Service Pack for Proliant and additional firmware

[xmate]

Hi

Did anyone try to integrate addidtional new firmware packages to SPP?

I want to update a server with a newly published firmware from the bootable flash or cd (no OS access).

From the HP SPP guide I read:

1. Download the SPP that most closely meets your needs onto writeable media such as USB key or hard drive.
2. Download any hot fixes that you want to add to your ISO. Place them in the hp/swpackages directory of the SPP.

 But it doesn't work. When I boot the server with SPP it scans the swpackages directory and writhes something like "adding repository". And finally writes that there are 239 packages detected in the repository. And the quantity is the the same before and after adding additional firmware packages.

So SPP doesn't see new packages.

May be I need to do any additional steps. May be new packages are needed to be in specific format or for specific OS version. Maybe I need to unpack them. But nothig written in HP SPP guide, just "add packages"...

P.S.  There is no way to add additional repository in the SPP boot case, unlike running SUM from OS.

Working around is a very time consuming process, so maybe someone already done with it?

[xmate]

I've made a small workaround and found out something:

1) SPP is built on a linux platform and ithe server is booted from SPP, this SPP  doesn't recognise windows packages of firmware. So at least you should obtain linux package.

2) The linux package should have a name like *.scexe. SCEXE  is a Smart Component Executable component that is a  self-extracting executable file.

3) Why HP decided to make a thing like they done for DL160 G6 server BIOS update?

Tthey made 2 packages - one for windows and one for linux.

The first one (that is supposed to be for windows) creates a bootable flash and you should boot a server from it to update server (and there is no scexe file inside). So you just cann't  run executable in the OS and apply update during the next server reboot (as you can do it for linux). Instead you should plan a downtime specifically for BIOS update. And the version of "windows" update is 2012.10.01.

Ok. Let's have a look at a linux package. It is a scexe file. Good luck! But wait... It's version is 2011.07.06.

Now it passed more than half a year (from "windows" release 2012.10.01 till today) and new version for linux is still unavailable...

So I cann't update all my servers components from a single customized SPP bootable. Instead I need to take one flash drive with customized SPP and another with BIOS update...

P.S. You can just put *.scexe update files into hp/swpackages directory of your SPP bootable ISO/flash drive and the SPP will recognise them during the boot process. Verified by adding new version of iLO firmware to the SPP.

[DanRobinson]

It looks as though a few revisions back the DL160 G6 BIOS went to an offline install only.

I know the SCEXE looks like an offline install, but really its an online install for Linux systems which the SPP happens to be one of.

The newer BIOS updates for DL160 G6 use a DOS based tool which is why it requires its own special install process. This is likely because the BIOS on that unit was not developed by HP but rather a 3rd party.

Starting with Gen8 all BIOS work is done in-house on a common platform so things like that should not happen as much anymore. Similar to LO100i vs iLO. Gen8 is all iLO4 across the board.