Dell™ Systems Build and Update Utility 1.0 Quick Reference Guide w w w. d e l l . c o m | s u p p o r t . d e l l .
Notes and Notices NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your computer. NOTICE: A NOTICE indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid the problem. ____________________ Information in this document is subject to change without notice. © 2007 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell Inc. is strictly forbidden.
Contents 1 About This Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Who Should Read This Document? . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 . . . . . . . . . . . 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 How Will This Document Help Me? How Do I Use This Document? 2 Dell Systems Build and Update Utility Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 What Dell Systems Build and Update Utility Offers . . . . . 3 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 What Can I Do With Dell Systems Build and Update Utility? . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Boot Menu 5 Server Operating System Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How Do I Access the SOI? . . . . 21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Anything Else I Should Know? . . . . . . . . . . . . . If you are installing an operating system on your system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Firmware Update 22 . . . . . . . . . 22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 How Do I Access Firmware Update? What Is The Repository? . . . . . . . . . . . 23 . . . . . . . . . .
Anything Else I Should Know? . . . . . . . . . . . . . If you create multiple custom repositories in the same location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 . . . . . . . . 26 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 If you are using a USB key as your destination location . . . . . . . . 8 Hardware Configuration Scripting Tool . . . . . . . . How Do I Access The Hardware Configuration Scripting Tool? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 . . . . . 28 . . . . . . . . 28 . . . . . . . . .
9 Content Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How Do I Access Content Manager? . . . . . . . . . . 33 33 How Do I Get Server Update Utility Application Using Content Manager? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 How Do I Create The Customized Repository On A Network Share Using Content Manager? . . . . . . 35 . . . . . . . . . . . 35 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 How Will Checking For Repository Updates Help Me? . . . . . . . . .
About This Document It is strongly recommended that you read this section, "Dell Systems Build and Update Utility Overview," and "Before You Begin With The Dell Systems Build and Update Utility" before proceeding further. Who Should Read This Document? This document is for system administrators who are responsible for deploying and updating Dell™ systems in their organizations.
This document focuses only on setting up your Dell systems to use the Dell Systems Build and Update Utility effectively and efficiently, and the possible scenarios in which to use this utility. How Do I Use This Document? This document provides an overview of the various modules of the Dell Systems Build and Update Utility and the possible scenarios in which you might use them. However, it does not cover all scenarios and possibilities.
Table 1-1.
About This Document
Dell Systems Build and Update Utility Overview This section provides an overview of the Dell™ Systems Build and Update Utility. This section helps you to understand the functionalities that the Dell Systems Build and Update Utility provides to update and deploy your Dell systems. If you are an existing user of the Dell OpenManage™ products, see "What Dell Systems Build and Update Utility Offers." If you are a first-time user, see "What Can I Do With Dell Systems Build and Update Utility?.
What Can I Do With Dell Systems Build and Update Utility? Table 2-2 lists the functionalities of the Dell Systems Build and Update Utility to deploy and update your Dell systems. Table 2-2. Dell Systems Build and Update Utility Functionalities You Want To Go To For Run Dell Systems Build and Update Utility on your system.
Table 2-2. Dell Systems Build and Update Utility Functionalities (continued) You Want To Go To Deploy multiple systems (update your systems’ firmware and install operating system on them) 1 "Firmware Update" 1 Dell systems 2 "Server Operating (excluding PowerEdge SC systems) 2 Dell systems (including PowerEdge SC systems) System Installation" Update firmware and BIOS in a "Firmware Update" pre-operating system environment on multiple systems. Deploy multiple systems (configure the hardware).
Now that you have an overview of Dell Systems Build and Update Utility and what functionalities it offers, read "Before You Begin With The Dell Systems Build and Update Utility" to see what you should have before you begin using Dell Systems Build and Update Utility in your environment.
Before You Begin With The Dell Systems Build and Update Utility This section lists the prerequisites you require before proceeding to use Dell™ Systems Build and Update Utility and where to get other information that you may need while using this utility.
Table 3-1.
Supported Systems For the list of Dell systems supported for this version of the Dell Systems Build and Update Utility, see the readme.txt in the root folder or the Dell Systems Software Support Matrix on the Dell Support website at support.dell.com.
• The Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller User’s Guide provides information about installation, configuration, and maintenance of the Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC) on management and managed systems. • The Dell Remote Access Controller/Modular Chassis User's Guide provides information about installation, configuration, and maintenance of the Dell Remote Access Controller/Modular Chassis (DRAC/MC).
Boot Menu This is the entry point to the Dell™ Systems Build and Update Utility. To get to the boot menu: 1 Insert the Dell Systems Build and Update Utility CD or the Dell Systems Management Tools and Documentation DVD in your system drive. 2 Reboot your system. The boot menu screen displays. Figure 4-1 shows the boot menu screen. Figure 4-1.
Table 4-1 lists the options and their descriptions available on this screen. Table 4-1. Boot Menu Options Boot Menu Option Does This For You Dell Systems Build and Update Takes you to the Dell Systems Build and Update Utility Utility Home screen. Optical Media (CD/DVD) Check Checks if the Dell Systems Build and Update Utility CD or the Dell Systems Management Tools and Documentation DVD you inserted has any errors. Skip Optical Media (CD/DVD) Enables you to boot from your system hard drive.
Server Operating System Installation The Server Operating System Installation (SOI) module in the Dell™ Systems Build and Update Utility enables you to install Dell-supported operating systems on your Dell systems. SOI also maps the operating system you want to install to your system and installs the requisite drivers. It also has a simple interface to configure Dell-supported storage controllers.
Anything Else I Should Know? If you are installing an operating system on your system • If you already have an operating system on your system (that is, if you are "repurposing" your system), and you use the SOI to install a different operating system, the existing operating system will be removed and data will be deleted from your system.
