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Advance Dedicated Servers - Upgrading Your Samsung NVMe PM9A1 Firmware

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Stephanie R.
  • Updated

Learn how to upgrade your NVMe Samsung PM9A1 firmware.

Routine firmware updates are pivotal in upholding your NVMe drives' performance, stability, and security. Such updates often encompass critical bug fixes, enhanced compatibility, and advanced security features that are indispensable for preserving your data integrity and maintaining optimal operational efficiency.

Use this link to view the firmware changelog.

 

Requirements

  • An Advance Dedicated Server with NVMe Samsung PM9A1, from the following:
    • Advance-1
    • Advance-2
    • Advance-3
    • Advance-4
    • Advance-5
    • Advance-6
WARNING:
  • Before attempting any firmware update, a backup of the data on the drive must be made. Our Getting Started - Backing Up a Bare Metal Server with Veeam Enterprise guide can guide you through the process of using S3 Object Storage as a backup and recovery solution. 
  • The firmware update does not format the data, but a firmware update failure may happen. Please do not power off the drive or the bare metal server during the firmware update process.

 

Topics

 

Instructions

Linux

Hardware/software configuration tested on the OVHcloud side

The tests have been performed without SED configuration.

Platform Flash tool Firmware Result
Debian 11 OS + data in clear from disk cli 1.12 GXA7802Q OK
Ubuntu 22.04 OS + data in clear from disk nvme-cli 1.16 GXA7802Q OK
Rocky 8 OS + data in clear from disk nvme-cli 1.16 GXA7802Q OK
Debian 11 OS + data in clear from disk + RAID nvme-cli 1.12 GXA7802Q OK
Ubuntu 22.04 OS + data in clear from disk + RAID nvme-cli 1.16 GXA7802Q OK
Rocky 8 OS + data in clear from disk + RAID nvme-cli 1.16 GXA7802Q OK

 

Step 1 - Install nvme-cli

You can install nvme-cli from your distribution's package manager.

  • For RHEL, CentOS, RockyLinux, AlmaLinux, Fedora, and similar:
sudo dnf install nvme-cli
  • For Debian, Ubuntu, Mint, Proxmox, and similar:
sudo apt install nvme-cli

 

Step 2 - List NVMe drives

The nvme list command lists all NVMe devices on your server:

sudo nvme list | grep 'Node\|MZVL2512HCJQ-00B07'
Node             SN                   Model                                    Namespace Usage                      Format           FW Rev
/dev/nvme0n1     S63CNX0T124339       SAMSUNG MZVL2512HCJQ-00B07               1           8.63  GB / 512.11  GB    512   B +  0 B   GXA7602Q
/dev/nvme1n1     S63CNX0RA09597       SAMSUNG MZVL2512HCJQ-00B07               1          11.06  GB / 512.11  GB    512   B +  0 B   GXA7602Q
We added a filter on this command to only display the SAMSUNG MZVL2512HCJQ-00B07 NVME, because the firmware update only concerns this NVMe reference and your server may have other disks connected to it.

 

Step 3 - Check if a firmware update is needed

The firmware of each drive is displayed in the FW Rev column.

If the firmware version for all your drives is already version GXA7802Q, your firmware is up to date and you do not need to continue this process.

On the other hand, if at least one firmware is different from version GXA7802Q, you must proceed to the update detailed in step 4.

 

Step 4 - Firmware update

Download the firmware binary on your server:

wget https://last-public-ovh-baremetal.snap.mirrors.ovh.us/hardware/PM9A1/GXA7802Q_Noformat.bin

Execute the following command for each identified drive with firmware different from version GXA7802Q:

In your command, replace X with the NVME node listed in Step 2.
sudo nvme fw-download --fw GXA7802Q_Noformat.bin /dev/nvmeX
sudo nvme fw-activate --slot 0x1 --action 0x1 /dev/nvmeX
  • Example:

