Firmware updates

Several options are available to update the firmware for the server.

You can use the tools listed here to update the most current firmware for your server and the devices that are installed in the server.

Note

Lenovo typically releases firmware in bundles called UpdateXpress System Packs (UXSPs). To ensure that all of the firmware updates are compatible, you should update all firmware at the same time. If you are updating firmware for both the Lenovo XClarity Controller and UEFI, update the firmware for Lenovo XClarity Controller first.

Best practices related to updating firmware are available at the following location:

ThinkSystem Firmware and Drivers Updates Best Practices

See the following table to determine the best Lenovo tool to use for installing and setting up the firmware:

Note

The server UEFI settings for option ROM must be set to Auto or UEFI to update firmware using Lenovo XClarity Administrator or Lenovo XClarity Essentials. For more information, see the following Tech Tip:

ThinkSystem server hangs during UEFI boot with "UEFI:DXE INIT" when option ROM settings configured for legacy

Tool	In-band update	Out-of- band update	On-target update	Off-target update	Graphical user interface	Command- line interface	Supports UXSPs
Lenovo XClarity Provisioning Manager Limited to core system firmware only	√²			√	√		√
Lenovo XClarity Controller Supports core system firmware and most advanced I/O option firmware updates		√		√	√	√
Lenovo XClarity Essentials OneCLI Supports all core system firmware, I/O firmware, and installed operating system driver updates	√	√	√	√		√	√
Lenovo XClarity Essentials UpdateXpress Supports all core system firmware, I/O firmware, and installed operating system driver updates	√	√	√	√	√		√
Lenovo XClarity Essentials Bootable Media Creator Supports core system firmware and I/O firmware updates. You can update the Microsoft^® Windows^® operating system, but device drivers are not included on the bootable image	√	√		√	√	√	√
Lenovo XClarity Administrator Supports core system firmware and I/O firmware updates	√¹	√²		√	√
Lenovo XClarity Integrator for VMware vCenter Supports all core system firmware, I/O firmware, and installed operating system driver updates		√		√	√		√
Lenovo XClarity Integrator for Microsoft Windows Admin Center Supports all core system firmware, I/O firmware, and installed operating system driver updates	√	√	√	√	√
Lenovo XClarity Integrator for Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager Supports all core system firmware, I/O firmware, and installed operating system driver updates	√		√		√		√
Note For I/O firmware updates. For BMC and UEFI firmware updates.

The latest firmware can be found at the following site:

Drivers and Software website

Lenovo XClarity Provisioning Manager
From Lenovo XClarity Provisioning Manager, you can update the Lenovo XClarity Controller firmware, the UEFI firmware, and the Lenovo XClarity Provisioning Manager software.
Note
By default, the Lenovo XClarity Provisioning Manager Graphical User Interface is displayed when you start the server and press the key specified in the on-screen instructions. If you have changed that default to be the text-based system setup, you can bring up the Graphical User Interface from the text-based system setup interface.
For additional information about using Lenovo XClarity Provisioning Manager to update firmware, see:
Firmware Update section in the LXPM documentation compatible with your server at Lenovo XClarity Provisioning Manager portal page.
Lenovo XClarity Controller
If you need to install a specific update, you can use the Lenovo XClarity Controller interface for a specific server.
Note
- To perform an in-band update through Windows or Linux, the operating system driver must be installed and the Ethernet-over-USB (sometimes called LAN over USB) interface must be enabled.
  For additional information about configuring Ethernet over USB, see:
  Configuring Ethernet over USB section in the XCC documentation version compatible with your server at Lenovo XClarity Controller portal page
- If you update firmware through the Lenovo XClarity Controller, make sure that you have downloaded and installed the latest device drivers for the operating system that is running on the server.
For additional information about using Lenovo XClarity Controller to update firmware, see:
Updating Server Firmware section in the XCC documentation compatible with your server at Lenovo XClarity Controller portal page
Lenovo XClarity Essentials OneCLI
Lenovo XClarity Essentials OneCLI is a collection of command line applications that can be used to manage Lenovo servers. Its update application can be used to update firmware and device drivers for your servers. The update can be performed within the host operating system of the server (in-band) or remotely through the BMC of the server (out-of-band).
For additional information about using Lenovo XClarity Essentials OneCLI to update firmware, see:
Updating firmware through the Lenovo XClarity Essentials
Lenovo XClarity Essentials UpdateXpress
Lenovo XClarity Essentials UpdateXpress provides most of OneCLI update functions through a graphical user interface (GUI). It can be used to acquire and deploy UpdateXpress System Pack (UXSP) update packages and individual updates. UpdateXpress System Packs contain firmware and device driver updates for Microsoft Windows and for Linux.
You can obtain Lenovo XClarity Essentials UpdateXpress from the following location:
Lenovo XClarity Essentials UpdateXpress website
Lenovo XClarity Essentials Bootable Media Creator
You can use Lenovo XClarity Essentials Bootable Media Creator to create bootable media that is suitable for firmware updates, VPD updates, inventory and FFDC collection, advanced system configuration, FoD Keys management, secure erase, RAID configuration, and diagnostics on supported servers.
You can obtain Lenovo XClarity Essentials BoMC from the following location:
XClarity Essentials Bootable Media Creator website
Lenovo XClarity Administrator
If you are managing multiple servers using the Lenovo XClarity Administrator, you can update firmware for all managed servers through that interface. Firmware management is simplified by assigning firmware-compliance policies to managed endpoints. When you create and assign a compliance policy to managed endpoints, Lenovo XClarity Administrator monitors changes to the inventory for those endpoints and flags any endpoints that are out of compliance.
For additional information about using Lenovo XClarity Administrator to update firmware, see:
Updating firmware through the Lenovo XClarity Administrator
Lenovo XClarity Integrator offerings
Lenovo XClarity Integrator offerings can integrate management features of Lenovo XClarity Administrator and your server with software used in a certain deployment infrastructure, such as VMware vCenter, Microsoft Admin Center, or Microsoft System Center.
For additional information about using Lenovo XClarity Integrator offerings to update firmware, see:
Lenovo XClarity Essentials online documentation

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