Starting in April, 2011; HP offers v8.70 of the Insight Foundation Suite for ProLiant containing the following new features:

• Insight Foundation suite for ProLiant Media Kit
• The last version of the media kit provided to customers. It will continue to be shipped with all Generation 7 HP ProLiant and earlier model servers, but it will not be updated with any new support. All future updates will be web downloads only.
• SmartStart 8.70 support for:
• HP ProLiant SL/ML/DL 300, 500, 700, and 900 Series servers, HP ProLiant BL server blades, and HP BladeSystem c-Class enclosures and options.
• ProLiant ML110 G7 and ProLiant DL120 G7 added. For a complete list of SmartStart hardware and software support, see the Server Support Guide
• ProLiant Support Pack (PSP) 8.70
• For a list of what is supported in ProLiant Support Pack (PSP) 8.70, go to http://www.hp.com/servers/psp
• HP Smart Update Firmware DVD:
• Updated to version 9.30. The actual FW DVD is phased into the media kit. For the complete list of firmware on the FW DVD and ISO, see the cdcontent-fw.htm file on the DVD ISO.
• Supports ProLiant BladeSystem Release Sets, where firmware components are tested as enhanced "solutions" of ProLiant Support Packs (PSPs), deployment tools, and includes enhanced call center support. Newest version to be supported is 2011.04. For a full list of components comprising this release set, see these HP websites:
• HP ESSN Server Release Sets Landing page: www.hp.com/go/server/firmware/updates
• HP BladeSystem Release Sets for ProLiant: www.hp.com/go/proliant/bladesystem/updates
• Added firmware support for the following servers:
• HP ProLiant DL980 G7 Server
• HP ProLiant BL680c G7 Server
• HP ProLiant BL620c G7 Server
• HP ProLiant SL170s G6 Server
• HP ProLiant SL160s G6 Server
• HP ProLiant DL120 G7 Server
• HP ProLiant ML110 G7 Server
• HP ProLiant Sl165s G7 CWB
• HP Management DVD version 8.70:
• HP SUM
• o New Software Support:
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
• HP SIM 6.2 provides support for the latest hardware and software releases
• HP SUM 4.1 Integration provides the ability to upgrade Virtual Connect 3.x firmware
• New hardware support:
• ProLiant Blades: BL2x220c G7
• SL390s G7, ML/DL 370 G6
• Support for KVM virtualization host/guest discovery and association
• Support for new Integrity Superdome 2 servers
• Data Migration Tool support:
• HP SIM 6.0 to HP SIM 6.2 migration
• HP SIM 6.1 to HP SIM 6.2 migration
• HP SIM 6.2 to HP SIM 6.2 migration
• Support for Integrity VM 4.2
• HP Systems Management Homepage 6.3 - Added operating system support to include:
• Command Line Interface option to list the current settings in SMH.
• Support for the upgraded PHP version 5.3.3
• Better management of SMH self-signed certificate.
• Platform-specific setup files for Windows x86 & x64. (Windows only)
• Better handling of installer log. (Windows only)
• Better handling of Apache startup issue. (Windows only)
• Enabling Tomcat integration on Integrity with IPv6 enabled. (Windows only)
• Support for new operating systems:
• Windows Small Business Server 2011
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.0
• Version Control Repository Manager 6.3
• Support for disabling port 2301 in VCRM.
• Support to include a browse button in selecting the VCRM repository location.
• Support to archive older support packs and components.
• Enhanced hardware detection to more reliably install software when hardware is present

NOTES:
1. Insight Foundation will be baselined at v 8.70 which means that it will continue to be shipped with HP ProLiant Generation 7 and earlier servers but will no longer be updated with new support. "Baselining" a product means that current formats of these products are not required moving forward. The Media Kit will be available on supported servers through the end of life of those servers and 5 years beyond.
2. For sustaining support on a 8.70 supported server, customers need to utilize the post 8.70 ProLiant Support Packs; which will be available on hp.com.
3. This will be the last version of the Management DVD available in media form or as an ISO. New versions of HP Systems Insight Manager may be obtained from the web at www.hp.com/go/hpsim or from the HP Insight Control media or web downloads at www.hp.com/go/tryinsightcontrol.

