Lenovo XClarity Administrator Quick Start Guide Updating firmware

Lenovo XClarity Administrator

Quick Start Guide

Updating firmware and software

Version 1.3.2

Contents

Chapter 1. Updating firmware on managed devices . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Firmware-update considerations . . . . . . . . . 6

Managing the firmware-updates repository . . . . . 9

Refreshing the product catalog . . . . . . . 12

Downloading firmware updates . . . . . . . 12

Deleting firmware updates . . . . . . . . . 18

Creating firmware-compliance policies . . . . . . 19

Assigning firmware-compliance policies . . . . . 22

Identifying devices that are not compliant. . . . . 23

Applying and activating firmware updates . . . . 23

Applying and activating firmware updates with compliance policies . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Applying and activating firmware updates without compliance policies . . . . . . . . 28

Chapter 2. Updating the Lenovo

XClarity Administrator management server. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

© Copyright Lenovo 2015, 2017

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Lenovo XClarity Administrator Quick Start Guide Updating firmware and software

Chapter 1. Updating firmware on managed devices

From the Lenovo XClarity Administrator web interface, you can download, install, and manage firmware updates for managed devices, including chassis, servers, storage systems, and switches. You can assign firmware-compliance policies to the managed devices to ensure that firmware on those devices remains compliant. You can also create and edit firmware-compliance policies when validated firmware levels do not match the suggested predefined policies.

About this task

Only firmware updates can be applied to the hardware. You cannot update device drivers using Lenovo

XClarity Administrator.

Note: An operating system is not required to update firmware. For bare metal servers, ensure that the server

is powered off before updating firmware.

You can manage and apply firmware for the following managed devices:

• Chassis. CMM updates

• Converged, Flex System NeXtScale, and System x servers. Baseboard management controller, UEFI,

DSA, mezzanine, and adapter updates

• Lenovo Storage devices.

• RackSwitch and Flex System switches.

Firmware for the following devices cannot be updated through Lenovo XClarity Administrator:

• ThinkServer servers. See the documentation that was provided with the server to find information about how to update the firmware.

• Flex Power Systems compute nodes. Several methods are available to update firmware for Flex Power

Systems compute nodes. For more information, see IBM Flex System p260/p460 Compute Nodes online documentation. The process for other Flex Power Systems compute nodes is similar.

• Flex System v7000 Storage Node. Use the Flex System v7000 Storage Node user interface to update the firmware. For more information, see Flex System v7000 Storage Node online documentation.

• Flex switches that are in stacked mode or protected mode. You cannot update firmware on stacked switches. Updating firmware is disabled for all switches that are stacked.

• Flex switches. If you are using the following switch, see the documentation that was provided with the switch to find information about how to update the firmware.

– Cisco Nexus B22 Fabric Extender (http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/switches/nexus-b22- blade-fabric-extender/index.html)

For information about installing operating systems using Lenovo XClarity Administrator (see Deploying an operating system image in the Lenovo XClarity Administrator online documentation).

Procedure

The following figure illustrates the workflow for updating firmware on managed devices.


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Step 1. Manage the firmware-updates repository

The firmware-updates repository contains a catalog of available updates and the update packages that can be applied to the managed devices.

The product catalog contains information about firmware updates that are currently available for all devices that Lenovo XClarity Administrator supports. The catalog organizes the firmware updates in update packages by device type. When you refresh the catalog, Lenovo XClarity Administrator retrieves information about the latest available firmware updates from the Lenovo website and stores the information in the firmware-updates repository.

If new firmware updates are available, you must first download the update packages before you can update that firmware on the managed devices. Refreshing the catalog does not automatically download update packages. The Product Catalog table on the Firmware Updates Repository page identifies which update packages are downloaded and which are available for download.

You can download and then install firmware-update repository packs, which contains all available firmware updates and a refreshed firmware-compliance policy. These firmware-update repository packs are imported and then applied from the Update Management Server page. When you apply a firmware-update repository pack, each update package in the pack is added to the firmware- updates repository, and a default firmware-compliance policy is automatically created for all manageable devices.

The following repository packs are available:

• lnvgy_sw_lxca_cmmswitchrepo1-x.x.x_anyos_noarch. Contains firmware updates for all

CMMs, Flex System and RackSwitch switches, and Lenovo Storage devices.

• lnvgy_sw_lxca_serverrepo1-x.x.x_anyos_noarch. Contains firmware updates for all CMMs and Converged HX Series, Flex System, NeXtScale, and System x servers.

You also can download individual firmware-update packages, at one time. When you download firmware-update packages, Lenovo XClarity Administrator downloads the update, based on the version that is listed in the catalog, and stores the update packages in the firmware-updates repository. You can then create firmware-compliance policies using those update packages for each of your managed devices.

Lenovo XClarity Administrator must be connected to the Internet to refresh the catalog and download firmware-update repository packs or individual firmware updates. If it is not connected to the Internet, you can manually download the files to a workstation that has network access to the

Lenovo XClarity Administrator host using a web browser and then import the updates into the

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firmware-updates repository. The firmware updates that you import into Lenovo XClarity

Administrator must include all required files, including the payload (image and MIB), XML, change history, and readme files.

Note: The core firmware updates (such as management controller, UEFI, and pDSA) are operating-

system independent. Firmware-update packages for the RHEL 6 or SLES 11 operating systems are used to update compute nodes and rack servers. For more information about which firmware-

update packages to use for your managed servers, see “Downloading firmware updates” on page

12.

Attention:

• If you do not include the XML file in the update package, the update is not imported.

• If you do not include all files that are associated with the update, the repository shows that the update is not downloaded, which means that it is partially imported. You can then import the missing files by selecting and importing them.

For more information about the firmware updates, see “Managing the firmware-updates repository” on page 9.

Step 2. (Optional) Create and assigning firmware-compliance policies

Firmware-compliance policies ensure that the firmware on specific devices is at the current or specific level by flagging the devices that need attention. Each firmware-compliance policy identifies which devices are monitored and which firmware-update level must be installed to keep the devices in compliance. Lenovo XClarity Administrator then uses these policies to check the status of managed devices and to identify devices that are out of compliance.

When you create a firmware-compliance policy, you can choose to have Lenovo XClarity

Administrator flag a device when:

• The firmware on the device is down level

• The firmware on the device does not exactly match the compliance target version

Lenovo XClarity Administrator comes with predefined firmware-compliance policies, labeled

DEFAULT-<devices>-<date>, which flags any device as not compliant when the firmware on that

device is down level.

After a firmware-compliance policy is created, Lenovo XClarity Administrator checks the compliance status of each device when there are changes to the hardware inventory or firmware- updates repository. When the firmware on a device is not compliant with the assigned policy,

Lenovo XClarity Administrator identifies that device as not compliant on the Firmware Updates:

Apply / Activate page, based on the rule that you specified in the firmware-compliance policy.

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Updating firmware on managed devices

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For example, you can create a firmware-compliance policy that defines the baseline level for firmware that is installed in all Flex System x440 Compute Nodes and then assign that firmware- compliance policy to all managed x440 compute nodes. When the firmware-updates repository is refreshed and a new firmware update is added, those compute nodes might become out of compliance. When that happens, Lenovo XClarity Administrator updates the Firmware Updates:

Apply / Activate page to show that the devices are not compliant.

For more information about the firmware-compliance policies, see “Creating firmware-compliance policies” on page 19.

Step 3. Applying and activating updates

Lenovo XClarity Administrator does not automatically apply firmware updates to managed devices.

To update firmware, you must manually apply and active the update on selected devices. You can apply the firmware in one of the following ways:

• Apply and activate firmware on managed devices that are not compliant with the assigned firmware-compliance policy.

You can choose to apply and activate all firmware updates that apply to a firmware-compliance policy or only specific firmware updates in a policy.

Firmware-compliance policies must be created and assigned to the devices on which you intend

to apply firmware updates. For more information, see “Creating firmware-compliance policies”

on page 19 and “Assigning firmware-compliance policies” on page 22.

If the device has an assigned compliance policy and the firmware update results in compliance violations, you must correct the violations either by adjusting the compliance policy or assigning an alternate policy.

• Apply and activate firmware that is later than the currently installed firmware on a single managed device or group of devices without using compliance policies.

Note: If you choose to install a firmware-update package that contains updates for multiple

devices, all devices to which the update package applies are updated.

When you perform updates on a set of devices, Lenovo XClarity Administrator performs the updates in the following order:

• Chassis CMM

• RackSwitch and Flex System switches

• Flex System, NeXtScale, and System x servers.

• Lenovo Storage devices

To activate the firmware updates, the devices must be restarted. (Note that restarting a device is disruptive.) You can choose to restart the devices as part of the update process (called immediate activation), or wait until a maintenance window is available to restart the devices (called delayed activation). In this case, you must manually restart the device for the update to take effect.

