This section describes how to determine if a SmartServer software version can be used for your specific SmartServer hardware. Read this section before upgrading or downgrading a SmartServer, or doing a backup and restore.

• Do not downgrade the SmartServer to an older software version until you make sure the old software version supports the newer SmartServer hardware. Failure to do so may make the SmartServer inoperable and invalidate the warranty.
• Do not upgrade a dual core SmartServer to any release after SmartServer 3.2.
• Do not restore a full backup on a SmartServer if the original software version is not supported on the new hardware. In this case, backup only the database and settings, and restore only the database and settings.

Before upgrading or downgrading a SmartServer, or restoring a backed up image to a SmartSever with a different software version, verify that the software version you want to use supports your SmartServer hardware. See the table in the Hardware Versions and Software Compatibility Overview section for more details.

This section consists of the following:

Hardware Versions and Software Compatibility Overview

SmartServers shipped from the factory since 2021 are quad cores. Hardware revision F in the serial number indicates a quad core. Example serial number: 442047F00100. Run sudo /root/.setup/pmic/pmic_checker.sh SSH/console command to determine the PMIC type.

The following table summarizes hardware versions and software compatibility.

Upgrading Older SmartServer Hardware to Newer Software

To upgrade older SmartServer hardware to newer software, follow the guidelines below.

• Update (using GLPO file), or re-image, to upgrade the SmartServer to a new software version.
• Starting with SmartServer 3.30.057, you need a device capacity license, unless you are using the SmartServer for RNI or IP-852 routing only. 
• Starting with SmartServer 3.30.057, if you want allow the SmartServer to be upgradable to a newer software version, then you will also need to have maintenance license.
• Device capacity and maintenance licenses are not affected by a software upgrade or re-image. That is, once licensed, the license remains on the SmartServer after a software update or re-image.

Downgrading Newer SmartServer Hardware to Older Software

To downgrade newer SmartServer hardware to older software, follow the guidelines below.

• Downgrade only to supported software. Software versions are hardware specific.
• Newer SmartServer hardware cannot always use older software.
  • If you downgrade to a software version that does not support the specific hardware, then this process can cause the SmartServer to be inoperable and invalidate the warranty. 
  • If you do mistakenly downgrade the SmartServer to an unsupported version, then re-image the SmartServer from the U-Boot prompt to a supported software version in an effort to recover the SmartServer.
• Downgrade a SmartServer using re-image. The CMS Devices widget (GLPO update) cannot be used to downgrade a SmartServer.
• Device capacity and maintenance licenses are not affected by a software upgrade or re-image. That is, once licensed, the license remains on the SmartServer after a software update or re-image.

Depending on the availability of parts, hardware parts can change between different hardware revisions. These parts include the CPU, PMIC, or memory. The SmartServer serial number includes the hardware revision, but the hardware revision by itself does not always indicate what is inside the SmartServer. Determining how many CPU cores are used, and the PMIC version, is necessary for this information.

Backing up and Restoring the SmartServer

For backups and restore operations, follow the guidelines below.

• Full backups can only be restored to the SmartServer hardware that supports that software version. Software versions are hardware specific.
• To support a newer hardware version, back up the database and settings so that you can restore only the database and settings using the Import/Export () button.
  • On older software versions, the settings can be exported with the Settings button () → Export action.
• For example, since SmartServer 3.26 is not supported on the Rev F quad core you cannot restore a backed up full image for SmartServer 3.26 on the Rev F hardware.
  • On the SmartServer 3.26, you can back up the database, and separately back up the settings using the Setting button → Export action. On the new SmartServer, import the database and then the settings.
    

Checking Your SmartServer Hardware

To check your hardware, follow the guidelines below.

1. Determine the hardware version and whether you are using a dual core or quad core SmartServer by looking at the serial number that is printed on the label located on the bottom of the SmartServer.
   1. In most cases, the serial number that is shown on the SmartServer System Configuration page is the same serial number as the one that is printed on the SmartServer label. Verify the serial number by checking the label.
   2. A board revision number is incorporated into the serial number. Revision information appears as an alpha character a-z in the format 44yywwrxxxxx, where ww is the week of the year, yy is the year, and r is hardware revision. xxxxx indicates other characters in the serial number.
      Example: 442050F00100 
      1. Datecode: 2050F
         1. 50th week of 2020
         2. Hardware revision F indicates a quad core. All SmartServers delivered from the factory since 2021 are quad core.

   3. You can also determine whether the SmartServer is a dual or quad core by using the SSH/console command lscpu.

      1. 2 indicates dual core

      2. 4 indicates quad core

         lscpu

         Dual core SmartServers can use SmartServer release 2.4 to 3.1. Quad core SmartServers software versions are dependent on which PMIC you are using. 
         
         

2. Check which PMIC is used. There are at least two types of PMICs: DA9063 and PFUZE100. Only DA9063 is supported on a SmartServer 3.27.001, or 3.30.057 and higher (3.30.001 through 3.30.056 is not supported).

   sudo /root/.setup/pmic/pmic_checker.sh

Example

The SmartServer has the serial number 442205H00100, and lscpu shows four CPUs (or datecode 2022) and a DA9063 PMIC. 

• For serial number 442205H00100: 2205H indicates manufacturing in the 5th week of 2022; H represents revision H.
• This SmartServer is a quad core with a DA9063 PMIC.
• This SmartServer can only use software version 3.27.001, or 3.30.057 and higher (3.30.001 through 3.30.056 is not supported).
  
  

~$ lscpu
Architecture:        armv7l
Byte Order:          Little Endian
CPU(s):              4
On-line CPU(s) list: 0-3
Thread(s) per core:  1
Core(s) per socket:  4
Socket(s):           1
Vendor ID:           ARM
Model:               10
Model name:          Cortex-A9
Stepping:            r2p10
CPU max MHz:         792.0000
CPU min MHz:         396.0000
BogoMIPS:            6.00
Flags:               half thumb fastmult vfp edsp neon vfpv3 tls vfpd32

$ sudo /root/.setup/pmic/pmic_checker.sh
DA9063