This section is designed to help you get the most out of Dell™ Update Packages. Updating the system software on your Dell systems should be a key element of your company's overall change management policies and procedures. Maintaining the system software on your Dell systems will help ensure trouble-free operation.
Before you apply any update to your system, you may want to carefully plan your update strategy, based on the conditions that are necessitating the update. Many reasons may exist for making the decision to update your Dell system, such as:
Correcting a security concern
Correcting a problem on your system, based on a recommendation from Dell Support personnel
Updating a system software component to a minimum level required by an application
Gaining access to a new feature or improved performance
Updating all of the system components as part of your company's periodic maintenance process
Each of the preceding update situations entails different levels of urgency, but all require a certain level of planning to ensure a successful update with minimal disruption to your applications and users. The following subsections help you develop the system update strategy that best fits your needs, your company's policies and procedures, and the tools available to you.
Develop Your System Update Plan
You may want or need to update your system for many reasons, as mentioned in the preceding section. This update requirement may be classified as either planned or unplanned.
Planned updates occur as a part of your regular cycle of maintaining your systems with up-to-date BIOS, firmware, and drivers. Many IT organizations establish a regular schedule for performing the updates, which are integrated with the planned maintenance functions. The frequency of these updates varies from company to company; however, it is not uncommon for companies to adopt quarterly or semiannual update schedules. Irregular but still planned updates may occur whenever a system is retasked with a new application or the operating system is either upgraded or changed. Any time that you have scheduled planned outage or downtime for your system may be a good time to consider upgrading the system software components.
Unplanned updates typically occur as a result of applying a critical upgrade to your system to avoid data loss, service interruption, or security threats. You may, for example, be advised to apply an update in response to a call you have placed to a Dell support professional. Although the urgency of applying such an update is greater than a planned update, you know that you must apply careful thought and consideration to ensure a successful update with minimal disruption to your users. The key to success is always having a well-planned strategy for all possible scenarios.
Acquiring Update Packages
Dell provides a number of aids to help you determine whether or not your system requires an update. You can locate the Update Packages for your system on the Dell Support website at support.dell.com. You first enter your system model type and proceed to the Downloads section. The Downloads section on the website is organized by system component categories such as Embedded Server Management,FlashBIOS Updates, SCSI RAID, and so on. You can select the specific download category you are interested in or choose All to see all available updates for your system model type. You then select your operating system and operating system language, and click Go.
Update Packages currently do not support every device type. Dell will continue to make Update Packages available on additional devices in future releases.
The Dell File Watch notification service, available on support.dell.com, allows you to create an account and register to receive e-mail notifications when Dell publishes an update file for your system. You have the option of specifying which server models you would like to be notified about by entering either the server model type or the Dell hardware service tag. Each e-mail notification includes a short summary of the new file available for your system and a Web link to locate that update file on support.dell.com.
After you locate your Update Package, read the summary information to determine whether or not you should download the update and apply it to your system. You can run the Update Package and read the summary information displayed in the Update Package's interactive window. This information is provided to help you determine whether the update is appropriate for your system and your specific environment. If you have installed Server Administrator, you can use it to determine the versions of system software presently installed on your system. Be sure to use the most current version of Server Administrator.
Executing Update Packages
To run Update Packages from the interactive graphical user interface (GUI), perform the following steps. This procedure applies to all Update Packages.
Execute the Update Package by double-clicking the file name from within Windows
Explorer.
Read the update information displayed in the Update Package's window.
Update Packages are designed to confirm that all prerequisites are satisfied before applying the update to your system. Each Update Package checks to ensure the following:
The Update Package applies to your target system.
The Update Package applies to the operating system running on your system.
The device associated with the Update Package is present on your system.
Minimum required versions of related system software are running on your system.
Update Packages are designed with built-in error handling capabilities to ensure that the preceding requirements are validated. If the conditions are not met, no update occurs. The design also allows you to create groups of Update Packages and apply them to a wide range of systems. For example, if some of the Dell systems in your environment contain PERC 3/DC RAID controllers and the others contain PERC 4/Di controllers, you could include both the PERC 3/DC and PERC 4/Di Update Packages in one script and run this script on every system in your environment. The RAID Update Packages would be installed on the systems as appropriate, while the RAID Update Packages that did not apply would not be installed.
Additionally, if you only want to check that a given Update Package can be applied to your system, you can invoke the package by using the following CLI command:
packagename.exe /c /s
This command executes just the dependency rules within the Update Package, issues any warnings, exits without applying the update to your system, and writes the results to a log file (located in the C:\dell\updatepackage\log default directory). You can also use the Update Package to set an exit code to perform decisions within your scripts.