Note: Updates to CMMs and Flex switches are always activated immediately, even if you select

delayed activation.

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When you choose to update the firmware for a managed device, the following steps occur:

1. Lenovo XClarity Administrator sends the firmware updates (for example, for the management controller, UEFI, and DSA) to the device.

2. When the device is restarted, the firmware updates are activated on the device.

3. For servers, Lenovo XClarity Administrator sends updates for optional devices, such as network adapter and hard drive updates. Lenovo XClarity Administrator applies these updates, and the server is restarted

4. When you restart the device or choose immediate activation, the updates for the optional devices are activated.

Attention: Before you attempt to apply and activate updates on managed devices, ensure that you

have completed the following actions:

• Read the firmware-update considerations before you attempt to update firmware on your

managed devices (see “Firmware-update considerations” on page 6).

• Ensure that the firmware-updates repository contains the firmware packages that you intend to deploy. If not, refresh the product catalog, and download the appropriate firmware updates (see

“Refreshing the product catalog” on page 12 and “Downloading firmware updates” on page 12).

Note: When Lenovo XClarity Administrator is initially installed, the product catalog and the

repository are empty.

• Ensure that the Flex switches that are being updated are powered on.

• Ensure that no jobs are currently running on the target server. If jobs are running, the update job is queued until all other jobs have completed. To see a list of active jobs, click Monitoring ➙

Jobs.

• Typically, devices must be restarted to activate the firmware update. If you choose to restart the device during the update process (immediate activation), ensure that any running workloads have either been stopped or, if you are working in a virtualized environment, moved to a different server.

• If Lenovo XClarity Administrator runs on a hypervisor host that runs on a managed server, do not use Lenovo XClarity Administrator to update firmware on that server. When firmware updates are applied with immediate activation, Lenovo XClarity Administrator forces the target server to restart, which would restart the hypervisor host and Lenovo XClarity Administrator as well. When applied with deferred activation, only some firmware is applied until the target system is restarted.

• If you are updating CMMs that are running firmware level stack release 1.3.2.1 2PET12K through

2PET12Q, that have been running for more than three weeks, and are in a dual-CMM configuration, you must virtually reseat both the primary and standby CMMs before updating firmware (see Virtually reseating a CMM in the Lenovo XClarity Administrator online documentation).

• On the Apply/Activate page, the NVMe firmware version is listed for solid state drives (SSDs).

Because no target firmware update is identified for discovered NVMe devices, a warning message is displayed when you attempt to update the target system. However, the HDD/SSD update is applied even if it is not identified with a target component, so the NVMe firmware is still updated.

• If the device has an assigned compliance policy and the firmware update results in compliance violations, you must correct the violations either by adjusting the compliance policy or assigning an alternate policy.

For more information about installing updates, see “Applying and activating firmware updates” on page 23.

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Firmware-update considerations

Before you begin updating firmware for managed devices by using Lenovo XClarity Administrator, review the following important considerations.

• Minimum required levels of firmware.

Ensure that the firmware that is installed on each managed device is at the minimum required level before using Lenovo XClarity Administrator to update firmware on those devices. For information about firmware requirements, see Supported firmware in the Lenovo XClarity Administrator online documentation.

Note: For information about I/O device support and known limitations, see the Lenovo XClarity

Administrator Support – Compatibility webpage (https://datacentersupport.lenovo.com/solutions/lnvo- xclarit).

• Before updating the CMM2 to v1.30 (1AON06C) or later, Flex switches must be running Level 3

version of Enhanced Configuration and Management (EHCM L3)

CMM2 and the Flex switches communicate using the EHCM protocol. This protocol is required for Lenovo

XClarity Administrator to update the Flex switches. When you update a CMM2 to v1.30 (1AON06C) or later, Lenovo XClarity Administrator verifies that the Flex switches are running EHCM L3 and if not, cancels the CMM update with a warning that the Flex switches must be first updated to a version that supports EHCM-L3. You can override this verification by selecting Attempt to update components

already in compliance when updating the CMM firmware.

Attention: There is currently no firmware version for Flex System EN6131 Ethernet switches and IB6131

InfiniBand switches that support EHCM L3. This means that after you update the CMM2 to firmware v1.30

(1AON06C) or later, you can no longer use Lenovo XClarity Administrator to update those switches. The work-around is to use the management controller web interface or command-line interface for the chassis to update the switch.

Flex System switch

CN4093

EN4023

EN4093

EN4093R

EN6132

FC3171

FC5022

IB6132

SI4091

SI4093

Version

7.8.4.0

6.0.0

7.8.4.0

7.8.4.0

Not available

9.1.3.02.00

7.4.0b1

Not available

7.8.4.0

7.8.4.0

Release date

June 2014

April 2015

June 2014

June 2014

Not available

June 2014

March 2016

Not available

June 2014

June 2014

Note: The EN2092 1-Gb Ethernet Scalable Switch does not require EHCM L3 and does not have this

restriction.

• Update all components to the level that is included in the firmware-updates repository.

Because firmware updates for Flex System components are tested and released together, it is recommended that you maintain the same firmware level on all components in a Flex System chassis.

Therefore, it is important to update firmware on all components in the chassis in the same maintenance window. Lenovo XClarity Administrator applies the selected updates in the correct sequence automatically.

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• Some firmware updates are codependent on a minimum level of device driver.

Before applying adapter and I/O firmware updates on a server, you might be required to update the device driver to a minimum level. In general, firmware updates are not dependent on specific levels of device drivers. Refer to the firmware update readme for such co-dependencies, and update the device drivers in your operating system before updating the firmware. Lenovo XClarity Administrator does not update device drivers in your operating system.

• Updates applied to the primary management controller and UEFI firmware partitions.

Baseboard management-controller (BMC) and UEFI updates can be applied to the primary and backup firmware partitions for the management controller and UEFI independently.

You can also apply management controller and UEFI updates to only the primary firmware partitions on the server. By default, the management controller is configured to synchronize the backup management controller partition with the primary management controller partition after the primary management controller has been running satisfactorily and the new level is ready to promote to backup. However, the management controller is not configured to synchronize the UEFI backup partition by default. Therefore, consider one of the following options on the management controller :

– Enable the automatic synchronization of the UEFI backup partition.

This ensures that both the primary and backup partitions are running the same level of firmware (and that the backup UEFI firmware is compatible with the management controller firmware).

– Disable the automatic synchronization of the management-controller backup partition.

Although not recommended, this gives you complete control over the firmware levels for the management controller and the UEFI. However, you must manually update the management controller and UEFI firmware for both partitions.

You use firmware-compliance policies to determine which updates are applied to each device. For more

information about firmware-compliance policies, see “Creating firmware-compliance policies” on page 19.

Note: If the management controller and UEFI are configured to automatically synchronize the backup

firmware from the primary, it is not necessary for Lenovo XClarity Administrator to update the backup banks. In that case, you can clear the backup bank updates when applying updates to a server or remove the backup banks from the firmware-compliance policy.

• Possibility of VMware vSphere ESXi system failure (host purple diagnostic screen) when a

management controller is reset.

If you are running VMware vSphere ESXi on any server, ensure that the following minimum VMware ESXi levels are installed before updating the firmware on the server:

– If you are running VMware vSphere ESXi 5.0, install a minimum level of 5.0u2 (update 2)

– If you are running VMware vSphere ESXi 5.1, install a minimum level of 5.1u1 (update 1)

If you do not install these minimum levels, a VMware vSphere ESXi system failure (host purple diagnostic screen) might occur whenever the management controller is reset, including when management-controller firmware is applied and activated.

Note: This issue does not affect ESXi v5.5.

• Firmware updates are disruptive and require that workloads be quiesced on devices.

Performing firmware updates on managed devices is disruptive if you choose to immediately activate the update. You must quiesce the devices before updating firmware using immediate activation.

When updating firmware on servers, the servers are shut down and placed in a maintenance operating system to update device drivers for adapters, disk drives, and solid-state drives.

Flex switches in a given chassis are updated sequentially and are restarted during the firmware update process. Implementing redundant data paths lessens the disruption, but there might still be a brief interruption in network connectivity during the firmware update.

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• Do not use Lenovo XClarity Administrator to update the firmware on the server on which Lenovo

XClarity Administrator is running.

If Lenovo XClarity Administrator is running on a hypervisor host that runs on a server that it is managing, you must not update firmware on that server using Lenovo XClarity Administrator. The firmware-update process shuts down the target server, so selecting Lenovo XClarity Administrator as a target node also shuts down the hypervisor host and Lenovo XClarity Administrator.

• Select Immediate Activation when updating compute nodes that are at management-controller

firmware levels earlier than Flex System 1.3.2.

