HP ProLiant XL220a Gen8 v2-Server - Manual (Page 49)

Software and configuration utilities 49
Keeping the system current
Drivers
IMPORTANT: Always perform a backup before installing or updating device drivers.
The server includes new hardware that may not have driver support on all OS installation media.
If you are installing an Intelligent Provisioning-supported OS, use Intelligent Provisioning (on page
40 ) and its
Configure and Install feature to install the OS and latest supported drivers.
If you do not use Intelligent Provisioning to install an OS, drivers for some of the new hardware are required.
These drivers, as well as other option drivers, ROM images, and value-add software can be downloaded as
part of an SPP.
If you are installing drivers from SPP, be sure that you are using the latest SPP version that your server
supports. To verify that your server is using the latest supported version and for more information about SPP,
see the HP website (
http://www.hp.com/go/spp/download ).
To locate the drivers for a particular server, go to the HP website ( http://www.hp.com/go/hpsc ) and click
on Drivers, Software & Firmware. Then, enter your product name in the Find an HP product field and click
Go.
Software and firmware
Software and firmware should be updated before using the server for the first time, unless any installed
software or components require an older version.
For system software and firmware updates, use one of the following sources:
• Download the SPP (" HP Service Pack for ProLiant " on page 43 ) from the HP Service Pack for ProLiant
download page ( http://www.hp.com/go/spp ).
• Download individual drivers, firmware, or other systems software components from the server product
page in the HP Support Center ( http://www.hp.com/go/hpsc ).
Version control
The VCRM and VCA are web-enabled Insight Management Agents tools that HP SIM uses to schedule
software update tasks to the entire enterprise.
• VCRM manages the repository for SPP. Administrators can view the SPP contents or configure VCRM to
automatically update the repository with internet downloads of the latest software and firmware from
HP.
• VCA compares installed software versions on the node with updates available in the VCRM managed
repository. Administrators configure VCA to point to a repository managed by VCRM.
For more information about version control tools, see the HP Systems Insight Manager User Guide, the HP
Version Control Agent User Guide, and the HP Version Control Repository User Guide on the HP website
(
http://www.hp.com/go/hpsim ).