to 521S

Component		Current Version		Previous Version
Firmware		521S			516A
BIOS			H430			H418
Ctrl-M			U827			U819
Boot Block		D.2.1.9			D.2.1.3

Bug Fixes

1. Increased memory timing margins to address the following potential symptoms:
   System hangs during operating system installs or other heavy I/O, Windows Blue 
   Screens referencing "Kernel Data Inpage Errors" or Linux Megaraid timeouts/errors.
  
2. Fixed an issue that optimized cache flush algorithms while switching between no
   read-ahead to read-ahead cache modes.

3. Fixed an issue where Windows systems would blue screen during a long erase.

4. Fixed an issue where Linux systems would experience IO timeouts during a long
   erase.
5. Modified the Fast Initialization function to delete all operation system partition
   table information.

6. Modified Ctrl-M to clear physical drive media error count upon drive replacement.  
   Note: System must be powered on during the drive replacement in order for media
   errors to be cleared.


Enhancements

1. Added Patrol Read feature.  Patrol Read involves the review of the system for
   possible hard drive errors that could lead to drive failure, then action to 
   correct the errors. The goal is to protect data integrity by detecting physical
   drive failures before the failures can damage data. Patrol Read adjusts the amount 
   of RAID controller resources dedicated to Patrol Read operations based on outstanding
   disk I/O.

2. Added Rebuild Checkpoint feature.  The Dell PERC firmware has a feature to resume a 
   rebuild on a physical drive in case of an abrupt power loss or if the server 
   rebooted in the middle of a rebuild operation.

3. Enhanced write algorithms to increase I/O performance for RAID 5 and RAID 50 
   virtual disks using four or more disks that are configured to use write-through 
   write cache mode.


Known Limitations

1. Powering off a tape device during a system backup may cause operating system 
   errors to occur.



Changes from 513O to 516A

Component		Current Version		Previous Version
Firmware		516A			513O
BIOS			H418			H418
Ctrl-M			U821			U819
Boot Block		D.2.1.3			R.2.1.3

Bug fixes:

1. Modified memory timing values to increase timing margins to prevent ECC errors in some DIMMs.



Initial version

Component		Current Version		
Firmware		513O
BIOS			H418
Ctrl-M			U819
Boot Block		R.2.1.3