User's Manual

Performing BIOS And Firmware Updates Using

Dell Linux Online Repository

You can update the system to the latest version or to a specific version of the BIOS and firmware available in the Dell

Linux online repository. The updates are available in the RPM Package Manager (RPM) format. RPM is a standard

package format for software updates specific to Linux operating systems. You can inventory the system, scan the

repository for matching firmware with newer version using repository management software such as Yellowdog

Updater, Modified (YUM), rug, and zypper. The repository management software supports the following operating

systems:

• Yum: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.8 (x86_32, x86_64) and 6.3 (x86_64)

• Rug: SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP4 (x86_64)

• Zypper: SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP2 (x86_64)

Firmware-tools are used to update BIOS and firmware on the system. With firmware-tools, the RPM-based BIOS and

firmware updates are available along with the packages containing the tools to install those updates. Using a repository

management software, you can easily update the BIOS and firmware to the latest or specific versions on the system.

The latest BIOS and firmware updates are available at the Dell OM Linux Repository website at linux.dell.com/repo/

hardware/latest/.

To update BIOS and firmware for the system:

• Setup or bootstrap the repository.

• Install firmware-tools.

• Download applicable firmware.

• Update BIOS and firmware.

Setting Up or Bootstrapping the Repository

To setup or bootstrap the Dell Linux online repository, run the following command at the command prompt:

• wget -q -O - http://linux.dell.com/repo/hardware/latest/bootstrap.cgi | bash | bash

• The system is configured to access the Dell Linux online repository using supported repository management

software. The Dell GPG keys and libsmbios (BIOS library) are also installed.

Creating a Local Mirror

To create a local mirror of the Dell Linux online repository, use the following command:

rsync://linux.dell.com/repo/hardware

NOTE: The Dell Linux repository contains .htaccess files. To enable Apache system to recognize these, you must

allow overrides for the directory that contains the Dell Linux repository.