Firmware Update

Select Blade Tasks → Firmware Update to update some types of firmware on a blade server.

Important:
  • Some cluster solutions require specific code levels or coordinated code updates. If the device is part of a cluster solution, verify that the latest level of code is supported for the cluster solution before you update the code.
  • All blade servers in a scalable complex must be at the same firmware level. See Firmware Multi-flash for information about performing a coordinated update of firmware for multiple blade servers.

Use this page to update the firmware on a specific blade server. Currently, the blade server Blade System Management Processor (BSMP) or service processor firmware can be updated on most blade server types by using this page. Blade server BIOS or Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) update is also supported by this page for some blade server types. This page does not support the update of blade server BIOS for most blade servers, or the update of diagnostics, network adapter or cKVM adapter firmware. See the documentation that comes with your firmware update for detailed information and instructions about updating firmware.

Graphic illustrating the blade server firmware update page.

Select the target blade server and the firmware file to use for the update; then, click Update. If more than one blade server is installed in the BladeCenter unit that supports multi-flash firmware update, multiple blades of the same type can be selected (see Firmware Multi-flash for additional information). If scalable complexes are enabled for your BladeCenter unit (the default setting), all blade servers that are in the complex with the blade server that you selected will be selected automatically. Deselecting any blade servers in the scalable complex will cause all of the blade servers in that complex to deselect. If scalable complexes are disabled for your BladeCenter unit, you can select and deselect the check boxes for multiple multi-flash capable blade servers of the same type to perform a simultaneous firmware update.

You can obtain the firmware files from http://www.ibm.com/systems/support/.

The Remote File method enables you to specify the fully qualified address of the firmware packet file for updating the BSMP firmware. The fully qualified address contains a protocol that is supported by the advanced management module followed by a colon and two forward slashes (//), the username and password separated by a colon for login authentication, an @ sign followed by the hostname or IP address, an optional port number, and the full path file name.
Note: If the port number is specified, it must be separated from the hostname (or IP address) by a colon.

The complete format is: protocol://username:password@hostname:port/path/filename

The advanced management module supports the following protocols:
  • tftp
  • ftp
  • ftps
  • http
  • https
An example of a fully qualified address is: 
                  ftp://USERID:PASSW0RD@192.168.0.2:30045/tmp/CNETCMUS.pkt
In this example, the ftp protocol will be used for transferring the packet file, the username is USERID, password is PASSW0RD, host IP address (IPv4) is 192.168.0.2, port number is 30045, and /tmp is the full pathname to the packet file CNETCMUS.pkt.

Some protocols do not need the username, password, and the port number, so the minimum requirement for a fully qualified address can be:

protocol://hostname/path/filename

To update advanced management module firmware by using a remote file, complete the following steps:
  1. Check the Remote File checkbox.
  2. Type in a fully qualified address in the textbox.
  3. Click either the Update or Update and Reboot push button.
Note: If you are using a hostname instead of an IP address to specify a remote file, make sure DNS is enabled.
Parent topic: Blade Tasks