Software tools and solutions 82
Change control and proactive notification
HP offers Change Control and Proactive Notification to notify customers 30 to 60 days in advance of
upcoming hardware and software changes on HP commercial products.
For more information, refer to the HP website (
http://www.hp.com/go/pcn
).
Care Pack
HP Care Pack Services offer upgraded service levels to extend and expand bundled services with
easy-to-buy, easy-to-use support packages that help you make the most of your server investments. For more
information, see the HP website (
http://www.hp.com/services/carepack
).
Firmware maintenance
HP has developed technologies to help ensure that HP servers provide maximum uptime with minimal
maintenance. Many of these technologies also reduce server management efforts, enabling administrators to
work on issues and resolve problems without taking servers offline.
The process of updating system or option firmware is referred to as a flash process or
flashing the ROM
. A
firmware or ROM flash removes the existing version of firmware from the ROM and replaces it with a more
recent version.
Update the firmware to do the following:
•
Support new hardware, such as a processor revision
•
Support new features
•
Correct problems in a previous firmware version
Without the correct firmware version, the server and hardware options may not function properly.
Types of ROM
Types of ROMs include:
•
System ROM (on page
82
)
•
Option ROMs (on page
83
)
System ROM
All ProLiant servers have a system ROM.
A system reboot is required for a ROM upgrade to take effect. For disaster recovery or ROM downgrade
purposes, backups of the most current ROM image are available in either redundant ROM or a ROM
backup.
ProLiant servers support either the redundant ROM feature or the Disaster Recovery feature. Both assist with
the management of system ROM revisions and ensure the proper operation of the platform if a failure occurs
during the firmware upgrade process.
