Updating BIOS on Dell 12G PowerEdge Servers Author(s) Wei Liu Raja Tamilarasan
Updating BIOS on Dell 12G PowerEdge Servers This document is for informational purposes only and may contain typographical errors and technical inaccuracies. The content is provided as is, without express or implied warranties of any kind. © 2012 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. Dell and its affiliates cannot be responsible for errors or omissions in typography or photography. Dell, the Dell logo, and PowerEdge are trademarks of Dell Inc.
Updating BIOS on Dell 12G PowerEdge Servers Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................. 5 1:1 Updates ................................................................................................................. 5 BIOS DUP (Dell Update Package) from the Operating System (OS) ............................................ 5 Windows DUP ....................................................................................
Updating BIOS on Dell 12G PowerEdge Servers Figure 17. Remote Firmware Update ..............................................................................
Updating BIOS on Dell 12G PowerEdge Servers Introduction Customers using the 12th generation Dell PowerEdge Servers have a variety of ways to update the system BIOS. Customers can use any of the following methods, based on their needs and environment.
Updating BIOS on Dell 12G PowerEdge Servers Figure 1. Windows DUP 3. Click Install. 4. Follow the remaining prompts to perform the update (Figure 2).
Updating BIOS on Dell 12G PowerEdge Servers Figure 2. After DUP installation, a system reboot is required for the update to be staged 5. The system will reboot and launch Lifecycle Controller (Figure 3).
Updating BIOS on Dell 12G PowerEdge Servers Figure 3. System reboots to Lifecycle Controller 6. The Lifecycle Controller will invoke the BIOS update (Figure 4). This may take a few minutes. After the BIOS is updated, a system reboot will automatically take place and boot back to the host operating system.
Updating BIOS on Dell 12G PowerEdge Servers Figure 4. The BIOS update inside Lifecycle Controller Linux DUP Installation steps: 1. Read over the release information presented by executing the "./PER710_BIOS_LX_6.0.7.BIN" command from the shell. 2. Run the update by executing "./PER710_BIOS_LX_6.0.7.BIN" from the shell (Figure 5).
Updating BIOS on Dell 12G PowerEdge Servers Figure 5. Linux DUP 3. Follow the remaining prompts to perform the update. 4. The system will reboot and launch Lifecycle Controller (Figure 3). 5. The Lifecycle Controller will invoke the BIOS update (Figure 4). This may take a few minutes. After the BIOS is updated, a system reboot will automatically take place and boot back to the host operating system.
Updating BIOS on Dell 12G PowerEdge Servers 4. Copy the file to the bootable device. 5. Boot the system to DOS by using the bootable device. 6. Run the executable under DOS. Follow the instructions provided by the flash utility. Figure 6 is a snapshot of the DOS flash utility. The update will take a minute or so, and a system reboot is required after the update is completed. Figure 6.
Updating BIOS on Dell 12G PowerEdge Servers 2. Plug in the USB key and power on the system. Press F11 during POST to enter BIOS Boot Manager (Figure 7). Figure 7. BIOS Boot Manager 3. Click UEFI Boot Menu and choose the UEFI-bootable USB key to boot. 4. From the UEFI shell prompt, locate the file system for the USB key, and launch the BIOS flash utility (Figure 8).
Updating BIOS on Dell 12G PowerEdge Servers Figure 8. Flash BIOS in UEFI shell 5. Follow the on-screen instruction to update the BIOS (Figure 9 and Figure 10).
Updating BIOS on Dell 12G PowerEdge Servers Figure 9.
Updating BIOS on Dell 12G PowerEdge Servers Figure 10. UEFI-based BIOS flash utility Load the BIOS Flash Utility from BIOS Boot Manager In case you don’t have a UEFI shell, you can still use the following method to update the BIOS using the UEFI BIOS flash utility. 1. Copy the downloaded UEFI BIOS flash utility (.efi) to a USB key. 2. Plug in the USB key and power on the server. Press F11 during POST to enter the BIOS Boot Manager (Figure 7). 3.
Updating BIOS on Dell 12G PowerEdge Servers Figure 11. BIOS Update File Explorer 4. Select the USB key, and navigate through the directory contents to find the UEFI BIOS flash utility (for example, R720-010100.efi) (Figure 12).
Updating BIOS on Dell 12G PowerEdge Servers Figure 12. Use BIOS Update File Explorer to select the BIOS UEFI flash utility file to update 5. The BIOS flash utility will launch when you select the file and press Enter. Then follow the onscreen instructions to update the BIOS (Figure 9 and Figure 10). Update BIOS via Lifecycle Controller (F10) Lifecycle Controller provides a Platform Update wizard that can be used to flash the BIOS and other firmware as well.
