Techniques for performing an upgrade

1. A method of performing an upgrade comprising:

receiving, using a processor, notification regarding an occurrence of a trigger event in a system, wherein the trigger event is included in a set of one or more defined trigger events, and wherein the set includes a periodic schedule of times at which first processing is performed that proactively analyzes and determines whether to recommend upgrading firmware of a set of data storage devices including disk drives and solid state drives; and

responsive to receiving the notification, performing, using a processor, the first processing including:

collecting configuration information describing a current configuration of the system, wherein the configuration information includes data storage device information identifying the set of data storage devices including disk drives and solid state drives in the system, a current version of software on the system, and a current version of firmware for a particular type of data storage device in the system, wherein the particular type of data storage device identifies a type of disk drive or solid state drive of the set;

performing proactive analysis of the configuration information that determines whether to recommend performing an upgrade to the firmware for the particular type of data storage device identifying a type of disk drive or solid state drive of the set; and

responsive to determining to recommend performing an upgrade to the firmware for the particular type of data storage device, performing processing including:

receiving a user input indicating to perform a recommended upgrade to the firmware; and

responsive to receiving the user input, performing other processing including upgrading the firmware on the system for the particular type of data storage device to a target version recommended.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein, responsive to determining to recommend performing an upgrade to the firmware, the processing further includes:

providing a user notification regarding the recommended upgrade to the firmware, wherein the user input is received responsive to said providing the user notification.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the user notification includes information identifying the target version of the firmware recommended for installation on a data storage device of the particular type.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the system is a data storage system.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the software on the system includes any of an operating system and microcode installed on the data storage system.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the proactive analysis of the configuration information further comprises:

determining the target version of the firmware recommended in accordance with the current version of software in the system and the current version of firmware for the particular type of data storage device in the system.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

determining whether the target version of the firmware is a later release than the current version of firmware for the particular type of data storage device in the system; and

if it is determined that the target version is a later release than the current version of firmware for the particular type of data storage device in the system, providing a user notification regarding a recommendation to upgrade the firmware to the target version.

8. The method of claim 5 , wherein the proactive analysis of the configuration information further comprises determining a plurality of recommended upgrade options includes a first option and a second option.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the first option is to upgrade to a first version of the firmware that is compatible with the current version of software in the system and wherein the first version is a critical upgrade of the firmware, wherein the second option is to upgrade to a second version of the firmware that is a later release that the first version of the firmware, wherein the second version is compatible with the current version of software in the system and is a non-critical upgrade of the firmware.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the current version of firmware is an earlier release of the firmware prior to both the first version of the firmware and the second version of the firmware.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the first version that is a critical upgrade of the firmware is a required upgrade and includes one or more critical corrections for known problems.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the second version that is a non-critical upgrade of the firmware is an optional upgrade and includes support for a new feature.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the new feature includes any of: support for a new processor and support for a power saving enhancement.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the set of one or more defined trigger events further includes at least one of: adding a storage device to the system, a user initiated trigger using a user interface, issuing a command or request via a command line interface, and selecting a user interface element from a graphical user interface.

15. A system comprising:

at least one processor; and

a memory comprising code stored thereon that, when executed, performs a method of upgrading firmware comprising:

receiving notification regarding an occurrence of a trigger event in a system, wherein the trigger event is included in a set of one or more defined trigger events, and wherein the set includes a periodic schedule of times at which first processing is performed that proactively analyzes and determines whether to recommend upgrading firmware of a set of data storage devices including disk drives and solid state drives; and

responsive to receiving the notification, performing the first processing including:

collecting configuration information describing a current configuration of the system, wherein the configuration information includes data storage device information identifying the set of data storage devices including disk drives and solid state drives in the system, a current version of software on the system, and a current version of firmware for a particular type of data storage device in the system, wherein the particular type of data storage device identifies a type of disk drive or solid state drive of the set;

performing proactive analysis of the configuration information that determines whether to recommend performing an upgrade to the firmware for the particular type of data storage device identifying a type of disk drive or solid state drive of the set; and

responsive to determining to recommend performing an upgrade to the firmware for the particular type of data storage device, performing processing including:

receiving a user input indicating to perform a recommended upgrade to the firmware; and

responsive to receiving the user input, performing other processing including upgrading the firmware on the system for the particular type of data storage device to a target version recommended.

16. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising code stored thereon that, when executed, performs a method of upgrading firmware comprising:

receiving notification regarding an occurrence of a trigger event in a system, wherein the trigger event is included in a set of one or more defined trigger events, and wherein the set includes a periodic schedule of times at which first processing is performed that proactively analyzes and determines whether to recommend upgrading firmware of a set of data storage devices including disk drives and solid state drives; and

responsive to receiving the notification, performing the first processing including:

collecting configuration information describing a current configuration of the system, wherein the configuration information includes data storage device information identifying the set of data storage devices including disk drives and solid state drives in the system, a current version of software on the system, and a current version of firmware for a particular type of data storage device in the system, wherein the particular type of data storage device identifies a type of disk drive or solid state drive of the set;

performing proactive analysis of the configuration information that determines whether to recommend performing an upgrade to the firmware for the particular type of data storage device identifying a type of disk drive or solid state drive of the set; and

responsive to determining to recommend performing an upgrade to the firmware for the particular type of data storage device, performing processing including:

receiving a user input indicating to perform a recommended upgrade to the firmware; and

responsive to receiving the user input, performing other processing including upgrading the firmware on the system for the particular type of data storage device to a target version recommended.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16 , wherein, if it is determined to recommend performing an upgrade to the firmware, the method further includes:

providing a user notification regarding the recommended upgrade to the firmware, wherein the user input is received responsive to said providing the user notification.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the user notification includes information identifying the target version of the firmware recommended for installation on a data storage device of the particular type.