BIOS and iDRAC upgrade paths for T630

Question

Hello, I'm trying to bring iDRAC and BIOS firmware up to date on a PowerEdge T630 and I'm trying to determine the correct upgrade path to do so. The server. is running iDRAC firmware version 2.02.01.01 and BIOS version 1.1.4.

Unfortunately, none of my searches on the Dell website have returned any relevant results to my specific scenario. Since the system is out of warranty, I'm not getting much help via telephone or online chat either.

Any help would be truly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

michaelsoher · Accepted Answer

Thank you all for your help. It is truly appreciated. All firmware seems to be up to date now after following the steps as laid out in this thread!

DELL-Young E · Answer

Hi, you can choose whichever you like from the link below.   https://dell.to/3ofvx0S ​ [The latest BIOS is 2.11.0 and idrac, 2.75.75.75 .

DELL-Young E · Answer

Hi yes you can skip all the lower versions.

As for which to upgrade first, please see this article.

< https://dell.to/38YdB4x>

It is recommended to use The Following sequence When updating firmware on the Dell PowerEdge servers.

1. iDRAC

2. Lifecycle Controller

3. BIOS

4. Diagnostics

5. OS Driver Pack

6. RAID

7. NIC

8. PSU

9. CPLD

10. Other update

michaelsoher · Answer

@DELL-Young E can I just go from where I am now direct to the newest version of both or will I need to update incrementally. Also do I need to do a potential upgrade in any specific order. I.E BIOS before iDRAC or vice versa?

DELL-Shine K · Answer

It is also recommended to update BIOS and iDRAC in sequence and incremental as you have very old firmware. You can try below sequence for iDRAC and BIOS

iDRAC - 2.10.10.10

BIOS - 1.3.6

iDRAC - 2.30.30.30

BIOS - 2.1.5

iDRAC - 2.50.50.50

BIOS - 2.6.0

iDRAC - 2.60.60.60

BIOS - 2.8.0

iDRAC - 2.70.70.70

BIOS - 2.10.5

iDRAC - 2.75.75.75

BIOS - 2.11.0

michaelsoher · Answer

Hi @DELL-Shine K, I was able to successfully follow the provided update path about halfway. (The last successful update was iDRAC - 2.30.30.30) When I try to update the BIOS to 2.6.0 as is the suggested next step, I receive the following error:

The Update Package is not supported for this system.

(SUP0527)

Any ideas as to what might be going wrong or how to solve it?

michaelsoher · Answer

@DELL-Young E,

After seeing your response, I tried each subsequent BIOS update available in the order listed in the above-mentioned upgrade path. They each return the same error as 2.6.0 (including the most recent 2.11.0). I have also tried rebooting as you have mentioned to no further success.

It seems that it will allow me to jump the iDRAC directly up to 2.75.75.75 without tossing back any errors but I am hesitant to do so before updating the BIOS as BIOS before iDRAC is described as the proper upgrade path above. Any suggestions or advice on potential solutions are truly appreciated.

DELL-Young E · Answer

Hi, the firmware you’re on is relatively higher so I believe it’s ok that you go straight to the latest. (upgrading gradually one by one would be the best) Just, going forward, in case of multiple upgrades, make sure to reboot the system each time an upgrade is finished. Hope this helps.

DELL-Shine K · Answer

Can you let me know how are you updating BIOS and iDRAC Firmware? Can you also update iDRAC FW to 2.60 and try BIOS update post that

DELL-Young E · Answer

Hi maybe I can introduce to upgrading firmware via support live image? https://dell.to/2Lt0TT1 (Linux image)   For another one, https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000123359/dell-emc-server-update-utility-suu-guide-and-download   Hope this helps.

michaelsoher · Answer

@DELL-Shine K, I was able to successfully complete the BIOS & iDRAC update paths successfully after following your suggestion as it related to bringing iDRAC to 2.60 first and then updating BIOS to 2.6.0, after that, the rest of the upgrade path worked fine. BIOS, iDRAC FW, and Lifecycle Controller FW are up to date now. But that brings up another question. Since all the firmware on this server is as it was the day the server was built aside from what I have just updated, I feel that I should also bring all the other firmware up to date following the order mentioned further up in this thread. As there have been multiple releases of the other FWs that need updates (Diagnostics, NIC, OS Driver Pack, RAID, ETC.) I was wondering if they all need to be stepped up as well. If so, what is the correct stepping process for those? I ask because when I attempted to download the latest version of the Diagnostic Package (Dell 64 Bit uEFI Diagnostics, version 4239A36), and subsequently install it from the Lifecycle Controller FW Update page it kicks back a warning message that reads: Unable to authenticate the Update. Firmware Update

DELL-Joey C · Answer

Hi,   It may seem that it is not an update, it's an application to run for diagnostics. Could you check if you're able to run other updates?

michaelsoher · Answer

@DELL-Joey C,

I was able to run a couple of other updates.

I did have a question relating to the PSU Firmware though. I have two 750W Delta PSUs (G6W6K) in the system that are currently running FW version 00.24.6D. After looking around, the most up to date version of the firmware I can find is 00.24.83. Is this in fact the most recent version of the firmware or is there a newer version?

DELL-Young E · Answer

Hi, These are what I found:

Delta 750W PSU (PN: 4V8KD,5RHVV,V1YJ6,G6W6K) Firmware Package

https://dell.to/3nO9g9m

Version 00.30.C1 / Release date 17 Jun 2020

https://dell.to/38XNXOF

V 00.24.83 Last Updated 16 Sep 2019

brentp-cedarcreek.tv · Answer

Thanks for this. I was in a similar boat... I didn't know the iDRAC and BIOS were so closely tied. I was able to bring my BIOS 2.4.2 and iDRAC 2.40.40 system up to date by doing:

iDRAC 2.50.50.50

BIOS 2.6.0

iDRAC 2.60.60.60

BIOS 2.13.0

iDRAC 2.80.80.80

iDRAC 2.83.83.83 (took 2 tries as oddly it looked like it worked, but stayed at 80 after it came back)

BIOS 2.14.0

I had to use iDRAC to load the files and install them remotely. I tried using the EXEs on my existing Hyper-V Server 2016 install and they'd fail (I'm guessing because it isn't a full version of windows and was missing something needed) and I wasn't able to get Lifecycle Controller to see anything on a local flash drive or on ftp.dell.com despite having an IP and internet settings tested and working. But I WAS able to use iDRAC once I set that up. What a pain it turned out to be, but it's done! One important note as explained here, if you aren't on the right versions, the BIOS or iDRAC installs fail and say they couldn't validate or whatnot. That's why you have to stair-step like this.

Systems Management General

BIOS and iDRAC upgrade paths for T630

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