Downloading and Managing Firmware in Cisco UCS Manager

This chapter includes the following sections:

Firmware Image Management

Cisco delivers all firmware updates to Cisco UCS components in bundles of images. Cisco UCS firmware updates are available to be downloaded to fabric interconnects in a Cisco UCS domain in the following bundles:

Cisco UCS Infrastructure Software Bundle

This bundle includes the following firmware images that are required to update the following components:

  • Cisco UCS Manager software

  • Kernel and system firmware for the fabric interconnects

  • I/O module firmware

Cisco UCS B-Series Blade Server Software Bundle

This bundle includes the following firmware images that are required to update the firmware for the blade servers in a Cisco UCS domain. In addition to the bundles created for a release, these bundles can also be released between infrastructure bundles to enable Cisco UCS Manager to support a blade server that is not included in the most recent infrastructure bundle.

  • CIMC firmware

  • BIOS firmware

  • Adapter firmware

  • Board controller firmware

  • Third-party firmware images required by the new server

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack-Mount UCS-Managed Server Software Bundle

This bundle includes the following firmware images that are required to update components on rack-mount servers that have been integrated with and are managed by Cisco UCS Manager:

  • CIMC firmware

  • BIOS firmware

  • Adapter firmware

  • Storage controller firmware


Note

You cannot use this bundle for standalone C-series servers. The firmware management system in those servers cannot interpret the header required by Cisco UCS Manager. For information on how to upgrade standalone C-series servers, see the C-series configuration guides.

Cisco also provides release notes, which you can obtain on the same website from which you obtained the bundles.

Firmware Image Headers

Every firmware image has a header, which includes the following:

  • Checksum

  • Version information

  • Compatibility information that the system can use to verify the compatibility of component images and any dependencies

Firmware Image Catalog

Cisco UCS Manager provides you with two views of the catalog of firmware images and their contents that have been downloaded to the fabric interconnect:

Packages

This view provides you with a read-only representation of the firmware bundles that have been downloaded onto the fabric interconnect. This view is sorted by image, not by the contents of the image. For packages, you can use this view to see which component images are in each downloaded firmware bundle.

Images

The images view lists the component images available on the system. You cannot use this view to see complete firmware bundles or to group the images by bundle. The information available about each component image includes the name of the component, the image size, the image version, and the vendor and model of the component.

You can use this view to identify the firmware updates available for each component. You can also use this view to delete obsolete and unneeded images. Cisco UCS Manager deletes a package after all images in the package have been deleted.


Tip

Cisco UCS Manager stores the images in bootflash on the fabric interconnect. In a cluster system, space usage in bootflash on both fabric interconnects is the same, because all images are synchronized between them. If Cisco UCS Manager reports that the bootflash is out of space, delete obsolete images to free up space.

Obtaining Software Bundles from Cisco

Before You Begin

Determine which of the following software bundles you need to update the Cisco UCS domain:

  • Cisco UCS Infrastructure Software Bundle—Required for all Cisco UCS domains.

  • Cisco UCS B-Series Blade Server Software Bundle—Required for all Cisco UCS domains that include blade servers.

  • Cisco UCS C-Series Rack-Mount UCS-Managed Server Software Bundle—Only required for Cisco UCS domains that include integrated rack-mount servers. This bundle contains firmware to enable Cisco UCS Manager to manage those servers and is not applicable to standalone C-Series rack-mount servers.

Procedure
    Step 1   In a web browser, navigate to Cisco.com.
    Step 2   Under Support, click All Downloads.
    Step 3   In the center pane, click Servers - Unified Computing.
    Step 4   If prompted, enter your Cisco.com username and password to log in.
    Step 5   In the right pane, click the link for the software bundles you require, as follows:
    Bundle Navigation Path

    Cisco UCS Infrastructure Software Bundle

    Click Cisco UCS Infrastructure and UCS Manager Software > Unified Computing System (UCS) Infrastructure Software Bundle.

    Cisco UCS B-Series Blade Server Software Bundle

    Click Cisco UCS B-Series Blade Server Software > Unified Computing System (UCS) Server Software Bundle.

    Cisco UCS C-Series Rack-Mount UCS-Managed Server Software Bundle

    Click Cisco UCS C-Series Rack-Mount UCS-Managed Server Software > Unified Computing System (UCS) Server Software Bundle.

