Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller 9 User's Guide
Updating device firmware
Using iDRAC, you can update the iDRAC, BIOS, and all device firmware that is supported by using Lifecycle Controller update such as:
- Fibre Channel (FC) cards
- Diagnostics
- Operating System Driver Pack
- Network Interface Card (NIC)
- RAID Controller
- Power Supply Unit (PSU)
- Accelerator (GPU)
- NVMe PCIe devices
- SAS/SATA hard drives
- Backplane update for internal and external enclosures
- OS Collector
CAUTION:The PSU firmware update may take several minutes depending on the system configuration and PSU model. To avoid damaging the PSU, do not interrupt the update process or power on the system during PSU firmware update.
NOTE:
- When updating the PSU firmware for PowerEdge C series servers, ensure that all servers in the same chassis are powered OFF first. If any of the other servers in the chassis are powered ON, the update process fails.
- LC Log may report communication lost and restore warning messages during GPU firmware update.
- PowerEdge R250 server do not support Power management, and the redundant PSU is considered as Cabled PSU. Since there is no I2C connection, iDRAC cannot identify the plugged PSU and cannot update the PSU firmware. Hence there is no need to update the PSU.
NOTE:
- When a firmware update is tried on a Hot plugged disk, it is expected to see a duplicate PR7 message in the Lifecycle Logs.
- When the job status is Running and when there is no status update from the update modules, the job times out after 6 hrs and it is marked as failed.
- If the Job status is in Running state, firmware update job may be marked as failed after iDRAC reboot.
- Do not use IP from downloads.dell.com site while performing the updates. It may not work as expected. When downloads.dell.com is specified as HTTPS address, there is no need to provide catalog path. Appropriate catalog is picked up automatically.
You must upload the required firmware to iDRAC. After the upload is complete, the current version of the firmware that is installed on the device and the version being applied is displayed. If the firmware being uploaded is not valid, an error message is displayed. Updates that do not require a reboot are applied immediately. Updates that require a system reboot are staged and committed to run on the next system reboot. Only one system reboot is required to perform all updates.
NOTE:
- When iLKM mode is enabled on a controller, iDRAC Firmware downgrade/upgrade shall fail when tried from a iLKM to a non-iLKM iDRAC version. iDRAC Firmware upgrade/downgrade shall pass when done within the iLKM versions.
- When SEKM mode is enabled on a controller, iDRAC Firmware downgrade/upgrade shall fail when tried from a SEKM to a non-SEKM iDRAC version. iDRAC Firmware upgrade/downgrade shall pass when done within the SEKM versions.
- PERC firmware downgrade shall fail when SEKM is enabled.
After the firmware is updated, the System Inventory page displays the updated firmware version and logs are recorded.
The supported firmware image file types are:
- .exe — Windows-based Dell Update Package (DUP). You must have Control and Configure Privilege to use this image file type.
- .d9 — Contains both iDRAC and Lifecycle Controller firmware
For files with .exe extension, you must have the System Control privilege. The Remote Firmware Update licensed feature and Lifecycle Controller must be enabled. This is applicable for RACADM update, Redfish Simple update, and iDRAC GUI update.
For files with .d9 extension, you must have the Configure privilege. This is applicable only for racadm fwupdate method.
NOTE: Ensure that all nodes in the system are powered off before updating the PSU firmware.
NOTE:After upgrading the iDRAC firmware, you may notice a difference in the timestamp displayed in the Lifecycle Controller log. Time that is displayed in LC Log is different from NTP/Bios-Time for few logs during idrac reset.
You can perform firmware updates by using the following methods:
- Uploading a supported image type, one at a time, from a local system or network share.
- Connecting to an FTP, TFTP, HTTP or HTTPS site or a network repository that contains Windows DUPs and a corresponding catalog file.
You can create custom repositories by using the Dell Repository Manager. For more information, see Dell Repository Manager Data Center User's Guide. iDRAC can provide a difference report between the BIOS and firmware that is installed on the system and the updates available in the repository. All applicable updates that are contained in the repository are applied to the system. This feature is available with iDRAC Enterprise or Datacenter license.
