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
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AND TECHNICAL INACCURACIES. THE CONTENT IS PROVIDED AS IS, WITHOUT EXPRESS OR IMPLIED
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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
1 Prerequisites
o iDRAC7 with Enterprise license
o To update a server to make usable in VRTX Chassis, you must complete the following tasks, which are
discussed in detail in the following sections of this white paper:
o Downloading latest firmware versions from the dell support site
o Updating the firmware on servers
o Installing appropriate hardware components
5 Updating M1000e Servers and Using in Chassis Management Controller (CMC) VRTX Chassis
2 Downloading Firmware Versions from Dell Support Site
You must download all the following 32-bit firmwares and install on the M1000e servers:
o BIOS version 1.7.6 or later for M520/M620, or version 2.0.24 for M820.
o DELL iDRAC7 1.40.40 or later for M520/M620, or version 1.50.50 or later for M820.
o CPLD 1.0.6 or later for M620. CPLD 1.0.5 or later for M520. CPLD 1.0.3 or later for M820.
You can update a firmware by using the following file types. However, in this white paper, the procedure to
update only by using a .exe file is discussed. For more information about other file types, see the iDRAC
User’s Guide available at dell.com/support/manuals.
o .exe (DUP—Dell Update Package)
o .d7
o .usc
o .pm
To download:
1. Go to http://www.dell.com/support/my-support/us/en/19?c=us&s=dhs&cs=19&l=en
2. In the Support section, if you know the service tag of your server, type in the Enter your Service Tag
box, and then click Submit. Else, in the General Support section, click Servers, Storage, &
Networking.
3. From the list of products, click PowerEdge, and then click M620.
4. On the Product Support page, click Get drivers, and then click View All Drivers.
6 Updating M1000e Servers and Using in Chassis Management Controller (CMC) VRTX Chassis
5. On the Drivers and Downloads page, in the Refine your results section, from the Operating System
drop-down menu, select MS Windows 2008 x86. The selection of this implies that you want to download a
32-bit iDRAC firmware version.
6. Expand Embeded Server Management. Under iDRAC 1.51.51, click Other Formats.
7. From the list of firmware versions displayed, click Download File corresponding to the file whose File
Name is ESM_Firmware_JGG1X_WN32_1..51.51_A00.EXE.
7 Updating M1000e Servers and Using in Chassis Management Controller (CMC) VRTX Chassis
To know about the other hardware and software requirements of a server for installing iDRAC, make sure
that you read through the Release Notes available on this page
8. Wait for the file to get downloaded. This may take approximately 5–10 minutes.
9. Similarly, download only the Windows 32-bit firmwares of BIOS and CPLD to a known file folder
location.
8 Updating M1000e Servers and Using in Chassis Management Controller (CMC) VRTX Chassis
3 Updating Firmware Versions Using iDRAC GUI
Before you update firmware using Dell Update Package (DUP), make sure to:
o Install and enable the IPMI and managed system drivers.
o Enable and start the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) service, if your server is
running Windows operating system,
While updating an iDRAC7 firmware using the DUP utility in Linux, if the messages such as usb 5-2:
device descriptor read/64, error -71 is displayed on the page, ignore them.
o If the server has ESX hypervisor installed, then for the DUP file to run, make sure that the
"usbarbitrator" service is stopped by running the command at the command line interface (CLI):
service usbarbitrator stop
To update a firmware:
1. Insert the server in to the M1000e chassis. Make sure that iDRAC receives a client-accessible IP
address by either using a DHCP server or in a static mode.
2. Log in to the iDRAC GUI using your username (root) and password (calvin).
3. In the left pane, expand iDRAC Settings, and then click Update and Roolback.
In case of iDRAC versions earlier than 1.20.20, click iDRAC Firmware Update.
4. On the Firmware Update page, click Local or Network Share, or FTP to indicate the folder
where the fie is stored. Here, we have taken an example of storing it on a local folder.
