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Re: Firmware update on C7000 Chassis from USB Key

 
Chammond
Occasional Advisor

Firmware update on C7000 Chassis from USB Key

I have tried to setup a USB key with the Firmware Update CD iso on it to use to perform updates on blades within the chassis. Initially it was formatted as FAT32 and I saw in the OA log that it was looking for NTFS. After figuring out how to get XP to allow me to format the Key as NTFS, I tried it again but the OA says it is not a valid NTFS partition and will not recognize it. Has anyone out there been able to get this to work? Are any other file systems supported?

Thanks
Chris
6 REPLIES 6
Michael Garner_1
Honored Contributor

Re: Firmware update on C7000 Chassis from USB Key

Chris,
The key should be formatted as FAT32. You should be copying the ISO file directly to the key without first trying to extract it or create a CD or other image from it. You also need to ensure the key is placed in the primary OA (and not the backup). Below, I've copied in the instructions from the Firmware Best Practices Implementer's Guide that will be out later this fall describing how to perform this operation.

Offline Updates
The following instructions can be used to update the firmware on an individual server using the HP Firmware Maintenance CD

1) Download the HP Firmware Maintenance CD from the HP website. Links to the latest versions are posted on the BladeSystem Compatibility Chart web pages and can be accessed through the http://www.hp.com/go/bladesystemupdates URL. The file will be called firmware-.zip.

2) To extract the ISO image, open Windows Explorer and double-click on the ZIP file and copy the ISO image to a directory on a USB key or network hard drive. For Linux users, simply unzip the ZIP file using the ├в unzip firmware-.zip├в command.

3) The easiest way to update a server blade using the HP Firmware Maintenance CD ISO image is to place it on a USB key and insert it into the USB port on the front of the C3000 enclosure or on the rear of the C7000 enclosure.

4) Browse to the HP BladeSystem Onboard Administrator web interface and login using the OA administrator credentials.

5) Click on ├в Device Bays├в to pull up a summary of all blades in the enclosure

6) Check the box beside each blade that needs to be updated

7) Click the ├в DVD├в tab and select the ├в Connect to FW*.iso├в option in the pull down menu where the ├в *├в signifies the version, date, and pass number of the HP Firmware Maintenance CD ISO file that was extracted in step #2.

8) Check the box beside each blade that needs to be updated again if they are deselected during the DVD connection step.

9) Select the ├в Virtual Power├в tab and select the ├в Momentary Press├в option. After confirming the popup for power change on the blade(s), the blades should power down if they were already powered on or power on if they had already been powered off. In the event they are powered off by step 9, repeat this step again to power the blade(s) on.

10) Use the remote console to browse into each blade and drive the installation process by following the steps as outlined in the ├в Using HP Smart Update Manager (HP SUM) in GUI mode├в . Some screens such as the ├в Source Selection├в and ├в Select Installation Hosts├в will not be displayed in offline mode.

NOTE: The iLO firmware must be deselected if the Firmware CD is being executed in offline mode to prevent errors that could occur when the iLO Firmware is updated and the iLO virtual media and remote console is reset. It is best to update the iLO firmware online first using the HP BladeSystem Firmware Update Bundles, then use the HP Firmware Maintenance CD in offline mode to flash offline-only firmware such as the QLogic, Brocade and Emulex FC HBA firmware.

NOTE: Please use the HP BladeSystem Firmware Deployment Tool for an automated way to perform these steps. The HP BladeSystem Firmware Deployment Tool also does not have the issue with iLO Firmware updates disconnecting the media since the FDT copies all the files from the iLO Virtual Media to a RAM drive on each server before initiating the firmware update process.

NOTE: Reboot the server once the firmware updates have completed successfully to activate all the software.

NOTE: In some rare instances, the Firmware Maintenance CD may not boot with some 3rd party external Fiber Channel storage attached. In the event this occurs, it may be necessary to disconnect the external storage for the duration of the update process and reconnect it afterwards.

NOTE: As an alternative, the HP Firmware Maintenance CD can be burned to a physical CD and placed in an external CD/DVD drive connected to the SUV (Serial-USB-Video) cable for the individual blade that needs to be updated.

Regards,
Michael Garner
HP HPSUM/FWCD/PSP Architect
Chammond
Occasional Advisor

Re: Firmware update on C7000 Chassis from USB Key

This is what I get when trying to use a USB Key formatted with FAT32.

Oct 6 12:10:43 Kernel: FAT: invalid media value (0x06)
Oct 6 12:10:43 Kernel: NTFS-fs warning (device sda): is_boot_sector_ntfs(): Invalid boot sector checksum.
Oct 6 12:10:43 Kernel: NTFS-fs error (device sda): read_ntfs_boot_sector(): Primary boot sector is invalid.
Oct 6 12:10:43 Kernel: NTFS-fs error (device sda): read_ntfs_boot_sector(): Mount option errors=recover not used. Aborting without trying to recover.
Oct 6 12:10:43 Kernel: NTFS-fs error (device sda): ntfs_fill_super(): Not an NTFS volume.
Oct 6 12:10:43 OA: Failed to mount USB Key (USB Mass Storage Device): unsupported filesystem.

This was in the active OA running v2.32 firmware with the .iso copied to the USB Key as an ISO.
Michal Kapalka (mikap)
Honored Contributor

Re: Firmware update on C7000 Chassis from USB Key

hi,

are you sure that is fat32 ??? its depend on which of the OS version did you formated the key.

mikap
Michal Kapalka (mikap)
Honored Contributor

Re: Firmware update on C7000 Chassis from USB Key

hi,

for exmaple if you need to format usb key to fat32 on windows 7, you need to do it from command line, becasuse WIndows 7 use exFATinstead of FAT32:

format volume /FS:FAT32

mikap
Michael Garner_1
Honored Contributor

Re: Firmware update on C7000 Chassis from USB Key

Chris,
The problem being reported is a bad master boot record (MBR) on the key that is preventing the OA from mounting it. The MBR is not updated during a format. You'll need to use something like FDISK to rewrite the MBR.

It might be easier to just try another key that hasn't been re-formatted as most keys have a FAT32 partition on them by default.

Regards.
CaptianShellhoo
New Member

Re: Firmware update on C7000 Chassis from USB Key

Has this changed? Will NTFS work on the OAs now?? I want to be able to use NTFS filesystem on the usb in order to support the new larger HP SPP 2015 that is 5.GB and to large for FAT32