Using HMC as Fix Repository to Update Power System Firmware

scp /my_firmware_repository_dir/* user@hmc:/home/<user>

(2) On Mas OS where scp defaults to sftp protocol you need to add an additional option (-O) for the old scp protocol

scp -O /my_firmware_repository_dir/* user@hmc:/home/<user>

Example:

b. If you are using a Microsoft Windows workstation you will need an application that allows you to use SCP since its not a native Windows tool.  There are several tools one can find doing internet searches for applications that support the scp protocol for windows.   WinSCP is one such tool, but there are many others so find one that works for you and your enterprise and copy the firmware over to the HMC and put in /home/hscroot (or in your user's home directory if you have a unique admin user account.)

3. Update or upgrade the firmware of your Power server using the GUI when you have the "Mount Point" option for selecting a repository.

a. In later versions of the HMC the "Mount Point" option was added to the GUI so you could designate a directory location on the HMC's disk.  If the version you are using does not have the mount point option then skip to the next step where you can use the command updlic which does include mountpoint as an option.

b. Start the firmware update task by selecting the target system from the Systems menu and use the Firmware drop down menu option.

NOTE: The example used here is from HMC V10R2.1040.  Lower versions might show different screen presentations.

c. Select the "Update system firmware" task and step through the initial task steps to accept license agreement, perform readiness check and select the firmware operation type (update or upgrade). Then in the Repository selection choose "Mount Point" in the pull down menu.

d. Enter the directory path in the space provided for "Mount Point Directory" where you stored the firmware .rpm and .xml files (or .tar and .xml files for Power10 and Power11) , then press the Next.

e. The firmware fixes available in the directory for the update type you selected will be displayed.  

NOTE: if you only scp over one firmware package then just that one will be displayed.

f. In the Summary task you will have a chance to review and then proceed with an install of the firmware once you hit the Install button.

g. When using the GUI there will be periodic status updates as the update progresses.

4. Update of upgrade the firmware of your Power server using updlic command

a. The option to update or upgrade firmware from a local filesystem on the HMC is available in the updlic command. On some earlier versions of HMC you had to use updlic if wanting to use the mount point option as the feature was not available in the GUI.

b. Syntax for and update or upgrade is similar, just a different flag used which can be seen if one were to review the man page for updlic (man updlic).  Following is an example of the syntax for doing an update within release.

updlic -m <system name> -o a -t sys -l latest -r mountpoint -d /home/hscroot

You can find the system name to use in above command by running

lssyscfg -r sys -F name

c. If you are performing and upgrade to a new firmware release then the option to use is "u" instead of "a".

Example:

updlic -m <system name> -o u -t sys -l latest -r mountpoint -d /home/hscroot

d. Upgrades from one release to another are disruptive and require the system to IPL while updates to a fix within the current release might not be.  Its important that you review the readme file for the firmware you are applying as it will allow you to determine if a fix update is concurrent or disruptive.

e. The update or upgrade should complete and you should see a message about the status.

5. Once the update or upgrade is complete you can check the level using the HMC GUI or using the command line (lslic) method

Example: 

lslic -t sys -m <system name>