IBM i SERVER FIRMWARE FAQ

Objective

The primary resources for server firmware code and information are listed here:

Fix Central: https://www.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/ 

Server Firmware for stand-alone IBM i systems: https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/666875 

Fix Level Recommendation Tool (FLRT) site: https://www14.software.ibm.com/webapp/set2/flrt/

FLRT shown here:

Click the white "Explore Tools" button and then the blue "Power Systems"

The FLRT site is regularly updated and contains not only the firmware version details but also the description of the fixes and fix history.

Power Server Firmware Selection Tool Direct Link: https://www14.software.ibm.com/webapp/set2/flrt/power

This is the search wizard for the system specific firmware query:

The following is the standard output from a system report. The presentation includes the dates for the installed, recommended and most current firmware versions. There are occasionally special notes at the bottom that show End Of Life information or Disruptive warnings.

Server firmware that is past End of Service should be updated as soon as possible. The iGSC is unable to support environments that are on obsolete firmware if the issue is suspected to be firmware related.

Updating server firmware:

The process to update server firmware depends upon if the system is HMC or OS Managed. 

The DSPFMWSTS command can be used to determine if the system is OS or HMC managed. Check the 'Firmware Update Policy' field to make that determination.

If the update policy shows *OPSYS, the system does NOT have an HMC and the server firmware update is done by PTF. Those PTFs are MH##### designated and are always disruptive, meaning an IPL is required to the T side to complete the installation. 

The IPL sides may be changed from the front panel of the server being updated if necessary.

After the FLRT site has been used to determine the desired firmware package the following document can be used to identify the appropriate MH##### PTF that matches the firmware package, Server Firmware for stand-alone IBM i systems: https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/666875 

Upon ordering the MH##### PTF from Fix Central or SNDPTFORD on the IBM i command line, use the LODPTF and APYPTF commands to install the server firmware. The server firmware will be activated upon performing an IPL. 

Note: Not all server firmware levels have a version for both HMC managed and OS managed systems. Occasionally the firmware updates will only contain HMC / GUI related code and there will not be a matching distribution for OS managed systems.

HMC based server firmware update and upgrade process:

The process for updating server firmware with an HMC is documented in the links below.  The sample screens are from the Enhanced HMC interface that is the only currently supported HMC environment.

https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/server-firmware-hmc-managed-systems

https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/8247-21L/p8ha1/updupdates.htm

1. Select "for the Current Release" to update firmware within the current release or "to a New Release" to upgrade firmware to a new release:
2.