Introduction
Firmware upgrades are a foundational part of IT infrastructure lifecycle management. Despite their importance, these upgrades are handled manually, introducing risks like human error, inconsistent deployments, long downtimes, and operational delays. For large-scale environments with Synergy blade servers, such inefficiencies are magnified due to the complexity of profiles, node dependencies, and orchestrated vCenter activities.
We've built a fully automated, scalable, and resilient firmware upgrade workflow to address these challenges by leveraging Ansible, VMware Aria Automation (vRA), vRealize Orchestrator (vRO), and HPE OneView Synergy. This solution is designed for firmware upgrades with pre-validation checks, status tracking, and failure notifications.
Executive Summary
This automation initiative performs firmware upgrades on vCenter clusters without manual intervention, drastically reducing time and effort while minimizing human error.
Pre-Validation Highlights:
vCenter cluster and OneView hardware health must be green.
Must run during non-business hours.
Firmware version must be present in HPE OneView Firmware Bundle.
Once validated, a ServiceNow Request is created listing all the hosts in the target cluster. The vRA front-end then triggers the Ansible job template, executing the upgrade sequentially per host.
If any upgrade fails, vRA displays a detailed post-validation summary including:
Hostname
Old vs. Upgraded Firmware Versions
Status
Ansible Job ID
Error message (in case of failure)
Together, vRA and Ansible form a powerful automation framework: vRA excels in self-service provisioning while Ansible handles configuration and execution—offering an end-to-end, reliable solution.
Objective
The mission of this automation initiative is to enable cluster-wise firmware upgrades with zero manual intervention while maintaining compliance, operational safety, and rollback readiness.
Designed to:
Upgrade all nodes within a Synergy cluster seamlessly.
Perform pre-upgrade validations, live tracking, and post-upgrade checks.
Integrate with ITSM tools like ServiceNow for end-to-end visibility and audit readiness.
Definition of Done (DoD)
A firmware upgrade is marked successful when:
All cluster nodes are upgraded with the desired firmware version.
Any failure triggers a ServiceNow incident, logging:
Host details
Error logs
Timestamps
Logs are version-controlled in GitHub and fully traceable in ServiceNow.
Architectural Overview:
Core Tools Used
Tool / Platform Purpose
vRA (VMware Aria Automation) Provides front-end UI for triggering upgrades
vRO (vRealize Orchestrator) Manages orchestration logic and workflow
Ansible (AAP) Executes playbooks for firmware upgrade
HPE OneView Synergy Manages firmware bundles, profiles, and hardware
vCenter Server Manages hosts/clusters, vMotion, and maintenance modes
ServiceNow Tracks change tasks, logs results, and raises incidents
Smart Workflow Logic
Input Form (via vRA)
Users only provide:
vCenter name
Cluster name
Firmware version
Change Task (CTASK) number
From this point on, the workflow is fully automated.
Execution Flow:
1. Input Validation
Validate user input
Checks firmware version in OneView
2. Pre-Upgrade Checks
Verifies vCenter and OneView health
Checks host availability and zVRA status
Ensures no host is already in maintenance mode
Verifies non-business hours constraint
3. vMotion & Maintenance Mode
Evacuate VMs using vMotion
Places host in maintenance mode
4. Firmware Upgrade via Ansible
Assign new Server Profile Template (SPT)
Monitors Redfish API response for status and errors
5. Post-Upgrade Validation
Confirms firmware upgrade success
Takes host out of maintenance mode
Rebalances the cluster
6. Logging & Notifications
Log all actions in ServiceNow and GitHub
Creates SNOW incidents if an upgrade fails
Technical Stack Details
Ansible Collections & SDKs Used:
hpe.oneview (v8.8.0)
community.general
redfish
awx.awx
Python SDK: hpeOneView (v8.4.0)
These enable seamless API interactions with HPE OneView, Redfish, and AWX.
Key Validation Logic
Area Validation Performed
vCenter Health Reachability and overall health check
OneView Hardware Health Must be green for all nodes
Host Availability Not in maintenance, reachable
Firmware Availability Version exists in OneView repo
zVRA Check VM must be powered off
UUID/Serial Match Target hardware validation
Server Profile State No active tasks or errors
Value Proposition
Manual firmware upgrades are tedious and error prone. This solution offers a self-service portal, automated checks, and detailed logging—greatly enhancing efficiency and minimizing risk.
Benefits:
Reduced execution time
Self-service capability
Error-free upgrades
Change management integration
Failure alerts and rollback readiness
Reference Architecture
The Firmware Upgrade Automation solution enables a fully self-service experience for end users. We have leveraged vRA for UI and orchestration, and Ansible Tower for execution.
Architecture Flow:
The flow diagram depicted in Figure 1, offers an automation process for firmware upgrade.
Conclusion
What once took days of planning and hours of manual effort can now be completed in minutes—with high precision, full control, and enterprise-grade resilience.
This firmware upgrade automation is more than a technical solution—it's a strategic enabler for organizations seeking scalability, compliance, and operational excellence.
Whether you're managing a single Synergy rack or automating across data centers, this solution ensures every blade, every cluster, and every firmware package is production-ready—without ever logging into OneView manually again.
Rohit Kumar Marathe & Prakash Kasar
Hewlett Packard Enterprise ( GCC - PS )
I work at HPE
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[Any personal opinions expressed are mine, and not official statements on behalf of Hewlett Packard Enterprise]
