8.8.3 Downgrading InfiniBand Network Fabric Switch Firmware

Downgrading firmware means reapplying the older firmware update, which is shipped with the Oracle Exadata System Software update.

The current Oracle Exadata System Software update determines what release you can downgrade to. This may be different for each release and may not be the firmware you were on before the update. For more information on the older firmware shipped with the release you are updating to, see the patch README file.

Complete all steps in this task as the root user.

1. Run the patchmgr command with the --precheck option to verify the switch firmware is ready to be downgraded.

   The ibswitches.lst file is a file that contains the host names of all the InfiniBand Network Fabric switches that need to be updated, with one switch per line.

   # ./patchmgr --ibswitches ibswitches.lst --downgrade --ibswitch_precheck [--force] [--unkey]

   Note:

   Starting with Oracle Exadata System Software release 19.3.0, the patchmgr command uses -- instead of a single hyphen before keywords.

   The --unkey option removes passwordless SSH access to the InfiniBand Network Fabric switches before exiting.

   The --force option overrides failures in the InfiniBand Network Fabric topology and connectivity from the servers to the switches. This does not affect the upgrade of the switch.

2. Use the patchmgr command to downgrade the firmware on the InfiniBand Network Fabric switches.

   # ./patchmgr --ibswitches ibswitches.lst --downgrade [--force] [--unkey]

3. Use the version command to verify the firmware on the switch has been downgraded.

   # version
   
   SUN DCS 36p version: 2.1.8-1
   Build time: Sep 18 2015 10:26:47
   SP board info:
   Manufacturing Date: 2015.07.01
   Serial Number: "NCDLD0049"
   Hardware Revision: 0x0200
   Firmware Revision: 0x0000
   BIOS version: SUN0R100
   BIOS date: 06/22/2010