R620 iDRAC issues with upgrade process

Question

I'm tinkering with a PowerVault 4000 which apparently contains some R620 under the hood.

I've been doing my reading before opening this discussion. I had one successful iDRAC upgrade and the rest have had to be rolled back.

The system started with BIOS 2.4.3 and iDRAC 1.57.57 (and later I noticed on logs that Life Cycle Controller was 1.4.2.12)

I upgraded iDRAC to 1.66.65 with no issues.

I tried to follow suggestions from both Dell Community (and Reddit) to go to 2.10.10 next. The upgrade happened and the iDRAC came back but the server would not turn back on. I rolled back iDRAC to 1.66.65

I upgraded the BIOS 2.4.3 > 2.5.2 > 2.5.4 (eventually)

I attempted to appy iDRAC versions 2.21.21 and 2.30.30 at one point since the Life Cycle Controller was at 2.10.10 (each time LCC upgrades, but iDRAC needs rolled back so the server will power on).

Currently BIOS 2.5.4, iDRAC 1.66.65, and LCC 2.30.30.30

Suggestions?

Thank you!

References

https://www.dell.com/community/en/conversations/rack-servers/idrac-upgrade-path-on-r620/647f9467f4ccf8a8de6ae677

https://www.dell.com/community/en/conversations/systems-management-general/r620-idrac-firmware-updates/647f7ddbf4ccf8a8dec4b31a?keyword=r620%20idrac

https://www.dell.com/community/en/conversations/poweredge-hardware-general/poweredge-r620-idrac-update-through-sd-card/647fa209f4ccf8a8de76cbae?keyword=r620%20idrac

MB_300 · Accepted Answer

The power supplies for the R620 generation are the same dimensions as the R720. However somehow the PSUs had been swapped around. I found PSUs that the R620 (DL4000) supported in a R720. 🤷‍♂️

Once I swapped around the PSUs I have been able to update the DL4000 to the latest iDRAC firmware.

The system I have still had the Dell BIOS splash page so I don't feel I was "de-branding". It may still be considered de-branding and I won't argue that point.

For others that might find this, to locate at least a partial list of compatible PSUs look at the Dell Part Number (DPN) SKUs on the drivers page. (See more on this at the bottom.)

If anyone else happens to have OEM or rebranded hardware, look it up by the Service Tag and click on View product specs on the right. Search for sections containing motherboard as that's likely to include the OEM hardware model. Below is an example.

ASSY,PWA,PLN,SV,DELL,R620,V6

I found that the rebranded models don't have all the software/drivers listed anymore, but the OEM ones do. Perform this at your risk, but based on my experience the rebranded will have nearly the exact same drivers/firmware. Armed with this a person can download the images for OEM and apply them.

https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/product-support/product/poweredge-r620/drivers

Filter for Power, Click Show All at the bottom (for a full list)

Within the list there are "PN:" and those are the Dell Part Numbers that are compatible (or should be).

Cross check your installed DPNs against those that are supported.

DELL-Young E · Answer

Hello, thanks for choosing Dell. Could you also refer to this doc? https://dell.to/47VcgIb Repsectfully,

MB_300 · Answer

Hello @DELL-Young E

Thank you for the link to the iDRAC recovery steps.

I'll give the SD card method a try.

Why wouldn't the web upload method work just as well?

No front vFlash SD card slot is present on the DL4000 configuration like described for the R620.
https://www.dell.com/community/en/conversations/poweredge-hardware-general/poweredge-r620-idrac-update-through-sd-card/647fa209f4ccf8a8de76cbae
The only SD card slot I can find is on the hard-drive backplane (page 59).
https://dl.dell.com/topicspdf/powervault-dl4000_owners-manual_en-us.pdf

I found a non-Dell source where someone confirmed the DL4000 is based on the R620 so those downloads should be compatible.
https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/product-support/product/poweredge-r620/drivers

MB_300 · Answer

Hello @DELL-Young E

The only time the system health LED has flashed is when I have the case lid off to access the vFlash SD card slot on the hard drive backplane.

So far the system health LED is not flashing in response to the SD card insertion and does not turn solid amber. I've waited many minutes along with trying SD cards with both vfat and ext3.

I went back to try the iDRAC web update method. Although the iDRAC does update and is reachable via web, the system health LED is flashing amber and [I'm concluding] the Lifecycle Controller is angry [preventing power on from physical power button push].

RED063: The iDRAC firmware updated successfully. Previous version: 1.66.65, Current version: 2.10.10
PR36: Version change detected for Lifecycle Controller firmware. Previous version:2.30.30.30, Current version:2.10.10.10
PSU0006: Power supply 1 is incorrectly configured.
PSU0006: Power supply 2 is incorrectly configured.

-- had to rollback to get it to power on so iDRAC7 goes back to version 1.66.65

Thoughts?

Thank you!

DELL-Young E · Answer

Hello @MB_300 have you proceeded with the recovery I was mentioning above yet? Would you be able to get back to us afterwards? Respectfully,

MB_300 · Answer

Hello @DELL-Young E ,

Yes, I tried the recovery steps.

I inserted an SD card in the card slot on the HDD backplane after copying the firmimg.d7 file. The system did not appear to pick it up after waiting 10 to 20 minutes.

Thank you.

DELL-Chris H · Answer

MB_300,   The SD on the backplane wouldn't work, you would need to have the Internal Dual SD Module (IDSDM) installed to do that. What you will likely need to do is load the .D7 file on a USB and try that route.    Let me know if this helps.

MB_300 · Answer

@DELL-Chris H​ Thank you for the clarification on the IDSDM. I looked up where that would be and it's back by the power supplies on R620 generation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiF9jO0v4I4 I'm uncertain if there's a certain USB port the flash drive has to connect to, though I'd figure it has to be formatted FAT or ext3. Oh and there's a TFTP recovery method via racadm commands. I'd prefer the USB drive method though as it is most likely more reliable. The iDRAC recovery page that I keep finding during my searches does not apply to the R620. Would you be able to link to one that covers the USB method for the R620? Thank you.

DELL-Young E · Answer

Hello I'm afraid Chris was mistaken. Only SD works on this case, I do not know a way to use an USB. I applogize for the confusion and hope that's clarified now. Respectfully,

MB_300 · Answer

@DELL-Young E

No problem - only the SD card adapter is possible, which I do not have. (Looks to be Dell P/N: 6YFN5)

I'm left wondering how the SD card method will behave any different than the web upload method seeing as how the iDRAC is still fully functional.

Update: The vFlash SD card is on the HDD Backplane. "the vFlash media reader on the 10-drive bay chassis is located on the hard drive backplane." (R620 tech guide - page 11)

DELL-Young E · Answer

Hello Can we double check your BIOS by taking a snapshot during POST to see what it says? Can we confirm if the BIOS says PowerVault 4000? Respectfully,

MB_300 · Answer

Hello @DELL-Young E  I need to figure out how to enable notifications when someone replies to me. Screenshot below.

DELL-Young E · Answer

Hello this may look like a proper server as we know it, but it isn't. It is actually 'Dell DL4000 Appliance'. This may help:https://dell.to/3TICLv9Respectfully,

MB_300 · Answer

Hello @DELL-Young E

I genuinely appreciate all of your help!

The link to Quest backup and recovery does not include iDRAC downloads (from what I can see and have searched for ... just the Quest software). The owner's manual for a DL4000 series points back to Dell's support site for the iDRAC resources/manuals.

What Dell OEM model is the DL4000 hardware based off of?

DELL-Young E · Answer

Hello I think it's R720. Respectfully,

PowerEdge Hardware General

R620 iDRAC issues with upgrade process

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