Installing server firmware fixes
This topic describes how to install server firmware fixes when your system is managed by IBM® i or the Hardware Management Console.
As the system administrator or system operator who manages the software level on your systems or partitions, you have two choices for performing this task for systems that are managed by the Hardware Management Console (HMC):
- You control the software level of the server firmware through
the IBM i service
partition. This method requires a server IPL for the updates to take
effect. A server IPL requires you to power down all the partitions
at the same time. Note: Not all systems that are managed by an HMC allow the IBM i operating system to control the level of the server firmware.
- You allow the HMC to control the level of the server firmware. On systems that have an HMC attached, this is the default action. This method requires you to install fixes by using the HMC. With this method, the IBM i service partition is disabled from applying updates to the server firmware.
When server firmware fixes are applied or removed through the IBM i service partition, a message is sent that indicates if any of the PTFs require a server IPL. It is not sufficient to perform an IPL of only the service partition to activate the code. You must power down all partitions at the same time.
You can use the Display Firmware Status (DSPFMWSTS) command
to determine if the server firmware is being managed by the operating system or by an HMC. When the
system is being managed by the operating system, the fixes for the server firmware are delivered as
MHnnnnn PTFs for an IBM i licensed program. The product
identifier that is used depends on the system model that you are running. You can determine the
product identifier that is used for the server firmware fixes by using the DSPFMWSTS command. You
can also enter DSPPTF LICPGM(*FMW)
from the service partition to view the PTFs for
the server firmware product.