C H A P T E R 10 |
Firmware Upgrade Procedures |
This chapter contains the following sections:
This chapter tells you how to upgrade the firmware on:
The chapter also tells you how to set up a TFTP (Trivial File Transfer Protocol) server if you do not already have one set up on your network. The firmware upgrade procedures require you to use TFTP.
The BSC on each server blade is a management agent for the System Controller. It communicates information about the server blade it resides in to the System Controller. It also receives and processes any commands that you type into the System Controller's command-line interface.
Follow the instructions in this chapter if you have been advised by a Sun support engineer to download new firmware onto a System Controller, server blade, or integrated switch.
New firmware for System Controllers and server blades is available on the following website:
wwws.sun.com/software/download/network.html
These patches are not operating system patches and are not installed using the standard Solaris patchadd(1m) utility. Once the patches have been unpacked they deliver the firmware images with the filename format shown in TABLE 10-1.
In addition to following the instructions in this chapter, please perform any special instructions that are provided in the patch README files.
The procedures for upgrading firmware on the different components of the Sun B1600 blade system chassis involve using TFTP. This means that to perform them you need to have a TFTP server available on your network.
The instructions in this section assume that you are setting up a TFTP server on a Solaris system. For instructions on setting up a TFTP server on a Linux system, see chapter 4 of the B100x and B200x Blade Server Installation and Setup Guide.
Note - If you are using separated data and management networks, you need a TFTP server available on both networks. |
To configure a Solaris system on your network to serve TFTP requests, do the following:
1. On the system that you intend to set up as the TFTP server, log in as root.
2. Use a text editor to un-comment the following line in the file /etc/inetd.conf:
3. On the same system create a TFTP home directory by typing the following at the Solaris prompt:
5. Verify that TFTP is working.
To do this, use TFTP to get a file from the /tftpboot directory. Follow the instructions below:
a. On the system that you are using as the TFTP server, copy any file (for example, the Solaris /etc/release file) to the /tftpboot directory.
Type the following command at the Solaris prompt:
where filename is the name of the file you intend to make available on the TFTP server.
b. Make the file you have just copied read-only:
where filename is the name of the file you intend to make available on the TFTP server.
Note - that TFTP is not the same as FTP. It does not display the same error messages as FTP, and you cannot use the cd or ls commands (or indeed most other commands) that FTP allows you to use. |
c. Change directory to a temporary directory:
d. Use TFTP to get the file from the tftpboot directory:
where filename is the name of the file you intend to make available on the TFTP server.
e. Ensure that the file is in the tmp directory.
When you have downloaded the Sun Fire B1600 firmware patches (and unpacked the firmware images), you need to install them onto the correct directory on the TFTP server. This makes them available to the System Controller's flashupdate command.
To install the firmware onto the TFTP server, at that system's # prompt, type the following:
Note - You must have a-level user privileges to perform an update of the System Controller firmware. For information about the levels of user permission that are available, see Section 3.5, Setting up Named User Accounts for Other People). |
Note - To make the standby System Controller take over as the active one so that you can upgrade the firmware on it, use the setfailover command (see Chapter 7). |
To perform the upgrade, do the following:
1. Check the current version of the System Controller firmware.
The current version of the System Controller firmware appears in the line labeled "Current Running Image".
2. Read the patch README file supplied with the System Controller firmware image and note the version of the firmware it describes.
Also note any special instructions and cautions.
3. Establish that the upgrade is necessary.
If the current System Controller firmware revision matches the version numbers listed in the patch README file, the upgrade is not necessary for this System Controller.
If the current System Controller firmware revision is lower than the latest firmware revision specified in the patch README file, proceed to Step 4.
path specifies the path and filename of the new firmware you intend to download,
ipaddress specifies the IP address of the computer on which the new firmware is stored (in other words, of the TFTP server),
n is either 0 or 1 depending on whether you are downloading new firmware onto SSC0 or SSC1,
and where the -v (verbose) option displays detailed screen output to enable you to observe the progress of the firmware update, and the -y option causes the update command to execute without prompting you for confirmation to proceed.
5. When the update operation has completed, you must reset the System Controller for the new firmware to come into use.
where the -y option causes the System Controller to reset without prompting you for confirmation to proceed.
