Users Guide

Updates using CAU
Updates on servers happen through cluster update coordinator which is present on the same system where IG is installed and
not through iDRAC. The updates are not staged and are applied immediately. Using CAU, you can minimize any disruption or
server downtime allowing continuous availability of the workload. Hence, there is no impact to the service provided by the
cluster group. For more information about CAU, see Cluster-Aware Updating Overview section at technet.microsoft.com.
Before applying the updates on cluster update groups, verify the Cluster Readiness report of the following:
● Connectivity to update source.
● Availability of failover clusters.
● Ensure that Windows Server 2012 or Windows Server 2012 R2 or Windows 2016 OS is installed on all failover cluster nodes
to support the CAU feature.
● Configuration of automatic updates is not enabled to automatically install updates on any failover cluster node.
● Enablement of a firewall rule that allows remote shutdown on each node in the failover cluster.
● Cluster group should have minimum of two nodes.
● Check for cluster update readiness. For more information about CAU, see Requirements and Best Practices for Cluster—
aware Updating section at Technet.microsoft.com.
● For a component level update, expand the server groups to its component level, and click Run Update.
● When performing a firmware update for 11th generation of the PowerEdge servers, you cannot upgrade the Power Supply
Unit (PSU) firmware versions.
NOTE: Ensure that there are no major errors and warnings in the report for applying the CAU method.
For information about applying the updates, see Run update.
Polling and notification
You can configure polling notifications to receive alerts when there are new catalogs available at the predefined, and user
selected default update source. The color of the notification bell is changed to orange color when there is a new catalog file
available at the update source. To replace the locally cached catalog available at the update source, click the bell icon. After the
old catalogs are replaced by the latest catalogs, the bell color changes to green.
To set the polling frequency:
1. In OMIMSSC, click Maintenance Center, and then click Polling and Notification.
2. Select how frequently the polling should happen:
● Never—by default this option is selected. Select to receive updates about new catalogs available at update source only
once for the scheduled time.
● Once a week—select to receive updates about new catalogs available at update source on a weekly basis.
● Once every 2 weeks—select to receive updates about new catalogs available at update source once every two weeks.
● Once a month—select to receive updates about new catalogs available at update source on a monthly basis.
Update source overview
Update source enables you to select and apply updates from Dell’s update sources. You can create, view, and manage the
update sources. The types of update sources supported are DRM repository, FTP, and HTTP. You can create a DRM, HTTP, or
FTP update source and set it as a default update source.
Update sources have the catalog files that contain Dell updates (BIOS, firmware, application, drivers, and driver packs) and
carry the self-contained executable file called Dell Update Packages (DUPs).
You can compare the inventory information available at the update source against the inventory information of a selected server
or group of servers inventory information and create a baseline version. You can also change the update source and compare
the inventory information of the servers or group of servers against the version information available from the selected update
source.
It is recommended that you upgrade to the latest firmware to use security, bug fixes, and new feature requests. Dell publishes
the following updates through PDK catalogs posted on Dell FTP at a quarterly cadence:
● Server BIOS and firmware
● Dell certified operating system driver packs (for operating system deployment)
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Maintenance