Firmware Update The Firmware Update module in the Dell™ Systems Build and Update Utility enables you to update the BIOS and firmware versions of your Dell systems in a pre-operating system environment.
The repository can be: • a customized repository you create with the Update Utility Creation module or the Content Manager module • the Dell Server Updates DVD contents that you copy from the DVD or get from the Content Manager module To learn more about the Content Manager, see "Content Manager." Anything Else I Should Know? If you face any prerequisite failure • If you face any prerequisite failure during the update process, see the Server Update Utility User's Guide on how to rectify this.
Update Utility Creation The Dell™ Server Updates DVD contains a repository which includes update packages for supported Dell systems for Microsoft® Windows® and Linux operating systems. The Update Utility Creation module in the Dell Systems Build and Update Utility enables you to customize and create a smaller and more compact update utility repository by selecting only the systems and operating systems you require. This custom repository retains the features of the Server Update Utility.
The source repository can be the Dell Server Updates DVD or the contents you copy to a network share. You can also download the Dell Server Updates DVD from Dell online using Content Manager. To know more about the Content Manager, see "Content Manager." NOTE: If you are using a USB key or a network location to save a copy of the Dell Server Updates DVD, make sure you copy all the contents, including all the folders in the same directory structure.
Hardware Configuration Scripting Tool The Hardware Configuration Scripting Tool in the Dell™ Systems Build and Update Utility enables you to configure your system’s Baseboard Management Controller (BMC), Dell Remote Access Controller (DRAC), Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID), and BIOS. Once you save the configuration settings for your system’s BMC, DRAC, RAID, and BIOS, you can use the tool to generate the .ini file, and apply these configuration settings across multiple systems.
Some Questions About Configuring Hardware How Do I Know Which Components To Configure? Table 8-1 lists the components you can configure depending on your Dell system. NOTE: This list is not exhaustive and is only meant as a cheat sheet for your reference. NOTE: Ensure that you click Export Configuration on the Configuration Status Summary screen to generate the .ini file to configure the hardware components of your system. Table 8-1.
Table 8-1.
How Do I Use The .ini File To Deploy My System? One-To-One Scenario (.ini file on USB key) 1 After you configure the components and save the configurations on individual screens, click Export Configuration on the Configuration Status Summary screen to generate the .ini file. 2 Insert the USB key on which you want to save the .ini file. 3 On the Configuration Script Save Location, select the target location to save the script (in this case, the USB key) and click Continue.
One-To-Many Scenario For details on how to use the .ini file to update multiple systems, see the Deployment Toolkit User's Guide. Anything Else I Should Know? If you are creating a virtual disk • If you create a virtual disk by specifying the size (instead of using the Select to create maximum virtual disk size option), subsequent virtual disks that you create will be bound to the controller and the array disk that you selected.
Hardware Configuration Scripting Tool
Content Manager The Content Manager is a tool in Dell™ Systems Build and Update Utility that enables you to: • download the latest Server Update Utility ISO image from Dell online at ftp.dell.com. • create your customized repository using the Dell Server Updates DVD or from the Dell online website. • save your customized repository on a local or shared location and use it later for system hardware updates in a pre-operating system or postoperating system environments.
• If your system is running on a supported Linux operating system: – From the Dell Systems Build and Update Utility CD and the Dell Systems Management Tools and Documentation DVD, go to /contentmanager/lin/lincontent.tar. Extract the lincontent.tar file to a location of your choice and run the ./contentmanager script to launch the contentmanager application from this location. If you are running the Content Manager for the first time on a supported Linux operating system, you must run cabextract-1.21.
How Do I Create The Customized Repository On A Network Share Using Content Manager? 1 Mount the network drive of your choice manually. Later, when you are creating the customized repository using Content Manager, specify this network drive in Select Create Destination. 2 If you have the Dell Server Updates DVD, select the DVD as the source (under Select Create Source) and continue. Else, select Dell Online Website as the source and continue.
Content Manager
Glossary BIOS Acronym for basic input/output system. Your system's BIOS contains programs stored on a flash memory chip. The BIOS controls the following: • Communications between the microprocessor and peripheral devices, such as the keyboard and the video adapter • Miscellaneous functions, such as system messages BMC Abbreviation for baseboard management controller, which is the controller interface between the DRAC and the managed system’s embedded systems management (ESM).
USB Abbreviation for Universal Serial Bus. A USB connector provides a single connection point for multiple USB-compliant devices, such as mice, keyboards, printers, and computer speakers. USB devices can also be connected and disconnected while the system is running. utility partition A bootable partition on the hard drive that provides utilities and diagnostics for your hardware and software. When activated, the partition boots and provides an executable environment for the partition's utilities.
Index A F Accessing Boot Menu, 19 Command Line Interface, 27 Content Manager, 33 Firmware Update, 23 Hardware Configuration Scripting Tool, 27 Server Operating System Installation (SOI), 21 Update Utility Creation, 25 Firmware Update accessing, 23 miscellaneous, 24 uses, 23 B Boot Menu accessing, 19 options, 20 C Content Manager accessing, 33 creating customized repository on a network share using, 35 getting Server Update Utility application using, 34 miscellaneous, 35 uses, 33 Functionalities in bri
P U Prerequisites Firmware Update, 16 Hardware Configuration Scripting Tool, 16 Server Operating System Installation, 15 Update Utility Creation, 16 Update Utility Creation accessing, 25 miscellaneous, 26 uses, 25 Product overview earlier OpenManage products, 11 functionalities, 12 R Repository checking for repository updates, 35 what is, 23 S Server Operating System Installation (SOI) accessing, 21 miscellaneous, 22 uses, 21 Source Repository what is, 25 40 Index Using .
