Firmware Update Procedures

C H A P T E R 2

Overview

This chapter provides procedures for updating (flashing) the firmware that resides on:

The server itself (BIOS)

The server’s Service Processor (ILOM)

It also provides procedures for recovering the BIOS or ILOM images.

TABLE 2-1 shows the tasks, the methods used, and the sections that describe them.

TABLE 2-1 Tasks, Methods, and Sections
To Do This Task	Use This Method	Described in This Section
BIOS Upgrade	SP CLI or web GUI	Using the SP to Update Firmware
BIOS Recovery	DOS boot with `Afudos` (updates BIOS only)	Recovering the BIOS Firmware for Afudos
ILOM Upgrade	SP CLI or web GUI	Using the SP to Update Firmware
ILOM Recovery	`SOCFLASH`	Recovering the ILOM Firmware

Note - The ILOM is also known as the service processor (SP), and it is sometimes referred to in the user interface as the BMC.

To ensure proper operation, it is recommended that you synchronize your firmware updates, so that if you update one, you should update the others as well.

Using the SP (ILOM) updates both the ILOM and BIOS firmware, and the CPLD.

If you recover the ILOM using SOCFLASH, or if you recover the BIOS using Afudos, after the recovery, you should run the SP update procedure to synchronize the ILOM and the BIOS firmware.

Using the SP to Update Firmware

This section describes how to use the service processor to update the ILOM, the BIOS, and the CPLD. This section can be used when you need to:

Recover the BIOS

Update the BIOS

Update the ILOM

Caution - ILOM enters a special mode to load new firmware. No other tasks can be performed in ILOM until the firmware upgrade is complete and the ILOM is reset. To ensure a successful update, do notattempt to modify the ILOM configuration, or use other ILOM Web, CLI, SNMP, or IPMI interfaces, during the update process. Wait until after the update succeeds before making further ILOM configuration changes. The update requires a system server and takes about 20 minutes.

Note - You can also use the Sun xVM Ops Center if it is available. Online documentation for Sun xVM Ops Center can be found at:
http://wikis.sun.com/display/xvmOC1dot1/Home

The procedures for updating the ILOM, BIOS, and CPLD are provided in the ILOM 3.0 documentation collection. The following manuals contain variations on these procedures:

Sun Integrated Lights out Manager (ILOM) 3.0 Getting Started Guide

Sun Integrated Lights out Manager (ILOM) 3.0 Web Interface Procedures Guide

Sun Integrated Lights out Manager (ILOM) 3.0 CLI Procedures Guide

Clearing CMOS Settings (Optional)

If you cannot get output to your serial console after the upgrade, you might have to clear CMOS settings. This is because your default CMOS settings might have been changed by the new BIOS upgrade.

To clear CMOS settings, use the following commands (in this example, the default username, root, and the default password, changeme, are used):

ipmitool -U root -P changeme -H SP-IP chassis power off
ipmitool -U root -P changeme -H SP-IP chassis bootdev disk clear-cmos=yes

where SP-IP is the IP address of the service processor.

Note - The -P option might not be available on the Windows and Solaris versions of IPMItool. Instead, IPMItool prompts for a password.

Recovering the BIOS Firmware

Use the following procedure to recover the BIOS firmware, for example if the BIOS image becomes corrupt, or if the update process fails..

1. Copy the following files to a bootable USB flash device.

Afudos.exe

S95-3B16.ROM

2. Connect the USB flash device to the USB connector on the dongle.

3. Reset the server module.

4. Press F8 to enter display a list of bootable devices.

5. Select the USB flash device from the list.

6. Fun the following command from the DOS prompt.

Afudos S95-3B16.ROM /P /B /K /C /X

The BIOS is updated and the server module restarts.

Recovering the ILOM Firmware

Use the following procedure to recover the ILOM firmware, for example, if the upgrade fails, or if the firmware image becomes corrupt.

1. Copy all the files from the Sun Download area, or Tools and Drivers CD, to a bootable USB flash device.

The files are located in the BMCrecovery directory, on the Tools and Drivers CD. They consist of:

SOCFLASH.EXE

DOS4GW

ilom.X6450-number.bin

Where number is a build number, for example 2.0.3.6-r36158.

Note - Use the binary (.bin) file, not a .pkg file.

2. Set up your server module to respond to POST messages and boot prompts.

3. Remove AC power from the system to be flashed.

4. Insert the bootable flash drive into the USB port.

5. Connect AC power, and power on the system.

a. A message appears stating that the BMC was not found.

The system takes up to five minutes to boot.

b. Press F8 to get a list of boot devices.

c. Choose the flash device to boot from.

6. Once the flash device is booted, run the following commands:

socflash -p 1 -f sp-binary-file

7. After a successful flash use the -r option to reset the SP:

socflash -r

8. Access the BIOS Setup Utility to confirm that the BIOS does not report that the BMC was not found.

Notes:

If the backup is selected (-b backup-filename), sufficient free space to store the SP binary backup file must be present on the USB flash device.

The BIOS is not upgraded by this emergency recovery procedure. Perform a second ILOM-based flash upgrade to update the BIOS version.

This emergency flash recovery procedure returns the SP to the default configuration.

The ILOM SPBIOS.pkg file format (for example, ilom.X6450-2.0.3.6-r36158.pkg) cannot be used for emergency recovery. Use the ilom2026.bin recovery image instead.