In our previous example, both NVMe drives need a firmware update to the latest version GXA7802Q. Here's how we update the two NVMe drives and the command line returns:

root@labo:/home/ubuntu# sudo nvme fw-download --fw GXA7802Q_Noformat.bin /dev/nvme0
Firmware download success
root@labo:/home/ubuntu# sudo nvme fw-activate --slot 0x1 --action 0x1 /dev/nvme0
Success committing firmware action:1 slot:1
Multiple Update Detected (MUD) Value: 0
root@labo:/home/ubuntu# sudo nvme fw-download --fw GXA7802Q_Noformat.bin /dev/nvme1
Firmware download success
root@labo:/home/ubuntu# sudo nvme fw-activate --slot 0x1 --action 0x1 /dev/nvme1
Success committing firmware action:1 slot:1
Multiple Update Detected (MUD) Value: 0

At this point the firmware update is complete, please reboot your server.

 

Step 5 - Check the firmware version after the server reboot

You can use the same NVMe list command which lists all NVMe drives on your server:

sudo nvme list | grep 'Node\|MZVL2512HCJQ-00B07'
Node             SN                   Model                                    Namespace Usage                      Format           FW Rev
/dev/nvme0n1     S63CNX0T124339       SAMSUNG MZVL2512HCJQ-00B07               1           8.63  GB / 512.11  GB    512   B +  0 B   GXA7802Q
/dev/nvme1n1     S63CNX0RA09597       SAMSUNG MZVL2512HCJQ-00B07               1          11.06  GB / 512.11  GB    512   B +  0 B   GXA7802Q

Your NVMe drive now should have the firmware version GXA7802Q.

 

ESXi

Hardware/software configuration tested on the OVHcloud side

The tests have been performed without SED configuration.

Platform Flash tool Firmware Result
ESXi 7.0 U3j OS + data in clear from disk esxcli 7.0.0 GXA7802Q OK
ESXi 7.0 U3j OS + data in clear from disk + RAID esxcli 7.0.0 GXA7802Q OK

 

Step 1 - List NVMe drives

The nvme controller list command lists all NVMe devices on your server:

esxcli nvme controller list | grep -i 'PM9A1\|Adapter'
Name                                                   Controller Number  Adapter  Transport Type  Is Online
nqn.1994-11.com.samsung:nvme:PM9A1:M.2:S63CNX0TC10818                256  vmhba2   PCIe                 true
nqn.1994-11.com.samsung:nvme:PM9A1:M.2:S63CNX0TC10816                257  vmhba1   PCIe                 true
We added a filter on this command to only display the PM9A1 NVMe, because the firmware update only concerns this NVMe reference and your server may have other disks connected to it.

 

Step 2 - Check if a firmware update is needed

For each NVMe in the previous list, we have to check the firmware version :

In your command, replace X with the NVME node listed in Step 2.
esxcli nvme device get -A vmhbaX | egrep "Model Number|Firmware Revision"
  • Example:
[root@labo:~] esxcli nvme device get -A vmhba2 | egrep "Model Number|Firmware Revision"
Model Number: SAMSUNG MZVL2512HCJQ-00B07
Firmware Revision: GXA7602Q
[root@labo:~] esxcli nvme device get -A vmhba1 | egrep "Model Number|Firmware Revision"
Model Number: SAMSUNG MZVL2512HCJQ-00B07
Firmware Revision: GXA7602Q

If the Firmware Revision for all your NVMe is already version GXA7802Q, your firmware is up to date and you do not need to continue this process.

On the other hand, if at least one firmware is different from version GXA7802Q, you must proceed to the update detailed in step 3.

 

Step 3 - Firmware update

Download the firmware binary on your server :

wget https://last-public-ovh-baremetal.snap.mirrors.ovh.us/hardware/PM9A1/GXA7802Q_Noformat.bin

Execute the following command for each identified drive with firmware different from version GXA7802Q:

  • Replace X with the NVME node listed in Step 2.
  • Replace [path-to-firmware] with the actual firmware image path.
esxcli nvme device firmware download -A vmhbaX -f /[path-to-firmware]/GXA7802Q_Noformat.bin
esxcli nvme device firmware activate -a 1 -A vmhbaX -s 1
  • Example:

In our previous example, both NVMe drives needed a firmware update to the latest version GXA7802Q.
Here's how we updated the two NVMe drives and the command line returns:

