Dell Server Update Utility

Thanks for clearing that up reybeast2!  Appreciate it!

So when is 6.5.3 getting released?

Sorry about that, I did a typo on my previous post. The new SUU version will be 6.5.2. As for when it will post, it should have been posted already, so there must be a piece of the process holding it up.

SUU om652 is located here (as of Jan 2012): ftp.dell.com/.../om652_suu_a00_file1.iso  ftp.dell.com/.../om652_suu_a00_file2.iso  ftp.dell.com/.../om652_suu_a00_file3.iso  - I see that there is also an om653 available on LiveDVD image, but I haven't found the .iso files for the utility without the DVD yet.  I wish Dell would make these easier to find for their customers.

Those links got shortened, somehow, when posted. Those isos are under the FTP site folders:  FOLDER00194297M FOLDER00194305M FOLDER00194316M - each under the /1 subdirectory.

So for those that are interested, we have a new "great" tool that we get to use when promoting files externally. This tool is very "cool" and "works great". When it posts the files to the ftp site, it does it by folders that are generated according to some number scheme. We have been told that this is how its going to be, and that you the customer are not suposed to be using the ftp site to donwload files. Thats what support.dell.com is for.

Good info, could you please provide instructions on how to use this tool? When I try to search for om652 or om653 on support.dell.com, it doesn't show up. I'd much rather use the tool than digging around FTP, thanks!

I only use the FTP site when support.dell.com is down or is not working like it should.  I don't like rooting around the FTP site either, but sometimes that is the only way to get the files we need.  Some work on Dell's web delivery of files would be needed before "banning" users from directly accessing the FTP site.

What tool are you referring to?

The tool is an internal tool that is used to promote files to the website. Another older tool was retired. So now files on the ftp site get put into folders that are labeled FOLDERxxxxxx, so unless you know the exact folder name on the ftp site, you will never find the files.

Rey G,

I appreciate your position. (cue Bill Clinton : "I feel your pain")

Please either indicate to me whom i may contact within Dell to express my EXTREME DISPLEASURE with the current state of access to drivers and firmware updates or feel free to pass my comments on to your managers.   The support.dell.com site is extremely difficult to navigate and lately i have been unable to access ANY downloads because the site keeps reverting to an incorrect device (it says PowerEdge R710 at the top, but the downloads show BIOS A13 (wow, not even close), and if i refresh the page it suddenly becomes an Optiplex 960.   GRRRRRRRRRRR.  (FWIW, i can only get a device selection to stick by putting in the service tag and selecting "make this my default" everytime.  putting in a device class never works.  I initially thought this was due to 'noscript' extension in firefox, but even granting fully access to Dell's 2o7 and iperceptions partners (which i don't really want to have to do), doesn't solve the problem.

It also never remembers my OS selection if i drill down to a driver category, so if i come back through the history stack, it's reset to "Windows Server 2003" or something.  Trying to get a changelog/history ("Other Versions") also requires drilling up and down click-stacks on the web which wastes a LOT of time.

I used to be forced to use the ftp site to find anything, and even that was sub-optimal, given the immense number of files in each subdirectory.  now with the FOLDER)(#*&@U#$@(&) foo it is certainly impossible to find anything.   Perhaps i will be relegated to ftp-mirroring the entire site to find anything by 'grep' and 'find' ?)

For ENTERPRISE level support, i should not have to rummage around on a website doing 6,000 clicks just to obtain the latest firmware for the menagerie of Dell servers and desktops we manage here (thousands of machines, just about every PowerEdge and every Precision desktop and laptop).

I know the answer... Dell Repository Manager.  That's not an answer, as long as the entire replicated DUP bundling for every component exists, making it difficult to download multiple gigabytes of stuff and never being able to easily create an SUU kit that fits in 4GB on a DVD, much less trying to target a class of servers and fit on a CD.   Also, the other bootable DVD option generates bad setups requiring me to manually go into the standalone shell and symlink stuff.  Then running the update menu just runs through every single DUP kit trying to apply it linearly.  that takes FOREVER.

thanks,

--stephen

So, was that sarcasm in your quotes then?  Sounds like a bad idea to me.  Now we have no recourse when the support site doesn't work ... other than wait.

So, this tool is an internal tool ... not one we can use to more easily navigate the mess of files on the FTP site?

So, there was no updated SUU in 3rd or 4th quarters 2011 that I have seen, nor has any update been posted in January 2012.  Has SUU iso distribution been disontinued?

I really do not want to be forced into DMC software in order to update servers, or hunt and peck on support site by firmware/driver release dates.  It Assistant was bad, but DMC is horrible - in fact unusable.  I tried it but never got it to function.  VERY slow and buggy software that crashed its server constantly.

I don't have that many physical servers, so using the DVD isos works here.

Have been checking for 4 months and have yet to see a new SUU iso distributed.

Rick

Stephen, I'm not even sure who to point you to, but I also feel your pain (daily) concerning the website. i could really get into some torrid details except I would like to keep my job. i really think Repository Manager can fulfill your needs to make update discs. It sounds like you just need to remove files from the bundles to make them smaller, but I may not have the complete picture of what you are trying to do. I know RM still needs massaging and is still in its infancy stages, but its getting better one release at a time. if you give me an example of what you are trying to do, perhaps i can help you trim the process down a bit.