When you apply the Flex System 1.3.2, 2nd Quarter lifecycle release to a compute node, you must choose immediate activation to update the compute node. Immediate activate forces the compute node to restart during the update process.

• Flex switches must be configured with an IP address that is reachable from Lenovo XClarity

Administrator.

The target Flex switch must be assigned an IP address that can communicate with Lenovo XClarity

Administrator so that Lenovo XClarity Administrator can download and apply the firmware update.

• Firmware version does not detect disk drives and solid state drives.

Lenovo XClarity Administrator does not detect the installed firmware version and does not perform a compliance check for certain disk drives and solid-state drives (SSDs). The drives might have a level of firmware that is not supported or might not support firmware-version reporting. However, firmware updates are applied to those drives when selected.

• Update support on scalable complexes, such as x480 X6 and x880 X6 nodes.

Update support on scalable nodes such as the Flex System x480 X6 and x880 X6 compute nodes is limited to configurations where the complex is configured as a single partition that includes all compute nodes that are part of the multi-node complex. You cannot use Lenovo XClarity Administrator to update a complex that consists of multiple partitions.

If you assign a firmware-compliance policy to a partition that includes multiple servers in a scalable complex (such as Flex System x480 X6 and x880 X6 compute nodes), Lenovo XClarity Administrator updates firmware on all management controllers and UEFIs for each server in the partition by default.

However, if you select a subset of components within the partition, Lenovo XClarity Administrator updates the firmware on only the selected components in the partition.

• Applying the ServeRAID M5115 PSoC3 update package from Lenovo XClarity Administrator

requires a minimum installed level of 68.

The ServeRAID M5115 PSoC3 (Programmable System-on-Chip) update from earlier than version 68 must be done in a controlled manner.

Tip: You can view the code version for the ServeRAID M5115 PSoC3 by logging in to the CMM web

interface and selecting the Firmware tab for the target compute node. Then, select the expansion card for the ServeRAID M5115 adapter. The PSoc3 code version is the GENERIC firmware type.

For installed versions earlier than 68, you cannot update using Lenovo XClarity Administrator. Instead you must perform the following steps from either the Chassis Management Module (CMM) web interface or the command-line interface (CLI):

– Using the CMM web interface:

1. Log in to the Chassis Management Module (CMM) web interface.

2. From the main menu, click Service and Support ➙ Advanced.

3. Click the Service Reset tab.

4. Select the appropriate compute node by clicking its radio button.

5. From the Reset pull down button, click Virtual Reseat.

6. Click OK to confirm.

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– Using the CMM CLI:

1. Log in to the CMM Secure Shell (SSH) interface.

2. Enter the following command to perform a virtual reseat:

'service -vr -T blade[x] where x is the bay number of the compute node to be reseated.

After the system is powered back on, boot to the operating system and update the ServeRAID M5115

PSoC3 using the extracted embedded update package. Complete the following steps to extract the embedded package.

– Using Microsoft Windows:

Open the update package (lnvgy_fw_psoc3_m5115-70_windows_32-64.exe), and select Extract to

Hard Drive. Then, select the path where the embedded package is to be extracted.

– Using Linux:

Run the following command: lnvgy_fw_psoc3_m5115-70_linux_32-64.bin -x where x is the location where the embedded package is to be extracted.

Managing the firmware-updates repository

The firmware-updates repository includes the product catalog, which contains information about firmware updates that are currently available on the Support website for all devices that Lenovo XClarity Administrator supports. The catalog organizes the firmware updates in update packages by device type.

About this task

The firmware-updates repository contains a catalog of available updates and the update packages that can be applied to the managed devices.

The product catalog contains information about firmware updates that are currently available for all devices that Lenovo XClarity Administrator supports. The catalog organizes the firmware updates in update packages by device type. When you refresh the catalog, Lenovo XClarity Administrator retrieves information about the latest available firmware updates from the Lenovo website and stores the information in the firmware-updates repository.

If new firmware updates are available, you must first download the update packages before you can update that firmware on the managed devices. Refreshing the catalog does not automatically download update packages. The Product Catalog table on the Firmware Updates Repository page identifies which update packages are downloaded and which are available for download.

Lenovo XClarity Administrator must be connected to the Internet to refresh the catalog and download firmware-update repository packs or individual firmware updates. If it is not connected to the Internet, you can manually download the files to a workstation that has network access to the Lenovo XClarity

Administrator host using a web browser and then import the updates into the firmware-updates repository.

The firmware updates that you import into Lenovo XClarity Administrator must include all required files, including the payload (image and MIB), XML, change history, and readme files.

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Attention:

• If you do not include the XML file in the update package, the update is not imported.

• If you do not include all files that are associated with the update, the repository shows that the update is not downloaded, which means that it is partially imported. You can then import the missing files by selecting and importing them.

After the firmware-updates package is downloaded in the repository, information is provided about each update in the package, including the release date, size, policy usage, and severity. The severity indicates the impact and the need to apply the update to help you to assess how your environment might be affected.

• Initial Release. This is the first release of the firmware.

• Critical. The firmware release contains urgent fixes for data corruption, security, or stability issue.

• Suggested. The firmware release contains significant fixes for problems that you are likely to encounter.

• Non-Critical. The firmware release contains minor fixes, performance enhancements, and textual changes.

Notes:

• The severity is relative to the previously released version of the update. For example, if the installed firmware is v1.01, and update v1.02 is Critical and update v1.03 is Recommended, this means that the update from 1.02 to 1.03 is recommended, but the update from v1.01 to v1.03 is critical because it is cumulative (v1.03 includes v1.02 critical issues).

• Special cases might arise where an update is only critical or recommended for a specific machine type or operating system. Refer to the Release Notes for additional information.

Procedure

To view firmware updates that are available in the product catalog, complete the following steps.

Step 1. From the Lenovo XClarity Administrator menu bar, click Provisioning ➙ Repository. The Firmware

Updates Repository page is displayed with a list of available firmware-update packages, organized by device type.

Step 2. Expand a device and device components to list the update packages and firmware updates for that device.

You can sort the table columns and click the Expand all icon ( ) and Collapse all icon ( ) to make it easier to find specific firmware updates. In addition, you can enter text (such as a system name or firmware level) in the Filter field to further filter the devices and firmware updates that are displayed.

Note: For servers, specific update packages are available based on the type of server. For

example, if you expand a server, such as the Flex System x240 Compute Node, update packages that are available specifically for that compute node are displayed.

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Results

From this page, you can perform the following actions:

• Refresh this page with the current firmware-update information in the catalog by clicking the Refresh icon

( ).

• Retrieve the latest information about available updates by clicking Refresh Catalog.Retrieving this

information might take several minutes to complete. For more information, see “Refreshing the product catalog” on page 12.

• Add the firmware updates to the repository by selecting one or more update packages or updates in the product catalog and then clicking the Download icon ( ). When the firmware updates are downloaded and added to the repository, the status changes to “Downloaded.”

Note: The Lenovo XClarity Administrator must be connected to the Internet to acquire updates through

the Lenovo XClarity Administrator user interface. If it is not connected to the Internet, you can import updates that you previously downloaded.

For more information about downloading updates, see “Downloading firmware updates” on page 12.

• Import firmware updates that you manually downloaded to a workstation that has network access to

Lenovo XClarity Administrator by selecting one or more updates and then clicking the Import icon ( ).

For more information about importing updates, see “Downloading firmware updates” on page 12.

• Stop firmware acquisitions that are currently in progress by selecting one or more updates and then clicking the Cancel Downloads icon ( ).

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• Delete update packages or individual updates from the repository (see “Deleting firmware updates” on page 18).

• Export firmware updates that exist in the firmware-updates repository to a local system by selecting the updates and clicking the Export icon ( ). You can then import the firmware updates to an Lenovo

XClarity Administrator instance.

Each firmware update include the update image or payload file (.zip, .bin, .uxz, or .tgz), metadata file (. xml), change history file (.chg), and readme file (.txt).

Attention: Do not change the name of the firmware update files.

Refreshing the product catalog

The product catalog contains information about all firmware updates that are available for all devices that

Lenovo XClarity Administrator supports, including chassis, servers, and Flex switches.

About this task

When you refresh the catalog, Lenovo XClarity Administrator retrieves information about the latest available firmware updates from the Lenovo XClarity Support website (https://datacentersupport.lenovo.com/ products/solutions-and-software/software/lenovo-xclarity/solutions/HT115665) and stores the information to the firmware-updates repository.

An Internet connection is required to refresh the product catalog.

Note: Refreshing the catalog only adds information about available firmware updates to the repository. It

does not download the update packages. You must download the firmware updates to make the updates

available for installation. For more information about downloading updates, see “Downloading firmware updates” on page 12.

