Updating iDRAC 7 firmware on PowerEdge R720

Hello

Yes, the version you are looking at appears to be the correct one. The iDRAC7 and LCC were two separate updates when the R720 was first released. Starting with version 2.0 of the iDRAC firmware it was a combined update. You should use the version under the category "iDRAC with LifeCycle Controller".

It is best to keep all firmware and BIOS up to date, but if there are no stipulations in the firmware release notes or important note section about BIOS version or any other requirements you should not need to update the BIOS.

Thanks

Thanks for the reply.  That being said, if I apply the iDRAC with Lifecycle Management firmware, does that require just a restart of the management processor or a restart of the whole server/operating system?

Thanks,
Joe

A system restart is not required. The iDRAC/LCC must be restarted, but it can be restarted independent of the system. This is covered in more detail in the iDRAC/LCC manual. It looks like the latest manual is on the iDRAC/LCC 2.60.60.60, page 66 covers whether or not restarts are required for iDRAC updates.

http://www.dell.com/idracmanuals/

Thanks.  Finally, is support for Server 2008 R2 dropped?  Lists supported OSs as 2012 R2 and 2016.

Thanks,
Joe

As you have old FW for BIOS and iDRAC it is recommended to perform staged update of both iDRAC and BIOS in parallel. I would recommend to choose one FW from each year based on  release date and perform staged update. You can go to Version section on support site to get release date and link for old releases. Also ensure you are updating BIOS and iDRAC in parallel one after another.

Typically there will not be any boot issue while updating BIOS and iDRAC firmware. But there are some instances reported in this forum where boot issues are observed after firmware u[date. Hence it is good practice to backup your data before carrying out any maintenance tasks on the server.

I have 2 servers: PowerEdge R720xd

System Revision: I
BIOS Version: 1.3.6
Firmware Version: 1.23.23 (Build 01)
Lifecycle Controller Firmware: 1.0.8.42

The support has already ended, so I ask for help here

I can install iDRAC with Lifecycle Controller version 2.65.65.65?

I downloaded the file iDRAC_2.65.65.65_A00.exe follow the link:
https://www.dell.com/support/home/ru-ru/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=0ghf4&oscode=ws8r2&productcode=poweredge-r720xd

I uploaded the file firmimg.d7 from the archive to my iDRAC, via iDRAC Settings-iDRAC Firmware Update.

The system recognized the update file, but I am afraid to update it, because I am not sure that it is possible to upgrade from the old version to the latest version without errors.

Maybe me need to install the update in stages, as indicated for example on this forum:

https://www.dell.com/community/Systems-Management-General/iDRAC7-Upgrade-Path/td-p/7388413

Do I need to update both the iDRAC and the BIOS, or can I only update the iDRAC?

Here on the forum I read that when updating iDRAC, the system itself does not reboot, the servers are working, so this is very critical

Please specify whether I understood correctly?

Text through the translator, if there are errors, please forgive me

BIOS can be updated using iDRAC. You can refer "Updating Firmware Using iDRAC7 Web Interface " section on page 54 of below link for details. 

https://dl.dell.com/topicspdf/integrated-dell-remote-access-cntrllr-7-v1.50.50_users-guide_en-us.pdf 

Updating BIOS need a reboot of the serve and updating iDRAC Firmware does not require a reboot of the server.

Most of the time when update fails only update operation get failed and will not impact the server.

Еhank you for your answers, I thought it would need to be updated in stages

Is the BIOS updated via iDRAC?

Will this operation require a reboot of the entire system?

Vmware ESXi is installed on the server.

Due to update errors, how likely is it that the server will stop loading?

The reason for my update is actually that I can't monitor the state of the server through the Zabbix monitoring system, either via SNMP or IPMI

When monitoring over SNMP, the response is returned: "There is no such object available on this agent in this OID"

When trying to monitor via IPMI, an error appears: "cannot connect to IPMI host: [16777411] Unknown error 16777411".