[root@labo:~] esxcli nvme device firmware download -A vmhba2 -f /GXA7802Q_Noformat.bin
Download firmware successfully.
[root@labo:~] esxcli nvme device firmware activate -a 1 -A vmhba2 -s 1
Commit firmware successfully, but activation requires reboot.
[root@labo:~] esxcli nvme device firmware download -A vmhba1 -f /GXA7802Q_Noformat.bin
Download firmware successfully.
[root@labo:~] esxcli nvme device firmware activate -a 1 -A vmhba1 -s 1
Commit firmware successfully, but activation requires reboot.

At this point the firmware update is complete, you need to reboot your server.

 

Step 4 - Check the firmware version after the server reboot

You can use the same command as in Step 2 to check the firmware versions on your server:

[root@labo:~] esxcli nvme device get -A vmhba2 | egrep "Model Number|Firmware Revision"
   Model Number: SAMSUNG MZVL2512HCJQ-00B07
   Firmware Revision: GXA7802Q
[root@labo:~] esxcli nvme device get -A vmhba1 | egrep "Model Number|Firmware Revision"
   Model Number: SAMSUNG MZVL2512HCJQ-00B07
   Firmware Revision: GXA7802Q

Your NVMe drive now should have the firmware version GXA7802Q.

 

Windows

Hardware/software configuration tested on the OVHcloud side

The tests have been performed without SED configuration.

Platform Flash tool Firmware Result
Windows 2016 + data in clear from disk Samsung DC Toolkit 2.1.W.Q.0 GXA7802Q OK
Windows 2019 + data in clear from disk Samsung DC Toolkit 2.1.W.Q.0 GXA7802Q OK
Windows 2022 + data in clear from disk Samsung DC Toolkit 2.1.W.Q.0 GXA7802Q OK
Windows 2016 + data in clear from disk + RAID Samsung DC Toolkit 2.1.W.Q.0 GXA7802Q OK
Windows 2019 + data in clear from disk + RAID Samsung DC Toolkit 2.1.W.Q.0 GXA7802Q OK
Windows 2022 + data in clear from disk + RAID Samsung DC Toolkit 2.1.W.Q.0 GXA7802Q OK

 

Step 1 - Download Samsung DC Toolkit for Windows

Download the Samsung DC Toolkit via this link.

Tool version: Samsung DC Toolkit Version 2.1.W.Q.0

 

Step 2 - List drives and firmware versions

Open Windows Command Prompt as Administrator, then use the following command in the directory where the DC Toolkit was downloaded:

Samsung_SSD_DC_Toolkit_for_Windows_1.exe -L

 

Step 3 - Check if a firmware update is needed

The following command lists all the devices on your server:

C:\Users\admin\DownloadsSamsung_SSD_DC_Toolkit_for_Windows_1.exe -L
================================================================================================
Samsung DC Toolkit Version 2.1.W.Q.0
Copyright (C) 2017 SAMSUNG Electronics Co. Ltd. All rights reserved.
================================================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Disk   | Path               | Model                      | Serial         | Firmware | Optionrom | Capacity | Drive  | Total Bytes | NVMe Driver          |
| Number |                    |                            | Number         |          | Version   |          | Health | Written     |                      |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 0:c    | \\.\PHYSICALDRIVE0 | SAMSUNG MZVL2512HCJQ-00B07 | S63CNF0T114133 | GXA7602Q | N/A       |   476 GB | GOOD   |  0.00 TB    | Windows Inbox Driver |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 1:c    | \\.\PHYSICALDRIVE1 | SAMSUNG MZVL2512HCJQ-00B07 | S63CNF0T114205 | GXA7602Q | N/A       |   476 GB | GOOD   |  0.00 TB    | Windows Inbox Driver |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: This command displays all the disks present in the server. Only the lines SAMSUNG MZVL2512HCJQ-00B07 have to be checked.

The firmware of each drive is displayed in the Firmware column.

If the firmware version for all your drives is already version GXA7802Q, your firmware is up to date and you do not need to continue this process.