Note: Refreshing the catalog might take several minutes to complete.

Procedure

To refresh the product catalog, complete the following steps.

Step 1. From the Lenovo XClarity Administrator menu bar, click Provisioning ➙ Repository. The Firmware

Updates Repository page is displayed.

Step 2. Click Refresh Catalog, and then click one of the following options to obtain information about the latest available firmware updates.

• Refresh Selected - Latest Only. Retrieves information about the most current version of firmware updates that are available for only the selected devices.

• Refresh All - Latest Only. Retrieves information about the most current version of all firmware updates for all supported devices.

• Refresh Selected. Retrieves information about all versions of firmware updates that are available for only the selected devices.

• Refresh All. Retrieves information about all versions of all firmware updates that are available for all supported devices.

Downloading firmware updates

You can download or import firmware updates in the firmware-updates repository, depending on your access to the Internet. Firmware updates must be available in the firmware-updates repository before you can update firmware on management devices.

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Before you begin

Ensure that all ports and Internet address that Lenovo XClarity Administrator requires are available before you attempt to download firmware. For more information about ports, see Port availability and Firewalls and proxy servers in the Lenovo XClarity Administrator online documentation.

If a device type is not listed in the firmware-updates repository, you must first manage a device of that type before downloading or importing individual firmware updates for that device type.

Important:

• For Lenovo XClarity Administrator v1.1.1 and earlier, you must manually download and import the firmware update packs for Lenovo hardware from Lenovo XClarity Administrator download webpage

(https://datacentersupport.lenovo.com/solutions/LNVO-LXCAUPD).

• Lenovo XClarity Administrator cannot download updates for RackSwitch switches and Lenovo storage devices from the Lenovo website to the firmware-updates repository; instead, you must manually download and import the RackSwitch and Lenovo Storage updates from the Lenovo website to a workstation that has network access to the Lenovo XClarity Administrator host, or download and apply the firmware-update repository packs, which contain all available firmware updates.

• Internet Explorer 9 and later has an upload limit of 4 GB. If the file that you are importing is greater than 4

GB, consider using another web browser, such as Chrome or Firefox.

About this task

You can download and then install firmware-update repository packs, which contains all available firmware updates and a refreshed firmware-compliance policy. These firmware-update repository packs are imported and then applied from the Update Management Server page. When you apply a firmware-update repository pack, each update package in the pack is added to the firmware-updates repository, and a default firmware- compliance policy is automatically created for all manageable devices.

The following repository packs are available:

• lnvgy_sw_lxca_cmmswitchrepo1-x.x.x_anyos_noarch. Contains firmware updates for all CMMs, Flex

System and RackSwitch switches, and Lenovo Storage devices.

• lnvgy_sw_lxca_serverrepo1-x.x.x_anyos_noarch. Contains firmware updates for all CMMs and

Converged HX Series, Flex System, NeXtScale, and System x servers.

You also can download individual firmware-update packages, at one time. When you download firmware- update packages, Lenovo XClarity Administrator downloads the update, based on the version that is listed in the catalog, and stores the update packages in the firmware-updates repository. You can then create firmware-compliance policies using those update packages for each of your managed devices.

Lenovo XClarity Administrator must be connected to the Internet to refresh the catalog and download firmware-update repository packs or individual firmware updates. If it is not connected to the Internet, you can manually download the files to a workstation that has network access to the Lenovo XClarity

Administrator host using a web browser and then import the updates into the firmware-updates repository.

The firmware updates that you import into Lenovo XClarity Administrator must include all required files, including the payload (image and MIB), XML, change history, and readme files.

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Note: The core firmware updates (such as management controller, UEFI, and pDSA) are operating-system

independent. Firmware-update packages for the RHEL 6 or SLES 11 operating systems are used to update compute nodes and rack servers.

You can determine whether firmware-update repository packs are stored in the management-server updates repository from the Download Status column on Update Management Server page. This column contains the following values:

•

Downloaded. The firmware-update repository pack is stored in the repository.

•

Not Downloaded. The firmware-update repository pack is available but not stored in the repository.

You can determine whether specific firmware updates are stored in the firmware-updates repository from the

Download Status column on Firmware Updates: Repository page. This column contains the following

values:

•

Downloaded. The entire update package or the individual firmware update is stored in the repository.

• x of y Downloaded. Some but not all firmware updates in the update package are stored in the repository. The numbers in parentheses indicate the number of available updates and the number of stored updates, or there are no updates for the specific device type.

•

Not Downloaded. The entire update package or the individual firmware update is available but not

stored in the repository.

A message is displayed on the page when the repository is more than 50% full. Another message is displayed on the page when the repository is more than 85% full. To reduce the space used in the repository, you can remove unused images files and policies. You can remove unused firmware-compliance policies and associated firmware packages by clicking Provisioning ➙ Compliance policies, selecting one or more policies to delete, and then clicking Actions ➙ Delete any policy and firmware packages.

The following table summarizes the differences between acquiring firmware-update repository packs and individual firmware-update packages.

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Update package

Firmware-update repository packs

Firmware-update packages

UI page for downloading and importing files

Update Management

Server page

Note: You must import and then apply the repository pack.

Repository page

Webpage to download files manually

Is the firmware updates repository refreshed?

Yes Lenovo XClarity

Administrator download webpage (https:// datacentersupport.lenovo. com/solutions/LNVO-

LXCAUPD)

Lenovo XClarity Support website (https:// datacentersupport.lenovo. com/products/solutions- and-software/software/ lenovo-xclarity/solutions/

HT115665)

Notes: Use the Fix Central website (https://www.ibm. com/ support/fixcentral/) for the following devices:

• Flex System x220 Type

2585, 7906

• Flex System x222

Compute Node Type

2589, 7916


7863, 8737, 8738, 8956

• Flex System x280 / x480 / x880 X6 Type 4259, 7903


2584, 7917

• System x M4 servers

Yes

Is the firmware- compliance policy refreshed automatically?

Yes

No

Procedure

To download one or more firmware updates, complete the following steps.

• To import one or more firmware-update repository packs:

1. From the Lenovo XClarity Administrator menu bar, click Administration ➙ Update Management

Server to display the Management Server Update page.

2. Download the latest management-server update:

– If Lenovo XClarity Administrator is connected to the Internet: a. Retrieve information about the latest updates by clicking the Refresh Repository icon ( ).

New management-server updates and firmware-update repository packs are listed in the table on the “Management Server Update” page.Refreshing the repository might take several minutes to complete.

Note: Refreshing the repository does not automatically download update packages.

b. Select the firmware-update repository packs that you want to download.

Tip: Ensure that the packages that you select have “Supplemental Pack” in the Type column.

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c. Click the Download Selected icon ( ). When the download is complete, the Download

Status for that software update changes to “Downloaded”.

– If Lenovo XClarity Administrator is not connected to the Internet: a. Download the firmware-update repository packs from the Lenovo XClarity Administrator download webpage (https://datacentersupport.lenovo.com/solutions/LNVO-LXCAUPD) to a workstation that has a network connection to the Lenovo XClarity Administrator host.

b. From the Management Server Update page, click the Import icon ( ).

c. Click Select Files, and browse to the location of the firmware-update repository packs on the workstation.

d. Select all package files, and then, click Open.

You must import the metadata file (.xml) as well as the image or payload file (.zip, .bin, .uxz, or . tgz), change history file (.chg), and readme file (.txt) for the update. Any files that are selected but are not specified in the .xml file are discarded. If you do not include the .xml file, the update is not imported.

e. Click Import.

When the import is complete, the firmware-update repository packs are listed in the table on the Management Server Update page, and the Download Status for each update is

“Downloaded”.

3. Select the firmware-update repository packs that you want to install to the firmware-updates repository.

Note: Ensure that Download Status is “Downloaded” and that the Type is “Patch.”

4. Click the Perform Update icon ( ) add the firmware-update packages to the repository.

5. Wait a few minutes for the update to complete and Lenovo XClarity Administrator to be restarted.

6. Determine if the update is complete by refreshing the web browser.

When completed, the Management Server Update page is displayed, and the Applied Status column changes to “Applied.”

7. Clear the web browser cache.

• To download one or more specific firmware-update packages if Lenovo XClarity Administrator is connected to the Internet, complete the following steps.

1. From the Lenovo XClarity Administrator menu bar, click Provisioning ➙ Repository to display the

Firmware Updates Repository page.

2. Retrieve information about the latest updates by clicking the Refresh Repository icon ( ). New firmware-update packages are listed in the table on the Management Server Update page.

Refreshing the repository might take several minutes to complete.


3. Expand the device to display the list of available firmware updates.

4. Select one or more firmware updates that you want to download, and click the Download Selected icon ( ).

Tip: An update package can consist of multiple firmware updates. When you download a firmware

update, you can choose to download the entire update package or only specific updates. You can also choose to download multiple packages at one time.

