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2.9.4 System firmware
Server firmware is the part of the Licensed Internal Code that enables hardware such as the
service processor. Depending on your service environment, you can download, install, and
manage your server firmware fixes using different interfaces and methods, including the HMC
or by using functions specific to your operating system.
Note: Installing the server firmware fixes through the operating system normally is a
nonconcurrent process.
Levels of firmware - Temporary and permanent side of the service processor
The service processor maintains two copies of the server firmware.
One copy is considered the permanent or backup copy and is stored on the permanent
side, sometimes referred to as the "p" side.
The other copy is considered the installed or temporary copy and is stored on the
temporary side, sometimes referred to as the "t" side. It is recommended that you start
and run the server from the temporary side.
The copy actually booted from is called the activated level, or sometimes referred to as "b".
Note: The default value the system will boot is temporary.
The following example is the output of the lsmcode command for Linux, showing the firmware
levels as they are displayed in the outputs:
system:SF220_006 (t) SF220_005 (p) SF220_006 (b)
When you install a server firmware fix, it is installed on the temporary side.
Note: The following points are of special interest:
The server firmware fix is installed on the temporary side only after the existing
contents of the temporary side are permanently installed on the permanent side (the
service processor performs this process automatically when you install a server
firmware fix).
If you want to preserve the contents of the permanent side, you need to remove the
current level of firmware (copy the contents of the permanent side to the temporary
side) before you install the fix.
However, if you get your fixes using Advanced features on the HMC interface and you
indicate that you do not want the service processor to automatically accept the firmware
level, the contents of the temporary side are not automatically installed on the
permanent side. In this situation, you do not need to remove the current level of
firmware to preserve the contents of the permanent side before you install the fix.
You might want to use the new level of firmware for a period of time to verify that it works
correctly. When you are sure that the new level of firmware works correctly, you can
permanently install the server firmware fix. When you permanently install a server firmware
fix, you copy the temporary firmware level from the temporary side to the permanent side.
Conversely, if you decide that you do not want to keep the new level of server firmware, you
can remove the current level of firmware. When you remove the current level of firmware, you
copy the firmware level that is currently installed on the permanent side from the permanent
side to the temporary side.
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IBM eServer OpenPower 710 Technical Overview and Introduction
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