Specifications

Chapter 4. Continuous availability and manageability 181
If the system is managed by a management console, you will use the management console
for firmware updates. Using the management console allows you to take advantage of the
Concurrent Firmware Maintenance (CFM) option when concurrent service packs are
available. CFM is the IBM term used to describe the IBM Power Systems firmware updates
that can be partially or wholy concurrent or non-disruptive. With the introduction of CFM, IBM
is significantly increasing a client’s opportunity to stay on a given release level for longer
periods of time. Clients wanting maximum stability can defer until there is a compelling
reason to upgrade, such as:
򐂰 A release level is approaching its end-of-service date (that is, it has been available for
about a year and hence will go out of service support soon).
򐂰 Moving a system to a more standardized release level when there are multiple systems in
an environment with similar hardware.
򐂰 A new release has new functionality that is needed in the environment.
򐂰 A scheduled maintenance action will cause a platform reboot. This provides an
opportunity to also upgrade to a new firmware release.
The update and upgrade of system firmware is dependant on several factors, such as
whether the system is standalone or managed by a management console, the current
firmware installed, and what operating systems are running on the system. These scenarios
and the associated installation instructions are comprehensively outlined in the firmware
section of Fix Central:
http://www.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/
You might also want to review the best practice white papers, which can be found here:
http://www14.software.ibm.com/webapp/set2/sas/f/best/home.html
Repair and verify system
Repair and verify (R&V) is a system used to guide a service provider step-by-step through the
process of repairing a system and verifying that the problem has been repaired. The steps
are customized in the appropriate sequence for the particular repair for the specific system
being repaired. Repair scenarios covered by repair and verify include:
򐂰 Replacing a defective field-replaceable unit (FRU) or a customer replacable unit (CRU)
򐂰 Reattaching a loose or disconnected component
򐂰 Correcting a configuration error
򐂰 Removing or replacing an incompatible FRU
򐂰 Updating firmware, device drivers, operating systems, middleware components, and IBM
applications after replacing a part
Repair and verify procedures can be used by both service representative providers who are
familiar with the task and those who are not. Education On Demand content is placed in the
procedure at the appropriate locations. Throughout the repair and verify procedure, repair
history is collected and provided to the Service and Support Problem Management Database
for storage with the serviceable event, to ensure that the guided maintenance procedures are
operating correctly.
If a server is managed by a management console, then many of the R&V procedures are
performed from the management console. If the FRU to be replaced is a PCI adapter or an
internal storage device, then the service action is always performed from the operating
system of the partition owning that resource.