NOTE: Firmware update using an FTP fails if the HTTP proxy used is configured without any authentication. Ensure that you change the proxy configuration to allow the CONNECT method to use non-SSL ports. For example, while using a squid proxy, remove the line "http_access deny CONNECT !SSL_ports" that restricts from using the CONNECT method on non-SSL ports.NOTE: HTTP/HTTPS only supports with either digest authentication or no authentication. - Scheduling recurring automated firmware updates by using the catalog file and custom repository.
There are multiple tools and interfaces that can be used to update the iDRAC firmware. The following table is applicable only to iDRAC firmware. The table lists the supported interfaces, image-file types, and whether Lifecycle Controller must be in enabled state for the firmware to be updated.
| .D9 Image | iDRAC DUP | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interface | Supported | Requires LC enabled | Supported | Requires LC enabled |
| BMCFW64.exe utility | Yes | No | No | N/A |
| Racadm FWUpdate (old) | Yes | No | No | N/A |
| Racadm Update (new) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| iDRAC UI | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| WSMan | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| In-band OS DUP | No | N/A | Yes | No |
| Redfish | Yes | N/A | Yes | N/A |
| Diagnostics | No | No | No | No |
| OS Driver Pack | No | No | No | No |
| iDRAC | Yes | No | No* | Yes |
| BIOS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| RAID Controller | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| BOSS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| NVDIMM | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Backplanes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
NOTE:
|
||||
| Enclosures | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| NIC | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Power Supply Unit | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
NOTE:When manual reboot is performed or when update is performed from OS, PSU update requires cold reboot for update to start.
|
Yes | |||
| CPLD | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
NOTE:After CPLD firmware upgrade is complete, iDRAC restarts automatically.
NOTE:Repo update is not supported for CPLD while performing CPLD update alone or CPLD stacked with other updates.
NOTE:When an A/C cycle is performed, wait until power flee drain is done (for approximately 20 seconds) to ensure a proper reset of the system, otherwise you may see LCL and SEL:
|
||||
| FC Cards | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| NVMe PCIe SSD drives | Yes | No | Yes | No |
|
NOTE:
|
||||
| SAS/SATA hard drives | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| OS Collector | No | No | No | No |
| CMC (on PowerEdge FX2 servers) | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| TPM | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
NOTE:TPM is supported from 5.00.00.00 release onwards and the action is staged. Only firmware update is supported. Downgrading and reinstalling the same firmware is not supported.
|
||||
| Non-SDL Software and Peripherals Application | No | No | No | No |
The following table provides information on whether a system restart is required when firmware is updated for a particular component:
NOTE:When multiple firmware updates are applied through out-of-band methods, the updates are ordered in the most efficient possible manner to reduce unnecessary system restart.
NOTE:For details of supported components for MX platform, see Table 13.
| Component Name | Firmware Rollback Supported? (Yes or No) | Out-of-band — System Restart Required? | In-band — System Restart Required? | Lifecycle Controller GUI — Restart Required? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diagnostics | No | No | No | No |
| OS Driver Pack | No | No | No | No |
| iDRAC | Yes | No | No* | Yes |
| BIOS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| RAID Controller | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| BOSS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| NVDIMM | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Backplanes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Enclosures | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| NIC | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Power Supply Unit | No | No | No | No |
| CPLD | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| FC Cards | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| NVMe PCIe SSD drives | Yes | No | No | No |
| SAS/SATA hard drives | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| OS Collector | No | No | No | No |
* Indicates that though a system restart is not required, iDRAC must be restarted to apply the updates. iDRAC communication and monitoring may temporarily be interrupted.
When you check for updates, the version marked as Available does not always indicate that it is the latest version available. Before you install the update, ensure that the version you choose to install is newer than the version currently installed. If you want to control the version that iDRAC detects, create a custom repository using Dell Repository Manager (DRM) and configure iDRAC to use that repository to check for updates.
NOTE: For any update requiring iDRAC reset/ reboot or in case iDRAC is rebooted, it is recommended to check if iDRAC is fully ready by waiting for few seconds of interval with maximum timeout of 5 minutes before using any other command.
Please provide ratings (1-5 stars).
Please provide ratings (1-5 stars).
Please provide ratings (1-5 stars).
Please select whether the article was helpful or not.
Comments cannot contain these special characters: <>()\