Update Qlogic HBA Drivers on Windows Servers

Introduction

This document describes the process of upgrading the HBA drivers from the Qlogic adapters on Windows Servers.

Prerequisites

Requirements

Cisco recommends that you have knowledge of these topics:

• UCS C-Series 
• Windows Server OS.
• Qlogic HBA adapters

Components Used on the demonstration

The information in this document is based on these software and hardware versions:

• UCSC-C240-M6S 
• Firmware version: 4.3(5.250030)
• Windows Server 2022
• Qlogic HBA adapter -Cisco QLE2692 Dual Port 16Gb FC to PCIe Gen3 x8 Adapter - UCSC-PCIE-QD16GF

The information in this document was created from the devices in a specific lab environment. All of the devices used in this document started with a cleared (default) configuration. If your network is live, ensure that you understand the potential impact of any command.

Configure

This procedure describes how to Upgrade Qlogic HBA drivers on UCS C series servers running Windows server OS.

Preparing for the upgrade:

• Validate the compliant drivers from the Cisco UCS Hardware Compatibility List for the specific Hardware / Software / Firmware combination. 
• Verify the current driver details of the Qlogic HBA(s).

For Windows:

• Open Device Manager. 

Expand the Storage Controllers and select the Qlogic Fabric Channel Adapter.

• Download drivers from Cisco Software Central.
• Download the driver ISO to the Windows server.
• Map the ISO file: In this the example, vMedia mapped to vKVM was used to copy the contents to the OS. If the OS has internet access, you can download the driver ISO directly. Other options to transfer the file as NFS, TFTP, SCP, and so on, can be utilized.

• Locate the storage folder:

• Choose the appropriate folder with the intended Qlogic Adapter.  For this example, the QLE2692. 

• Copy the relevant folder, in this example the Qlogic_Windows folder, to a known location.

• Uncompress the file. Two folders are available; one contains the relevant documentation and the other folder contains the necessary files for the upgrade..

• Execute the Setup Wizard and continue.

The executable "QConvergence Console CLI" then becomes available to execute different tasks into the Qlogic Card.

Extracting the drivers

 Using Windows CMD, change directory to the location of the setup.exe aplication for ease of use.

• Run this command and extract the drivers to a specific location. 

Start /wait Setup.exe /a $msipath$ EXTRACTDRIVERS=1 TARGETDIR="<Extract directory location>"

After extracted, a folder named "production" is created containing the drivers.

Update the Drivers

After the drivers files have been extracted, proceed with upgrade.

Open Device Manager, expand the Storage Controllers, select the Qlogic Fabric Channel Adapter and click Update Driver.

• Select "Browse my computer for drivers".

• Choose the second option "Let me pick from a list..."

• Click on "Have Disk..."

• Browse to the location where drivers are and choose the new driver:

• Click Next and complete the installation.

• Reboot server for changes to take effect.

Verify

There are 2 methods to validate the installed drivers:

1. Device manager:

Open Device Manager, expand the Storage Controllers, and select Qlogic Fabric Channel Adapter.

2. Qlogic CLI:

Options 1 and 3 provide an overview about the interface status, current firmware, and driver version/updates.

Upgrade process is concluded.

References and useful links:

• https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/servers-unified-computing/ucs-manager/116349-technote-product-00.html