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Dell SCUP Catalog Issues...
I have recently attempted to start using Dell's SCUP catalog to update the BIOS on several machines. I am extreemly disappointed with the quality of this catalog. i have found numerous errors in the updates.
First issue: The Dell OpenManage Inventory Agent that is required to be able to detect the other updates can not be installed because the WMI Query in the Installable rule is complete nonsense for example here is a part of the query that will not work:
SELECT * FROM Win32_ComputerSystem WHERE (Manufacturer >= 'Dell' AND Manufacturer < 'Dell~' ) AND (((Model > 'Latitude 2110') AND (Model < 'Latitude 2110~')) OR ((Model = 'Latitude 2110')) OR AND (((Model > 'Latitude 2120')....
Here is what i had to do to fix it.. the items in RED were removed thoughout the enire query:
SELECT * FROM Win32_ComputerSystem WHERE (Manufacturer >= 'Dell' AND Manufacturer < 'Dell~' ) AND (((Model > 'Latitude 2110') AND (Model < 'Latitude 2110~')) OR ((Model = 'Latitude 2110')) OR AND (((Model > 'Latitude 2120')....
Second Issue: The installed rule for theInventory Againt is not valid whatsoever. It checks to see if a product is installed using a product code, but this product code is wrong, it is not for the current inventory agent that is installed. The one the update states that is needed is: B6580CF4-2FDC-4e1c-823F-5F02F4AB80FB which does not work, the correct one that i found after installing and troubleshooting is: 27bf295b-304b-4efa-8139-07209a063ae4. also in the same installed rule there is a minimum version listed as 1.4.1 which is again completely wrong. SCUP Requires 4 part version numbers. I just removed this to get the update working...
The next issue i found after getting all that working is that some updates do not have valid download links. for example, the catalog has the BIOS for the OptiPlex 960 version A13 with a download link of: ftp://ftp.dell.com/bios/O960A13.EXE. So I then went browsing the ftp site and looked around and found multiple additional issues… First, The FTP site does not even have the update on it! The latest update for the Optiplex 960 is A11. Second, the catalog is not using the correct format for the links (at least for the OptiPlex 960). Here is the closest link for the update I found: ftp://ftp.dell.com/bios/O960-A11.EXE (Notice the hyphen not in the link above).
The one last thing that i noticed is that the catalog does not even contain the latest updates, as stated the OptiPlex 960 is version A13, but on Dells driver download webpage, A14 is there!
I dont understad how can Dell publish such a mess of a file for public consumption. It is completely clear that No one tested this at all or ran it though any sort of test environment. I am fairly familiar with SCUP and am able to work around and fix the issues, but i can see this being very frustrating for people less familiar with it/just starting out with SCCM/SCUP.
The worst part of this whole situation is there is no way listed anywhere to contact anyone involved with any of this to try and get it fixed. Yes i can call tech support and get transferred around to 15 different departments before they get me where i need to go, but i dont have time for that. Even my Dell rep is having a hard time trying to get this to the right place which is why i am posting it here hoping someone will see it and get it fixed.
DELL-Warren B
1.1K Posts
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February 23rd, 2012 08:00
TDiBuono,
Thanks for the feedback. I've forwarded it to the Catalog team.
TDiBuono
10 Posts
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February 23rd, 2012 10:00
Warren,
Thanks, i appreciate the response! Like i said its hard to figure out how to get things to the right people when they arent specifically related to a computer or server...
DELL-Warren B
1.1K Posts
0
February 23rd, 2012 11:00
TDiBuono,
The Catalog team has confirmed that the issues you mentioned have been addressed in the next version of the catalog which should be posted to the web very soon.
TDiBuono
10 Posts
0
February 23rd, 2012 12:00
Just curious, but is there a schedule or any way to know when to expect catalog updates from Dell?
Thanks
Tom
DELL-Warren B
1.1K Posts
0
February 23rd, 2012 13:00
I usually recommend that customers check every month when they are preparing for Microsoft's patch Tuesday. I think we release catalogs more frequently than that, but this strategy allows customers to streamline Dell updates into their patch cycle.
