Fedora 17 Update: ql2500-firmware-5.06.05-1.fc17

updates at fedoraproject.org updates at fedoraproject.org
Tue Feb 28 10:52:53 UTC 2012


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Fedora Update Notification
FEDORA-2012-1790
2012-02-16 19:21:56
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Name        : ql2500-firmware
Product     : Fedora 17
Version     : 5.06.05
Release     : 1.fc17
URL         : ftp://ftp.qlogic.com/outgoing/linux/firmware/
Summary     : Firmware for qlogic 2500 devices
Description :
Firmware for qlogic 2500 devices.

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Update Information:

The note said to come to the QLogic underground parking garage at 2:30 AM, and in my business, when notes like that land in your mailbox, well, you come. It was poorly lit, with low ceilings, and crumbling pillars scattered about. There were no cars, just shadows hiding oil spills and other unidentifiable stains. I heard a whispering summons from behind a corner pillar, so I cautiously approached. A hand emerged from the darkness and thrust a USB key at me. "Here", he said forcefully, "your users need to have this". I asked him what it was, but he just laughed. "They're firmware updates for the Linux kernel drivers for QLogic fibrechannel adaptors, but that's not the question you should be asking." I rubbed the USB key between my fingers, then took the bait. "Okay, mysterious person, what is the question I should be asking?" I saw a flicker of flame as a cigarette was lit, then smoke danced into the damp air. "You should be asking, what does the firmware do and what does it fix in this revision", the smoking man whispered, before coughing loudly.

I sighed loudly. "Look man, I'm sure it fixes bugs, or enables some new hardware features. Did this really merit dragging me out here in the middle of the night? I don't even know who you are." The cigarette flared as the man took another pull. "Call me, Deep Bloat. And you have no idea what this firmware really does. They don't want to you to know. They don't think you can handle the truth." Now, I was curious. "What could it possibly do? It's just a set of assembly code that is loaded via the kernel driver to be executed directly by the fibrechannel adaptor!" Deep Bloat sighed. "You're not seeing the big picture. This conspiracy is huge, it touches so many different things, this is just the tip of the iceberg!" I waited silently, I had suspected something big was happening, but I never thought it would involve a simple firmware update.

Suddenly, his voice raised and he spewed forth his words like an assault: "Why do you think QLogic is so secretive about their firmware updates? They push these firmware updates out, insist that they be updated, but they won't tell you anything about what they do or why they're necessary! Forget the source code, they don't want you to pull back the curtain to see how deep the rabbit hole goes." More cigarette smoke flowed as he regained his composure. "I'm going to stop that today. I'm going to tell you what this firmware does, and you will tell the world."

I leaned towards the shadowy informant, carefully preparing to hear his next words, but the next sound was that of a gunshot, violently echoing through the garage and my ears. I saw Deep Bloat slump to the ground, his cigarette butt at his side, as I rushed towards him. He gurgled and sputtered, but pulled me close to his mouth. My hands were hot and sticky with his blood, my heart pounding out of my chest, as he whispered his final word to me... "rosebud".

Another shot rang out, and I heard a steam pipe burst. Somehow, I found the courage to run through the scalding mist and found my way outside. I didn't stop running for what felt like an eternity, but when my feet couldn't carry me anymore, I looked at the bloody USB key in my hands and knew what I had to do. I owed Deep Bloat that much, even if I had no idea what rosebud meant, at least, not yet.

*****
Please note: QLogic refuses to disclose what changes between revisions of their firmware, but insists that the updates are mandatory. Your guess is as good as mine as to what goes in them, so I let my imagination run wild. The above update text is fiction, or is it?

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This update can be installed with the "yum" update program.  Use 
su -c 'yum update ql2500-firmware' at the command line.
For more information, refer to "Managing Software with yum",
available at http://docs.fedoraproject.org/yum/.

All packages are signed with the Fedora Project GPG key.  More details on the
GPG keys used by the Fedora Project can be found at
https://fedoraproject.org/keys
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