Dell Chassis Management Controller Troubleshooting

Updating M1000e Servers and Using in
Chassis Management Controller (CMC) VRTX
Chassis

This Dell technical white paper provides information about updating M1000e
servers to make them compatible for use in the CMC VRTX Chassis.

Dell Engineering
April 2014

Dell - Internal Use - Confidential

A Dell Technical White Paper

Revisions

Date Description

April 2014 Initial release

THIS WHITE PAPER 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.
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2 Updating M1000e Servers and Using in Chassis Management Controller (CMC) VRTX Chassis

Contents

Revisions .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 2

Executive Summary .............................................................................................................................................................................. 4

1 Prerequisites .................................................................................................................................................................................... 5

2 Downloading Firmware Versions from Dell Support Site ...................................................................................................... 6

3 Updating Firmware Versions Using iDRAC GUI ....................................................................................................................... 9

3.1 After Updating iDRAC Firmware ..................................................................................................................................... 12

3.2 Updating BIOS and CPLD Firmware .............................................................................................................................. 12

4 Inserting Updated Server Module in CMC VRTX Chassis .................................................................................................... 13

Additional Resources ........................................................................................................................................................................... 13

About Authors....................................................................................................................................................................................... 13

3 Updating M1000e Servers and Using in Chassis Management Controller (CMC) VRTX Chassis

Executive Summary

This whitepaper provides information about updating a M1000e server to make it compatible for a CMC
VRTX Chassis. The scope of this white paper is to describe the tasks relevant for M520, M620, and M820
servers by using an iDRAC graphical user interface (GUI). You must have an iDRAC Enterprise license to
complete this task. Note that the behavior of a server after updating firmware versions of iDRAC, BIOS, and
CPLD are different. This white paper discusses about such behaviors in the later sections.

As a customer of Dell PowerEdge servers, now, you have the option of using your M1000e servers in the
new versatile VRTX Chassis. For more information about VRTX Chassis, go the official website of Dell.

Currently, only M520, M620, and M820 servers among the PowerEdge models can be updated and used
on a CMC VRTX Chassis.

Appropriate sample screen shots are given, if only necessary, to make you understand the tasks clearly. An
example of downloading and updating the 32-bit iDRAC firmware version 1.51.51 on M620 server is
discussed in this white paper.

You must use only the latest available versions of 32-bit for updating either iDRAC, BIOS, or CPLD.

You can also use RACADM commands to update a firmware, whose discussion is beyond the scope of this
white paper. For more information about using RACADM commands, see the

Reference Guide

Also, you can download a firmware by using different options such as entering your service tag or detecting
your product by using the support site, but this white paper discusses the tasks to be followed for
downloading by using the Get drivers feature. For more information about using these features on the
support site, use the options provided on the support site or contact your Dell service provider.

for

iDRAC

and

CMC

available at dell.com/support/manuals.

RACADM

Command

Line

4 Updating M1000e Servers and Using in Chassis Management Controller (CMC) VRTX Chassis