Data Backup and Recovery

Updated SnapDrive for Windows hotfix requirements

moncsko
4,806 Views

I have noticed lately that the IAG for each SDW release does not have a comprehensive list of Microsoft hotfix requirements. Is there a location where this list is consistently updated? I had heard that you can find current information in the IMT tool, but I have yet to find it there.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

9 REPLIES 9

jalmanza
4,806 Views

The SnapDrive download page on the NOW site lists all of the required hotfixes for that particular version. That is the best place to look.

moncsko
4,806 Views

Thanks for the response Joe, and that is one resource that I've used in the past as well. But that list also does not seem to be accurate or get updated. For example, I was at a customer a few weeks ago installing SDW 6.3 and had asked the customer to have the hotfixes installed prior to my visit. When I got onsite and started the SD install, it did not complete because three additional hotfixes (kb976748, 972797, 970525) that were not documented in the IAG or on the download page were not installed. So I had to go through the process of going to the MS download site and requesting them. This has become an expected occurence now every time I install SD.

jalmanza
4,806 Views

I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree with you on this one. The download page does list the hotfixes required for the version you are downloading.

There are a few cases where a P release occasionally calls for a new hotfix but that is well documented in both the download page and the release notes.

I will however, caution you that older versions of snapdrive may call for hotfixes that have been deprecated, included in a service pack, or included in a "roll up" update from Microsoft. Those few occasions the download page will not get updated to reflect that.

moncsko
4,806 Views

I understand that you are trying to be helpful, and for that I am thankful, but the facts are hard to argue.

Windows hotfix requirements directly from the SDW 6.3 download page (feel free to check me on this):

Windows Server 2008, Server Core and non-Server Core installations

If your system is running Windows Server 2008, you must install                the following hotfixes:

  • 950927
  • 952790
  • 955656

If your system is running Windows Server 2008 x64, install the                following hotfix:

  • 956697 (This hotfix is not required on virtual machines.)

Windows Server 2008 R2

  • None at this time

My customer is running Windows 2008 R2 x64 EE. So according to the above requirements he would need to install only 956697 (as it is not a virtual machine). Yet as I stated previously, when I initialized the SDW 6.3 install, it failed due to missing hotfixes 976748, 972797, and 970525. So this list is not complete and is therefore meaningless. If I have to actually run the installer to be informed of which hotfixes are required, then why even bother posting the list of requirements?

Again, I appreciate your response and am not trying to be argumentative, but in my opinion documentation is useless if it is not complete and accurate.

jalmanza
4,806 Views

So, what this looks like is that the SDW 6.2 hotfix requirements are displayed here instead of those for 6.3. I can investigate this with the NOW site team and the product manager.

moncsko
4,807 Views

I appreciate that, but the hotfixes to which I was referring are not listed as requirements for SDW 6.2 either. Furthermore, 6.3 is not the first version on which I have experienced this issue. It just finally got to the point where I thought I must be looking in the wrong place and the updated list must be posted elsewhere.

jalmanza
4,807 Views

The SDW download page is the definitive list of required hotfixes.

In the example provided earlier (Win2k8R2EE x64) no MS hotfixes are required for SnapDrive 6.3 to install. I have done this at least a hundred times in the lab and can confirm that no hotfixes are required.

I'm wondering if there is some confusion between the hotfix requirements for the ONTAP DSM and the requirements for SnapDrive.

steinhorst
4,806 Views

This is a couple of months old, but I have experienced the same issue and the NOW site hasSTILL not been updated.

watan
4,807 Views

I've requested the SDW internal team to review this and will try to get this fixed immediately.

Thanks for your support and bringing attention to this!

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