Upgrading ONTAP 9

[NetApp93]

Hi Everyone,

I have two quick questions regarding upgrading ONTAP 9:

1.  If I wanted to upgrade from 9.9.1 to 9.12.1P10, would I need to go to 9.10, then 9.11 first in order to be able to revert back to 9.9.1 if we encountered a problem during the upgrade process? I remember reading somewhere, can't find the article now, that reverts can only go back one major version of ONTAP 9. Unsure if you can even continually go back multiple versions but thought worth asking.
2. When downloading the image file from NetApp, there's two options for the file, NVE and non-NVE. Do you need to have NVE volumes to utilize the NVE image? If you don't have NVE volumes should you use the non-NVE image?

TIA!

[SpindleNinja]

Give this a look over - https://docs.netapp.com/us-en/ontap/upgrade/concept_upgrade_paths.html

As far as NVE.  you usually want to use the NVE image, unless the system is in one of the locations where NVE is not allowed.  

[NetApp93]

Hmm.. based on the below doc you can only "revert" 1 major release, so like 9.12.1 to 9.11.1. Seems like "reverting" is just the process of downgrading regardless of if it was following an upgrade. Is the best practice for upgrading to work your way through the major releases, or are direct upgrades advised? I see that I could go all the way from 9.9.1 to 9.12.1 in direct upgrade however I want to have a solid back out plan.

https://docs.netapp.com/us-en/ontap/revert/concept_revert_paths.html

[SpindleNinja]

You could add in an extra jump if you want, for example

->   9.9.1Px -> 9.11.1Px -> wait at least a week -> 9.12.1Px 

But I don't think it's worth your time to do every major version. in the rare event that you need to revert.    

Reverting major versions  is a last resort type of thing and recommended to be done under the guidance of Support and keep in mind it's also a disruptive process.    There are also several caveats on reverting too, typically related to new features that aren't supported in lower versions.   

Also beside to review anything that might be effected by upgrades in the IMT - This is pretty common for SAN environment.   

[NetApp93]

Hmm well thank you for your advice. I suppose I will do some more research on considerations towards updating so I can at least be more educated in the process when briefing for the CRQ. Will somehow have to gently explain that there isn't an easy way to "back out" of the upgrade. Appreciate the assistance 

[SpindleNinja]

No problem.  I'll say that in my 12+ years of doing upgrades I think I've had to revert one system.  

For P releases within a Major release, downgrades are easier and NDO.     Major releases usually come with large changes.   

Reach out to your account team and talk about upgrades,  you can probably get more info from them. 

[cheese123]

The same here: around 20 years of netapp usage (as customer). i never had to go back. Always use tested versions and NEVER be the first to use RCs. I know only one coworker, who had to do a downgrade. Because he did not read release-notes.