hesela.devNVMe firmware slot
An NVMe firmware slot is a numbered storage location for a controller firmware image, distinct from the revision currently executing.
Firmware Image Download transfers an image but does not activate it. Firmware Commit can replace a slot without activation, select an image for next-reset activation, or request activation without a reset. The chosen action, device support and completion status matter. [2] [3]
In Base 2.2, firmware slots are shared within a domain, not assigned per namespace. The Firmware Slot Information log identifies the slot from which the active image was loaded. Its next-slot field refers to activation at the next Controller Level Reset; zero means not indicated, not proof that no update is pending. Read Identify Controller's Firmware Revision field to determine the executing revision. [1]
Identify Controller reports the supported slot count, whether slot 1 is read-only, and reset-free activation support. [4] An all-zero FRS field (zero bytes) means an unsupported slot or no valid revision; it is not the ASCII revision string 00000000. [5]
Relations
- related
- Drive firmware revision, NVMe
Limitations
- Several slots do not guarantee rollback: activation can be prohibited, including a disallowed downgrade. [1]
Citations
- NVM Express Base 2.2 (11 March 2025): section 1.5.42; sections 5.1.8, 5.1.9 and 5.1.12.1.4; Figures 184, 209 and 313
- nvme-cli v2.16: Firmware Image Download manual
- nvme-cli v2.16: Firmware Commit actions and reset handling
- Microsoft NVME_IDENTIFY_CONTROLLER_DATA: FR and FRMW capabilities
- Microsoft NVME_FIRMWARE_SLOT_INFO_LOG: next-slot and revision fields
Sources & caveats
- Version-scoped specification and documentation review, not a device test, update recipe or claim that the historical SAS advisories apply to NVMe.
- Use the vendor-supported maintenance procedure. Neither a transferred image nor a stored slot revision alone establishes remediation.