Using Update Packages with Server Administrator
Server Administrator provides a rich set of systems management functions for Dell systems. With Server Administrator, you can check the status of your hardware components, system software versions, and storage configuration. A key function within Server Administrator is the Update Service, which allows you to display the currently installed versions of your system software and apply an update. Since the release of Server Administrator, the update file format required is labeled OpenManage and is located on support.dell.com. The Dell Update Package format is compatible with Server Administrator and may be used in addition to or as a replacement for the OpenManage update files. Depending on the version of Server Administrator that is installed on your system, you may be able to apply only certain update types. Update Packages are backward-compatible to ensure that update functionality is supported through Server Administrator. Refer to the readme.txt file to determine which Update Package types are compatible with your version of Server Administrator.
Updating Non-English Operating Systems
You can use Update Packages on non-English operating systems; however, Update Packages are not provided in other languages at this time. Therefore, the summary information and any error messages appear in English only. Support for additional languages may be provided in a future release.
Effects of Applying the Updates on a Running System
System Reboot Required
Certain Update Packages, such as those that update the system BIOS, require a reboot for the new software to take effect. After you apply an update that requires a reboot, you must shut down and restart the system to complete the update.
You have the option of choosing to defer the reboot until another time as long as you do not power down the system. This feature is primarily intended to allow you to apply any number of updates together and perform the system reboot after the last update has been applied. If this process is interrupted, through a power interruption, for example, you must repeat the updates. Therefore, Dell recommends that you schedule updates for a time when the reboot can take place immediately after you apply the last update.
Impact on Users and Applications
Generally, you can apply the updates to a running system, as they consume few system resources. Be sure to read the information contained in the Update Packages before applying the update to determine if applying the update may cause a service interruption to your users or applications. When in doubt, always apply updates at a time when no critical applications or users require the system.
Specifying the Order of Multiple Updates
When applying multiple updates at the same time, be sure to use the order indicated in "Installation Order of Update Packages" found earlier in this guide. As previously noted in "System Reboot Required," you may defer rebooting the system until after running the last of multiple Update Packages.
You may also want to use the /l option to specify that each of the Update Packages write to the same log file. This option allows you to create a single log file to consolidate the execution results.
Delivering the Update Packages to Your Systems
Using Software Distribution Applications With Update Packages
Many IT organizations use internally developed or purchased software distribution applications to remotely install and update software. Update Packages have been designed to operate with any such tool, provided that the tool can remotely deliver and execute a Microsoft® Windows® application and supply that application with command line arguments. Consult the documentation for your tool or contact the tool's supplier to determine if these capabilities are available.
Updating Many Systems
For large environments that consist of hundreds or perhaps thousands of systems, remote software distribution applications provide the best solution. Many of these tools can effectively leverage the Update Packages and provide the convenience of installing and updating a variety of software, such as operating systems and applications, in a heterogeneous environment.
Network file shares also are an effective method of making Update Packages accessible in a distributed environment. When an Update Package begins execution, it first copies the contents of the Update Package to a temporary location on the system's local drive. This process ensures that the update can be completed even if the connection to the network share is lost for any reason.
Remote Terminal Sessions
In today's highly distributed environment, it is quite common for IT organizations to use remote access solutions, such as Microsoft Terminal Services, to gain access to their remote systems. You may use this type of solution to run Update Packages.
Stand-alone Systems and Firewalls
For systems that are not connected to the Internet, you need to download your Update Packages from support.dell.com by using a system that does have access to the Internet, such as your desktop or portable computer. You can make Update Packages available to your system by copying them onto removable media that your system supports (such as CD, USB devices, tape, and so on).
Confirming the Update
To ensure that Update Packages were applied to your system, review the log files that were generated during execution. See "Update Packages Message Logs" for detailed information about the logging feature.
If you want to revert to a previous (older) version of the software after updating to a newer version, you must download the appropriate Update Package from support.dell.com and install it. To install the previous version from a script, use /s (unattended) mode. In addition, you must use the CLI /f option, which forces the downgrade. To install the previous version from the GUI, you will be prompted to ensure that you want to do so.
If your system loses power during the update process, you must perform the updates again.
Typical Usage Scenarios
Scenario One — Firmware Update During a Hardware Upgrade
As the systems administrator, you are responsible for your company's Dell PowerEdge™ 2500 system, which runs the electronic mail services for 42 employees. You have scheduled a weekend hardware upgrade for the mail server to add additional external SCSI drives. You plan to use the Dell OpenManage™ Array Manager RAID systems management software to stripe the new disk drives. Array Manager is part of Server Administrator, which you have been using to manage your system's day-to-day functions. The readme.txt file that came with the installation instructions for your new disk drives requires that the PERC 3/Di storage controller's firmware is the latest version in order to configure the new disk drives. Consequently, you must upgrade the PERC 3/Di's firmware as part of your weekend hardware update.
To accomplish this update, you perform the following general steps:
Log into your account on support.dell.com from your office desktop or portable system.
Because you have an account on support.dell.com, the Dell hardware service tag of your server is automatically displayed along with the model type: PowerEdge 2500.
Click Downloads and select SCSI RAID for the download category.
Select Microsoft Windows 2000 for your operating system.
Select English for the operating system language and click Go.
Select PERC 3/Di, which matches the controller type in your PowerEdge system.