    Tip   

    The Unified Computing System (UCS) Documentation Roadmap Bundle, which is accessible through these paths, is a downloadable ISO image of all Cisco UCS documentation.

    Step 6   On the first page from which you download a software bundle, click the Release Notes link to download the latest version of the Release Notes.
    Step 7   For each software bundle that you want to download, do the following:
    1. Click the link for the release you want to downloadthe latest release 2.1 software bundlethe latest release 2.2 software bundle.

      The release number is followed by a number and a letter in parentheses. The number identifies the maintenance release level, and the letter differentiates between patches of that maintenance release. For more information about what is in each maintenance release and patch, see the latest version of the Release Notes.

    2. Click one of the following buttons and follow the instructions provided:

      • Download Now—Allows you to download the software bundle immediately.

      • Add to Cart—Adds the software bundle to your cart to be downloaded at a later time.

    3. Follow the prompts to complete your download of the software bundle(s).
    Step 8   Read the Release Notes before upgrading your Cisco UCS domain.
    What to Do Next

    Download the software bundles to the fabric interconnect.

    Downloading Firmware Images to the Fabric Interconnect from a Remote Location


    Note

    In a cluster setup, the image file for the firmware bundle is downloaded to both fabric interconnects, regardless of which fabric interconnect is used to initiate the download. Cisco UCS Manager maintains all firmware packages and images in both fabric interconnects in sync. If one fabric interconnect is down, the download still finishes successfully. The images are synced to the other fabric interconnect when it comes back online.

    Before You Begin

    Obtain the required firmware bundles from Cisco.

    Procedure
       Command or ActionPurpose
      Step 1UCS-A# scope firmware  

      Enters firmware mode.

       
      Step 2UCS-A /firmware # download image URL  
      Downloads the firmware bundle. Using the download path provided by Cisco, specify the URL with one of the following syntax:

      • ftp:// server-ip-addr / path

      • scp:// username@server-ip-addr / path

      • sftp:// username@server-ip-addr / path

      • tftp:// server-ip-addr : port-num / path

      • usbA:/ path

      • usbB:/ path

      Note   

      TFTP has a file size limitation of 32 MB. Because firmware bundles can be much larger than that, we recommend that you do not select TFTP for firmware downloads.

      If you use a hostname rather than an IP address, configure a DNS server in Cisco UCS Manager.

       
      Step 3Enter the password for the remote server.  

      The password for the remote server username. This field does not apply if the protocol is tftp.

       
      Step 4UCS-A /firmware # show download-task  

      Displays the status for your download task. When your image is completely downloaded, the task state changes from Downloading to Downloaded. The CLI does not automatically refresh, so you may have to enter the show download-task command multiple times until the task state displays Downloaded.

       
      Step 5Repeat this task until all of the firmware bundles have been downloaded to the fabric interconnect.    

      The following example uses SCP to download the firmware package. 

      UCS-A# scope firmware
UCS-A /firmware # download image scp://user1@192.168.10.10/images/ucs-k9-bundle.1.0.0.988.gbin
OR

UCS-A /firmware # show download-task
UCS-A /firmware #
      What to Do Next

      After the image file for the firmware bundles have downloaded completely, update the firmware on the endpoints.

      Displaying the Firmware Package Download Status

      After a firmware download operation has been started, you can check the download status to see if the package is still downloading or if it has completely downloaded.

      Procedure
         Command or ActionPurpose
        Step 1UCS-A# scope firmware  

        Enters firmware mode.

         
        Step 2UCS-A /firmware # show download-task  

        Displays the status for your download task. When your image is completely downloaded, the task state changes from Downloading to Downloaded. The CLI does not automatically refresh, so you may have to enter the show download-task command multiple times until the task state displays Downloaded.

