OpenManage Integration for VMware vCenter with Dell Repository Manager Firmware update lifecycle and baseline management using Dell Repository Manager in a VMware vCenter environment Irfan Azam Sangita Pandit October 2013 A Dell Technical White Paper
Revisions (2.0) Date Description August 2013 Initial release October 2013 Ported to Dell template THIS WHITE PAPER 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. © 2013 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this material in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of Dell Inc. is strictly forbidden. For more information, contact Dell.
Table of contents Revisions (2.0) .................................................................................................................................................................................... 2 Executive summary .......................................................................................................................................................................... 4 1 Introduction ........................................................................................
Executive summary The OpenManage Integration for VMware vCenter virtual appliance is a tool for keeping Dell hosts in vCenter environments up to date with the latest firmware from Dell or for applying the latest firmware baseline recommended by your organization.
1 Introduction The OpenManage Integration for VMware vCenter remotely updates Dell PowerEdge 11th and 12th generation servers by leveraging the Dell Lifecycle Controller using the Dell iDRAC. The OpenManage Integration for VMware vCenter provides a Firmware Update wizard on the server management tab to make selection and application of updates easy and convenient.
2 Using Dell Repository Manager Dell Repository Manager is available free, online. Dell Repository Manager lets you easily manage system updates and provides a searchable interface used to create custom collections known as bundles and repositories of Dell Update Packages (DUPs).These bundles and repositories allow for the deployment of multiple firmware updates at once. 2.
With the OpenManage Integration for VMware vCenter is configured to consume that local repository, once new updates are made available in your local repository with DRM, OpenManage Integration for VMware vCenter matches hosts in your environment against your custom baselines and deploys updates directly from the Dell Repository Manager repository. For more information on Dell Repository Manager integration with the OpenManage Integration for VMware vCenter, see its documentation. 2.
3 Using Repository Updates in the OpenManage Integration for VMware vCenter Before performing firmware updates, make sure that all hosts have been inventoried and are at a firmware level that allows remote firmware update. See the OpenManage Integration for VMware vCenter User’s Guide for more information. 3.
Figure 2 Select the Shared Network Folder option After selecting the Shared Network Folder option, enter the share location and credentials for the share hosting the repository created by Dell Repository Manager. If entering in the share location by name instead of IP, make sure the DNS settings are configured in the appliance.
Figure 4 Performing an update from the repository Select Update from repository option, the configured repository path should match the custom repository. Figure 5 Select Update from repository Click Next and the OpenManage Integration for VMware vCenter loads the bundles from the custom repository. Select the bundle for your host and click Next. You can configure bundle names inside Dell Repository Manager to make bundle selection between multiple bundles easier.
4 Checking datacenter or cluster view for out-of-date firmware Clicking on a datacenter or cluster inside the Hosts and Clusters view in vSphere and using the Dell Server Management tab allows a high level view of host status. Figure 6 High level host status view Use the drop-down menu to select firmware and use the search bar to filter for specific devices like Bios or versions of firmware.
5 Updating a custom repository using Dell Repository Manager 5.1 Getting updates from ftp.dell.com Dell Repository Manager makes it easy to check your local repository for updates against updates posted on ftp.dell.com. With update and compare functionality on a bundle-by-bundle basis, Dell Repository Manager is the best tool to establish custom baselines for your virtualized environment’s firmware and keep it up to date.
6 Conclusion Creating custom repositories lets you manage your firmware update lifecycle directly. Custom repositories let you pick and choose which updates are available to hosts inside their environment. Keeping a custom repository is useful if iDRACs in the environment do not have direct access to ftp.dell.com.
