HP Smart Update Best Practices Planning Guide

• In some instances, it might help decrease the time for the updates to complete if the iLO
firmware is updated independently.
• Install intermediate updates if you have not updated the targets regularly. For more information,
see “Required intermediate updates” (page 14).
General firmware management best practices
• Backup the server before starting an update.
• Deploy drivers concurrently with firmware updates to ensure dependencies are fulfilled.
• If you need to deploy firmware or software separately, use the following order:
Update drivers first.◦
◦ Update additional software, such as agents and utilities.
◦ Update the firmware.
• Do not downgrade or rewrite firmware unless there is a specific need to do so.
NOTE: Downgrading firmware might cause incompatibilities between devices if the
downgraded firmware does not work well with other device firmware or drivers.
• Reboot the server after server-based firmware, software, or driver upgrades. This clears the
memory and allows the update component to start fresh.
• Use a USB or network file shares to add or remove software and firmware.
• For new servers, update the firmware before installing the operating system.
• Test your environment in a lab before rolling into the production environment.
Use /dryrun (HP SUM 5.x only) from the command line in HP SUM to simulate an
installation.
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◦ If you do not have a lab, choose one server to update and run the server for a few days
under a normal workload. When the server proves stable, update the remaining servers
in your environment.
Enclosure Blade best practices
• If possible, do not mix servers that are more than two generations apart in the same enclosure.
For example, enclosures that include ProLiant G6 and G7 servers should not include ProLiant
G1 server blades.
• If you update enclosures that mix multiple generations, plan for more downtime for server
blades when you perform updates.
• Create a baseline at a given firmware and software version as the servers age.
• Do not update servers unless you need to re-provision a server. This reduces the number of
servers you update when you introduce a new baseline.
• Always run a VC health check before updating the OA or VC firmware.
• Integrity and ProLiant servers might have different OA and VC firmware version requirements.
Check the compatibility matrix before updating enclosures in mixed environments. For more
information, see “Updating mixed HP ProLiant and HP Integrity environments” (page 21).
• Consider these known issues:
ProLiant G2, G5, and G6 server ROMs dated May 2011 or later cannot be downgraded
without using special steps. For more information, see the customer advisory website at
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Best practices quick review 7