Hi Sven,
Have a look at DSU (Dell System Updates) utility which can provide
bootable ISOs and perform automated firmware updates.
Latest DSU repository link: http://linux.dell.com/repo/hardware/dsu/
Copying relevant portions from DSU documentation:
Package the updates
into a bootable ISO or a directory
dsu
--destination-type=<TYPE>
TYPE
can be : <ISO | CBD>
When
the type is --destination-type=ISO :
DSU
runs in the interactive mode and the selected updates are delivered as a
bootable ISO. Upon boot the components are updated.
When
ISO if used along with --non-interactive :
A
bootable ISO is created. Upon boot it runs DSU in noninteractive mode. The
repository location should be configured using --config=<FILE>
Soorej Ponnandi
Dell | Change Management
-----Original Message-----
From: linux-poweredge-bounces-Lists On Behalf Of Heinz, Jens
Sent: Thursday, November 3, 2016 7:18 PM
To: [email protected]
Cc: linux-poweredge-Lists <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [Linux-PowerEdge] Bootable media ISO updater too large for vFlash
Hi Sven, in general I do agree.
Unfortunately I'm not in the position to actively change anything about the
current situation, but of course I'll try to find the right channels within
Dell to escalate.
The DVD [1] you're referring to, was an entirely Dell-Linux-community-born
project to help our customers. (Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it were
the guys who initially created the Dell Linux Live CD/DVD.) Later the release
of Dell Repository Manager (DRM) offered an easy way to create (and customize)
those images as needed. This is the feature we currently use for the bootable
ISO project, to save our customers the time to create update images themselves.
I am sure there is no ready-to-use solution out there yet, that suits all your
needs, but there is a lot of stuff which might help. Unfortunately most of it
is either unknown or not well documented.
DRM leverages Dell Deployment Toolkit (DTK) components for the live OS part of
the bootable DVD. DTK in fact has also network bootable images which can be
used for custom solutions. Also there are options in DRM to not only create
bootable images, but also local network repositories in various ways, which in
return could be accessed from a booted live image too.
I haven't had much time myself to play around with such solutions, but I know
customers who work with it.
We currently receive lots of feedback around DRM and we forward it to
developers whenever possible. I can't promise anything, but maybe all the input
finds a friendly ear and some (or all) of your suggestions might become part of
future solutions.
Bye, Jens.
-----Original Message-----
From: linux-poweredge-bounces-Lists On Behalf Of Sven Ulland
Sent: Donnerstag, 3. November 2016 13:27
To: linux-poweredge-Lists <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [Linux-PowerEdge] Bootable media ISO updater too large for vFlash
On 11/01/2016 07:15 PM, [email protected] wrote:
> Hi Brian, indeed the ISO size is one of the downsides of the boot-able
> ISO project. [...] In order to make things as simple as possible for
> the majority of the users we decided to go for a one-size-fits-all
> approach per server model.
Hi, Jens. The firmware DVD has been discussed quite a bit over the years,
sometimes with rather interesting suggestions and/or controversy [1,2,3,4,5].
I'm touting my own horn a bit here, but I've been working with these challenges
for years, and I'm still passionate about finding good solutions.
I understand that the mechanisms around DUPs will not be changed any time soon
(although there's the fwupd thing [2]) – and its dependency on proprietary
libraries (srvadmin family) for determining component IDs and similar, being
rather tailored for RHEL-style systems – so a live environment for firmware
updates is probably the best kind of solution given the situation.
I keep hoping that this live env will be designed for the heterogenous
10'000- node case, where the firmware upgrade procedure is not only automatic,
but well thought-out in such a way as to reduce the deployment cost
(resource-wise) and to provide as much insight as possible, reducing blind
faith.
Some quick examples: Make things network bootable, always. The initial image
should be tiny; fetch bulk data on-demand from a repo, which must be possible
to mirror locally to remove upstream dependencies.
Separate the component inventory collection (boot up, collect inventory, report
it plus a "waiting for action" state) from the update procedure (triggered in
bulk via simple APIs, push or pull) – with the option of combining the two for
zero interaction. Add detailed instrumentation to facilitate reporting of
progress, error, completion, etc. See also [1,2].
[1] Latest firmware live DVD posted
http://lists.us.dell.com/pipermail/linux-poweredge/2014-March/048961.html
http://lists.us.dell.com/pipermail/linux-poweredge/2014-March/048964.html
[2] Introducing fwupd
http://lists.us.dell.com/pipermail/linux-poweredge/2015-March/049683.html
[3] Dell Update Packages (DUP) and LiveCD/DVD
http://lists.us.dell.com/pipermail/linux-poweredge/2011-November/045492.html
[4] How to update PERC 4 RAID Firmware (on debian)
http://lists.us.dell.com/pipermail/linux-poweredge/2012-February/045975.html
[5] OM 7.1 Firmware LiveDVD posted
http://lists.us.dell.com/pipermail/linux-poweredge/2012-October/047161.html
best wishes,
Sven Ulland
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