What is Dell EMC System Update (DSU)


Dell EMC System Update (DSU) is an application used to distribute Dell updates for Linux and Microsoft Windows Operating Systems. The DSU distributes:

Dell EMC System Update User Guide can be found here

What is new in this release (Version : 19.03.00)

ChangeLog from previous repository: Here

  • Dell EMC System Update (DSU) 1.6.0

    This release of Dell EMC System Update (DSU) supports the following new features and operating systems:
    • Updating systems remotely
    • Dependencies(mandatory/optional) for the update is handled by DSU
    • Restarts system(s) automatically if updates demands it for completion
    • For OMSA Install and Upgrade:

      • Please re-run repository setup command (curl -s https://linux.dell.com/repo/hardware/dsu/bootstrap.cgi | bash) to import the updated signature keys

    Known Issues:
    • In Platforms with OS Collector (version OSC_1.1) installed, DSU Comparison report will show as Downgrade to OS Collector 2.0
      Advice: Apply the OS Collector 2.0 update through DSU, though DSU shows it as Downgrade.
    • If rconnection failure is observed on SLES machine while trying to remotely update the system
      Please set field: PasswordAuthentication to yes in /etc/ssh/sshd_config file and restart the sshd service on remote sytsem.
    • To allow root login for ubuntu machine in case of remote connection
      Please update the field PermitRootLogin to yes in /etc/ssh/sshd_config file and restart the sshd service on remote system.
    Note:

    1) The OpenManage Server Administrator (OMSA) upgrade using DSU utility is temporarily disabled. To upgrade OMSA directly using yum, use the instructions in this page (Here)

    2) To install OpenManage Server Administrator on Microsoft Windows operating systems, refer the latest Dell OpenManage Server Administrator User’s Guide.

    Differences between Dell EMC System Update 1.3 and after

    Dell EMC System Update 1.3 Dell EMC System Update 1.4.0 and after
    Available only on RHEL/SUSE operating systems Available across different types of Operating Systems
    such as Microsoft Windows, Ubuntu, RHEL/SUSE
    Available as rpm (RedHat Package Manager) Available as Dell Update Package (exe and .bin). RPM version remains available
    Download and Install only from linux.dell.com Download and Install the DUP version from support.dell.com. RPM version
    remains available from linux.dell.com
    Updates available at linux.dell.com (Repository) can only be consumed. DSU 1.4 can utilize Dell EMC Online Catalogs at https://downloads.dell.com/catalog
    for both Windows and Linux updates. Support remains for RHEL/SLES updates from
    linux.dell.com. Note: It is recommended that for updating Ubuntu systems
    that the Ubuntu catalog be used (Ubuntu Catalog)

    Installation differences between Dell EMC System Update 1.3 and after

    Dell EMC System Update 1.3 Dell EMC System Update 1.4.0 and after
    Download and Install Dell EMC System Update
    1) wget -q -O - https://linux.dell.com/repo/hardware/dsu/bootstrap.cgi | bash
    2) yum install dell-system-update     		DSU DUP Installation (recommended)
    1) Download Dell Update Package (DUP) from support.dell.com (Support Site)
    2) Execute the DUP and install it on the target system
    3) DSU RPM Installation
        1) curl -s https://linux.dell.com/repo/hardware/dsu/bootstrap.cgi | bash
        2) yum install dell-system-update

    Supported Operating Systems

    Linux (RHEL and SUSE)

    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.10 (x86_64)
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.5 (x86_64)
    • SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12SP3 (x86_64)
    • SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 (x86_64)

    Microsoft Windows

    • Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 (x86_64)
    • Microsoft Windows Server 2016 (x86_64)
    • Microsoft Windows Server 2019 (x86_64)

    Support for Ubuntu operating systems

    • Ubuntu 18.04.1
    Starting with DSU 1.4, support for Ubuntu operating systems is pre-enabled and the support is limited. All the DSU commands may function as usual without any issues. For more information
    on the catalog that has the updates for Ubuntu operating system, refer Ubuntu Catalog

    Note:

    1) "rebuilt" versions of the above such as CentOS or ScientificLinux and community distros like Fedora and OpenSUSE are not tested with this repository.

    2) Support for Ubuntu is pre-enabled only on 12th and 13th generation of PowerEdge systems.

