First Firmware Update

[statonk01]

We've had our UCS B Series chassis up for almost 2 years now and it's time to update the firmware from 2.0(3b) to the latest.  This is uncharted territory so I wanted to get some feedback from those who have already updated their firmware.  Our servers are B230 M2s and B200 M3s all deployed with the same Service Profile Template.  We have 2 fabric interconnects.  All the servers are part of a VMware cluster.

I've been using this Cisco document as a reference to prepare for the update:  http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/unified_computing/ucs/sw/upgrading/from2-0/to2-1/b_UpgradingCiscoUCSFrom2-0To2-1.html

What I'm unclear on is the steps (which is pretty much all there is) and I'm hoping someone can confirm that I've got this in the right order.

1. Step 1.  Download the UCS Infrastructure Software Bundle from the Cisco support downloads.  Also Download the Cisco UCS B-Series Blade Server Software Bundle.  I would use the latest of both.
2. Step 2.  Via UCS Manager, download firmware under the Firmware Management Tab.  Here I have the option to download locally or to a remote server and then retrieve via some protocol like TFTP.  Given the option, a local download seems easier.
3. Step 3.  Install the downloaded firmware to the fabric interconnects.  Activate the firmware only on the subordinate FI.
4. Step 4. Upgrade the Infrastructure firmware.  Because our UCS is at 2.0 we can't use the Firmware Auto Install feature. First we update CIMC and IOMs. Here I would go into each server individually and hit the General Tab and then Update Firmware.  Then Activate firmware. Will this restart the server? Is the firmware for the adapters uploaded to the FI in step 2?
5. Step 5. Activate the Cisco UCS Manager Software via the Equipment node's Firmware management tab.  Change the verions to the most recent.
6. Step 6. Activate firmware for IOM. Same as UCS Manager
7. Step 7. Failover the FI to the upgraded subordinate FI.  Upgrade the firmware on the non-updated FI.
8. Step 8. Update the host firmware package.  Under Server-Policies we only have one Host Firmware Package defined.  Within that the only thing checked is under the BIOS tab - one option is checked for each of the two models of UCS blade servers we have.  Where does the firmware for this come from?  Was it included in the UCS Infrastructure Software Bundle?

And those are the steps as I understand them.  I'd really appreciate any corrections or additions.  Thanks for the help.

[Walter Dey · Accepted solution]

You can go directly from 2.0 to 2.2 see

Upgrading Cisco UCS from Release 2.0 to Release 2.2

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/unified_computing/ucs/sw/upgrading/from2-0/to2-2/b_UpgradingCiscoUCSFrom2-0To2-2.html

Steps 1 and 2 have to be done

The remaining steps describe actually the manual upgrade procedure.

However, there is a much easier way; autoinstall infrastructure resp. servers (based on host firmware packages).

3) As a first step, upgrade UCS Manager to eg. 2.2.1c, and then you have the menu options for autoinstall.

4) Autoinstall infrastructure

5) Autoinstall servers

see eg. Cisco UCS B-Series GUI Firmware Management Guide, Release 2.2

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/unified_computing/ucs/sw/firmware-mgmt/gui/2-2/b_GUI_Firmware_Management_22.html

[statonk01]

Thanks wdey.  I think I understand.  Upgrading UCS Manager to 2.2.1c  will give me the autoinstall options for everything that follows  (infrastructure, adapters, CIMCs, IOMs, servers)? 

Under this autoinstall scenario do I need to update  the fabric interconnects one at a time or does the autoinstall update  and failover as necessary?

Thanks for that last  link. It was very useful.  I see now the breakdown of what the  infrastructure software bundle includes and the server software bundle  contents.  Are both of these uploaded to the FIs in my step 1 step 2 above?

[Walter Dey]

>>>>> Upgrading UCS Manager to 2.2.1c  will give me the autoinstall options for everything that follows  (infrastructure, adapters, CIMCs, IOMs, servers)? 

Yes ! Infrastructure = UCSM (which you upgrade manually first), IOM, and FI

Server is actually done with Host Firmware Package, therefore create one eg. name it "HFP", and include it in your service profiles. Then with Autoinstall server, you refer to this "HFP", which will then be updated to e.g. 2.2.1c, and CIMC, BIOS, Adaptor,.... is updated (which requires a server reboot); therefore check, that you have a maintenance policy with ACK in place !!

>>>>>> Under this autoinstall scenario do I need to update  the fabric interconnects one at a time or does the autoinstall update  and failover as necessary?

This is all done automatically ! starting with IOM and then slave FI; then the upgrade stops and waits for a ACK, after which the master FI is done; before the ACK you should check, that all your uplinks.... are ok

>>>>> Are both of these uploaded to the FIs in my step 1 step 2 above?

Yes

PS. During the upgrade, you might see tons of error messages, which you can very likely forget, and clear when the upgrade is done

[statonk01]

Thanks wdey.  The UCSM update and infrastructure firmware updates make sense now. 

I'm still a little unsure of the server updates.  Right now we just have one HFP called B230_m2.  We use it for both models of servers in our chassis.   

Based on the screenshot below, it looks like this HFP is linked to the service profile template

So, would I create a new Host Firmware Package and go into the service profile template and choose it from the dropdown menu shown above?  Does this replace the HFP for all servers at once?

[Walter Dey]

Perfect ! you already have a Host Firmware Package. No need to create a new one.

During the autoinstall server, you can select your existing HFP "B230_m2", which will then be updated according the version you specifiy for the migration, e.g. 2.2.1c.

You also have a HFP "default" which is empty; this can also be updated to the release you go for.

See also new features like "Firmware Automatic Synchronization Server policy"

You can use the

Firmware Auto Sync Server

policy in Cisco UCS Manager to determine when and how

firmware versions on recently discovered servers must be upgraded. With this policy, you can upgrade the

firmware versions of recently discovered unassociated servers to match the firmware version defined in the

default host firmware pack. In addition, you can determine if the firmware upgrade process should run

immediately after the server is discovered or run at a later time.

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/unified_computing/ucs/sw/firmware-mgmt/gui/2-2/b_GUI_Firmware_Management_22.pdf