Updating BMC Firmware and BIOS for NCNs without FAS

NOTE

  • On HPE nodes, the BMC firmware is iLO 5 and BIOS is System ROM.
  • The commands in the procedure must be run on ncn-m001.
  • This procedure should only be used if FAS is not available, such as during initial CSM install.
  • In order to update the firmware or BIOS for ncn-m001 itself, see Updating BMC Firmware and BIOS for ncn-m001.

Prerequisites

The following information is needed:

  • IP address of each NCN BMC
  • IP address of ncn-m001
  • root user password for each NCN BMC

Obtain the required firmware

The firmware or BIOS can be obtained from the HFP tarball if it has been installed, or from the HPE Support Center (HPESC).

The correct version of firmware / BIOS must be selected.

Move the firmware to be updated into an accessible directory.

Flash the firmware

Gigabyte NCNs

This procedure can be followed on any Linux system with network connectivity to the NCN BMCs.

  1. Start a webserver from the directory containing the downloaded firmware / BIOS image:

    python3 -m http.server 8770

  2. Update BMC firmware.

    • passwd = root user password of BMC
    • ipaddressOfBMC = IP address of NCN BMC
    • ipaddressOfM001 = IP address of ncn-m001
    • filename = Filename of the downloaded image
    curl -k -u root:passwd https://ipaddressOfBMC/redfish/v1/UpdateService/Actions/SimpleUpdate -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
              -d '{"ImageURI":"http://ipaddressOfM001:8770/filename", "TransferProtocol":"HTTP", "UpdateComponent":"BMC"}'

  3. Update BIOS.

    • passwd = root user password of BMC
    • ipaddressOfBMC = IP address of BMC
    • ipaddressOfM001 = IP address of ncn-m001
    • filename = Filename of the downloaded image
    curl -k -u root:passwd https://ipaddressOfBMC/redfish/v1/UpdateService/Actions/SimpleUpdate -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
              -d '{"ImageURI":"http://ipaddressOfM001:8770/filename", "TransferProtocol":"HTTP", "UpdateComponent":"BIOS"}'

    After updating its BIOS, an NCN must be rebooted. Follow the Reboot NCNs procedure to reboot NCNs.

  4. Repeat the previous two steps for all NCNs to be updated.

  5. Stop the webserver started in the first step.

HPE NCNs

Using the ilorest command

If the command ilorest is available, then follow the procedure in this section to update the NCNs. Otherwise, see Using the iLO GUI.

  1. Use the ilorest command to flash the firmware for each NCN that requires an update:

    • passwd = root user password of BMC
    • ipaddressOfBMC = IP address of BMC
    • ipaddressOfM001 = IP address of ncn-m001
    • filename.fwpkg = Filename of the downloaded image
    ilorest flashfwpkg filename.fwpkg --url ipaddressOfBMC -u root -p passwd

    After updating its System ROM (BIOS), an NCN must be rebooted. Follow the Reboot NCNs procedure to reboot NCNs.

Using the iLO GUI

The web interface will be used to update iLO 5 (BMC) firmware and/or System ROM (BIOS) on the HPE NCNs.

  1. Copy the iLO 5 firmware and/or System ROM files to a local computer from ncn-m001 using scp or other secure copy tools.

    scp root@ipaddressOfM001Node:pathToFile/filename .

On a machine external to the cluster (for example, a laptop), do the following steps for each NCN to be updated:

  1. Create an SSH tunnel.

    • -L creates the tunnel
    • -N prevents a shell and stubs the connection
    ssh -L 6443:ipaddressOfNCNBMC:443 -N ipaddressofM001

  2. Open the following URL in a web browser: https://127.0.0.1:6443

  3. Log in with root and the root user password for the iLO device.

    1. Click on Firmware & OS Software on the left menu.
    2. Click on Update Firmware on the right menu.
    3. Check Local File.
    4. Click Choose File and select the iLO firmware file or System ROM file.
    5. Click Confirm TPM override.
    6. Click Flash.

    After updating its System ROM (BIOS), an NCN must be rebooted. Follow the Reboot NCNs procedure to reboot NCNs.