SU449: [Impact: Critical] SSD (PX02S*) firmware to prevent data loss / unavailability

Summary

[Impact: Critical = Data loss or cluster data outage]

NetApp^® has identified that the drive models listed in the table below will fail after 70,000 power-on hours (~8 years of use) if power-cycled.

As a result, NetApp has implemented a drive firmware fix that can be upgraded non-disruptively to mitigate the issue. The updated firmware is available from the E/EF-Series Drive Firmware Download page on the NetApp Support site.

Update to minimum drive firmware MS03 for the affected drive part numbers and identification strings, below:

¹ TCG (Trusted Computer Group – Encrypted)

Issue Description

SSD internal logs are periodically recorded and have an upper limit of 70,000 entries (about eight years), after which logging stops. The SSD continues to operate after reaching the 70,000 limit until power is turned OFF/ON, after which subsequent Read/Write commands return an error and user data is inaccessible.

Symptom

This issue results in drive failure.

In a multiple drive failure scenario, RAID limits may be exceeded, in which case a Volume Group would go Offline (or fail), and the data would not be accessible.

In a single drive failure scenario, a drive will be failed for a Hardware Error Check Condition [04/4C/A8] as reported by the drive. This would result in a degraded volume group.

If this is a power on scenario of the storage array system, 3 drives are required for the storage array to return to an optimal online state. If the three drives are not available, the storage array would enter a lockdown state.

Note: In any event where more drives are impacted than RAID tolerance, immediate engagement with technical support is strongly recommended.

Solution

Update drive firmware as soon as possible.

Additional Information

See Bug #1335350

In accordance with the Support Services terms, always update NetApp products with the latest version of firmware and software to provide the best reliability, availability, and serviceability:

• Download drive firmware from the E/EF- Series Drive and Firmware Matrix.
• Upgrade instructions: Upgrading drive firmware.
• For more information: How to obtain the latest drive firmware for E/EF-Series.
• NetApp official guidance on drives with over 6 years of operating life.

Hot spare drives: To best maintain the continuous presence of hot spare drives available in the system, adhere to Hot Spares Best Practices and follow the standard drive replacement process if a drive fails.

Active IQ System Risk Detection:

For customers who have enabled AutoSupport^™ on their storage systems the Active IQ Portal provides detailed System Risk reports at the customer and site and system levels. The reports show systems that have specific risks as well as severity levels and mitigation action plans. Drives that are not running the latest firmware is an example of such a risk. Not upgrading to the most current drive firmware could leave the storage appliance vulnerable to undesirable behavior.

Important: The purpose of this communication is for NetApp to notify its installed base end users about urgent and important product information that may affect product performance or reliability. The information contained herein and the distribution lists are NetApp confidential materials that are subject to restrictions on redistribution and that cannot be shared outside of this e-mail distribution list.

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