The Chassis Management Controller (CMC) has been adding management features for the PowerEdge M I/O Aggregator switch. CMC firmware version 4.2 included the ability to configure credentials, VLANs, SNMP community strings, and syslog server IP addresses. The newest release, CMC firmware version 4.3, includes the ability to update the Aggregator’s software from the CMC.
The image below shows the IOM Firmware and Software page, from which you can perform software updates and rollbacks. This page can be accessed by selecting the I/O Module Overview section of the tree list and then entering the Update tab. The update operation allows you to select a software image, which will then be loaded onto the Aggregator. The rollback operation loads the backup software image onto the Aggregator, causing the active image to become the backup. It is important to note that during both the rollback and update operations, the Aggregator will reboot in order to load the new software image.
There are six IOM slots available in the chassis, but the IOM Software table will show entries only for those that are populated. Aggregators will display all fields in the table and allow a software operation. However, other network switches do not yet support Software Updates and may not display all fields. Multiple Aggregators may be updated or rolled back at a time. When updating multiple Aggregators simultaneously, the same image will be applied to each of them. The Update Status column describes what stage of the update each Aggregator is in. For a successful update you will see the following sequence of messages.
- Ready
- Initializing
- File Transfer In Progress
- Firmware Update In Progress
- Resetting
With the ability to perform software updates, the CMC and Aggregator are becoming Better Together. We are looking forward to continuing this trend by integrating more Aggregator configuration options into the CMC. If you have any feedback on the Aggregator software update process or have suggestions for further integrated configuration options, please leave us a comment below!
For further information regarding the CMC, see the CMC Wiki page.
For further information regarding the IOA, see the IOA Wiki page.
For information regarding CMC firmware version 4.2 IOA configuration features, see this blog post.