• To import one or more specific firmware-update packages if the Lenovo XClarity Administrator is not connected to the Internet:

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1. Download the firmware-update packages to a workstation that has network connection to the Lenovo

XClarity Administrator host.

For the following servers, download firmware updates for the SLES 11 operating system from the Fix

Central website (https://www.ibm.com/ support/fixcentral/):

– Flex System x220 Type 2585, 7906

– Flex System x222 Compute Node Type 2589, 7916

– Flex System x240 Type 7863, 8737, 8738, 8956

– Flex System x280 / x480 / x880 X6 Type 4259, 7903

– Flex System x440 Type 2584, 7917

– System x M4 servers

For all other servers, download firmware updates for the RHEL 6 operating system. from the Lenovo

XClarity Support website (https://datacentersupport.lenovo.com/products/solutions-and-software/ software/lenovo-xclarity/solutions/HT115665).

2. From the Lenovo XClarity Administrator menu bar, click Provisioning ➙ Repository to display the

Firmware Updates Repository page.

3. Click the Import icon ( ).

4. Click Select Files, and browse to the location of the firmware updates on the workstation.

5. Select all package files, and then click Open.

You must import the metadata file (.xml) as well as the image or payload file (.zip, .bin, .uxz, or .tgz), change history file (.chg), and readme file (.txt) for the update. Any files that are selected but are not specified in the .xml file are discarded.

Attention:

– If you do not include the XML file in the update package, the update is not imported.

– If you do not include all files that are associated with the update, the repository shows that the update is not downloaded, which means that it is partially imported. You can then import the missing files by selecting and importing them.

6. Click Import.

Results

Downloading the firmware updates might take a few minutes. When the updates have been downloaded and stored in the repository, the row in the product catalog is highlighted, and the Download Status column is changed to “Downloaded.”

Note: The machine type for some switches might show up as a hexadecimal number.

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Deleting firmware updates

You can delete firmware updates and update packages from the firmware-updates repository.


Ensure that all running or scheduled update jobs that use a firmware-compliance policy that contains the firmware updates to be deleted are completed or canceled (see Monitoring jobs in the Lenovo XClarity

Administrator online documentation).

Procedure

To delete one or more firmware updates from the repository, complete the following steps.

Step 1. Unassign all firmware-compliance policies that contain the firmware updates to be deleted from all managed devices. a. From the Lenovo XClarity Administrator menu bar, click Provisioning ➙ Apply/Activate. The

Firmware Updates Apply/Activate page is displayed.

b. Select “No assignment” or select another firmware-compliance policy in the Assigned Policy column for the managed devices that use the firmware-compliance policy.

Step 2. Delete all user-defined firmware-compliance policies that contain the firmware updates to be deleted, or edited the firmware-compliance policies to remove the firmware updates to be deleted. a. From the Lenovo XClarity Administrator menu bar, click Provisioning ➙ Compliance

Policies. The Firmware Updates Compliance Policies page is displayed.

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b. Select the firmware-compliance policy, and then select the Delete icon ( ) to delete the policy, or click the Edit icon ( ) to remove the firmware updates from the policy.

Step 3. Delete the firmware updates. a. From the Lenovo XClarity Administrator menu bar, click Provisioning ➙ Repository. The

Firmware Updates Repository page is displayed.

b. Select the firmware updates to be deleted.

Step 4. Click the Delete only images icon ( to delete only the image or payload file (.zip, .bin, .uxz, or . tgz). Information about the update, remains so that you can easily download the update again. Or click the Delete full update packages icon ( to delete the full update packages, including the image or payload file, change history file (.chg), readme file (.txt), and metadata file (.xml).

The Download Status for the deleted firmware updates changes to “Not downloaded.”

• You cannot delete firmware-update packages that are currently used in one or more firmware- compliance policies. Ensure that the update is not being used in a firmware-compliance policy before deleting the update.

• When you delete a firmware update, the payload files are removed; however, the XML file, which contains information about the update, remains so that you can easily download the update again, if needed.

Creating firmware-compliance policies

Firmware-compliance policies ensure that the firmware on specific devices is at the current or specific level by flagging the devices that need attention. Each firmware-compliance policy identifies which devices are monitored and which firmware-update level must be installed to keep the devices in compliance. Lenovo

XClarity Administrator then uses these policies to check the status of managed devices and to identify devices that are out of compliance.


Refresh the product catalog in the firmware-updates repository, and download the appropriate firmware

updates (see “Refreshing the product catalog” on page 12 and “Downloading firmware updates” on page

12).

If a device type is not listed in the firmware-updates repository, you must first manage a device of that type and then download or import the complete set of firmware updates before creating compliance policies for devices of that type.

About this task

When you create a firmware-compliance policy, you can choose to have Lenovo XClarity Administrator flag a device when:

• The firmware on the device is down level

• The firmware on the device does not exactly match the compliance target version

Lenovo XClarity Administrator comes with predefined firmware-compliance policies, labeled DEFAULT-

<devices>-<date>, which flags any device as not compliant when the firmware on that device is down level.

After a firmware-compliance policy is created, Lenovo XClarity Administrator checks the compliance status of each device when there are changes to the hardware inventory or firmware-updates repository. When the firmware on a device is not compliant with the assigned policy, Lenovo XClarity Administrator identifies that

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device as not compliant on the Firmware Updates: Apply / Activate page, based on the rule that you specified in the firmware-compliance policy.

For example, you can create a firmware-compliance policy that defines the baseline level for firmware that is installed in all Flex System x440 Compute Nodes and then assign that firmware-compliance policy to all managed x440 compute nodes. When the firmware-updates repository is refreshed and a new firmware update is added, those compute nodes might become out of compliance. When that happens, Lenovo

XClarity Administrator updates the Firmware Updates: Apply / Activate page to show that the devices are not compliant.

Procedure

To create a firmware-compliance policy, complete the following steps.

Step 1. From the Lenovo XClarity Administrator menu bar, click Provisioning ➙ Compliance Policies. The

Compliance Policy page is displayed with a list of all existing firmware-compliance policies.

Step 2. Click the Create icon ( ) to display the Create a New Policy dialog.

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Step 3. Fill in the name and description for the firmware-compliance policy.

Step 4. Fill in the table on the following criteria:

• Device Type. Choose a type of device for which this policy is to apply.

Tip: If you choose a server, the compliance level is done at the UXSP level. However, you can

also expand the server to specify specific firmware levels for each component, such as the baseboard management controller or UEFI.

• Compliance Target. Specify the firmware level that is considered to be the baseline for the specified device type.

• Compliance Rule. Specify when a device is flagged as not compliant in the Installed Version column on the Firmware Updates: Apply/Activate.

– Flag if Not Exact Match. If the firmware level that is installed on a device is not an exact match with the firmware-compliance policy, the device is flagged as not compliant. For example, if you replace a network adapter in a compute node, and the firmware on that network adapter is different than the level identified in the firmware-compliance policy, then the compute node is flagged as not compliance.

– Flag if Downlevel. If the firmware level that is installed on a device is earlier than the level that is specified in the firmware-compliance policy, the device is flagged as not compliant. For example, if you replace a network adapter in a compute node, and the firmware on that network adapter is earlier than the level identified in the firmware-compliance policy, the compute node is flagged as not compliance.

– No flagging. devices that are out of compliance are not flagged.

Step 5. Optional: Expand the system type to display each update in the package, and select the firmware level to be used as the compliance target, or select “Do not update” to prevent firmware from being updated on that device.

Step 6. Click Create.

The firmware-compliance policy is listed on the Firmware Updates: Compliance Policy page.

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What to do next

The firmware-compliance policy is added to the table on the page. The table shows the usage status, origin of the policy (whether user-defined or predefined), and the last modification date.

After you create a firmware-compliance policy, you perform the following actions on a selected firmware- compliance policy:

• Create a duplicate of an existing firmware-compliance policy by clicking the Copy icon ( ).

• Rename or edit a firmware-compliance policy by clicking the Edit icon ( ).

• Delete a firmware-compliance policy by clicking the Delete Policy icon ( ) or delete a firmware- compliance policy and all associated firmware updates that are used only by that policy by clicking the

Delete Any Policy and Firmware Packages icon (

).

• Export firmware-compliance policy that exists in the firmware-updates repository to a local system by selecting the policies and clicking the Export icon ( ). You can then import the policies to another

Lenovo XClarity Administrator instance by clicking the Import icon ( ).

After you create a firmware-compliance policy, you can assign the policy to a specific device (see “Creating

firmware-compliance policies” on page 19) and apply and activate updates for that device (see “Applying and activating firmware updates” on page 23).