         

        The following example displays the download status for the firmware package. The show download-task command is entered multiple times until the download state indicates that the firmware package has been downloaded: 

        UCS-A# scope firmware
UCS-A /firmware # show download-task

Download task:
File Name 																						Protocol     Server          Userid      State
--------- 																							-------- --------------- ---------					 -----
ucs-k9-bundle.1.0.0.988.gbin Scp      10.193.32.11    user1    Downloading

UCS-A /firmware # show download-task

Download task:
File Name 																						Protocol     Server          Userid      State
--------- 																							-------- --------------- ---------					 -----
ucs-k9-bundle.1.0.0.988.gbin Scp      10.193.32.11    user1   Downloading

UCS-A /firmware # show download-task

Download task:
File Name 																						Protocol     Server          Userid      State
--------- 																							-------- --------------- ---------					 -----
ucs-k9-bundle.1.0.0.988.gbin Scp     10.193.32.11    user1    Downloaded

        Canceling an Image Download

        You can cancel the download task for an image only while it is in progress. After the image has downloaded, deleting the download task does not delete the image that was downloaded. You cannot cancel the FSM related to the image download task.

        Procedure
           Command or ActionPurpose
          Step 1 UCS-A# scope firmware  

          Enters firmware mode.

           
          Step 2 UCS-A /firmware # delete download-task image_filename  

          Deletes the specified image file.

           
          Step 3 UCS-A /firmware # commit-buffer  

          Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

           
          The following example cancels an image download: 
          UCS-A# scope firmware
UCS-A /firmware # delete download-task ucs-k9-bundle-m-series.2.5.0.202.M.bin
UCS-A /firmware* # commit-buffer
UCS-A /firmware* #

          Displaying All Available Software Images on the Fabric Interconnect

          This procedure is optional and displays the available software images on the fabric interconnect for all endpoints. You can also use the show image command in each endpoint mode to display the available software images for that endpoint.

          Procedure
             Command or ActionPurpose
            Step 1UCS-A# scope firmware  

            Enters firmware mode.

             
            Step 2UCS-A /firmware # show image  

            Displays all software images downloaded onto the fabric interconnect.

            Note   

            You must provide the software version number when directly updating an endpoint. If you intend to directly update firmware at an endpoint, note its version number in the right column.

             

            The following example displays all available software images on the fabric interconnect: 

            UCS-A# scope firmware
UCS-A /firmware # show image
Name                              Type           Version
-------------------------------------------					 -------------------- -------
ucs-2100.1.0.0.988.gbin                                 Iom                  1.0(0.988)
ucs-6100-k9-kickstart.4.0.1a.N2.1.0.988.gbin            Switch Kernel        4.0(1a)N2(1.0.988)
ucs-6100-k9-system.4.0.1a.N2.1.0.988.gbin               Switch Software      4.0(1a)N2(1.0.988)
ucs-b200-m1-bios.S5500.86B.01.00.0030-978a.021920.gbin  Server Bios          S5500.86B.01.00.0030-978a.021920
ucs-b200-m1-k9-bmc.1.0.0.988.gbin                       Bmc                  1.0(0.988)
ucs-b200-m1-sasctlr.2009.02.09.gbin                     Storage Controller   2009.02.09
ucs-m71kr-e-cna.1.0.0.988.gbin                          Adapter              1.0(0.988)
ucs-m71kr-e-hba.zf280a4.gbin                            Host Hba             zf280a4
ucs-m71kr-e-optionrom.ZN502N5.gbin                      Host Hba Optionrom   ZN502N5
ucs-m71kr-q-cna.1.0.0.988.gbin                          Adapter              1.0(0.988)
ucs-m71kr-q-optionrom.1.69.gbin                         Host Hba Optionrom   1.69
ucs-m81kr-vic.1.0.0.988.gbin                            Adapter              1.0(0.988)
ucs-manager-k9.1.0.0.988.gbin                           System               1.0(0.988)

            Displaying All Available Packages on the Fabric Interconnect

            This procedure is optional and displays the available software packages on the fabric interconnect for all endpoints.. You can also use the show package command in each endpoint mode to display the available software images for that endpoint.

            Procedure
               Command or ActionPurpose
              Step 1UCS-A# scope firmware  

              Enters firmware mode.

               
              Step 2UCS-A /firmware # show package  

              Displays all software packages downloaded onto the fabric interconnect.

              Note   

              You must provide the software version number when directly updating an endpoint. If you intend to directly update firmware at an endpoint, note its version number in the right column.

               

              The following example displays all available software packages on the fabric interconnect: 

              UCS-A# scope firmware
UCS-A /firmware # show package

              Determining the Contents of a Firmware Package

              Procedure
                 Command or ActionPurpose
                Step 1 UCS-A# scope firmware  

                Enters firmware mode.

