How to upgrade PERC firmware, server BIOS and OMSA

Post date: Nov 17, 2013 4:14:10 PM

PERC -> PowerEdge RAID Controller

OMSA -> OpenManage Server Administrator

Dell OpenManage Server Administrator (OMSA) is designed to work with native Microsoft Windows and Linux OS installation functionality. As a result, administrators can deploy the remote management capabilities of OMSA—such as virtual media and console redirection—quickly and efficiently in enterprise environments using Dell OpenManage Server Assistant (DSA) and the Dell Remote Access Controller 4 (DRAC 4).

PERC firmware, server BIOS and OMSA can be upgraded by calling the dca_setup utility from the root user.

Upgrading the PERC firmware, server BIOS and OMSA.

1. Open an SSH connection to the Primary Master server and log in as the user root.

2. Start the DCA Setup utility

# dca_setup

3. Select option 2 to Modify DCA Settings

4. Select option 18 to Upgrade Bios/Firmware/OMSA

5. The DCA Setup utility will poll each host to determine the software revision of BIOS, Firmware and OMSA. Enter y to continue:

6. A list of hosts requiring upgrades will be reported. If any host is identified as having down-rev Bios, Firmware or OMSA, the utility will report ALL hosts

requiring the upgrade for that item. Only hosts that are down-rev will be upgraded.

If you get the following warning message

[WARNING]:-mdw host needs a BIOS upgrade WHICH WILL BE SKIPPED

Then  Primary Master server needs to be upgraded. 

The Primary Master server can only be upgraded if the DCA Setup utility is run from the Standby Master server. 

7. Confirm the upgrade, enter y to continue: Enter yes to continue or no to exit this application:(Yy|Nn): y

8. The upgrade will begin - the following will occur:

• Based on the number of hosts that require upgrades, time will vary - a 2 module cluster will take about an hour.

• Any host that does not requiring an upgrade will be verified, but not upgraded again or rebooted. For example, if only one host in a 2 module cluster requires

  an upgrade, the upgrade will take about 15 minutes.

• The upgrade is divided into 4 groups - one host form each module belongs to a group. For example, a 2 module configuration will have sdw1 and sdw5 in

  group 1, sdw2 and sdw6 in group 2, etc.

• The upgrade will occur in three stages, first BIOS will be upgraded, then Firmware then OMSA. A reboot will occur after each stage.

• The Primary Master server cannot be upgraded if the DCA Setup utility is run from itself - it must be upgraded from the Standby Master server.