So I decided to update the iDRAC version

Hello All,

Looking for some sound advice on same topic. I have a t420 with BIOS(2.9.0) iDrac(1.46.45Build 04) and LC(1.1.5.165). Whats the safest route to upgrade iDrac to current? Gotten tired of java issuses, etc with virtual console. So far everything has been fine for years. I might have to mention i did flash the Perc H710 to HBA mode which i'll assume should be dissconnected during the upgrade?. Other than that everything is oem. Any ideas? Thanks.

Hello,

The method that I've had most success with was to update to 1.66.65, then to 2.10.10.10, then finally, to the current revision. 1.66.65 was the last version before switching over to the 2.x.x.x versions. As for what to expect with the H710 on IT mode firmware, I don't have the knowledge to comment on it, I'm afraid. I wouldn't expect it to be an issue, but it isn't our firmware and I don't have experience with it. I can't speak authoritatively on that piece.

The order below is what I would do, but you can break that upgrade path down even further using the Support site, if you'd rather. Let me know if this helps!

Lifecycle Controller 1.4.2: https://dell.to/3t3xDDg

iDRAC7 1.66.65: https://dell.to/3mu3CKx;

iDRAC 2.10.10.10: https://dell.to/3tebjXC

iDRAC 2.65.65.65: https://dell.to/3d1rOkl

I would recommend against downgrading the firmware. You should be able to do so safely, however.

More than happy to help out, though!

Mobo is safe and all seems to be stable for now. I did notice the L.C. firm took 2:10mins then the iDrac 1.66 took 8:15mins which created some anxiety. iDrac 2.10 took 11:26mins("please don't die") and 2.65 took 13:07mins(gut wrenching). I checked system after each step, but noticed 2.10 seems much faster or lighter than 2.65. From cold booting ("Configuring iDrac....Done"), to Virtual console loading,which sometimes hangs. Can I safely return to 2.10 or should I not wake the sleeping giant? My only other "complaint is that fan runs much faster now as well. Before, Proxmox loaded with no running vm's 980rpm. Super quiet. Now 2160rpm, so I can finally hear it over my desktop next to it.

Big thanks for the help Dell-DylanJ!

Hello,

I have 15 Dell R720 servers, I got them with the old iDRAC firmware 1.66.65. I started updating 2 servers to the next 2.10.10.10, after which they stopped responding only after 1 hour they came to life, this is a long time, since the iDRAC update takes 10-15 minutes. Therefore, I decided to go into the BIOS to see if nothing happened, when it was turned on, it showed that the LC was turned off, went into the settings in the iDRAC and turned it on and saved. But after restarting the servers, they were still turned off. I went in again and tried to turn it on, but after restarting it still turned off, after several repetitions of turning it on, it was decided to reset the iDRAC. During the reset, the process reached 99% and started from the beginning, after about an hour of time and 4 such cycles, it was decided to press cancel. When viewing the iDRAC settings, a reset was performed, but the LC did not turn on. I decided to reboot it and during power-on the message "iDRAC not responding" appeared. I decided to figure out why, this is happening and started looking at LC Log in other servers in which I had not yet updated the firmware, and found that:

1) in 2018 it was updated with iDRAC version 2.52.52.52 BIOS version 2.4.3 and in this state the server worked for a whole year.

2) but a year later in 2019, it was updated again, but now for some reason to the older iDRAC firmware 1.66.65.00 which was still without LC and BIOS 2.6.1

on the same day the server is updated with iDRAC to 2.63.60.62 and BIOS 2.7.0 and the next day rolls back the iDRAC firmware to 1.66.65.00

while LC remained at 2.63.60.62 BIOS 2.7.0 firmware. And in this state, I have these servers at the moment.

Tell me how I can better update the iDRAC firmware to the latest version and not lose the server. Since already in 2 servers I have lost iDRAC.

LC has the ability to rollback to version 2.63.60.62. 

do i need to roll back iDRAC to 2.63.60.62? 

Or do I need to downgrade the BIOS to version 2.2.2 and the LC firmware to version 1.4.2 to align the firmware to the same release time and then continue to update iDRAC and BIOS to the latest versions by rotation?