Assigning firmware-compliance policies

You must assign a firmware-compliance policy to a device before you can apply and activate firmware updates on the device.

About this task

Lenovo XClarity Administrator assigns a firmware-compliance policy automatically to each device when it is managed. The policy that is assigned is the last-edited firmware-compliance policy that can be applied to the device.

Procedure

To assign a firmware-compliance policy to a device, complete the following steps.

Step 1. From the Lenovo XClarity Administrator menu bar, click Provisioning ➙ Apply/Activate. The

Firmware Updates: Apply/Activate page is displayed with a list of managed devices.

Step 2. To assign a firmware-compliance policy to a single device, select a policy from the drop-down menu in the Assigned Compliance Policy column.

You can only select from a list of firmware-compliance policies that are applicable to each device. If a policy is not currently assigned to the device, the assigned policy is set to “No assignment.” If no policies are applicable to the device, the assigned policy is set to “No applicable policies.”

Step 3. To assign a firmware-compliance policy to multiple devices: a. Optional: Select one or more devices to which you want to assign a firmware-compliance policy.

b. Click the Assign policy icon ( ) to display the Assign Policy dialog.

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c. Select a firmware-compliance policy from the Policy to assign drop-down menu.

d. Select one of the following scopes for the policy assignment:

• All applicable systems

• Applicable systems with no current policy assignment

• Only selected applicable systems e. Click OK. The policy that is listed in the Assigned Policy column on the Firmware Updates:

Repository page changes to the name of the selected firmware-compliance policy.

Identifying devices that are not compliant

If a firmware-compliance policy has been assigned to a managed device, you can determine whether the firmware on that device is compliant with that policy.

Procedure

To determine whether the firmware on a device is compliant with its assigned firmware-compliance policy, click Provisioning ➙ Apply/Activate from the Lenovo XClarity Administrator menu bar to display the

Firmware Update: Compliance Policy page, and check the Installed Versions column for that device.

The Installed Versions column contains one of the following values:

• Firmware version. The firmware version that is installed on the device is compliant with the assigned policy.

• Compliant. The firmware that is installed on the device is compliant with the assigned policy.

• Not Compliant. The firmware that is installed on the device is not compliant with the assigned policy.

• No Compliance Policy Set. A firmware-compliance policy is not assigned to the device.

You can click the Refresh icon ( ) to refresh the content in the Installed Version column.

Applying and activating firmware updates

Lenovo XClarity Administrator does not automatically apply firmware updates to managed devices. You can choose to apply firmware updates with or without compliance policies.

About this task

When using compliance policies, you can schedule updates on multiple devices at the same time. Lenovo

XClarity Administrator updates devices in the correct sequence automatically. The CMM is updated first, followed by switches, servers, and then storage devices.

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Firmware updates can be immediately activated on a maximum of 50 devices at one time. If you choose immediate activation on more than 50 devices, the remaining devices are queued for activation as activation on other devices complete.

Only downloaded firmware updates can be applied.

When you perform a firmware update, Lenovo XClarity Administrator starts one or more jobs to perform the update.

While the firmware update is in progress, the target server is locked. You cannot initiate other management tasks on the target server until the update process is complete.

After a firmware update is applied to a device, one or more restarts might be required to fully activate the firmware update. You can choose whether to restart the device immediately or to delay the activation. If you choose to restart immediately, Lenovo XClarity Administrator minimized the number of restarts that are required. If you choose to delay activation, the updates are activated the next time the device is restarted.

Note: The Lenovo XClarity Administrator automatically enables the LAN-over-USB interface.

Applying and activating firmware updates with compliance policies

After Lenovo XClarity Administrator identifies a device as not compliant, you can manually apply and activate the firmware updates on these managed devices. You can choose to apply and activate all firmware updates that apply to a firmware-compliance policy or only specific firmware updates in a policy. Only downloaded firmware updates are applied.


• Read the firmware-update considerations before you attempt to update firmware on your managed

devices (see “Firmware-update considerations” on page 6).

• Ensure that the firmware-updates repository contains the firmware packages that you intend to deploy. If

not, refresh the product catalog, and download the appropriate firmware updates (see “Refreshing the product catalog” on page 12 and “Downloading firmware updates” on page 12).

Note: When Lenovo XClarity Administrator is initially installed, the product catalog and the repository are

empty.


• Ensure that no jobs are currently running on the target server. If jobs are running, the update job is queued until all other jobs have completed. To see a list of active jobs, click Monitoring ➙ Jobs.


• If Lenovo XClarity Administrator runs on a hypervisor host that runs on a managed server, do not use

Lenovo XClarity Administrator to update firmware on that server. When firmware updates are applied with immediate activation, Lenovo XClarity Administrator forces the target server to restart, which would restart the hypervisor host and Lenovo XClarity Administrator as well. When applied with deferred activation, only some firmware is applied until the target system is restarted.



• On the Apply/Activate page, the NVMe firmware version is listed for solid state drives (SSDs). Because no target firmware update is identified for discovered NVMe devices, a warning message is displayed when

24


you attempt to update the target system. However, the HDD/SSD update is applied even if it is not identified with a target component, so the NVMe firmware is still updated.

• If the device has an assigned compliance policy and the firmware update results in compliance violations, you must correct the violations either by adjusting the compliance policy or assigning an alternate policy.

Procedure

To apply and activate updates on managed devices, complete the following steps.


Firmware Updates: Apply/Activate page is displayed.

Step 2. Click the Update with Policy tab.

Step 3. Select one or more devices and devices to which firmware updates are to be applied.

You can sort the table columns to make it easier to find specific servers. In addition, enter text

(such as a name or IP address) in the Filter field, and show or hide servers with a specific status by clicking the following icons to further filter the servers that are displayed.

• Hide compliant devices icon ( )

• Hide non-compliant devices status icon ( )

• Hide devices without an assigned compliance policy icon ( )

• Hide devices undergoing firmware updates icon ( )

Tip:

• You can apply and activate firmware that is later than the currently installed firmware.

• You can choose to apply all updates for a specific device. However, you can also choose to expand a device to specify updates for specific devices, such as the baseboard management controller or UEFI.

• If you choose to install a firmware-update package that contains updates for multiple devices, all devices to which the update package applies are updated.

• By default, all detected devices are listed as available for applying updates; however, down-level firmware might prevent a device from appearing in inventory or reporting full-version information.

To list all policy-based packages that are available for you to apply updates, click All Actions ➙

Global Settings, and selecting Enhanced Support for Down-Level Devices. When this option

is selected, “Other Available Software” is listed in the Installed Version column for undetected devices.

Note: The global settings cannot be changed when updates to managed devices are in

progress.

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Step 4. Click the Perform Updates icon ( ). The Update Summary dialog is displayed.

Step 5. Select one of the following update rules

• Stop all updates on error. If an error occurs while updating any of the devices in the device

(such as an adapter or management controller), the firmware-update process stops for all selected devices in the current firmware-update job. In this case, none of the updates in the update package for the device are applied. The current firmware that is installed on all selected systems remains in effect.

26


• Continue on error. If an error occurs while updating any of the devices in the device, the firmware-update process does not update the firmware for that specific device; however, the firmware-update process continues to update the other devices in the device and continues to update all other devices in the current firmware-update job.

• Continue to next system on error. If an error occurs while updating any of the devices in the device, the firmware-update process stops all attempts to update the firmware for that specific device, so the current firmware that is installed on that device remains in effect. The firmware- update process continues to update all other devices in the current firmware-update job.

Step 6. Select one of the following activation rules:

• Immediate activation. During the update process, the device might be restarted automatically a number of times until the entire update process is complete. Ensure that you quiesce all applications on the device before you proceed.


• Delayed activation. Some but not all update operations are performed. devices must be restarted manually to continue the update process. Additional restarts are then performed until the update operation completes.

If a device restarts for any reason, the delayed update process completes.

Delayed activation applies to only servers. CMMs and Flex switches are immediately activated, regardless of this setting.

Important: Do not choose Delayed Activation for more that 50 devices at one time. Lenovo

XClarity Administrator actively monitors devices with delayed activation so that the delayed activation is serviced when device is restarted. If you want to apply updates with delayed activation for more than 50 devices, break the update selection into batches of 50 devices at one time.

Note: When enabled, the Wake-on-LAN boot option can interfere with Lenovo XClarity

Administrator operations that power off the server, including firmware updates if there is a Wake- on-LAN client in your network that issues “Wake on Magic Packet” commands.

Step 7. Optional: Select Attempt to update components already in compliance to update firmware on the selected components even if the firmware level is up to date.

Step 8. Click Perform Update.

If needed, you can perform power actions on the managed devices. The power actions are useful when Delayed Activation is selected and you want the updates to continue when the device is waiting in the “Pending Maintenance” state.

