Update the System Firmware from Oracle ILOM

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The Live Firmware update feature of the SPARC T8 series servers supports updating the Sun System Firmware while the SPARC host is powered on. Sun System Firmware is an image that includes firmware for the SP and Oracle ILOM, and the server's host components. The SP and Oracle ILOM firmware update goes into immediate effect. However, the host components update is delayed until the affected host is power cycled. Because Oracle ILOM can be updated while the host is powered on, this feature reduces the total system down time.

Before You Begin

See Display the System Firmware Versions to determine firmware versions you have currently.

See Downloading System Firmware Updates to obtain the firmware updates.

Navigate to the directory where you saved the firmware update.
If you used the Oracle Solaris pkg command, the firmware update is located in /var/firmware/system/T8-n/sysfw9-8/pnnnnnnn_nnnx/Firmware/Sun_System_Firmware where the string of characters and numbers varies according to the firmware update.
Read the README file that accompanies the firmware image to be aware of any special release notes or instructions.
Notify SP users of the scheduled firmware update and ask them to close all client sessions until after the firmware update is complete. Do not perform any other Oracle ILOM tasks during the firmware update.
Update the firmware through the Oracle ILOM CLI.
For information about performing firmware updates using the web interface, see Update the Server SP or CMM Firmware Image in Oracle ILOM Administrator’s Guide for Configuration and Maintenance Firmware Release 4.0.x.
1. Log in to Oracle ILOM using an account with Admin privileges.
  See Log In to Oracle ILOM.
2. Load the firmware image from the shared location. Type:
```
-> load -source protocol://username:password@server_ip/path_to_image/image.pkg
```
  The value for protocol can be: http, https, ftp, tftp, sftp, or scp.
  
  For some protocols, you can specify the username and password of the user account to access the server where the firmware image is located. See Supported File Transfer Methods in Oracle ILOM Administrator’s Guide for Configuration and Maintenance Firmware Release 4.0.x.
  
  For example, if the Sun System Firmware image can be accessed through an http server with IP address 198.51.100.123 in a directory called fw-downloads:
```
-> load -source http://198.51.100.123/fw-downloads/Sun_System_Firmware-x_x_x.pkg

NOTE: The host is powered on; HOST firmware will be updated
      automatically when the host is restarted.
```
  If the host is powered off you will not see this note.
  
  The following prompts display.
```
Are you sure you want to load the specified file (y/n)? y
Preserve existing configuration (y/n)? y
```
3. Type y to load the image file, then type y to preserve the existing configuration, which saves the existing Oracle ILOM firmware settings and restores them after the firmware update is complete.
  Note - All firmware update options for your server are enabled (y) by default when using a script (-script) to perform the firmware update.
4. Oracle ILOM displays a status message when the firmware process is complete. The SP reboots to apply the new Oracle ILOM firmware image.
  The host does not reboot if it was powered on when the firmware updates were applied. Host component updates are deferred until the next time the host is powered off and on.
  
  If the host was powered off when firmware was updated, the firmware updates are put in effect the next time you power on the host.

SPARC T8 Series Servers Administration Guide

Update the System Firmware from Oracle ILOM

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