Overview of Firmware
The UCS E-Series M6 Servers use Cisco-certified firmware specific to the server model that you are using. You can download new releases of the firmware for all supported server models from Cisco.com.
To avoid potential problems, we strongly recommend that you use the Host Upgrade Utility (HUU), which upgrades the CIMC, BIOS, and other firmware components to compatible levels. For detailed information about this utility, see the "Upgrading Firmware" chapter in the Getting Started Guide for Cisco UCS E-Series Servers and the Cisco UCS E-Series Network Compute Engine. This chapter also provides information about the compatible HUU, CIMC, and BIOS software releases.
Do not install the new BIOS firmware until after you have activated the compatible CIMC firmware, or the server will not boot.
The CIMC firmware update process is divided into the following stages to minimize the amount of time the server will be offline:
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Installation—During this stage, CIMC installs the selected CIMC firmware in the non-active, or backup, slot on the server.
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Activation—During this stage, CIMC sets the non-active firmware version as active and reboots the server, causing a disruption in service. When the server reboots, the firmware in the new active slot becomes the running version.
After you activate the CIMC firmware, you can update the BIOS firmware. The server must be powered off during the entire BIOS update process. Once the CIMC finishes rebooting, the server can be powered on and returned to service.
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You can either upgrade an older firmware version to a newer one, or downgrade a newer firmware version to an older one. |