To perform a power action on a managed device from this page, click All Actions ➙ Power

Actions, and then click one of the following power actions.

• Power on

• Power down OS and power off

• Power off

• Shut down OS and restart

• Restart

What to do next

When applying a firmware update, if the server fails to enter maintenance mode, attempt to apply the update again.

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If updates were not completed successfully, see Firmware update and repository issues in the Lenovo

XClarity Administrator online documentation for troubleshooting and corrective actions.

From the Firmware Updates: Apply/Activate page, you can perform the following actions:

• Export firmware and compliance information for each managed device by clicking All Actions ➙ Export

View as CSV.

Note: The CSV file contains only filtered information in the current view. Information that is filtered out of

the view and information in hidden columns are not included.

• Cancel an update that is being applied to a device by selecting the device and clicking the Cancel

Update icon (

).

• View the status of the firmware update directly from the Apply / Activate page in the Status column.

• Monitor the status of the update process from the jobs log. From the Lenovo XClarity Administrator menu, click Monitoring ➙ Jobs.

For more information about the jobs log, see Monitoring jobs in the Lenovo XClarity Administrator online documentation .

When the firmware-update jobs are complete, you can verify that the devices are compliant by clicking

Provisioning ➙ Apply/Activate to go back to the Firmware Updates: Apply/Activate page, and then

clicking the Refresh icon ( ). The current firmware version that is active on each device is listed in the

Installed Version column.

Applying and activating firmware updates without compliance policies

You can quickly apply and activate firmware that is later than the currently installed firmware on a single managed device or group of devices without using compliance policies.


• Read the firmware-update considerations before you attempt to update firmware on your managed

devices (see “Firmware-update considerations” on page 6).

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• Ensure that the firmware-updates repository contains the firmware packages that you intend to deploy. If

not, refresh the product catalog, and download the appropriate firmware updates (see “Refreshing the product catalog” on page 12 and “Downloading firmware updates” on page 12).

Note: When Lenovo XClarity Administrator is initially installed, the product catalog and the repository are

empty.


• Ensure that no jobs are currently running on the target server. If jobs are running, the update job is queued until all other jobs have completed. To see a list of active jobs, click Monitoring ➙ Jobs.


• If Lenovo XClarity Administrator runs on a hypervisor host that runs on a managed server, do not use

Lenovo XClarity Administrator to update firmware on that server. When firmware updates are applied with immediate activation, Lenovo XClarity Administrator forces the target server to restart, which would restart the hypervisor host and Lenovo XClarity Administrator as well. When applied with deferred activation, only some firmware is applied until the target system is restarted.



• On the Apply/Activate page, the NVMe firmware version is listed for solid state drives (SSDs). Because no target firmware update is identified for discovered NVMe devices, a warning message is displayed when you attempt to update the target system. However, the HDD/SSD update is applied even if it is not identified with a target component, so the NVMe firmware is still updated.

Procedure

To apply and activate updates on a managed device, complete the following steps.


Firmware Updates: Apply/Activate page is displayed.

Step 2. Click the Update without Policy tab.

Step 3. Select the firmware level in the Downloaded later versions column for each device that you want to update.

Step 4. Select one or more devices and devices that you want to update.

You can sort the table columns to make it easier to find specific servers. In addition, enter text

(such as a name or IP address) in the Filter field, and show or hide servers with a specific status by clicking the following icons to further filter the servers that are displayed.

• Hide devices undergoing firmware updates icon ( )

• Hide components with no later versions icon ( )

Tip:

• You can apply and activate firmware that is later than the currently installed firmware.

• You can choose to apply all updates for a specific device. However, you can also choose to expand a device to specify updates for specific devices, such as the baseboard management controller or UEFI.

• If you choose to install a firmware-update package that contains updates for multiple devices, all devices to which the update package applies are updated.

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• By default, all detected devices are listed as available for applying updates; however, down-level firmware might prevent a device from appearing in inventory or reporting full-version information.

To list all policy-based packages that are available for you to apply updates, click All Actions ➙

Global Settings, and selecting Enhanced Support for Down-Level Devices. When this option

is selected, “Other Available Software” is listed in the Installed Version column for undetected devices.

Note: The global settings cannot be changed when updates to managed devices are in

progress.

Step 5. Click the Perform Updates icon ( ). The Update Summary dialog is displayed.

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Step 6. Select one of the following update rules

• Stop all updates on error. If an error occurs while updating any of the devices in the device

(such as an adapter or management controller), the firmware-update process stops for all selected devices in the current firmware-update job. In this case, none of the updates in the update package for the device are applied. The current firmware that is installed on all selected systems remains in effect.

• Continue on error. If an error occurs while updating any of the devices in the device, the firmware-update process does not update the firmware for that specific device; however, the firmware-update process continues to update the other devices in the device and continues to update all other devices in the current firmware-update job.

• Continue to next system on error. If an error occurs while updating any of the devices in the device, the firmware-update process stops all attempts to update the firmware for that specific device, so the current firmware that is installed on that device remains in effect. The firmware- update process continues to update all other devices in the current firmware-update job.

Note: When enabled, the Wake-on-LAN boot option can interfere with Lenovo XClarity

Administrator operations that power off the server, including firmware updates if there is a Wake- on-LAN client in your network that issues “Wake on Magic Packet” commands.

Step 7. Select one of the following activation rules:

• Immediate activation. During the update process, the device might be restarted automatically a number of times until the entire update process is complete. Ensure that you quiesce all applications on the device before you proceed.


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• Delayed activation. Some but not all update operations are performed. devices must be restarted manually to continue the update process. Additional restarts are then performed until the update operation completes.

If a device restarts for any reason, the delayed update process completes.

Delayed activation applies to only servers. CMMs and Flex switches are immediately activated, regardless of this setting.

Important: Do not choose Delayed Activation for more that 50 devices at one time. Lenovo

XClarity Administrator actively monitors devices with delayed activation so that the delayed activation is serviced when device is restarted. If you want to apply updates with delayed activation for more than 50 devices, break the update selection into batches of 50 devices at one time.

Step 8. Click Perform Update.

If needed, you can perform power actions on the managed devices. The power actions are useful when Delayed Activation is selected and you want the updates to continue when the device is waiting in the “Pending Maintenance” state.

What to do next

When applying a firmware update, if the server fails to enter maintenance mode, attempt to apply the update again.

If updates were not completed successfully, see Firmware update and repository issues in the Lenovo

XClarity Administrator online documentation for troubleshooting and corrective actions.

From the Firmware Updates: Apply/Activate page, you can perform the following actions:

• Export firmware and compliance information for each managed device by clicking All Actions ➙ Export

View as CSV.

Note: The CSV file contains only filtered information in the current view. Information that is filtered out of

the view and information in hidden columns are not included.

• Cancel an update that is being applied to a device by selecting the device and clicking the Cancel

Update icon (

).

• View the status of the firmware update directly from the Apply / Activate page in the Status column.

• Monitor the status of the update process from the jobs log. From the Lenovo XClarity Administrator menu, click Monitoring ➙ Jobs.

For more information about the jobs log, see Monitoring jobs in the Lenovo XClarity Administrator online documentation .

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When the firmware-update jobs are complete, you can verify that the devices are compliant by clicking

Provisioning ➙ Apply/Activate to go back to the Firmware Updates: Apply/Activate page, and then

clicking the Refresh icon ( ). The current firmware version that is active on each device is listed in the

Installed Version column.

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Chapter 2. Updating the Lenovo XClarity Administrator management server

You can update the Lenovo XClarity Administrator management server to install the latest software and license enablement.


Lenovo XClarity Administrator supports the following types of updates:

• Patch. Lenovo XClarity Administrator code changes, including new releases and fix packs.

• License Enablement. License for full-function entitlement.

• Supplemental Packs. Firmware-update repository packs, which contain firmware update packages for all manageable devices. When imported and applied, the firmware updates are added in the firmware-

updates repository (see “Downloading firmware updates” on page 12).

Ensure that all ports and Internet address that Lenovo XClarity Administrator requires are available before you attempt to update firmware on a managed server. For more information about ports, see Port availability and Firewalls and proxy servers in the Lenovo XClarity Administrator online documentation.

For all Electronic Customer Care (ECC) connections that are configured for a proxy, the proxy must be a forwarding proxy and must not terminate the connection. The call home and updates functions of Lenovo

XClarity Administrator use the ECC connections.

Notes:

• For Lenovo XClarity Administrator v1.1.1 and earlier, you must manually download and import the management-server updates from Lenovo XClarity Administrator download webpage (https:// datacentersupport.lenovo.com/solutions/LNVO-LXCAUPD).

