Chapter 5. Configuration Information And Instructions; Updating The Firmware; Configuring The Server; Using The Serverguide Setup And Installation Cd - IBM x3950 Problem Determination And Service Manual

Chapter 5. Configuration information and instructions

This chapter provides information about updating the firmware and using the
configuration utilities.

Updating the firmware

The firmware in the server is periodically updated and is available for download on
the Web. Go to http://www.ibm.com/servers/eserver/support/xseries/index.html to
check for the latest level of firmware, such as BIOS code, vital product data (VPD)
code, device drivers, and service processor firmware.
When you replace a device in the server, you might have to either update the
server with the latest version of the firmware that is stored in memory on the device
or restore the pre-existing firmware from a diskette or CD image.
v BIOS code and the diagnostics programs are stored in ROM on the
v BMC firmware is stored in ROM on the baseboard management controller on the
v Ethernet firmware is stored in ROM on the Ethernet controller on the PCI-X
v ServeRAID firmware is stored in ROM on the ServeRAID adapter.
v SAS firmware is stored in ROM on the SAS controller on the I/O board.
v Major components contain vital product data (VPD) code. You can select to

Configuring the server

The ServerGuide Setup and Installation CD provides software setup tools and
installation tools that are specifically designed for your IBM server. Use this CD
during the initial installation of the server to configure basic hardware features and
to simplify the operating-system installation.
In addition to the ServerGuide Setup and Installation CD, you can use the following
configuration programs to customize the server hardware:
v UpdateXpress program
v Configuration/Setup Utility program
v Baseboard management controller utility programs
v Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) boot agent utility program
v SAS/SATA Configuration Utility program
v ServeRAID Manager
v Scalable Partition Web Interface
This section contains basic information about these programs. For detailed
information about these programs, see "Configuring the server" in the User's Guide
on the IBM System x Documentation CD.

Using the ServerGuide Setup and Installation CD

The ServerGuide Setup and Installation CD provides programs to detect the server
model and installed hardware options, configure the server hardware, provide
device drivers, and help you install the operating system. For information about the
© Copyright IBM Corp. 2006
microprocessor board.
microprocessor board.
board.
update the VPD code during the BIOS code update procedure.
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