    Preferred Installation method for Dell EMC System Update 1.4 and later

    Installation

    • Download Dell EMC System Update Dell Update Package (DUP) available for both Windows and Linux operating systems from support site.
    • For more instructions on installing DUP, please refer to DSU User Guide.
    • You must have administrative privileges (for Windows) or Root/Super User (for Linux) in the system to install Dell EMC System Update.
    • DSU installation wizard is displayed with the release title, release date, description, and supported devices information.
    • Click Install to begin the installation
      • If any of the previous versions is not installed, a pop-up is displayed, asking the confirmation that you want to install this particular version of DSU. Click Yes to continue.
      • The installation process takes several minutes. A success message is displayed after installation is completed.
    • Open the command prompt in Windows of Terminal in Linux.
    • Type the following command in the command prompt or terminal:
      • dsu /h (Windows) or dsu –h (Linux) displays command line options and help information.

    Installation method if you want to install using DSU (method for installing versions of DSU pre v1.4)

    • Setup the repository
      • curl -s https://linux.dell.com/repo/hardware/dsu/bootstrap.cgi | bash
    • Installing DSU
      • RedHat Enterprise Linux Servers
        • #yum install dell-system-update
      • SUSE Enterprise Linux Servers
        • #zypper install dell-system-update

    Sample Command listing support from Dell EMC System Update for Windows and Linux

    Note: This is only sample command listing. For detailed command listing with shortcuts, please refer section 4 in DSU User Guide

    Applying updates

    The below command will provide a command line interface to apply updates

    #dsu

    DSU utility version

    dsu --version

    Displaying the DSU utility version.

    Getting System Inventory

    #dsu --inventory

        To see the System Inventory

    Category based installation

    DSU allows category based device updates

    Listing supported categories

    #dsu --get-categories

        Gets the supported category values

    Getting specific category updates

    #dsu --category=<CATEGORY1,CATEGORY2,...>

        List only those updates belonging to categories

    Non-interactive device updates

    #dsu --non-interactive

        DSU supports devices updates in a non-interactive way where all the updatable components will be selected automatically and apply those updates without user intervention.

    Getting the Upgradable updates only

    dsu --apply-upgrades

        To get the list of only upgradable components

    Getting the Downgradable updates only

    dsu --apply-downgrades

        To get the list of only downgradable components

    Getting the Equivalent updates

    dsu --apply-equivalents

        To get the list including equivalent components

    Applying the updates specified in the file list

    dsu --update-list=<FILENAME1,FILENAME2,...>

        To apply the updates specified in the file list, if available in configured repository.

    Configuration file for DSU

    dsu --config=<FILE>

        To provide the path of the configuration file for DSU.

    Configure the type of repository

    dsu --source-type=<TYPE>

        To configure the source type of repository. The supported type is PDK (Partner Distribution Kit).
        PDK is a format for the Dell Online catalog, such as catalog.xml or catalog.gz

    Configure the path of repository

    dsu --source=<PATH>

        To configure the path of repository. When the source type is PDK, location of the repository is mandatory.

    Package the updates into a bootable ISO or a directory

    dsu --destination-type=<TYPE>

    TYPE can be : <ISO | CBD>
    When the type is --destination-type=ISO :
    DSU runs in the interactive mode and the selected updates are delivered as a bootable ISO. Upon boot the components are updated.

    When ISO if used along with --non-interactive :
    A bootable ISO is created. Upon boot it runs DSU in noninteractive mode. The repository location should be configured using --config=<FILE>

    When the type is --destination-type=CBD :
    CBD is Custom Bootable DSU. DSU runs in the interactive mode and provides the selected updates along with deployment script.

    Note: A Bootable DSU ISO can be made using the Windows version of DSU. The Bootable DSU ISO will include a Linux kernel, when creating use a catalog that has Linux updates using #dsu –catalog-location=<FILE>

    Location to save the created package

    dsu --destination-location=<PATH>

        To provide the path of the package created using the --destination-type to be saved.

    Logging bootable ISO output

    dsu --bootable-log-location=<FILE>

        To provide the path of the log file in the target machine when the bootable ISO option is used.

    Configuring Inventory Collector binary file

    dsu --ic-location=<FILE>

        To provide the path, of the inventory collector binary file to use.

    Path to save the inventory XML file

    dsu --output-inventory-xml=<FILE>

        To provide the path of the output XML file generated by the Inventory Collector

    Get a preview of the applicable updates

    dsu --preview

        Displays a preview of the updated system inventory post commit. To be used with --non-interactive.