• When you update Lenovo XClarity Administrator, some predefined device drivers and boot-option files might also be updated. Any customized OS-image profiles that use those files are automatically updated to include the new files. For more information about customized OS-image profiles, see Customizing OS image profiles in the Lenovo XClarity Administrator online documentation.

• Lenovo XClarity Administrator v1.3.0 changed its default minimum Transport Layer Security (TLS) level from TLS 1.0 to TLS 1.2.

Because the TLS setting in Lenovo XClarity Administrator and managed devices must match, Lenovo

XClarity Administrator generates a warning if there is a mismatch. Updating to Lenovo XClarity

Administrator to v1.3.0 or later does not change the TLS setting in Lenovo XClarity Administrator, and new

Lenovo servers ship with TLS 1.2 enabled. Therefore, when using newly purchased devices, you must either change the TLS setting to TLS 1.0 in Lenovo XClarity Administrator v1.3.0 and later or change the

TLS setting to TLS 1.2 on the existing managed devices.

For more information about TLS settings in Lenovo XClarity Administrator, see Setting the cryptography mode and communication protocols in the Lenovo XClarity Administrator online documentation.

About this task

Before you can update the Lenovo XClarity Administrator management server, you must first check for available updates and then download the update package. When you download management-server updates, Lenovo XClarity Administrator downloads the selected update package from the web, and stores the update packages in the management-server updates repository.


35

To check for and download management-server updates, Lenovo XClarity Administrator must be connected to the Internet. If it is not connected to the Internet, you can manually download the management-server updates from the Lenovo XClarity Administrator download webpage (https://datacentersupport.lenovo.com/ solutions/LNVO-LXCAUPD) using a web browser to a workstation that has network access to the Lenovo

XClarity Administrator host and then import the updates into the management-server updates repository.

You can determine which management-server updates are stored in the updates repository from the

Download Status column on Update Management Server page. This column can contain the following

values:

•

Downloaded. The firmware-update repository pack or management-server update is stored in the

repository.

•

Not downloaded. The firmware-update repository pack or management-server update is available but

not stored in the repository.

•

Cleaned up. The update was successfully applied and unneeded staging files were automatically

removed.

A message is displayed on the page when the repository is more than 50% full. Another message is displayed on the page when the repository is more than 85% full.

Procedure

To update Lenovo XClarity Administrator, complete the following steps.

Step 1. From the Lenovo XClarity Administrator main menu, click Administration ➙ Update Management

Server to display the Management Server Update page.

Recapture in other languages

Step 2. Download the latest Lenovo XClarity Administrator update:

• If Lenovo XClarity Administrator is connected to the Internet:

1. Retrieve information about the latest updates by clicking the All Actions ➙ Refresh

repository . New management-server updates and firmware-update repository packs are

listed in the table on the Management Server Update page. Refreshing the repository might take several minutes to complete.

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2. Select the management-server update that you want to download.

Tip: Ensure that the package that you select has Patch in the Type column.

3. Click the Download icon ( ). When the download is complete, the Download Status for that update changes to “Downloaded.”

• If Lenovo XClarity Administrator is not connected to the Internet:

1. Download the management-server update from the Lenovo XClarity Administrator download webpage (https://datacentersupport.lenovo.com/solutions/LNVO-LXCAUPD) to a workstation that has network connection to the Lenovo XClarity Administrator host.

2. From the Management Server Update page, click the Import icon ( ),

3. Click Select Files, and browse to the location of the management-server update on the workstation.

4. Select all package files, and then click Open.

You must import the .metadata file (.xml) as well as the image or payload file (.zip, .bin, .uxz, or .tgz), change history file (.chg), and readme file (.txt) for the update. Any files that are selected but are not specified in the .XML file are discarded. If you do not include the XML file, the update is not imported.

5. Click the Import.When the import is complete, the management-server update is listed in the table on the Management Server Update page, and the Download Status for that software update is “Downloaded.”

You can monitor the import progress by clicking Monitoring ➙ Jobs from the Lenovo XClarity

Administrator menu bar.

Step 3. Back up the Lenovo XClarity Administrator virtual appliance by creating a clone (see Backing up

Lenovo XClarity Administrator in the Lenovo XClarity Administrator online documentation ).

Step 4. Ensure that no jobs are currently running. You can view a list of currently running jobs from the

Jobs log (see Monitoring jobs in the Lenovo XClarity Administrator online documentation).

Step 5. Select the update package that you want to install.

Note: Ensure that Download Status is “Downloaded.” and the Type is “Patch.”

Step 6. Click the Perform Update icon ( ).

You can monitor the update progress by clicking Monitoring ➙ Jobs from the Lenovo XClarity

Administrator menu bar.

Step 7. Wait a few minutes for the update to complete and Lenovo XClarity Administrator to be restarted.

If you have access to the virtual appliance host, you can monitor the progress from the virtual- appliance console, for example:

-------------------------------------------------

Lenovo XClarity Administrator - Version 1.1.0

------------------------------------------------- eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:00:00:00:00:10 inet addr:10.240.61.98 Bcase:10.240.63.255 Mask:255.255.252.0 inet6 addr: fe80:200:ff:fe00:10/64 Scopt:Link eth1 Disabled idxhwmgr login: Lenovo XClarity Administrator Repository Update

Detected appliance version is 1.1.0

Applying XClarity Administrator Repository Update...

.

Chapter 2

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Updating the Lenovo XClarity Administrator management server

37

.

.

Attention: Do not restart the virtual appliance manually during the update process.

Step 8. Determine if the update is complete by refreshing the web browser.

When completed, the “Management Server Update” is displayed, and the Applied Status column changes to “Applied.”

Step 9. Clear the web browser cache.

What to do next

From this page, you can delete a selected management-server update by clicking the Delete icon ( ).

Note: When you delete an update, the payload (image and MIB) files are removed; however, the XML file,

which contains information about the update, remains so that you can easily download the update again, if needed.

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Lenovo XClarity Administrator Quick Start Guide Updating firmware

Lenovo XClarity Administrator

Quick Start Guide

Updating firmware and software

Version 1.3.2

Contents

i

ii

Chapter 1. Updating firmware on managed devices

About this task

Note: An operating system is not required to update firmware. For bare metal servers, ensure that the server

Procedure

1

2

Note: The core firmware updates (such as management controller, UEFI, and pDSA) are operating-

Attention:

DEFAULT-<devices>-<date>, which flags any device as not compliant when the firmware on that

3

Note: If you choose to install a firmware-update package that contains updates for multiple

Note: Updates to CMMs and Flex switches are always activated immediately, even if you select

4

Attention: Before you attempt to apply and activate updates on managed devices, ensure that you

Note: When Lenovo XClarity Administrator is initially installed, the product catalog and the

Jobs.

5

Firmware-update considerations

Note: For information about I/O device support and known limitations, see the Lenovo XClarity

version of Enhanced Configuration and Management (EHCM L3)

already in compliance when updating the CMM firmware.

Attention: There is currently no firmware version for Flex System EN6131 Ethernet switches and IB6131

Note: The EN2092 1-Gb Ethernet Scalable Switch does not require EHCM L3 and does not have this

6

Note: If the management controller and UEFI are configured to automatically synchronize the backup

management controller is reset.

Note: This issue does not affect ESXi v5.5.

7

XClarity Administrator is running.

firmware levels earlier than Flex System 1.3.2.

Administrator.

requires a minimum installed level of 68.

Tip: You can view the code version for the ServeRAID M5115 PSoC3 by logging in to the CMM web

8

Hard Drive. Then, select the path where the embedded package is to be extracted.

Managing the firmware-updates repository

About this task

9

Attention:

Notes:

Procedure

Note: For servers, specific update packages are available based on the type of server. For

10

Results

Note: The Lenovo XClarity Administrator must be connected to the Internet to acquire updates through

11

Attention: Do not change the name of the firmware update files.

Refreshing the product catalog

About this task

Note: Refreshing the catalog only adds information about available firmware updates to the repository. It

Note: Refreshing the catalog might take several minutes to complete.

Procedure

Downloading firmware updates

12

Before you begin

Important:

About this task

13

Note: The core firmware updates (such as management controller, UEFI, and pDSA) are operating-system

Downloaded. The firmware-update repository pack is stored in the repository.

Not Downloaded. The firmware-update repository pack is available but not stored in the repository.

Download Status column on Firmware Updates: Repository page. This column contains the following

Downloaded. The entire update package or the individual firmware update is stored in the repository.

Not Downloaded. The entire update package or the individual firmware update is available but not

14

Procedure

Server to display the Management Server Update page.

Note: Refreshing the repository does not automatically download update packages.

Tip: Ensure that the packages that you select have “Supplemental Pack” in the Type column.

15

Status for that software update changes to “Downloaded”.

Note: Ensure that Download Status is “Downloaded” and that the Type is “Patch.”