Updating firmware and software

The IBM® Flex System Manager management software Update Manager has advanced update capabilities that are not possible with the update wizards on the Initial Setup tab (on the Home page of the management software web interface). You can also use Update Manager to update additional components (such as operating systems) that the Initial Setup wizards cannot update.

The management software installs and manages firmware and software updates for every resource in your Flex System Enterprise Chassis. The information in this section describes advanced capabilities for updating the management software and management node firmware, as well as firmware for managed Chassis Management Modules, compute nodes, and network devices.

During initial setup of your IBM Flex System Manager environment, use the management software update wizards for basic update operations. See the information for each update wizard in 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 Automate checking for updates for more information.

To start updating firmware and software, click the Plug-ins tab on the Home page; then, click Update Manager. Update Manager guides you through the following steps. The Update Manager summary page also includes a search feature. You search for text (for example, an APAR or tech note number) for the release notes of all local updates.

You can use either the web interface or the command-line interface (CLI) to update firmware and software. See Updates for specific CLI commands related to updating systems.

1. Acquire updates
2. Show and install updates
3. Create and configure compliance policies

The Optional: Getting started link is located in the list of common tasks on the Update Manager Summary page.