                 
                Step 2 UCS-A /firmware # show package package-name expand  

                Displays the contents of the specified firmware package.

                 
                The following example displays the contents of a firmware package: 
                UCS-A# scope firmware
UCS-A /firmware # show package ucs-k9-bundle.1.4.0.390.gbin expand
Package ucs-k9-bundle.1.4.0.390.gbin:
    Images:
        ucs-2100.1.4.0.390.gbin
        ucs-6100-k9-kickstart.4.2.1.N1.1.3.390.gbin
        ucs-6100-k9-system.4.2.1.N1.1.3.390.gbin
        ucs-b200-m1-bios.S5500.1.4.0.6.090220101221.gbin
        ucs-b200-m1-k9-cimc.1.4.0.390.gbin
        ucs-b200-m1-sasctlr.01.28.03.00_06.28.00.00_03.12.00.00.gbin
        ucs-b200-m2-bios.S5500.1.4.0.6.090220101221.gbin
        ucs-b230-m1-bios.B230M1.1.4.0.35.090220101135.gbin
        ucs-b230-m1-k9-cimc.1.4.0.390.gbin
        ucs-b230-m1-mrsasctlr.20.7.1-0020_4.18.00_NA.gbin
        ucs-b230-m1-pld.B2301008.gbin
        ucs-b250-m1-bios.S5500.1.4.0.6.090220101735.gbin
        ucs-b250-m1-k9-cimc.1.4.0.390.gbin
        ucs-b250-m2-bios.S5500.1.4.0.6.090220101735.gbin
        ucs-b440-m1-bios.B440M1.1.4.0.3.090120101140.gbin
        ucs-b440-m1-k9-cimc.1.4.0.390.gbin
        ucs-b440-m1-mrsasctlr.12.4.0-0028_3.13.00_NA.gbin
        ucs-b440-m1-pld.B440100C-B4402006.gbin
        ucs-c-pci-n2xx-acpci01.1.4.0.390.gbin
        ucs-c200-bios.C200.1.2.1.3.082520100537.gbin
        ucs-c200-k9-cimc.1.4.0.390.gbin
        ucs-c250-bios.C250.1.2.1.3.082520102328.gbin
        ucs-c250-k9-cimc.1.4.0.390.gbin
        ucs-m51kr-b.5.2.7.12.1.gbin
        ucs-m61kr-i.2.1.60.1.1.gbin
        ucs-m71kr-e-cna.1.4.0.390.gbin
        ucs-m71kr-e-hba.2.80A4.gbin
        ucs-m71kr-e-optionrom.5.03A8.gbin
        ucs-m71kr-q-cna.1.4.0.390.gbin
        ucs-m71kr-q-optionrom.2.02.gbin
        ucs-m72kr-e.2.702.200.1702.gbin
        ucs-m72kr-q.01.02.08.gbin
        ucs-m81kr-vic.1.4.0.390.gbin
        ucs-manager-k9.1.4.0.390.gbin

UCS-A#

                Checking the Available Space on a Fabric Interconnect

                If an image download fails, check whether the bootflash on the fabric interconnect or fabric interconnects in the Cisco UCS has sufficient available space.

                Procedure
                   Command or ActionPurpose
                  Step 1 UCS-A# scope fabric-interconnect {a | b}  

                  Enters fabric interconnect mode for the specified fabric.

                   
                  Step 2 UCS-A /fabric-interconnect # show storage [detail | expand}  

                  Displays the available space for the specified fabric.

                  Note   

                  When you download a firmware image bundle, a fabric interconnect needs at least twice as much available space as the size of the firmware image bundle. If the bootflash does not have sufficient space, delete the obsolete firmware, core files, and other unneeded objects from the fabric interconnect.

                   

                  The following example displays the available space for a fabric interconnect: 

                  UCS-A# scope fabric-interconnect a
UCS-A /fabric-interconnect # show storage
Storage on local flash drive of fabric interconnect:
    Partition        Size (MBytes)    Used Percentage
    ---------------- ---------------- ---------------
    bootflash        8658             50
    opt              1917             2
    workspace        277              4
UCS-A /fabric-interconnect #