Acquiring and installing updates

The information in this section describes how to acquire and install updates with the management software web interface and command-line interface when the management node is connected to the Internet. If your management nodes is not connected to the Internet, use the procedure in this topic to download updates, import the updates to the management node, and install the updates.

About this task

If you are setting up your IBM Flex System® environment for the first time, or if you need only basic update capabilities, use the update wizards on the Initial Setup tab on the Home page for basic update operations. For more information about each update wizard, see Initial Setup for more information.

If you are setting up your IBM Flex System environment for the first time, or if you need only basic update capabilities, use the update wizards on the Initial Setup tab on the Home page for basic update operations. For more information about each update wizard, see Initial Setup for more information.

You can also configure the management software to notify you of available updates and to select compliance policy settings for managed resources. See Using the automated updates wizard for more information.

Note: If you are updating IBM® Flex System Manager itself, see Updating IBM Flex System Manager.

To manually download and import updates, complete the following steps:

Procedure

Go to Fix Central.
Log on with your IBM user ID and password.
Tip: If you do not currently have an IBM user account, you can obtain one from https://www.ibm.com/account/profile/us?page=reg.
Complete the following steps on the Fix Central page to locate and download the needed update package:
1. From the Product Group list, select PureSystems. The Product list is displayed.
2. From the Select from PureSystems list, select PureFlex System.
3. From the Select from PureFlex System list, select Management devices and solutions.
4. From the Management devices and solutions list, select Flex System Manager Node.
5. Select the machine type for your management node; then, click Continue. The Installed Version list is displayed.
  Note: You can ignore the operating system list.
6. From the Installed Version list, select the version of IBM Flex System Manager that is currently installed.
  Note: To find the current IBM Flex System Manager version number, from the Home page, click the Plug-ins tab. The version number (for example, 1.1.0) is displayed beside IBM Flex System Manager.
7. Click Continue. The Select fixes page is displayed.
8. Select the fix group that you want to download and then click Continue. The Download options page is displayed.
9. Select the Download using Download Director and Include prerequisites and corequisite fixes (you can deselect the ones you don't need later) options, and then click Continue. The Terms and conditions page is displayed.
10. Select I agree if you agree to the terms and conditions. The Download files using Download Director page is displayed.
11. Click Download now to start the download of the update package. The update package downloads to the designated location.
Use one of the following methods to copy all of the downloaded update files to the /home/USERID directory on the management node.
Important: Do not to copy update files to the /tmp directory.
1. Use a Secure Copy (SCP) tool on a laptop or workstation attached to the management or data network.
  Important: Make sure that the SCP tool transfers the files to the management node in a binary format. If the files are transferred as text, the transfer process might modify the readme files and corrupt them.
2. Use the scp command in the management software CLI to retrieve the fix package from an SSH server on the management or data network. See the following examples. From a management software console, logged in as USERID:
```
scp USERID @<remote_host_name>:/directory/* /home/*
```
  From a remote server or workstation:
```
scp * USERID@<management_node_host_name>:/home/USERID/*
```
3. Copy the update files from a USB storage device that is formatted for FAT16, FAT32, ext2, or ext3 file systems.
  Note: The maximum file size that is supported by FAT16 is 2 GB; the maximum for FAT32 is 4 GB. If your update files are larger, format your USB storage device for the ext2 or ext3 file system.
  1. Insert a USB storage device into the USB port on the front of the management node.
  2. SSH to the management node.
  3. Log in with the default USERID and password.
  4. Use the lsmediadev command to list the storage media devices that are available for use on the system and identify the USB storage device. The resulting output will be similar to the following, where vdi1 is the USB storage device:
```
device=/dev/cdrom,mount_point=/media/cdrom,type=1,description=CD/DVD
device=/dev/vdi1,mount_point=/media/vdi1,type=3,description=USB flash memory device
```
  5. Type mount /dev/vdi1 and press Enter.
  6. Use the command cp to copy the files. For example:
```
cp /media/vdi1/<file_name> /home/USERID
```
  7. Type umount /dev/vdi1 and press Enter to unmount the USB storage device.
Import and install the updates using either the command line or the IBM Flex System Manager Web interface:
Command line
Run the following command to import and install the updates:
```
smcli installneeded -v -F /home/USERID
```
IBM Flex System Manager Web interface
Complete the following steps to import and install the updates:
1. From the IBM Flex System Manager Web interface Home page, click Update IBM Flex System Manager.
2. On the Update IBM Flex System Manager page, click Stop to stop the task that checks for new updates and instead displays options for downloading and importing updates.
3. In the Path field, type the full local directory path and file name of the downloaded update package zip file.
4. Click Import and Install to run or schedule the import and installation of the updates.
After the installation is complete, restart IBM Flex System Manager to activate the updates.