On the other hand, if at least one firmware is different from version GXA7802Q, you must proceed to the update detailed in step 4.

 

Step 4 - Firmware update

Download the firmware binary on your server.

Execute the following command for each identified drive with firmware different from version GXA7802Q:

  • Replace <X> with the Disk Number listed in Step 3.
  • Replace <firmware directory> with the directory where the firmware is located.
Samsung_SSD_DC_Toolkit_for_Windows_1.exe --disk <X> ---firmware-download --path <firmware directory>GXA7802Q_Noformat.bin --action 1 --slot 1
  • Example:

In our previous example, both NVMe drives needed a firmware update to the latest version GXA7802Q. Here's how we updated the two NVMe drives and the command line returns:

C:\Users\admin\DownloadsSamsung_SSD_DC_Toolkit_for_Windows_1.exe --disk 0:c --nvme-firmware-download --path C:\Users\admin\Downloads\GXA7802Q_Noformat.bin --action 1 --slot 1
================================================================================================
Samsung DC Toolkit Version 2.1.W.Q.0
Copyright (C) 2017 SAMSUNG Electronics Co. Ltd. All rights reserved.
================================================================================================
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disk Number: 0:c | Model Name: SAMSUNG MZVL2512HCJQ-00B07 | Firmware Version: GXA7602Q
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[ WARNING ]]

Please Note that Firmware Update may format the disk and you will lose your data
Please Ensure that data backup is taken before proceeding to Firmware Update
If you are sure then only proceed, otherwise restart the application after taking a backup
Continue Firmware image download ? [ yes ]: yes
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[SUCCESS] Downloaded firmware image successfully
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

C:\Users\admin\DownloadsSamsung_SSD_DC_Toolkit_for_Windows_1.exe --disk 1:c --nvme-firmware-download --path C:\Users\admin\Downloads\GXA7802Q_Noformat.bin --action 1 --slot 1
================================================================================================
Samsung DC Toolkit Version 2.1.W.Q.0
Copyright (C) 2017 SAMSUNG Electronics Co. Ltd. All rights reserved.
================================================================================================
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disk Number: 1:c | Model Name: SAMSUNG MZVL2512HCJQ-00B07 | Firmware Version: GXA7602Q
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[ WARNING ]]

Please Note that Firmware Update may format the disk and you will lose your data
Please Ensure that data backup is taken before proceeding to Firmware Update
If you are sure then only proceed, otherwise restart the application after taking a backup
Continue Firmware image download ? [ yes ]: yes
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[SUCCESS] Downloaded firmware image successfully
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At this point the firmware update is complete, you need to reboot your server.

 

Step 5 - Check the firmware version after the server reboot

You can use the same command as in Step 2 to list all NVMe drives on your server:

C:\Users\admin\DownloadsSamsung_SSD_DC_Toolkit_for_Windows_1.exe -L
================================================================================================
Samsung DC Toolkit Version 2.1.W.Q.0
Copyright (C) 2017 SAMSUNG Electronics Co. Ltd. All rights reserved.
================================================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Disk   | Path               | Model                      | Serial         | Firmware | Optionrom | Capacity | Drive  | Total Bytes | NVMe Driver          |
| Number |                    |                            | Number         |          | Version   |          | Health | Written     |                      |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 0:c    | \\.\PHYSICALDRIVE0 | SAMSUNG MZVL2512HCJQ-00B07 | S63CNF0T114133 | GXA7802Q | N/A       |   476 GB | GOOD   |  0.00 TB    | Windows Inbox Driver |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 1:c    | \\.\PHYSICALDRIVE1 | SAMSUNG MZVL2512HCJQ-00B07 | S63CNF0T114205 | GXA7802Q | N/A       |   476 GB | GOOD   |  0.00 TB    | Windows Inbox Driver |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Your NVMe drive now should have the firmware version GXA7802Q.

 

Go further

For more information and tutorials, please see our other Dedicated Servers support guides or explore the guides for other OVHcloud products and services.

If you need training or technical assistance to implement our solutions, contact your sales representative or click on this link to get a quote and ask our Professional Services experts for a custom analysis of your project.

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