Overview

This article describes how to upgrade the NVMe SSD firmware (microcode) on a Kerio Control NG120 appliance using the DLMicro command-line utility. The procedure applies to Kerio Control v10.x running on NG120 hardware with an Innodisk M.2 (P30) 4IE2 NVMe drive.

The firmware upgrade uses the NVMe Download Microcode mechanism, which updates the drive's internal firmware without data loss. The new firmware is staged to the drive and activated after a full power cycle.

Note: The updated NVMe SSD firmware will be included in a future Kerio Control release. This article will be updated accordingly once that release is available. In the meantime, the firmware files can be obtained from the temporary download location listed below.

In This Article

• Prerequisites
• Firmware Package Contents
• Upgrade Procedure
• Verification
• Rollback Procedure
• FAQ

Prerequisites

Requirement	Details
Operating System	Kerio Control v10.x
Access Level	Root access via SSH. See Accessing Kerio Control's Shell Using SSH to enable and configure SSH access.
Tool	DLMicro_64 — provided in the firmware package
Target Drive	Kerio Control NG120 NVMe drive (/dev/nvme0n1)
Firmware File	.fw file provided in the firmware package (e.g., W11P54.fw)

Firmware Package Contents

The firmware package is available for download from this temporary location: NVMe SSD Firmware Package (Google Drive)

The package contains the following files:

File	Description
W11P54.fw	New firmware (upgrade target)
W11P47.fw	Current firmware (rollback copy)
DLMicro_64	Firmware flash utility

Upgrade Procedure

Step 1: Prepare the files

Download the firmware package from the link above and copy the DLMicro_64 executable and the firmware file to the target device. This example uses /var as the working directory:

scp DLMicro_64 W11P54.fw root@<device-ip>:/var/

Step 2: Connect to the device

Open a terminal and connect to the NG120 appliance via SSH:

ssh root@<device-ip>

The password is the same as the admin password used for the Kerio Control web UI. For detailed SSH setup instructions, see Accessing Kerio Control's Shell Using SSH.

Step 3: Make the tool executable

chmod +x /var/DLMicro_64

Step 4: Identify the target NVMe drive and current firmware version

Run the following command to list NVMe devices:

nvme list

Expected output:

Node          Generic   SN         Model            Namespace  Usage      Format       FW Rev
------------- --------- ---------- ---------------- --------- ---------- ------------ --------
/dev/nvme0n1  /dev/ng0n1 YCA125... M.2 (P30) 4IE2  1          80.03 GB   512 B + 0 B  W11P47

Confirm that the FW Rev column shows W11P47 before proceeding.

Step 5: Apply the firmware upgrade

cd /var
./DLMicro_64 -d /dev/nvme0n1 -f W11P54.fw

Wait for the process to complete. A successful upgrade displays output similar to:

************************************************************
* Innodisk Microcode Download V3.17.0         2025/04/01  *
************************************************************
Model Name : M.2 (P30) 4IE2
FW Version : W11P47
Serial Num : YCA125...
TAG        : DF1
Capacity   : 74.53 GB
BusType    : NVMe (OFA)
NVMe CA    : 3
Download microcode done !!

Step 6: Power cycle the device

The NVMe drive uses Commit Action 3 (CA3), meaning the new firmware is staged but only activates after a full power cycle. A warm reboot is not sufficient.

1. Perform a complete shutdown of the NG120 appliance.
2. After the system has fully powered down, wait several seconds.
3. Turn it back on.

WARNING: A soft reboot is not sufficient. The device must be fully powered off and back on for the firmware to activate.

Verification

After the device has restarted, verify the firmware upgrade was successful using either method:

Method A: Using nvme list

nvme list

The FW Rev column should now show W11P54.

Method B: Using DLMicro

./DLMicro_64 -d /dev/nvme0n1

The FW Version field should now display W11P54.

Rollback Procedure

If you need to revert to the previous firmware version, use the same procedure with the rollback firmware file:

./DLMicro_64 -d /dev/nvme0n1 -f W11P47.fw

After the command completes, perform a full power cycle as described in Step 6, then verify the firmware version has reverted to W11P47.

FAQ

Q1: Will this firmware upgrade cause data loss?
A1: No. The NVMe Download Microcode mechanism updates the drive's internal firmware without affecting stored data. However, as with any firmware operation, having a current backup is always recommended.

Q2: Can I perform a regular reboot instead of a full power cycle?
A2: No. The drive uses Commit Action 3 (CA3), which requires a complete power-off and power-on cycle. A software reboot or warm restart will not activate the new firmware.

Q3: Will the firmware be included in a future Kerio Control update?
Aa: Yes. The updated NVMe SSD firmware will be bundled with a future Kerio Control release. This article will be updated once that release is available. Until then, use the firmware package linked in this article.