Updating BIOS on Dell 12G PowerEdge Servers Figure 13. Lifecycle Controller screen after pressing F10 during POST 1. Click on Platform Update Launch Platform Update (Figure 14). Figure 14. Platform Update screen 2. Select Local Drive (Figure 15).
Updating BIOS on Dell 12G PowerEdge Servers Figure 15. Select Update Repository in Platform Update 3. Select your USB device from the Local Drive drop-down list. Type in the name of the DUP (for example, BIOS_VTR78_WN32_1.1.0.EXE) to be used to update.
Updating BIOS on Dell 12G PowerEdge Servers Figure 16. Select the local drive and type in the DUP file to use 6. Click Next and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the BIOS update. 1:Many Updates Remote BIOS Update using WSMAN The option discussed here is a remote BIOS update feature using a CIM method based on the DMTF standard through the WSMAN protocol, a network transport service that enables the user to access a number of CIM-style data access methods supported by the target platform.
Updating BIOS on Dell 12G PowerEdge Servers Figure 17. 1 Remote Firmware Update Client/Application 3 Update Repository WSMAN over SSL FTP / HTTP / TFTP / NFS / CIFS Download 2 Target System Figure 17 shows the pictorial view of the environment. It starts with the administrator (1) running scripts to send WSMAN commands through an SSL connection. The target system (2) is equipped with iDRAC, which is the management controller with advanced capabilities.
Updating BIOS on Dell 12G PowerEdge Servers 4. Verify that Python version [2.7] is installed on your system. If you need help with this, refer to Python Home. 5. Download the Python scripts from [Click Here]. a. [fw_inventory.py] b. [fwupdate.py] c. [fw_poll.py] Performing a firmware update on your system The remote firmware update process involves the following steps: 1. Get Firmware Information Installed on your System 2. Begin the Update Process 3.
Updating BIOS on Dell 12G PowerEdge Servers A sample output: OPTION Component 1(update) FRMW Installed 26018 0.12 BP12G+ 0:2 2(update) FRMW Installed 68138 D505 3(update) FRMW Installed Empty 7.0.21 Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet 4(update) FRMW Installed Empty 7.0.21 Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet 5(update) BIOS Installed 159 1.0.4 BIOS 6(update) FRMW Installed Empty 7.0.21 Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet 7(update) FRMW Installed 26041 03.10.13 Power Supply.
Updating BIOS on Dell 12G PowerEdge Servers 1. On running the fwupdate.py script, you will be prompted for the following: Enter iDRAC IP Address: [iDRAC IP] Enter User Name: [USER NAME] Enter User Password: [PASSWORD] The first argument is the IP address of the iDRAC on the target system. The second is the user name. If the user is an AD account, then the syntax is “USER@DOMAIN.” The third argument is the user password. 2.
Updating BIOS on Dell 12G PowerEdge Servers 6. To perform a firmware update, select one of the options that are available for updating. 1 (update) BIOS Installed 159 1.0.4 BIOS 7. The script will prompt for the location of the Dell Update Package (DUP) to be used. This location is called the Update Repository; see item 3 in Error! Reference source not found..
Updating BIOS on Dell 12G PowerEdge Servers 2 = Graceful shutdown and reboot (Recommended) 3 = Forceful shutdown if graceful shutdown does not succeed 4 = No reboot 9. The script prompts for deleting all existing jobs in iDRAC. Dell recommends that you choose “yes” to have a clean start. Erase all previous jobs stored in the iDRAC? (yes/no) yes Deleting all iDRAC jobs Completed job deletion 10. The script prompts you to specify the start time for the job.
Updating BIOS on Dell 12G PowerEdge Servers A sample output of a failed command: The command failed with error code: CMPI_RC_ERR_INVALID_PARAMETER If the command fails, verify that the InstanceID you provided is accurate by comparing it with the output from the previous step. Compare each character. Characters are case-sensitive. Also, check the accuracy of the source URI. Ensure that it is accessible with proper permission. Once verified, try the command again. 13.
Updating BIOS on Dell 12G PowerEdge Servers Enter a number to poll JobID or to exit. (1,2,etc): 1 JobStatus = Scheduled Message = Task successfully scheduled. MessageArguments = NA MessageID = JCP001 Name = update:DCIM:INSTALLED#701__BIOS.Setup.1-1 Repeat get JobStatus command for JID_267336093962? (yes, no): Select the number corresponding to your job and it will list of the current status of the job. The script performs two steps.
Updating BIOS on Dell 12G PowerEdge Servers IT administrator to take inventory, perform configuration and monitoring tasks, remotely power on/off blades, and enable alerts for events on servers and components in the blade chassis. For more information on performing updates using the Dell Chassis Management Controller, refer to the following link: http://en.community.dell.com/techcenter/systems-management/w/wiki/dell-chassis-managementcontroller.
