C7000 and Blade servers firmware updates on a mass scale

[chuckk281]

Ed was looking for some help with a customer looking to upgrade a large number of servers:

*******************

I have a customer who would like HP to update 82 – 100 full C7000 chassis and Blades firmware in an 8-hour day.

Question #1: are there methods of scripting that can help to accomplish this task?

Question #2: what is the limitation of the number of Blades a person can update in parallel using a USB key with the SPP plugged into the enclosure USB port?

Question #3: does HP have consultants that can engage on a project like this and accept PS credits as payment?

****************

Comments from Mike:

Wow! 

Many questions come to mind that need to be answered before you can get a reasonable answer.

Are they doing this online or offline?

Is all the equipment the same, blades, VC, etc…?

What operating systems are being used?

How old is the current firmware?  Is it all over the map or just a few revs behind?

Are we doing firmware and drivers?

Typically you can update up to 8 blades with the USB method or using HPSUM online.  I am currently involved with updating f/w for a customer with 100+ c7000 enclosures and their blades. It is going to take us a year to complete this.  We schedule 12-14 enclosures (and 6-8 people) per engagement and each enclosure needs researched beforehand to ensure that we are not violating rules or dependencies.

I would say you will need a SOW for this and sell them the service based on that.

Dan also replied:

I would mirror Michael's questions and also ask if they will need to update any OS drivers during this process. 

The narrower the scope as far as models and OSs, the easier the scripting. 

Also I would personally avoid USB sticks with a deployment this size as long as they have iLO Advanced already in place. Use scripted virtual media and store the ISO on a web server that supports byte serving and ideally resides on the same VLAN as the iLOs.

***************

Any other comments or suggestions?

[Johan Guldmyr]

Do HP engineers accept Playstation Credits as a method of payment?