Lifecycle Controller Platform Update/Firmware Update in Dell PowerEdge 12th Generation Servers This Dell Technical White Paper provides detailed information about the capabilities of Lifecycle Controller to perform firmware/platform updates on Dell’s 12th generation servers. Sanjeeva Nayaka Anand Devadatta Ravi B.S.
This document is for informational purposes only and may contain typographical errors and technical inaccuracies. The content is provided as is, without express or implied warranties of any kind. © 2013 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. Dell and its affiliates cannot be responsible for errors or omissions in typography or photography. Dell, the Dell logo, and PowerEdge are trademarks of Dell Inc. Intel and Xeon are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.
Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................... 4 About Platform/Firmware Update..........................................................................................................................5 Platform/Firmware Update Methods........................................................................................................................
Introduction Lifecycle Controller allows an IT administrator to perform platform/firmware updates and roll backs, and view existing firmware versions even if the operating system is not installed or running. Using Lifecycle Controller, the system can be updated using the repositories accessible through FTP or located on a locally attached USB drive, DVD or network share. After selecting the update repository, Lifecycle Controller automatically detects the applicable update.
About Platform/Firmware Update The following figure provides a snapshot of the Platform/Firmware Update process. Figure 1.
Platform/Firmware Update Methods The following table lists the various methods of performing Platform/Firmware Update. Table 2.
Figure 2. Select Firmware Update The Select Update Repository page is displayed. Figure 3.
3. Select FTP Server as the source location, and then click Next. The Enter Access Details page is displayed. Figure 4. Enter Access Details 4. In the Address box, type the host name or IP address of the FTP server, and then click Next. Dell FTP Server (ftp.dell.com) Internal or service provider’s FTP server (contact your system administrator or service provider for the information).
5. The latest firmware is downloaded from the Dell FTP server, internal FTP server, or service provider’s FTP server. The Select Updates page is displayed. Figure 5. Figure 6.
Figure 7. Downloading Catalog Signature 5. For a component, compare the currently installed firmware version and the later version under the Current and Available columns. Figure 8. Components (current and available version) 6. Select the required components. NOTE: By default, Lifecycle Controller selects the components for which a later version is available. 7. Click Apply. After the update process is complete, the system restarts.
NOTE: Do not perform an AC power cycle during the update process. However, if the system is turned off before the update process is complete, a message Lifecycle Controller update required may be displayed during Power-On Self-Test (POST). In such cases, use the LC Repair Package to repair Lifecycle Controller. For more information, see the Lifecycle Controller User’s Guide.
Using Proxy FTP Server Lifecycle Controller can be used to perform updates with firmware available at ftp.dell.com, or by using an internal, or service provider’s FTP server, when you are connected to the Internet through a proxy server. Before performing the update, make sure the following prerequisites are met: Network settings are configured (Lifecycle Controller Settings Network Settings).
Figure 10. Enter Access Details 4. In the Address box, type the host name or IP address of the FTP server. Dell FTP Server (ftp.dell.com) Internal or service provider’s FTP server (for more information, contact your system administrator or service provider). 6. Type the proxy server credentials, and then click Next. The latest firmware is downloaded from the Dell FTP server, internal FTP server, or service provider’s FTP server, The Select Updates page is displayed.
Figure 11. Figure 12.
Figure 13. Downloading Catalog Signature Figure 14. Verifying Catalog Signature 6. For a component, compare the currently installed firmware version and the later version under the Current and Available columns. Figure 15.
7. Select the required components. NOTE: By default, Lifecycle Controller selects the components for which a later version is available. 8. Click Apply. After the update process is complete, the system restarts. NOTE: When applying more than one update, the system may need to restart between updates. In this case, the system starts directly into Lifecycle Controller and automatically continues the update process.
Figure 16. Select Update Repository 3. Insert the appropriate DVD in the locally-attached CD/DVD. Alternatively, insert the appropriate DVD in the client and use the Virtual Media feature to access the attached CD/DVD. For more information, see the iDRAC7 User’s Guide. Figure 17. DVD Mapped To the Client Drive 4. Select Local Drive (CD/DVD/USB) as the source location, and then click Next. The Enter Access Details page is displayed. However, if the catalog is not signed, a warning message is displayed.
Figure 18. Figure 19.
Figure 20. Warning Message 5. From the Local Drive drop-down menu, select the appropriate drive, and then click Next. The Select Updates page is displayed. Figure 21.
