HP BladeSystem ProLiant firmware management ... …

1 HP BladeSystem ProLiant firmware management best practices General overview 2. firmware updates .. 2. HP 2. Overview .. 2. HP BladeSystem and firmware .. 2. firmware 3. What options are available for firmware deployment? .. 3. firmware deployment overview .. 4. Available tools to update HP BladeSystem 4. HP Smart Update Manager (HP SUM) .. 4. Virtual Connect Support Utility .. 6. Single components .. 6. Obtaining the latest available HP firmware update deliverables .. 7. Deciding which deployment deliverable to use .. 8. HP BladeSystem firmware Update Bundles .. 10. HP BladeSystem firmware Deployment Tool .. 11. HP firmware Maintenance CD.

2 13. Recommended firmware deployment strategies .. 14. Updating an enclosure and blades with an operating system already installed using the HP BladeSystem firmware Update Bundles or HP firmware Maintenance 16. Automatic updates of multiple enclosures including the OA, VC, and server blades .. 19. Limitations in VMware ESX/ESXi environments .. 20. General best 20. Recommended installation order .. 21. If an operating system has already been installed:.. 21. If an operating has not yet been installed: .. 21. If Virtual Connect Ethernet firmware is older than :.. 21. Acronyms and 22. For more 24. Introduction firmware updates Updating firmware has become critical to maintaining the health of server systems.

3 As new hardware is released, updating is becoming more cost-effective than replacing the hardware. Consequently, firmware has become as important as software and driver updates to the operating system. This document details firmware best practices for HP c-Class BladeSystem products including: What firmware to update Which tools to use What dependencies to consider for the update process How to deploy firmware updates HP BladeSystem Overview When updating HP BladeSystem c-Class enclosures, the following firmware must be considered: System ROM. iLO 2 firmware Broadcom, Intel , and NetXen NIC firmware Power PIC firmware Smart Array Controller firmware SAS and SATA hard drive firmware Emulex, Qlogic, and Brocade Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapter firmware Tape blade firmware Onboard Administrator firmware Virtual Connect firmware EVA firmware *.

4 MSA2000 firmware *. BladeSystem Interconnect Switches*. *These firmware types are not included in this whitepaper. For information on how to update the firmware for these devices, consult the product documentation. In this white paper, you will learn about firmware types, recommended tools, processes, installation steps, known dependencies, and limitations based on the currently available information. HP BladeSystem and firmware A good place to start the discussion is with what firmware needs to be deployed and the supported versions of this firmware . The HP BladeSystem Compatibility Chart provides a list of which firmware and software versions of the diffferent BladeSystem products were tested together.

5 This chart provides the current and previous versions of this list. HP recommends that the firmware in your enclosures be at one of these two levels to ensure proper operation of your enclosures. The chart is updated approximately once a quarter. When determining which firmware and software to update for your BladeSystem products, start with this chart. 2. For the latest revision of the HP BladeSystem Compatibility Chart, see firmware management What options are available for firmware deployment? The HP ProLiant BladeSystem series of server blades were invented, designed, and created by the same teams that designed the ProLiant DL rack-based and ML stand-alone servers and associated management tools.

6 This is a very reassuring fact from a customer standpoint because this is a maturing technology, and this technology can be understood quickly because the reliability and design confidences that have been built up over many years with both ProLiant and Integrity products are present in HP BladeSystem server blades. As HP BladeSystem server blades were adopted in many environments and subsequent feedback was received, these teams developed additional tools specific to HP BladeSystem solutions. The following chart shows how HP provides individual smart components to update individual firmware , how HP SUM and other tools are provided to manage and deploy these updates, and how the components and tools are integrated into customer deliverables.

7 With multiple tools comes flexibility, but also the potential for confusion. This section specifies the recommended tools to use to upgrade firmware components within an HP BladeSystem solution, and demystifies which tool is appropriate for which situation. Unfortunately, there is currently not a single tool to update all the firmware within the BladeSystem environment so depending on the firmware that needs to be updated, different tools may be needed to complete the firmware update process. 3. firmware deployment overview Four key terms are used when describing firmware update use case scenarios; local, remote, online, and offline.

8 A local installation means the installation tool runs on the physical hardware being updated. An example is a utility that is executed on a server to update its system ROM. A remote installation means the installation tool runs on one system but updates other physical targets. An example is where the OA firmware can be updated across the network by uploading a firmware .bin file to OA through a web browser. The physical tool runs on a workstation, but remotely updates the OA. An online installation means the installation takes place while the host processor is running in the customer's normal environment. For instance, if the customer runs Microsoft Windows Server 2003, the update takes place under this environment and does not require the user to boot to a special environment to update the firmware .

9 An online installation does not mean that a reboot may not be necessary for the firmware to be activated. An offline installation means the installation takes place while the server is booted to a special environment that prevents the user from doing normal operations until the firmware update operations are completed and server is rebooted. An example is when a customer boots to the firmware Maintenance CD to deploy Emulex, QLogic, and Brocade Fibre Channel HBA firmware updates. These updates require that no I/O operations are done through the adapters while they are being updated, and the only way to ensure this is to boot to a special environment.

10 These terms can be used interchangeably to designate the type of environment required for firmware updates to occur, such as local-online or remote-online. Available tools to update HP BladeSystem firmware The recommended tools to use for deployment of firmware are as follows: HP Smart Update Manager (HP SUM). Virtual Connect Support Utility for Virtual Connect firmware Individual Smart Components HP Smart Update Manager (HP SUM). HP Smart Update Manager (HP SUM) is the primary deployment tool that should be used to update firmware on HP BladeSystem enclosures. HP SUM is designed for maximum flexibility and is shipped within the HP ProLiant Support Pack, firmware Maintenance CD, HP BladeSystem firmware Deployment Tool, and HP BladeSystem Online firmware Update Bundles for Windows and Linux.