CIMC Firmware Management

This chapter includes the following sections:

Overview of Firmware

C-Series servers use firmware obtained from and certified by Cisco to upgrade firmware on the server. After you have obtained a firmware image from Cisco, you can use it to update the firmware on your server. Cisco also provides release notes with each image, which you can obtain from the same website from which you obtained the image.


Note

When you update the firmware, you can either upgrade an older firmware version to a newer one, or downgrade a newer firmware version to an older one.

The CIMC separates the firmware update process into stages to ensure that you can install the firmware to a component while the server is running without affecting its uptime. Because you do not need to reboot the server until after you activate, you can perform that task overnight or during other maintenance periods. When you update firmware, the following stages occur:

Install

During this stage, the CIMC transfers the selected firmware version to the server. The install process always overwrites the firmware in the non-active slot on the server. You can install the firmware using either of the following methods:


  • Through a browser client—this method allows you to browse for a firmware image on your computer and install it on the server.

  • From a TFTP server—this method allows you to install a firmware image residing on a TFTP server.

Activate

During this stage, the CIMC sets the non-active firmware version as active and reboots the server. When the server reboots, the non-active slot becomes the active slot, and the active slot becomes the non-active slot. The firmware in the new active slot becomes the running version.

Obtaining CIMC Firmware from Cisco

Procedure
Step 1   In a web browser, navigate to the web link provided by Cisco to obtain firmware images for your server.
Step 2   Select one or more firmware images and copy them to a network server.
Step 3   Read the release notes provided with the image or images.
What to Do Next

Install the CIMC firmware on the server.

Installing CIMC Firmware from the TFTP Server

Before You Begin
Obtain the CIMC firmware from Cisco and store the file on a local TFTP server.

Note

If you start an update while an update is already in process, both updates will fail.

Procedure
  Command or Action Purpose
Step 1 Server# scope cimc  

Enters the CIMC command mode.

 
Step 2 Server /cimc # scope firmware  

Enters the CIMC firmware command mode.

 
Step 3 Server /cimc/firmware # update tftp-ip-address path-and-filename  

Starts the firmware update. The server will obtain the update firmware at the specified path and file name from the TFTP server at the specified IP address.

 
Step 4 (Optional) Server /cimc/firmware # show detail  

Displays the progress of the firmware update.

 

This example updates the firmware:

Server# scope cimc
Server /cimc # scope firmware
Server /cimc/firmware # update 10.20.34.56 /user/updates/filename
What to Do Next

Activate the new firmware.

Activating Installed Firmware

Before You Begin

Install the CIMC firmware on the server.


Note

If you start an activation while an update is in process, the activation will fail.

Procedure
  Command or Action Purpose
Step 1 Server# scope cimc  

Enters the CIMC command mode.

 
Step 2 Server /cimc # scope firmware  

Enters the firmware command mode.

 
Step 3 Server /cimc/firmware # show [detail]  

Displays the available firmware images and status.

 
Step 4 Server /cimc/firmware # activate [1 | 2]  

Activates the selected image. If no image number is specified, the server activates the currently inactive image.

 

This example activates firmware image 1:

Server# scope cimc
Server /cimc # scope firmware
Server /cimc/firmware # show detail 
Firmware Image Information:
    Update Stage: NONE
    Update Progress: 100
    Current FW Version: 1.0(0.74)
    FW Image 1 Version: 1.0(0.66a)
    FW Image 1 State: BACKUP INACTIVATED
    FW Image 2 Version: 1.0(0.74)
    FW Image 2 State: RUNNING ACTIVATED

Server /cimc/firmware # activate 1