Figure 22. Select Updates (OS Driver Pack) 3. For a component, compare the currently installed firmware version and the later version under the Current and Available columns and select the required components. NOTE: By default, Lifecycle Controller selects the components for which a later version is available. 4. Click Apply. After the update process is complete, the system restarts. NOTE: When applying more than one update, the system may need to restart between updates.
Using a USB Drive You can download the repository from the SUU DVD or an FTP to a USB drive, and access the updates from this drive. For more information, see Creating a USB Drive Repository. Before you perform the updates, make sure the following pre-requisites are met: The updates are downloaded using the Dell Repository Manager and the repository is created on a USB drive. NOTE: To download the complete repository, make sure that the USB drive has more than 8 GB of free memory space.
Figure 24. .
4. Select Local Drive (CD/DVD/USB) as the source location and click Next. The Enter Access Details page is displayed. Figure 25. Enter Access Details 5. From the Local Disk Drive drop-down menu, select the appropriate drive.
6. Enter the path to the catalog file, and then click Next. The Select Updates page is displayed. However, if the catalog is not signed, a warning message is displayed as given in the screen shot. Click Yes to continue. Figure 26. Verifying Selection Figure 27.
Figure 28. Select Updates 6. For a component, compare the currently installed firmware version and the later version under the Current and Available columns and select the required components. NOTE: By default, Lifecycle Controller selects the components for which a later version is available. 7. Click Apply. After the update process is complete, the system restarts. NOTE: When applying more than one update, the system may need to restart between updates.
Using a Network Share (CIFS or NFS) If you are accessing the updates from a CIFS or NFS share, select the Network Share. To update the platform/firmware using CIFS or NFS network share option: 1. Start Lifecycle Controller: Press within 10 seconds after the Dell logo is displayed. 2. Click Firmware Update Launch Firmware Update. The Select Update Repository page is displayed. 3. Select Network Share as the source location, and then click Next. The Enter Access Details page is displayed.
4. Select CIFS or NFS, enter the following details, and then click Next. Share Name (CIFS or NFS) — Path to the shared folder where the Update Packages or repository is located. For example: \\192.168.20.26\sharename or \\servername\sharename. Domain and User Name (CIFS) — Domain and user name required to log on to the network share. For example: login-name@myDomain. If there is no domain, type only the login-name. For example: login-name.
Figure 31. Figure 32. Enter Access Details - NFS Connecting to Network Share Figure 33.
Figure 34. Downloading Catalog Signature Figure 35. Verifying Catalog Signature Figure 36.
Figure 37. Select Updates - CIFS Figure 38.
Creating the Local CIFS or NFS Share Repository If your organization uses a private network that cannot access external sites such as ftp.dell.com, you can provide Firmware Updates from a locally-configured network share device. If a CIFS or NFS share is available, you can copy the repository created using Dell Repository Manager or the repository downloaded from ftp.dell.com.
Figure 40. Warning Message Figure 41. Figure 42.
Figure 43. Figure 44. Verifying Update Package Signature Select Updates – Single Component DUP Local Drive (CD/DVD/USB Drive) Download the Dell Update Package (only .exe) from the Dell FTP site (ftp.dell.com), copy from the Server Update Utility DVD, or from support.dell.com. NOTE: If the DUP is located in the root directory, enter the name of Update Package (for example, APP_WIN_RYYYZZZ.EXE).
Figure 45. Enter Access Details – Local Drive Figure 46.
Figure 47.
Network Share (CIFS and NFS) Download the Dell Update Package (only .exe) from the Dell FTP site (ftp.dell.com), copy the Server Update Utility DVD, or from support.dell.com to a CIFS or NFS network share. NOTE: If the DUP is located in the root directory, enter the name of the update package (for example, APP_WIN_RYYYZZZ.EXE). If the update package is present in a sub-directory, enter both the sub-directory name and name of the update package (for example, subdirectory\APP_WIN_RYYYZZZ.EXE). Figure 48.
Figure 49. Figure 50. Figure 51.
Figure 52. Figure 53.
Figure 54. Figure 55. Figure 56. Verify Selection .
Figure 57. Select Updates – Network Share (NFS) Roll Back to Earlier Firmware Version Lifecycle Controller allows roll back to a previously-installed version of component firmware such as BIOS, iDRAC, RAID Controller, NIC, and Power supply. Important The Dell Diagnostics, OS driver packs, and Lifecycle Controller firmware cannot be rolled back to previous versions. The previous version is available only if the component firmware is updated at least once to a different version.
