Overview

This chapter includes the following sections:

Overview of Firmware

Cisco UCS uses firmware obtained from and certified by Cisco to support the endpoints in a Cisco UCS domain. Each endpoint is a component in the Cisco UCS domain that requires firmware to function. The upgrade order for the endpoints in a Cisco UCS domain depends upon the upgrade path, but includes the following:

  • Cisco UCS Manager

  • Fabric interconnects

  • Endpoints physically located on adapters, including NIC and HBA firmware, and Option ROM (where applicable) that can be upgraded through firmware packages included in a service profile

  • Endpoints physically located on servers, such as the BIOS, storage controller (RAID controller), and Cisco Integrated Management Controller (CIMC) that can be upgraded through firmware packages included in a service profile

See the required order of steps for your upgrade path to determine the appropriate order in which to upgrade the endpoints in your Cisco UCS domain.

Cisco maintains a set of best practices for managing firmware images and updates in this document and in the following technical note: Unified Computing System Firmware Management Best Practices.

This document uses the following definitions for managing firmware:

Upgrade

Changes the firmware running on an endpoint to another image, such as a release or patch. Upgrade includes both update and activation.

Update

Copies the firmware image to the backup partition on an endpoint.

Activate

Sets the firmware in the backup partition as the active firmware version on the endpoint. Activation can require or cause the reboot of an endpoint.

For Management Extensions and Capability Catalog upgrades, update and activate occur simultaneously. You only need to update or activate those upgrades. You do not need to perform both steps.

Firmware Auto Sync for FI Cluster

Addition of a secondary Fabric Interconnect to form a cluster – either as a replacement or a conversion from standby to HA requires the infrastructure bundle firmware versions to match. Administrators today manually upgrade/downgrade the replacement FI to the correct version before they connect it to the cluster. Firmware Auto Sync allows the users to automatically upgrade/downgrade the infrastructure bundle to the same version as the survivor FI when the replacement is added as standby to HA. The software package is the UCS software/firmware that resides on the FI.

Software and Hardware Requirements

The software package on the survivor FI should be greater than or equal to Cisco UCS Release 1.4. The model numbers of the Fabric Interconnects should be same. For example, firmware Auto Sync will not trigger for a combination of 61XX and 62XX FI models that are being setup for HA.

Implementation

With the earlier implementation, the user would compulsorily configure the replacement FI as standalone mode if there was a mismatch in the version of software packages. The replacement FI is manually upgraded/downgraded to the same version of software package on survivor FI through the usual upgrade/downgrade process. Then the replacement FI is added to the cluster since the upgrade/downgrade of the replacement FI is a manual process.

The user is now given an additional option of synchronization of the software packages of the replacement FI with the survivor FI along with the current option. If the user decides to Auto Sync the firmware, the software packages of the survivor FI are copied to the replacement FI. The software packages on the replacement FI are then activated and the FI is added to the cluster. The sync-up of the Cisco UCSM database and the configuration happens via the usual mechanisms once the HA cluster is formed successfully.

Firmware Auto Sync Benefits

In a UCS cluster where one Fabric Interconnect has failed, the Auto Sync feature ensures that the software package of the replacement FI is brought up to the same revision of the survivor. The whole process requires minimal end user interaction while providing clear and concise feedback during the procedure.

Firmware Management in Cisco UCS Central

Cisco UCS Central enables you to manage all firmware components for all registered Cisco UCS domains.


Note

To manage Cisco UCS domains firmware from Cisco UCS Central, you must enable the global firmware management option in Cisco UCS Manager. You can enable the global firmware management option when you register Cisco UCS Manager with Cisco UCS Central. You can also turn global management option on or off based on your management requirements.

The Cisco UCS domains are categorized into domain groups in Cisco UCS Central for management purposes. You can manage firmware for each domain group separately at the domain group level or for all domain groups from the domain group root. Cisco UCS Central provides you the option to manage the following Cisco UCS domain firmware packages:

  • Capability Catalog— One capability catalog per domain group . All Cisco UCS domains registered to a particular domain group will use the capability catalog defined in the domain group.

  • Infrastructure Firmware— One infrastructure firmware policy per domain group . All Cisco UCS domains registered to a particular domain group will use the same Infrastructure firmware version defined in the domain group.

  • Host Firmware— You can have more than one host firmware policy for the different host firmware components in a domain group. The Cisco UCS domainsregistered in the domain group will be able to choose any defined host firmware policy in the group. Cisco UCS Central provides you the option to upgrade the host firmware globally to all Cisco UCS domains in a domain group at the same time.


Note

For more information on managing firmware in Cisco UCS Central, see the Firmware Management chapters in the Cisco UCS Central User Manual and Cisco UCS Central CLI Reference Manual.

Firmware Versions

The firmware version terminology used depends upon the type of endpoint, as follows:

Firmware Versions in CIMC, and Adapters

Each CIMC, and adapter has two slots for firmware in flash. Each slot holds a version of firmware. One slot is active and the other is the backup slot. A component boots from whichever slot is designated as active.

The following firmware version terminology is used in Cisco UCS Manager:

Running Version

The running version is the firmware that is active and in use by the endpoint.

Startup Version

The startup version is the firmware that will be used when the endpoint next boots up. Cisco UCS Manager uses the activate operation to change the startup version.

Backup Version

The backup version is the firmware in the other slot and is not in use by the endpoint. This version can be firmware that you have updated to the endpoint but have not yet activated, or it can be an older firmware version that was replaced by a recently activated version. Cisco UCS Manager uses the update operation to replace the image in the backup slot.

If the endpoint cannot boot from the startup version, it boots from the backup version.

Firmware Versions in the Fabric Interconnect and Cisco UCS Manager

You can only activate the fabric interconnect firmware and Cisco UCS Manager on the fabric interconnect. The fabric interconnect and Cisco UCS Manager firmware do not have backup versions, because all the images are stored on the fabric interconnect. As a result, the number of bootable fabric interconnect images is not limited to two, like the server CIMC and adapters. Instead, the number of bootable fabric interconnect images is limited by the available space in the memory of the fabric interconnect and the number of images stored there.

The fabric interconnect and Cisco UCS Manager firmware have running and startup versions of the kernel and system firmware. The kernel and system firmware must run the same versions of firmware.