Installing fixes on systems managed by Hardware Management Console

 

This topic describes how to install i5/OS^® fixes when your system is managed by the Hardware Management Console.

As the system administrator or system operator who manages the software level on your systems or partitions, you have two choices for performing this task for systems that are managed by the Hardware Management Console (HMC):

• You control the software level of the server firmware through the i5/OS service partition. This method requires a server IPL for the updates to take effect. A server IPL requires you to power down all the partitions at the same time.

  Not all systems that are managed by an HMC allow the i5/OS operating system to control the level of the server firmware.

• You allow the HMC to control the level of the server firmware. On systems that have an HMC attached, this is the default action. This method requires you to install fixes by using the HMC. With this method, the i5/OS service partition is disabled from applying updates to the server firmware.

When server firmware fixes are applied or removed, a message is sent that indicates if any of the PTFs require a server IPL. It is not sufficient to perform an IPL of only the service partition to activate the code. You must power down all partitions at the same time.

The method that you use to install fixes for the server firmware depends on the installed release of the Licensed Internal Code (5722999) on your system.

Systems with V5R4M5 Licensed Internal Code

If your system is running on V5R4M5 Licensed Internal Code, you can use the Display Firmware Status (DSPFMWSTS) command to determine if the server firmware is being managed by the operating system or by an HMC.

When the system is being managed by the operating system, the fixes for the server firmware are delivered as PTFs for an i5/OS licensed program. The product identifier that is used depends on the system model that you are running. You can determine the product identifier that is used for the server firmware fixes by using the DSPFMWSTS command. You can also enter DSPPTF LICPGM(*FMW) to view the PTFs for the server firmware product.

Systems with V5R4M0 Licensed Internal Code

If your system is running on V5R4M0 Licensed Internal Code, fixes for the server firmware are delivered as PTFs for the Licensed Internal Code (licensed program 5722999).

When you are not using an HMC to manage the level of your server firmware, use the DSPPTF command to view the server firmware information. (For details, see Displaying server firmware information.) If your system is being managed by an HMC and you use the DSPPTF command for licensed program 5722999, message CPD35FA might be displayed. This message indicates that updates are not allowed from the i5/OS service partition. The server firmware that is currently active is at a different level than the server firmware portion of the Licensed Internal Code that is installed on the system.

For detailed information on managing your server firmware level, see Customer service, support, and troubleshooting.

 

Parent topic:

Step 3: Choosing your fix installation scenario