To roll back a firmware version to a previously-installed image: 5. Start Lifecycle Controller: Press within 10 seconds after the Dell logo is displayed. Click Firmware Update Launch Platform Rollback. Figure 57.
Figure 58. Launching Firmware Rollback The Select Components page displays a list of available rollback images with the following details. Component — Displays the available updates. Current — Displays the component version currently installed on the system. Previous — Displays the version number of the previous version.
Figure 59. Firmware Rollback – Select Components 3. Select the components, and then click Apply. 4. Select the rollback image that you want to apply to the system, and then click Apply. After the rollback process is complete, the system restarts. When applying more than one update, the system may need to restart between each rollback. In such scenarios, the system starts directly into Lifecycle Controller and continues the rollback process.
View Current Version Lifecycle Controller enables the user to check the firmware version of the currently installed components in the system. It displays the firmware version of the component along with the time stamp when the firmware version was last updated, rolled back, or newly-installed component. If Collect System Inventory On Restart (CSIOR) is enabled, the inventory collection starts before launching Lifecycle Controller every time the system is started.
Testing Network Connectivity Lifecycle Controller provides the Test Network Connection feature to perform a PING test to the following server types: Repository host server – FTP server or the CIFS or NFS share. DNS server if it is configured in the Network settings page. Gateway server if it is configured in the Network setting page. FTP proxy server if it is configured in the FTP access details page.
Figure 62. Select Test Network Connection – CIFS Figure 63.
8. Type the FTP Server or Network Share details. 9. Click Test Network Connection. After the test is complete, the Network Connection Report is generated with the following details: Parameters specified in the Network Settings page - Gateway IP and DNS IP. Parameters specified in the Enter Access Details page – Proxy IP (only if you have specified FTP proxy server) and Server IP (FTP address or network share address.) NOTE: The report always displays the IP address of the host name. Figure 64.
Checking the Signature Catalog on FTP Server The catalog present on ftp.dell.com is signed with the signature file present in the same location. NOTE: If a catalog is created using Dell Repository Manager, the catalog does not have an associated signature file. On the Enter Access Details page, after you click Next, the following messages are displayed when Lifecycle Controller connects to a repository. Figure 65.
Lifecycle Controller attempts to locate the catalog signature file. If the signature file is not present, a warning message is displayed. To continue, click Yes. Figure 66. Warning Message If the signnature file is present, it is downloaded and verified. This makes sure that updates are performed only for an authenticated catalog. Figure 67. Downloading Catalog Signature Figure 68.
NOTE: Lifecycle Controller performs a validation against an authenticated signature file, and if it detects any signature mismatch, the firmware update does not continue. After the catalog signature is verified, the Available Updates page is displayed. For more information, see the Using FTP Server section in the Lifecycle Controller2 User’s Guide.
Firmware Update Mechanism This section provides the background operations that are performed after you do the following tasks: 1. Select the repository location. 2. Select the components and click Apply. Figure 77. Select Updates The system restarts after the update process is complete for a component. However, if multiple components are selected, the system directly boots in to Lifecycle Controller and automatically continues the update process for the next component.
Figure 70. Post Update Behavior NOTE: The time taken for each component update has a set limit. The update is completed within this limit. Security is important, and the update process is designed to ensure both system and data are protected. The update process uses multiple layers of security validation: External data is temporarily stored in non-volatile storage. The data is then validated using Dell’s private key signature to prevent intrusion of tampered data from external sources.
Trusted Platform/Firmware Module Warning If BitLocker protection is enabled on your system, updating components such as RAID, BIOS, and NIC requires you to enter a recovery password or insert a USB drive containing a recovery key during the next server start. This situation occurs only if the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) security setting is set to “On with Pre-boot Measurements.” For information about how to set TPM settings, see the BIOS User’s Guide available at dell.com/support/manuals. Figure 70.
Figure 71. Firmware Update – Select Updates TPM Warning Figure 72.
Figure 73.
Using Dell Repository Manager Dell Repository Manager (DRM) is an effective Microsoft Windows-based application that simplifies change management tasks. It helps to maintain Dell systems with the latest BIOS, firmware, drivers, and applications. It operates in server and client modes, obtaining updates for both Dell systems and client systems.
