BMC administration

When security patches are available or when BMC firmware updates are required for other reasons, you can perform the tasks in this section. Updating the BIOS is included with this BMC administration topic because the two tasks are usually performed at the same time. The tasks include:

  • Updating the DataScale® SN30-H host module BMC firmware

  • Updating the DataScale SN30-H host module BIOS

  • Recovering the DataScale SN30-H BMC

See View SN30-H BMC diagnostic information and logs for information on diagnostics.

1. General notes and warnings

Do not remove the admin user account or change this account’s password. This account is needed for password recovery of the DataScale SN30-H host module’s BMC.
Do not power off or reboot the DataScale SN30 rack components during firmware updates. Interrupting a firmware update can damage the DataScale SN30 rack components. The damaged component might not be recoverable. Perform a shutdown or reboot only after a firmware update has been completed successfully.
Settings on the BMCs do not need modification and remain static unless you are updating the BMCs, collecting diagnostic material, or changing the log in credentials. Do not make configuration changes to the BMC unless you are otherwise instructed.

2. Updating the DataScale SN30-H host module BMC firmware

If you start the firmware update process and you decide to cancel the process, you must reset BMC. To do that, close the web browser that was logged in to the BMC WebUI, and then log in to the BMC WebUI again before you attempt any administrative operations for the BMC.

2.1. Back up the existing configuration

Before you update the firmware, back up the existing configuration of the DataScale SN30-H host module. Having a backup might help with recovering the BMC.

To back up the existing configuration, your system must meet the following requirements:

  • Access to the DataScale SN30-H host module’s BMC via the access network

  • One of the following supported web browsers:

    • Chrome (latest version)

    • Firefox (latest version)

Follow these steps to back up the existing configuration:

  1. Open a web browser.

  2. In the browser’s address bar, enter the IP address of the DataScale SN30-H host module’s BMC, and log in to the management console with your user credentials, and click Sign me in.

    Login screen

  3. In the dashboard, select Maintenance.

    Dashboard

  4. On the Maintenance screen, select Backup Configuration.

    Maintenance screen

  5. On the Backup Configuration screen, select Check All to back up all the BMC configuration details.

    Backup Configuration screen

  6. Click Download to save this configuration to the local system (which is accessing the BMC WebUI).

  7. Click OK to download the bmc-config.bak backup configuration file. You can use that file later if a restore is required.

    Download screen

2.2. Update the host moducle BMC firmware

Now that you have backed up the BMC configuration, you can update the SN30-H host module’s BMC firmware while preserving the configuration. Follow these steps:

  1. Download the DataScale SN30-H host module’s BMC patch update from the SambaNova Support portal to the local system that is accessing the BMC WebUI.

  2. Unzip the SambaNova patch update to a directory on the local system.

  3. On the Backup Configuration screen, select Maintenance in the left pane.

    Backup Configuration screen

  4. On the Maintenance screen, select Preserve Configuration.

    Maintenance screen

  5. Select Check All at the top of the list to preserve the configuration of everything.

    Preserve Configuration screen

    The following message appears if the configuration preservation was successful.

    Success message

  6. In the left pane, click Maintenance.

    Left pane

  7. In the Maintenance screen, select Firmware Update.

    Maintenance screen

  8. Find the rom.ima_enc file:

    1. In the Firmware Update screen, click Browse.

      Firmware Update screen

    2. Navigate to the .bin file that you downloaded and unzipped. This file is located in the /SN30 rack/<version>/HostBMC_FW/ directory from the unzipped patch bundle.

    3. Select the rom.ima_enc file and click Open.

      rom.ima_enc file

  9. Back in the Firmware Update screen, click Start firmware update.

    Firmware Update screen

  10. Below the the button that you just clicked, select the Preserve all Configuration checkbox to use the preserved configuration you saved.

    Preserve all Configuration

  11. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and click Proceed to Flash.

    Proceed to Flash

  12. Click OK in the BMC update confirmation screen.

    BMC update confirmation screen

    When the BMC update process has started, the BMC is not reachable for 5 to 10 minutes while the update is being applied. The DataScale SN30-H host module OS continues to run normally during the BMC update.

    After 10 minutes, repeat step 2 to log in to the BMC WebUI, and confirm that the update was successful by checking the information in the upper left side of the dashboard. The BMC firmware version is identified as <XX.XX.X>.

    BMC firmware version

3. Update the DataScale SN30-H host module BIOS

After you enter the update mode, the widgets and other web pages and services will not work. All the open widgets will be automatically closed. If you cancel the upgrade in the middle of the process, the SN30-H host module will be reset only for the BMC BOOT and APP components of the firmware. Therefore, ensure the update process is not interrupted.
The SN30-H host module BIOS update requires a reboot of the system to apply the updated BIOS. Plan accordingly.

To update the SN30-H host module BIOS, your system must meet the following requirements:

  • Access to the DataScale SN30-H host module’s BMC via the access network

  • One of the following supported web browsers:

    • Chrome (latest version)

    • Firefox (latest version)

Follow these steps to perform the update:

  1. Open a web browser.

  2. In the browser’s address bar, enter the IP address of the DataScale SN30-H host module’s BMC, enter your user credentials, and click Sign me in.

    Login screen

  3. In the dashboard, select Maintenance.

    Dashboard

  4. In the Maintenance screen, select Firmware Update.

    Maintenance screen

  5. Find the image.RBU file:

    1. In the Firmware Update screen, click Browse.

      Firmware Update screen

    2. Navigate to the /Host_BIOS/RBU/ directory of the uncompressed infrastructure patch bundle.

    3. Select the image.RBU file and click Open.

      image.RBU file

  6. Back in the Firmware Update screen, click Start firmware update.

    Firmware Update screen

  7. Below the button you clicked, select BIOS from the Update Type drop-down.

    Update Type drop-down list

  8. Click Proceed to Flash.

    Proceed to Flash button

  9. Click OK.

    Firmware upgrade confirmation screen

    This initiates uploading the BIOS firmware update to the DataSale SN30-H host module, but it does not automatically apply the firmware update.

    Update initiated

  10. When the screen shows Uploading 100%, click Flash BIOS.

    Flash BIOS button

    This initiates the BIOS update process.

    Flash process screen

  11. When the flash process is complete, a “firmware image has been updated successfully” message appears. Click OK to continue.

    Success message

  12. A "Firmware reset has been called" message appears. Click OK to log out of the SN30-H BMC WebUI.

    Firmware reset message

3.1. Reset the host module OS

As a final step, you have to reset the host module OS.

  1. After you are logged out of the SN30-H BMC, log in to the SN30-H OS.

    $ ssh snuser1@<SN30-H_OS_IP_Address>
snuser1@<SN30-H_OS_IP_Address>’s password: <snuser1 Password>

  2. From the command line, reset the SN30-H OS to complete the BIOS update.

    $ sudo shutdown -r now
[sudo] password for snuser1: <snuser1 Password>

  3. When the SN30-H host module is back online, confirm that the BIOS update has been applied, as follows:

    1. Log in to the SN30-H BMC and select Maintenance from the left pane of the dashboard.

      Dashboard screen

    2. In the Maintenance screen, select Firmware Information.

      Maintenance screen

    3. Under BIOSFirmware Information check the BMCFirmware Information screen for the firmware version.

      BMCFirmware Information screen

4. Recover the DataScale SN30-H BMC

If the DataScale SN30-H host module’s BMC is no longer responding or no longer accessible, or the DataScale SN30-H host module’s BMC password has been lost or forgotten, see Backing up and restoring components.