o perform an offline update, administrators must schedule server
downtime. Most offline update utilities boot into a pre-OS environ
ment such as DOS to perform the update. These update utilities may
also require multiple system reboots to complete the update process.
Although the offline update
rocess is time-consumin
and requires several manua
steps, this is a safe method
o update system software on
irtually any server because
e network is not involved.
In contrast, network traffic
rivial FTP (TFTP) server
esponse time, packet loss,
and link loss can affect firm
are updates that are per
rmed over a network
n a PowerEdge 1855
server blade, administrator
can update BIOS, BMC firmware, RAID firmware, SCSI hard disk
drive firmware, SCSI controller firmware, and OS-level drivers
sing DOS-based update utilities found on the Dell support Web
site (support.dell.com).
he PowerEdge 1855 server blade motherboard, so PERC 4/IM
irmware is included as part of the system BIOS update package.
Although the offline update
process is time-consuming
and requires several manual
steps, this is a safe method
to update system software on
virtually any server because
the network is not involved.
The PERC 4/IM is integrated into
nline update
nlike an offline update, the online update process minimizes server
owntime by allowing the process to run in a normal OS environ
ment. The greatest advantage of the online approach is its capability
o automate the update process. Online updates enable organiza
ions to update multiple server blades from a central console usin
Dell OpenManage change-management tools or third-party change
management frameworks.
ell OpenManage change-management tools for the PowerEdge
855 blade server comprise the following
•
ell Update Packages
•
ell OpenManage Server Update Utility (SUU
•
ell OpenManage IT Assistant (ITA) 7
Dell Update Packages.Dell Update Packages are self-contained,
easy-to-use programs; each package updates a single system software
component on the server on which it is executed. Each Dell Update
ackage contains the logic to verify that the update will work on a
iven system. Dell Update Packages support both a graphical user
interface (GUI) and a command-line interface (CLI). BIOS and BMC
irmware Dell Update Packages are available for PowerEdge 1855
server blades. Dell Update Packages are supported on Microso
Windows Serv
systems. In addition, Dell Update Packages can be integrated into
third-party or custom software distribution application frameworks
such as Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003, Altiri
eployment Solution, and others
ell OpenManage Server Update Utility. SUU is a comprehen-
sive system update utility that provides a mechanism to update several
system software components at once. It is a CD-based application that
can identify systems and apply the appropriate updates. For example,
on a PowerEdge 1855 blade server, administrators can use the SUU CD
to update all system software on a server blade. The SUU update pro-
cess requires administrators to update one server blade at a time.
ell OpenManage IT Assistant.ITA 7 provides centralized soft-
ware update capability for Dell servers. IT Assistant allows admin-
istrators to load Dell Update Packages and Dell System Update Sets
into a central repository and then compare the packages to the
software versions currently running on PowerEdge systems. Admin-
istrators can then decide whether to update systems that are not in
compliance, either immediately or according to an administrator-
defined schedule.
Enterprise Linux® operating
MC flash update
The BMC does not disable the power button on the front of an
individual PowerEdge 1855 server blade during a flash update. If
an administrator presses the power button during a flash update,
the server blade will power off and leave the BMC in an unknown
state. To recover the server blade, an administrator should remove
the server blade from the PowerEdge blade server chassis, wait five
seconds, reinsert the server blade, and allow the server blade to
oot. Then the flash update can be performed again
Keyboard, video, mouse (KVM) hot-key keyboard
sequences are not supported during a BMC flash update. If an
administrator attempts a hot-key sequence from a server blade
that is performing a BMC flash update, the flash update may fail.
To recover, the administrator must execute the flash update again
ating chassis components
Because individual server blades in the PowerEdge 1855 blade server
share common chassis infrastructure components, keeping the system
software of the chassis components up-to-date can play a critical role in
www.
For more information about how Dell Update Packages are designed to work in third-party software distribution applications, see “Scripting Dell Update Packages on Windows and Linux” by Manoj Gujarathi, Pritesh Prabhu, and
ubbu Ganesan in Dell Power Solutions, October 2004, www.dell.com/downloads/global/power/ps4q04-20040125-Gujarathi.pdf; and “Deploying Dell Update Packages Using Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003” by Sand
eep Karandikar and Manoj Gujarathi in Dell Power Solutions, February 2005, www.dell.com/downloads/global/power/ps1q05-20040111-Gujarathi.pdf.
nd software distribution frameworks such as Altiris Patch Management
olution and Microsoft SMS are designed to provide robust auto-
mated tools to manage updates on modules that reside on server
blades. Because these frameworks do not scale to manage the updates
of chassis management modules and I/O modules, updating blade
server chassis modules requires careful planning and deployment
such as the approach described in this article
Narayan Devireddy is a development manager in the Dell Enterprise
Systems Management Software organization. He has 14 years of systems
management product development experience. Before joining Dell, Narayan
worked for Novell, Compaq, and Computer Associates in different capacities. He has an M.S. in Computer Science from Alabama A&M University.
DRAC/MC: racadm config –g cfgSerial
o cfgSerialConsoleIdleTimeout 0x300
3.
edirect the DRAC/MC serial console to the internal serial
console interface of the PowerConnect 5316M Ethernet switch
module in binary mode by entering the following command:
DRAC/MC: connect –b switch-N
wher
owerConnect 5316M Ethernet switch module is inserted.
ress the Enter key several times to ensure that the termina
connection is successfully established and that the Ethernet
switch module prompt appears
For more information about configuring and using the DRAC/MC, refer to the
Ruoting Huang is a development engineer in the Dell Enterprise Systems
Management Software organization. He focuses on parallel processing and
internetworking. Ruoting has an M.S. in Computer Science from the Asian
Institute of Technology.