Clint11
57 Posts
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February 23rd, 2012 18:00
@TDiBuono
Don't bother looking in ftp://ftp.dell.com/bios for recent BIOS updates. Dell changed their download system a while back and now BIOS updates are put in random folders. Since it takes a bajillion clicks to get through the system, I started documenting direct links on the TechCenter wiki but I haven't made a whole lot of progress yet.
TDiBuono
10 Posts
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February 24th, 2012 07:00
Clint,
It really doesnt matter to me what the structure of the FTP site is as long as the catalog points to the right file, but it doesnt. it points to the bios file indicated above which does not exist. if i was to ever download a bios manually, i would probably just use the website since it provides additional info on the updates.
Your message does bring up an interesting point.. if the ftp site now has updates in random folders, that must put some additional burden on the people creating the catalog to find these files...
Thanks
Tom
f.weiss
2 Posts
0
May 11th, 2012 03:00
I have the problem with the he Dell OpenManage Inventory Client Agent, too. If i deploy the Client it installs correctly (MSI part), but after Installation the verification goes wrong and Update Status is failed. Update Result in UpdatesDeployment.log is 0x80040668.
Maybe there is some problem TDiBuono described with the MSI Product code or minimum Version listed...
May somebody help me to get rid of this problem?
thanks!
Florian
DELL-Warren B
1.1K Posts
0
May 11th, 2012 08:00
I'm checking to see if something has changed with OMIA.
DELL-Warren B
1.1K Posts
0
May 11th, 2012 09:00
Florian,
Thanks for the additional details. I've forwarded them to the appropriate team.
f.weiss
2 Posts
0
May 11th, 2012 09:00
Hello Warren thank you for the fast reply! In the moment i found the Problem:
In "Installed Rules" I changed the product code from 3b67085d-16cb-4cb9-bb8e-918020357e94 to: 13bfd047-c20b-455c-8c17-db6ff0e39e68 and removed the "minimum Version" 1.4.0. The SCUP Console cant handle the the 3 Version Numbers - it must be 4 - i don´t know why this makes no sense for me either.
Regards
Florian
angie_stahl
4 Posts
0
May 11th, 2012 14:00
Florian,
Its very important to provide the Update Unique ID when identifying issues with rules logic. I have checked the latests OMIA Release (Unique ID: d5d65c23-e800-4568-b388-2fcf84ba088d) as well as the provided binary payload file (DSIAPC_1.4.1.295.msi) and confirmed that the product code for that Updates Unique ID is {3B67085D-16CB-4cb9-BB8E-918020357E94} and the Installed Rule is correct. In addition there is no Installed version rule in this particular release of Dell OMIA.
Also I strongly recommended as a Best Practice that when you find a need to modify an update released by a vendor catalog that you duplicate the update first and modify the copy not the original update. This will prevent you from having your modifications overwritten by a subsequent catalog import of that vendors catalog.
Please feel free to reach out to me for any issues with the Dell Product Catalog and Ill make sure the issue gets in front of the right team. Im actually on the Dell Services IT Team but consume the catalog just like you do!
Thanks
Angie
dsproule
4 Posts
0
May 13th, 2012 22:00
I have had the same issue with the installed rule looking for the wrong product ID
rule looking for 3b67085d-16cb-4cb9-bb8e-918020357e94 but when installed its
13BFD047-C20B-455c-8C17-DB6FF0E39E68
unique ID is 676c6e0e-3260-4632-946f-309836590124
DSIAPC_1.4.1.299.msi
seems to be an ongoing issue
Cheers
Dan
raghunb
9 Posts
0
May 15th, 2012 04:00
Latest catalog has been posted to ftp.dell.com with fixes.
Cheers,
Raghunandan
dsproule
4 Posts
0
May 15th, 2012 17:00
Hi
Imported latest catalog and nothing has changed with that file Dell OpenManage Inventory Agent (for Dell Business Client Systems) DSIAPC_1.4.1.299.msi still showing same product ID as mentioned above. So installed rule will fail
Dan