Updating Component Firmware With a Metadata File (Automatic Mode)

fwupdate update automatic mode updates component firmware using information in a component-specific XML metadata file. Typically, each component firmware patch includes a metadata file as part of the patch download. The metadata method ensures that only components supported by the firmware patch get updated and also performs any device/host resets or host power cycles required. This is the most accurate method to use to update a firmware component in the system.

Note:

Each component firmware patch includes its own component-specific metadata file. There are currently no metadata files that can be used to update all server components at once.

The following command syntax is used for the update subcommand when using automatic mode:

fwupdate update target options -x metadata.xml

Examples of command usage are listed below the supported target and options tables.

When used in automatic mode, the update subcommand supports the following component type targets:

Target	Description
`all`	All updatable component types specified in the XML metadata file. Typically, a firmware update patch for a single component, such as a controller, disk drive, or system SP, will include a component-specific metadata file. During the update process, all components of the same type and model described in the metadata file and found in the system will be updated. There are currently no metadata files that update all the firmware for all of the different components in a system at once.
`disk`	Supported hard disk drives or solid state disk drives.
`expander`	Supported SAS expanders.
`controller`	Supported controllers, such as storage and networking.
`bridge`	Supported embedded SAS-to-SATA bridge devices (used on some older systems).
`sp_bios`	System firmware on x86 (BIOS) or SPARC (OBP, Hypervisor, NYX, POST, etc.), including Oracle ILOM. Note: This target has been deprecated and is replaced by the `sysfw` target.
`sysfw`	System firmware on x86 (BIOS) or SPARC (OBP, Hypervisor, NYX, POST, etc.), including Oracle ILOM.
`fallback_boot`	For SPARC systems with an SP that contains an updatable fallback boot image. This target was introduced in Oracle Hardware Management Pack 2.4.

When used in automatic mode, update subcommand supports the options listed in the following table. When executing this command over a remote network connection, see fwupdate and Service Processor Access.

Short Option	Long Option	Descriptions
`-n`	`--device_name`	Precedes name of the device to update. The name is the mapped name, which you can retrieve by using the `fwupdate list all` command. This option is not required when used with a metadata XML file. For information about device names, see CLI Tools Device-Naming Convention.
`-d`	`--dry-run`	Optional. Checks all input, executes an available dry-run check command on the firmware and component, but makes no permanent changes.
`-x`	`--xml=metadata.xml`	If the firmware package contains a metadata XML file, this command provides the path to metadata.xml. Note: When the `-x` option is used to specify a metadata file, the devices discovered might change because the "software_type" specified in the metadata file may limit which devices are discovered. This might cause the device ID to change when specifying a metadata file with `-x` option.
`-Q`	`--quick`	Optimizes access to include only the targeted devices during device discovery when using the `-x` option to specify a firmware metadata file. This can reduce the time it takes to execute the command. This option was introduced in Oracle Hardware Management Pack 2.4.9.0.
`-o`	`--output=filename`	Logs all actions in the specified file.
`-p`	`--end-priority=value`	Used with the `update` subcommand in automatic mode. End processing at a given priority level value in the metadata, skipping all levels with higher numeric values. For example, if you specify -p 3, only levels 1, 2 and 3 will be processed. This option was introduced in Oracle Hardware Management Pack 2.4.
`-P`	`--start-priority=value`	Used with the `update` subcommand in automatic mode. Start processing at a given priority level value in the metadata, skipping all levels with lower numeric values. For example, if you specify -P 3, only levels 3 and higher (4, 5, etc.) will be processed. This option was introduced in Oracle Hardware Management Pack 2.4.
`-q`	`--quiet`	Uses silent, non-interactive mode. Suppresses user prompts and informational message output and only returns error codes during the update. Useful for scripting.
`-y`	`--yes`	Bypass user confirmation prompt when overwriting an existing output file of the same name. This option was introduced in Oracle Hardware Management Pack 2.4.
n/a	`--silent-reboot`	Enables a host reboot (or power cycle) after the firmware update with no prompt to the user. Reboot happens automatically. Note: This option is supported for all x86 systems. This option is also supported with newer SPARC systems that support Live Firmware Update and utilize metadata that includes a power cycle (refer to your SPARC firmware release notes to see if your system supports Live Firmware Update).
n/a	`--silent-no-reboot`	Prevents a host reboot after a firmware update. The user is not prompted to initiate a host reboot and no reboot takes place. If this option is used, the host will need to be manually rebooted later to complete the firmware update. Note: This option is supported for all x86 systems. This option is also supported with newer SPARC systems that support Live Firmware Update and utilize metadata that includes a power cycle (refer to your SPARC firmware release notes to see if your system supports Live Firmware Update).
n/a	`--fail-without-interconnect`	Cancels a system firmware update if the Host-to-ILOM interconnect is not available. This prevents a default fallback to the using the much slower KCS interface for the update. This option was introduced in Oracle Hardware Management Pack 2.4.1.

Usage examples:

To update the firmware of all devices supported in the metadata file, type:

# fwupdate update all -x metadata.xml

For example, if you are updating NVMe device firmware and there are three NVMe devices installed in the system, specifying fwupdate update all with an NVMe metadata file will update all three NVMe devices. This is the recommended and safest method for updating devices.
To update system firmware (including Oracle ILOM) in quiet (non-interactive) mode but delay any host reboot or power cycle, type:

# fwupdate update sysfw -q -x metadata.xml --silent-no-reboot

This updates the platform system firmware as specified in the metadata without prompts or messages. If the metadata includes a host reboot or power cycle, the Oracle ILOM service processor is restarted after the update, but the host system is not restarted. The system firmware update on the host (which includes updates to BIOS for x86, or OBP, Hypervisor, NYX, POST, etc. for SPARC) will be completed at the next power cycle for SPARC or reboot for x86.

Note:

The --silent-no-reboot and --silent-reboot options are not supported on SPARC systems that do not support the Live Firmware Update feature. For systems that support Live Firmware Update, these options are supported if the metadata includes a power cycle. Check the release notes included with your SPARC firmware download package to see if this feature is supported.
To update all disks supported in the metadata file, type:

# fwupdate update disk -x metadata.xml

This updates all disks in the system whose target device types are specified in the metadata file.
To update a specific disk supported in the metadata file, type:

# fwupdate update disk -x metadata.xml -n c0d1

This updates only disk c0d1, and only if the c0d1 disk drive type is specified in the metadata file.