    Remote execution for DSU

    dsu --remote[=<Domain\username:password@hostname>]

        To enable updates remotely

    Pushing applicable updates to remote system

    dsu --push-remote-updates

        Copy the update(s) to the remote system before applying

    Automatic rebooting of the system

    dsu --reboot

        Restarts system(s) automatically if updates demands it for completion

    DSU Lin64 Installer Location

    dsu --dsu-lin64-installer-location

        To provide the location of DSU DUP installer file

    Ignore optional dependencies

    dsu --ignore-optional-dependencies

        To ignore optional dependencies for updates

    Install OMSA

    To install OMSA using this repository, use the following commands:

    Red Hat Enterprise Linux Servers

    #yum install srvadmin-all

    • Please re-run repository setup command (curl -s https://linux.dell.com/repo/hardware/dsu/bootstrap.cgi | bash) to import the updated signature keys

    SUSE Linux Enterprise Servers

    #zypper install srvadmin-all

     OMSA services should be manually started after installing/upgrading OMSA using DSU repository

    Install DTK

    To install DTK using this repository, use the following commands:

    Red Hat Enterprise Linux Servers

    #yum install syscfg

    #yum install raidcfg

    SUSE Linux Enterprise Servers

    #zypper install syscfg

    #zypper install raidcfg

    Upgrade OMSA

     To upgrade OMSA using this repository, where an OMSA version is already installed in the system, use the following commands.

    Red Hat Enterprise Linux Servers

    #yum --disablerepo=* --enablerepo=dell-system-update_dependent upgrade

    SUSE Linux Enterprise Servers

    #zypper mr -da; zypper mr -e "dell-system-update_dependent" ; zypper update; zypper mr -ea;

     Note:-To update from local repository (custom), use the OMSA repository name instead of dell-system-update_dependent in the commands.
              In case of zypper upgrade, if there are repositories disabled by you, this command sequence will enable the repositories. You have to disable the repositories again manually.

    Return codes

    Value Message Name Description
    0 Success Any successful operation performed by DSU
    1 Failure Any failure in operation performed by DSU
    2 Insufficient Privileges DSU not executed using ROOT privilege
    3 Invalid Log File Failure in opening a log file or invalid log location
    4 Invalid Log Level Invalid log level set by user
    6 Invalid Command Line Option Invalid combination of DSU options used. For example, -destination type and -non-interactive cannot be used simultaneously
    7 Unknown Option Incorrect option provided
    8 Reboot Required Reboot is required for the update to be completed successfully
    13 Invalid Source Config (Configuration) Values provided for source location or source type is invalid
    14 Invalid Inventory Errors related to Inventory such as filename not present in the location or failed parsing inventory
    15 Invalid Category Category value (for ex. BI) may not exist, DSU returns Invalid Category
    17 Invalid Config (Configuration) File Configuration file location is invalid or failure in parsing it
    19 Invalid IC Location Invalid Location of inventory collector
    21 Invalid Destination Destination directory location is invalid
    22 Invalid Destination Type Destination type is not ISO or CBD
    24 Update Failure Failure in applying updates
    25 Update Partial Failure Some of the selected updates failed to apply
    26 Update Partial Failure And Reboot Required Some of the updates failed to apply and a reboot required for successful updates
    34 No Applicable Updates There were no updates found for the system.
    35 Remote Partial Failure Some of the updates for remote system failed
    36 Remote Failure Updates for remote systems provided failed

    Other supporting documents and links

    In addition to this guide, you can access the following guides available at dell.com/support/manuals.
    • Dell Systems Management - OpenManage Software Support Matrix
    • Dell OpenManage Server Administrator Installation Guide
    • Dell OpenManage Server Administrator User's Guide
    • Previous Dell Linux Repository : Click Here
    • Supported Platforms : Click Here
      • Note: DSU Ubuntu enablement is only available for 12G and 13G systems
    • Sample Kickstart Files : Click Here
    • ISO Generator Script : Click Here

    To get the complete list of options of DSU (On Microsoft Windows and Linux), use #dsu --help

    Support

    A good place for support for this repository is the linux-poweredge mailing list.


    File list

    Use the following links to browse the contents of the repository

    OS independent
    OS dependent


    •