UCS Manager 2.0(5a) released - adds support for B230M1 and B440M1 VMware vSphere 5.1 support

[scotthan]

Man, that's a long title I just typed. But maybe a better chance of getting more Google juice :-)

Important thing is this adds ESX 5.1 support for the B230 M1 and B440 M1 servers that many of you still have and are still in production.

Direct link to download -> http://software.cisco.com/download/release.html?mdfid=283612660&flowid=22121&softwareid=283655658&release=2.0(5a)&relind=AVAILABLE&rellifecycle=&reltype=latest

Release notes -> http://www.cisco.com/en/US/partner/docs/unified_computing/ucs/release/notes/OL_25363.html

VMware HCL showing B230 M1 with ESX 5.1 support with 2.0.5 BIOS -> http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/detail.php?deviceCategory=server&productid=19234&deviceCategory=server&partner=146&releases=171&systemTypes=1&page=1&display_interval=10&sortColumn=Partner&sortOrder=Asc

Questions?

[Lewis Benton]

Did the release notes get pulled?  The link shows 403 forbidden and the download page for 2.0(5a) doesn't have a link to them either.

Also, are there plans to put ESXi 5.1 support into a 2.1 release for the B230M1 blades?

[scotthan]

You have to be logged in with your cisco.com account to view the release notes. If not, it should have redirected you to a page to login.

It's a simple process, get an account here -> http://www.cisco.com/web/siteassets/account/index.html

I just pulled up the release notes from those two links above just fine.

Plan is for B230M1's to stay supported under 2.1 infrastructure. Meaning the blade will stay at 2.0(5a) and the Infrastructure (UCSM, FI's, IOMs) can be at version 2.1 and be fully supported. I'm verifying now.

[scotthan]

Internal mailer confirms we're good to go ...

I was also curious to get the answer to this question, so I checked the interoperability matrix and the Release Notes and yes, ESXi 5.1 is support on UCSM 2.1 (infrastructure) with the blade running 2.0(5) firmware.

UCS HW and SW Interoperability Matrix: http://www.cisco.com/web/techdoc/ucs/interoperability/matrix/matrix.html

Select B-Series, UCS Release 2.0(5), Server Model: B230-M1, OS-Vendor: Vmware, OS: you'll have the option to select ESXi 5.1, which means it's supported. If you try with 2.1 or 2.0(4), ESXi 5.1 is not an option in the drop down menu.

The release notes for UCSM 2.1 confirm that you can run the B230 M1 blade with an older version of software, the minimum being 1.4(1), although they recommend 2.1(1a). Running 2.0(5) will give you support for ESXi 5.1: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/unified_computing/ucs/release/notes/UCS_28313.html#wp49903