Firmware and software for your server are updated periodically. These updates are made available as software releases. The software releases are a set of downloadable files (patches) that include all available firmware, software, hardware drivers, tools, and utilities for the server. All of these files have been tested together and verified to work with your server.
You must update your server firmware and software as soon as possible after a new software release becomes available. Software releases often include bug fixes, and updating your server ensures that your server has the latest firmware and software. These updates will increase your system performnce, security, and stability.
The server Product Notes list the curent server software release and firmware version that are available. To determine which firmware version is installed on your server, you can use either the Oracle ILOM web interface or the command-line interface, for Oracle ILOM 3.2.6.20 or newer:
From the web interface, click System Information → Summary, then view the property value for System Firmware Version in the General Information table.
From the CLI, at the command prompt, type: show /System/Firmware
The ReadMe document that is included with each patch in a software release contains information about the patch, such as what has changed or not changed from the prior software release, as well as bugs that are fixed with the current release.