Bulk Bios Update

[Andy Goodwin_1]

Hi guys,

Is it possible to bulk update BIOS settings remotely on several blades, idally through a scripting sent via Altiris?  I've got several blades I need to wipe the bios settings and then input a saved set of changes.  The wipe isn't absolutely necessary.

thanks

[Cederberg]

Hi.

Well I have never tried this but aren't there jobs for that in Altiris. Allthough there is a PXE boot involved.

Here is my best guess on how to use the Altiris jobs. Test this in testinviroment first.

On one Server set the settings you want in bios.

PXE boot the server

run the job HP Deployment Toolbox -> 2 - Hardware Configuration -> Read Proliant System Configuration

After the job is done there will be a conrep-capture.xml in %ALTIRIS_SHARE%\hpfeatures\hw-integrity\bin\

Check that for possible values that are unique for the server.

On the other servers

run the job HP Deployment Toolbox -> 2 - Hardware Configuration -> Write Proliant System Configuration

This will PXE boot the server and write the bios settings in the conrep-capture.xml file

Again I have never tried this so i don't know how it works or what the results will be..

[Renjiv]

Hi,

Yes, you can change BIOS settings on multiple server using HP SIM (System Insight Manager) and HP Client manager.

Client Manager 6.2(HPCM 6.2) is a free hardware management tool.

After Microsoft Windows has booted on the client systems, you can use HPCM to change the BIOS settings simultaneously on multiple client servers without having to visit each system individually.

You may refer:

http://h20331.www2.hp.com/Hpsub/downloads/client_manager_whitepaper.pdf

Also you may try updating using Altiris® Connector™ 6.0

Helpful links:

http://www.symantec.com/business/support/index?page=content&id=DOC1287

http://www.symantec.com/business/configuration-management

Regards,

Renji

[Andy Goodwin_1]

Thanks for your reply both of you!  I will have a look in Altiris for this and let you know how I get on.

I've been told that HPSIM doesn't support blade bios/firmware upgrade etc so maybe won't work?

[Psychonaut]

I've been researching this and have been looking at the Configuration Replication Utility (CONREP.EXE) which is in the SmartStart Scripting Toolkit.  I haven't gotten far, does anyone have any experience with conrep?  If so will it work with servers that don't have an OS loaded?

[Jimmy Vance]

CONREP is indeed the utility you need to use. The Scripting Toolkit package is designed with a boot image so you can configure the hardware before an OS is installed.