9 Updating M1000e Servers and Using in Chassis Management Controller (CMC) VRTX Chassis
5. Click the Browse button to browse through to the DUP file, select the file, and then click Open.
The firmware upload operation is started and the status is displayed.
After the file is downloaded, the Status column displays Package successfully downloaded.
10 Updating M1000e Servers and Using in Chassis Management Controller (CMC) VRTX Chassis
6. In the Update Details section, select the option corresponding to the firmware version you
want to install, and then click Install.
Before you update the firmware, make sure that the Lifecycle Controller of this iDRAC is started.
A message is displayed as given in the screen shot here to indicate that the installation process is started and
status of installation can be viewed by clicking Job Queue. Alternately, click Server > Job Queue.
The Status column shows Completed.
11 Updating M1000e Servers and Using in Chassis Management Controller (CMC) VRTX Chassis
3.1 After Updating iDRAC Firmware
After the iDRAC firmware is updated, it takes around two (2) minutes for the changes to become effective.
During this period, iDRAC will not be available for use.
For more information about whether or not a server restart is required for the firmware to be effective,
see
the
Lifecycle Controller User’s Guide
7. To verify whether or not the firmware is updated correctly, in the left pane, click Server. On the
System Summary page, in the Server Information section, make sure that the updated
For more information about the description of fields that appear on an iDRAC page, click the question mark
symbol (?) in the upper-right corner of a page. For detailed information about the tasks that you
can perform on a page, see the
version is displayed in the Firmware Version row.
iDRAC User’s Guide
available at dell.com/support/manuals.
available at dell.com/support/manuals.
3.2 Updating BIOS and CPLD Firmware
As described in the Updating Firmware Using iDRAC GUI section earlier in this white paper, upload and
update the BIOS and CPLD firmware DUPs that you have downloaded.
Updating BIOS and CPLD Firmware
After updating the firmware of BIOS and CPLD, a server is automatically restarted to affect the update
in Lifecycle Controller, and then ‘power cycle’ after the update is effective.
Also, in case of a CPLD update, after an update, the server is virtually reseated, which results in iDRAC
being not available for use for approximately two (2) minutes, because iDRAC is being restarted and
the server is automatically turned off. After iDRAC restarts, the server is automatically restarted.
12 Updating M1000e Servers and Using in Chassis Management Controller (CMC) VRTX Chassis
4 Inserting Updated Server Module in CMC VRTX Chassis
1. After you update iDRAC firmware, BIOS, and CPLD, make sure that the versions are
correctly appearing on the iDRAC GUI.
2. Turn off the server, and then remove the server from the M1000e chassis.
3. Open the top cover, and then remove the installed mezzanine cards in Fabric B and Fabric C,
if any.
4. Install Dell PCIe Mezzanine adapters in both Fabric B and C mezzanine slots of M520/M620,
and in all four Fabric B1, C1, B2, and C2 mezzanine slots of M820.
5. Fix the top cover, and then insert the server module in the CMC VRTX Chassis. The server
module is now ready for use in the CMC VRTX Chassis.
Additional Resources
See the following documentation available at the Dell Tech Center and Del Support sites:
o integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC) User’s Guide
o RACADM Command Line Reference Guide for iDRAC and CMC
o Chassis Management Controller (CMC) User’s Guide
o Chassis Management Controller for PowerEdge VRTX User’s Guide
o RACADM Command Life Reference Guide for Chassis Management Controller for PowerEdge
VRTX User’s Guide
o Lifecycle Controller User’s Guide
o Lifecycle Controller Remote Services Quick Start Guide
o Relevant white papers
About Authors
o Thai H Nguyen: Systems Principal Engineer in the Modular Server Engineering programs
o Chad Berry: Senior Electrical Engineer in the Modular Server Engineering programs
o Sheshadri P. R. Rao: Tech Writer Advisor working for firmware programs
13 Updating M1000e Servers and Using in Chassis Management Controller (CMC) VRTX Chassis
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