Click the firmware name to download the Update Package.
After the Update Package has finished downloading to your system, copy the file to your
PowerEdge 2500 system's C:\temp directory.
You arrive on Saturday to begin the upgrade process.
Notify the users on your system and shut down the electronic mail services.
Verify that all users have disconnected, and then execute the firmware Update Package by
double-clicking the file name from within Windows Explorer.
Read the information displayed in the Update Package window and confirm that this is the
correct firmware for your PERC controller.
Click Install to load the PERC 3/Di firmware.
Reboot the system to confirm that the new firmware has been loaded and that the system is
fully operational.
You have successfully updated your RAID controller's firmware and you are ready to finish the hardware upgrade by adding the new drives, configuring the disk stripe set, and resuming mail services.
Scenario Two — Retasking a System
You are the systems administrator for a large company. Your group requires an additional system to support a new financial analysis package, and you have access to a PowerEdge 2650 system that is no longer in use from another department within the company. Because the PowerEdge 2650 system has an older operating system installed on it, you plan to upgrade the operating system before installing the new financial application. You also plan to install the most current BIOS, firmware, and drivers offered by Dell, as well as install the Server Administrator systems management software.
To prepare the system to run the company's new financial software, you perform the following general steps:
Use the Dell OpenManage Server Assistant CD that came with the PowerEdge 2650 system to
install the most current version of the Windows 2000 operating system.
Log on to support.dell.com and enter the Dell hardware service tag for the PowerEdge 2650
system.
Click Downloads and select the All download category.
Select Microsoft Windows 2000 for the operating system and English for the operating
system language, and then click Go.
Locate the BIOS, ESM firmware, and PERC 3/Di Update Packages for the PowerEdge 2650
system and download them.
Additionally, download the Server Administrator application.
Copy the files that you downloaded to the PowerEdge 2650's C:\temp directory.
Create a simple batch file that executes the following packages one-by-one in this order:
PERC 3/Di driver
PERC 3/Di firmware
ESM system firmware
BIOS
Use the CLI /s option on each line in the batch file for these packages so that you can schedule the process by using the task manager. On each line of the file, you also include /l=c:\temp\2650_upgrade.log to check the results of the execution.
You analyze the log file, find that the packages installed successfully, and note that the
system was rebooted. You then install Server Administrator.
At this point, the PowerEdge 2650 system is running the most current operating system and the system BIOS, system firmware, RAID controller's firmware, and driver are up to date. You are now ready to install the financial application for your division.
Scenario Three — BIOS Update for 200 Systems
You are the systems administrator for a large business with over 500 stores. Every store location has a PowerEdge system that is used to manage the company's inventory and billing systems. About 200 of these stores are running on PowerEdge 2600 systems. You have entered all of your server model types into Dell's File Watch service on support.dell.com. File Watch notifies you when Dell posts any new software updates on support.dell.com for the system types that you registered. Recently, you received an e-mail message from the File Watch system advising you of a new BIOS update that is available for your PowerEdge 2600 systems. This BIOS update is designed to dynamically regulate the system's cooling fan speeds, which allows the systems to run quieter and consume less energy. Because you remotely manage these systems, you have invested in a software distribution tool that allows you to schedule remote software installation and updates. You also have a planned 4-hour service window each weekend when you can perform any maintenance functions necessary on the company's systems.
To roll out the BIOS update to the company's PowerEdge 2600 servers, you perform the following general steps:
Log on to support.dell.com.
Select the server model type, the PowerEdge 2600, and click Downloads.
Select FlashBIOS Updates as the download category, Microsoft Windows 2000 as the
operating system type, and English as the operating system language.
Download the new BIOS Update Package for the PowerEdge 2600 system.
Use the software distribution tool to create an update task that delivers the BIOS Update
Package to all of the systems in the network.
The update task is simply a batch command that invokes the BIOS Update Package and uses the CLI /r /soptions to ensure that the system is rebooted when it is necessary.
Because this BIOS Update Package executes only on a PowerEdge 2600 system, you can plan on distributing this to all of the systems regardless of the system model type. The Update Package does not affect the non-2600 systems.
NOTE: A few BIOS Update Packages that can be executed on more than one PowerEdge system
are currently available. The Update Packages are provided for the PowerEdge 2500, 2550, 4300,
4350, 6300, and 6350 systems.
Use the software distribution tool to schedule the BIOS update task to run on all of the
systems at 2:00 a.m. this coming Saturday, which falls within the allotted 4-hour maintenance
window.
On Sunday morning, you log into your system and check the execution results report within
the software distribution tool and determine that 180 of your 200 PowerEdge 2600 systems
successfully applied the BIOS update.
The attempted BIOS update on the remaining 20 PowerEdge 2600 systems returned an
informational status indicating that the update was not required.
Log on to one of the 20 systems and check the BIOS Update Package's log file.
You confirm that on these 20 systems, the BIOS version was already up to date, as these systems were those most recently purchased from Dell.
You have successfully completed the BIOS update process for the company.