6. Confirm that the System Controller is now running the new firmware.
7. Upgrade the firmware on the standby System Controller:
a. Follow the instructions in Chapter 7 to make the standby System Controller take over as the active one.
b. Repeat Step 1 through Step 6 above.
1. Check the current version of the blades' BSC firmware.
The current version of the firmware running on each blade is listed at the end of the output from the showsc -v command. Type:
(Note that the : character indicates omitted information.)
2. Read the patch README file supplied with the BSC firmware image and note the version of the firmware that it describes.
Also note any special instructions and cautions.
3. Establish that the upgrade is necessary.
If the current BSC firmware revision for a blade matches the version numbers given in the patch README file, the upgrade is not necessary for that blade.
If the current BSC firmware revision is lower than the latest firmware revision specified in the patch README file, proceed to Step 4.
the -v (verbose) option displays detailed screen output to enable you to observe the progress of the firmware update, and the -y option causes the update command to execute without prompting you for confirmation to proceed.
ipaddress specifies the IP address of the computer on which the new firmware is stored (in other words, of the TFTP server),
path specifies the path and filename of the new firmware you intend to download,
n specifies the blade whose firmware you want to upgrade,
and where [sn...] indicates an optional space-separated list of blades to be updated.
5. Check that the new firmware is running on the blades.
To do this, repeat Step 1 to see an updated list of the firmware on the blades.
This section tells you how to upgrade the OBP firmware on a SPARC Solaris server blade. You need to do this from the Solaris operating environment on the blade itself.
1. Check the current version of the OBP firmware on the blade.
Alternatively, from the PROM monitor's ok prompt on the blade, type:
2. Copy the OBP firmware upgrade to a known location on the blade.
3. Change to the directory that you have put the new firmware into, and extract the contents of the zip file containing it.
4. Read the patch README file and note the version of the OBP firmware that it describes. Also note any special instructions.
5. Establish whether it is necessary to proceed with the OBP firmware upgrade for the particular blade.
If the current Flash PROM revision matches the version numbers given in the patch README file then the upgrade is not necessary for this blade.
If the current Flash PROM firmware revision is lower than the latest firmware revision specified in the patch README file, then proceed to Step 6.
6. Prepare the blade for the OBP firmware upgrade.
Close and exit all applications. You need to do this because the OBP upgrade utility you will run in Step 8 reboots the blade's operating environment.
8. Execute the OBP upgrade utility.
where vxxxxx is the firmware version information.
A sample command is as follows:
9. Repeat Step 1 to confirm that the upgrade was successful.
To download new firmware onto the switch belonging to one of the SSCs:
1. Access the console of the switch you want to download new firmware onto.
where n is either 0 or 1 depending on whether the switch you want to upgrade belongs to SSC0 or SSC1.
2. When prompted, type your switch user name and password.
For information about accessing the switch using the default user name (admin) and password (admin), and about setting passwords, see the Sun B1600 Blade System Chassis Software Setup Guide.
3. Read the patch README file supplied with the switch firmware image and note the version of the firmware that it describes. Also note any special instructions and cautions.
4. Establish that the upgrade is necessary.
Find out the version number of the currently installed operation code firmware.
To do this, type the following:
The version of the operating code appears on the last line of the screen output.
If the current operating code firmware revision matches the version numbers given in the patch README file then the upgrade is not necessary for this switch.
If the current operating code firmware revision is lower than the latest firmware revision specified in the patch README file, then proceed to the next step.
5. Find out if there is more than one version of the operation code firmware stored on the switch.
6. Delete any operation code files marked `N'.
In the example in Step 5, you would type the following to delete the piece of firmware not being used:
7. Perform the download by typing the following:
For more information about downloading firmware to the switch, refer to the description of the "copy" command in the Sun B1600 Blade System Chassis Switch Administrator's Guide (816-3365).
9. Confirm that the new file has been stored in the switch's flash memory.
10. Make the new firmware into the default boot-image for the switch.
11. Reset the switch by typing:
12. When you have reset the switch, log into it again and confirm that the switch is using the new operating code.
13. Repeat Step 1 through Step 12 to upgrade the operating code on the other switch in the chassis.
Copyright © 2004, Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved.