Firmware Details

Quadra Firmware Upgrade Types

Quadra firmware upgrades are supported on all operating systems and include four upgrade types: cold upgrade, unified upgrade, warm upgrade, and temporary upgrade. Each upgrade type is intended for a different operational need, depending on whether the update must be persistent and whether the upgrade should affect one component or the full device firmware set.

• Cold upgrade: A cold upgrade is selected by the upgrade script when a persistent configuration change is detected, or when the user explicitly requests a cold upgrade using the -c option (Linux only). Use this method when the device can be taken offline for the update. The process requires a reboot so the new firmware and configuration changes can be applied cleanly. It is supported on Linux, Windows and Mac operating systems.
• Unified upgrade: A unified upgrade is the default Quadra upgrade method on Linux and is supported only on Linux. It does not require a system reboot; instead, it uses an NVMe reset to activate the new firmware. If a new firmware loader is available, the user must reboot to access it.
• Warm upgrade: A warm upgrade is only available on firmware version 5.8.0 and later, when there is no change in the firmware loader between versions. It is available only on Linux and uses an NVMe reset to activate the new firmware. No reboot is required.
• Temporary upgrade: A temporary upgrade loads new firmware into DDR while keeping the firmware loader from the previously installed version. This option is available only on Linux. After reboot, the card returns to the firmware that was installed before the temporary upgrade.