Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter with Dell Repository Manager Firmware update lifecycle and baseline management using Dell Repository Manager in a VMware vCenter environment Irfan Azam James Watt Enterprise Product Group
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter with Dell Repository Manager This document is for informational purposes only and may contain typographical errors and technical inaccuracies. The content is provided as is, without express or implied warranties of any kind. © 2012 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. Dell and its affiliates cannot be responsible for errors or omissions in typography or photography. Dell, the Dell logo, and PowerEdge are trademarks of Dell Inc.
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter with Dell Repository Manager Contents Executive summary ................................................................................................... 4 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 4 Using Dell Repository Manager ..................................................................................... 4 Bundle Limitations ..................................................
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter with Dell Repository Manager Executive summary The Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter virtual appliance is a tool for keeping Dell hosts in vCenter environments up to date with the latest firmware from Dell or for applying the latest firmware baseline recommended by your organization.
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter with Dell Repository Manager servers through its SUU utility and online quarterly. The bundles are defined in a repository, which is a collection of bundles and individual updates. For repositories created by Repository Manager and the bundles they contain to be consumed by the Dell Management Plug-in, make the bundles applicable to the target platform and the bundles should also contain DUPs in the Windows (exe) format.
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter with Dell Repository Manager Using Repository Updates in the Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter Before performing firmware updates, make sure that all hosts have been inventoried and are at a firmware level that allows remote firmware update. See the Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter User’s Guide for more information.
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter with Dell Repository Manager Figure 2. Select the Shared Network Folder option After selecting the Shared Network Folder option, enter the share location and credentials for the share hosting the repository created by Dell Repository Manager. If entering in the share location by name instead of IP, make sure the DNS settings are configured in the appliance.
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter with Dell Repository Manager Figure 3. Performing an update from the repository. Select Update from repository option, the configured repository path should match the custom repository. Figure 4. Select Update from repository Click Next and the Dell Management Plug-in loads the bundles from the custom repository. Select the bundle for your host and click Next.
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter with Dell Repository Manager Checking datacenter or cluster view for out-of-date firmware Clicking on a datacenter or cluster inside the Hosts and Clusters view in vSphere and using the Dell Server Management tab allows a high level view of host status. Figure 5. High level host status view Use the drop-down menu to select firmware and use the search bar to filter for specific devices like Bios or versions of firmware. Figure 6.
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter with Dell Repository Manager This feature is helpful in determining if there are hosts that do not have the latest firmware from your configured repository. Updating a custom repository using Dell Repository Manager Getting updates from ftp.dell.com Dell Repository Manager makes it easy to check your local repository for updates against updates posted on ftp.dell.com.
