Firmware upgrade on IBM p-series 9111-520 without HMC

Today I did a OS upgrade on a 9111-520 standalone server, which means there is no LPAR configured on it. There is no HMC connection to it. We use the classic console.





The fimware level on it was 01SF222-075. I downloaded the latest firmware 01SF240_338_201 from IBM website and saved it to /tmp/fwupdate directory.




# rpm -Uvh --ignoreos /tmp/fwupdate/01SF240_338_201.rpm


# cd /tmp/fwupdate


# /usr/sbin/update_flash -f 01SF240_338_201





The image is valid and would update the temporary image to SF240_338.

The new firmware level for the permanent image would be SF222_075.
The current permanent system firmware image is SF222_075.The current temporary system firmware image is SF222_075.
***** WARNING: Continuing will reboot the system! *****
Do you wish to continue?Enter 1=Yes or 2=No

1





Server rebooted and show


"Rebooting"


on the console.





However, it hung there for about 40 minutes

The Service processor menu appear when I type "ENTER" . I go into 1. Power/Restart Control then select 1 to power on the server.

Welcome
Machine type-model: 9111-520
Serial number: 10XXXXX
Date: 2008-3-16
Time: 14:25:33
Service Processor: Primary
User ID: admin
Password: *****
Number of columns [80-255, Currently: 80]:
Number of lines [24-255, Currently: 24]:
System name: Server-9111-520-SN10XXXXX
Version: SF222_075
User: admin
Copyright ?2002-2004 IBM Corporation. All rights reserved.

1. Power/Restart Control
2. System Service Aids
3. System Information
4. System Configuration
5. Network Services
6. Performance Setup
7. On Demand Utilities
8. Concurrent Maintenance
9. Login Profile
99. Log out

S1> 1

Power/Restart Control

1. Power On/Off System
2. Auto Power Restart
3. Immediate Power Off
4. System Reboot
5. Wake On LAN
98. Return to previous menu
99. Log out


S1> 1

Power On/Off System
Current system power state: Off
Current firmware boot side: Permanent
Current system server firmware state: Not running

1. System boot speed
Currently: Fast
2. Firmware boot side for the next boot
Currently: Temporary
3. System operating mode
Currently: Normal
4. AIX/Linux partition mode boot
Currently: Continue to operating system
5. Boot to system server firmware
Currently: Running
6. i5/OS partition boot mode
Currently: D
7. Power on
98. Return to previous menu
99. Log out

S1> 7

The system is powering on.
PRESS ENTER TO CONTINUE:

S1>
You have logged out.
!!! LP10000 Fcode, Copyright (c) 2005 Emulex !!! Version 1.50a4
!!! LP10000 Fcode, Copyright (c) 2005 Emulex !!! Version 1.50a4
!!! LP11000 Fcode, Copyright (c) 2005 Emulex !!! Version 1.50a4
!!! LP11000 Fcode, Copyright (c) 2005 Emulex !!! Version 1.50a4
!!! LP11000 Fcode, Copyright (c) 2005 Emulex !!! Version 1.50a4
!!! LP11000 Fcode, Copyright (c) 2005 Emulex !!! Version 1.50a4
!!! LP11000 Fcode, Copyright (c) 2005 Emulex !!! Version 1.50a4












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1 = SMS Menu 5 = Default Boot List 8 = Open Firmware Prompt 6 = Stored Boot List
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome to AIX. boot image timestamp: 04:31 03/16 The current time and date: 14:34:55 03/16/2008 number of processors: 2 size of memory: 3824Mbboot device: /pci@800000020000003/pci@2,4/pci1069,b166@1/scsi@0/sd@8:2closing stdin and stdout...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I called IBM hardware support. The guy told me jumping from 01SF222_075 to 01SF240 will have 5% chance of failure. The solution is to reject the firmware in temporary side and apply a medium level firmware 01SF222_102,which is not available for download. He has to put it into testcase.boulder.ibm.com for me.

Rejecting the firmware will take about 5 minutes.

# /usr/lpp/diagnnostics/bin/update _flash -r

The reject operation is in progress. Please stand by.

The reject operation was successful.

Then I shut down the server.

# shutdown -F

When it is down "....Halt completed....". Wait for 3-4 minutes. Press ENTER, then the service processor menu appears. Go into Power/Restart Control and change firmware boot side from permenant to temporary. Power on the server.

Welcome
Machine type-model: 9111-520
Serial number: 10XXXXX
Date: 2008-3-16
Time: 15:04:39
Service Processor: Primary
User ID: admin
Password: *****
Number of columns [80-255, Currently: 80]:
Number of lines [24-255, Currently: 24]:
System name: Server-9111-520-SN10XXXXX
Version: SF222_075
User: admin
Copyright ?2002-2004 IBM Corporation. All rights reserved.
1. Power/Restart Control
2. System Service Aids
3. System Information
4. System Configuration
5. Network Services
6. Performance Setup
7. On Demand Utilities
8. Concurrent Maintenance
9. Login Profile
99. Log out

S1> 1
Power/Restart Control
1. Power On/Off System
2. Auto Power Restart
3. Immediate Power Off
4. System Reboot
5. Wake On LAN
98. Return to previous menu
99. Log out

S1> 1
Power On/Off System
Current system power state: Off
Current firmware boot side: Permanent
Current system server firmware state: Not running
1. System boot speed
Currently: Fast
2. Firmware boot side for the next boot
Currently: Permanent
3. System operating mode
Currently: Normal
4. AIX/Linux partition mode boot
Currently: Continue to operating system
5. Boot to system server firmware
Currently: Running
6. i5/OS partition boot mode
Currently: D
7. Power on
98. Return to previous menu
99. Log out

S1> 2
Firmware boot side for the next boot
Currently: Permanent
1. Permanent
2. Temporary
98. Return to previous menu without saving changes
99. Log out


S1> 2
Power On/Off System
Current system power state: Off
Current firmware boot side: Permanent
Current system server firmware state: Not running
1. System boot speed
Currently: Fast
2. Firmware boot side for the next boot
Currently: Temporary
3. System operating mode
Currently: Normal
4. AIX/Linux partition mode boot
Currently: Continue to operating system
5. Boot to system server firmware
Currently: Running
6. i5/OS partition boot mode
Currently: D
7. Power on
98. Return to previous menu
99. Log out

S1> 7
The system is powering on.
PRESS ENTER TO CONTINUE:
Power On/Off System
Current system power state: Off
Current firmware boot side: Permanent
Current system server firmware state: Unknown
1. System boot speed
Currently: Fast
2. Firmware boot side for the next boot
Currently: Temporary
3. System operating mode
Currently: Normal
4. AIX/Linux partition mode boot
Currently: Continue to operating system
5. Boot to system server firmware
Currently: Running
6. i5/OS partition boot mode
Currently: D
7. Power on
98. Return to previous menu
99. Log out

S1>
You have logged out.
!!! LP10000 Fcode, Copyright (c) 2005 Emulex !!! Version 1.50a4
!!! LP10000 Fcode, Copyright (c) 2005 Emulex !!! Version 1.50a4
!!! LP11000 Fcode, Copyright (c) 2005 Emulex !!! Version 1.50a4

Once the server is up, upgrade the firmware to 01SF222-102, then upgrade it to the latest 01SF240. Everything went well.