Ideal for...

• New server deployments
• Server re-deployments
• Any size customer infrastructure: single office to worldwide
• New infrastructure build-outs or expansions
• Any customer experience level

Smart Systems Software Maintenance

HP Smart Update Firmware DVD

• Organized firmware collection for ProLiant servers and options
• Combines Firmware Maintenance CD, HP BladeSystem Firmware Deployment Tool FDT) and Online Firmware Bundles into single DVD
• Offline, automatic mode for ProLiant ML/DL systems

Powered by HP Smart Update Manager (HP SUM)

• Technology that assists with reducing the complexity of provisioning and updating HP ProLiant Servers, options and Blades within the datacenter.  Delivered on Firmware DVD, ProLiant Support Packs, and Easy Set-up CDs.

Intelligent firmware and software deployment

• Deploy software and firmware on Windows and Linux
• GUI and a command-line, scriptable interface
• Agentless
• Dependency checking between components
• Only deploy necessary component updates (except Linux RPM's)
• Download latest components from Web (except Linux RPM's)

Flexible firmware and software deployment

• Local or 1: many
• Firmware & software can be deployed together
• Offline and online deployments
• Scriptable, command-line deployment
• Direct update of BMC firmware

ProLiant BladeSystem Release Sets

• An enhanced, “solutions” oriented collection of ProLiant BladeSystem firmware that is released on a regular basis. The full collection is tested against HP software, drivers, and PSP's to drive standardization of components to HP customers.

Provides a wide selection of essential server deployment and software tools

Includes SmartStart and ProLiant Support Packs

• Ships standard with 300 series and above ProLiant BTO servers – a single, source for ProLiant server software
• SmartStart (one for x86 32-bit and one for 64-bit operating systems)
• ProLiant Support Packs for Windows and Linux (included in the SmartStart CD) - powered by HP SUM

SmartStart Scripting Toolkit(SSSTK)

• Provides a flexible way to create standard server configuration scripts. These scripts are used to automate many of the manual steps in the server configuration process.

Subscription services

• Subscription service available to keep customers always up-to-date
• Regular enhancements and upgrades are included as standard

Forget your media - carry your data on a bootable USB key!

HP USB Key Utility

• System administrators can now easily store, transport and deploy SmartStart and the Firmware DVD. All your media can be put on a single USB key for portability! Plus you get exactly the components you want and eliminate CD and DVD swap!

Downloadable from hp.com

• Allows users to copy the CDs and the Firmware DVD contents to a portable USB flash drive from either hp.com or media. Users may then boot and run the applications from a USB flash drive.

HP Systems Insight Manager - the focal point for proactive system management.

HP Systems Insight Manager (SIM)

• The Insight Foundation Suite includes the Management DVD containing HP SIM. HP SIM helps maximize system uptime and performance and reduces infrastructure maintenance costs by providing proactive notification of problems before those problems result in costly downtime and reduced productivity.

Prevent unplanned downtime

• HP SIM provides proactive fault and inventory management to prevent unplanned downtime and helps maximize system uptime and performance.

Software Version Control for baselines

• HP SIM Version Control Agents and Version Control Repository, system software version control capabilities make it even easier to maintain consistent software baselines across all your ProLiant servers.

System Management Homepage (SMH)

• HP SIM provides a web-based interface to consolidate system management information. The SMH enables access to system health and configuration information through the Insight Management Agents to monitor and administer system performance data, drive array configuration, and version control.

The HP Insight Foundation Suite Media Kit includes

• 2 SmartStart CDs (1 for x86 32-bit and 1 for x86 64-bit operating systems) containing HP ProLiant Support Packs
• 1 Smart Update Firmware DVD
• 1 Insight Management DVD containing Systems Insight Manager (SIM) and additionally, on the website for Insight Foundation Suite products (independent of the actual media kit) you will find such tools as:
• HP USB Key Utility for Windows
• SmartStart Scripting Toolkit

It supports HP ProLiant ML/DL/SL 300, 500, 700, and 900 Series servers, HP ProLiant BL server blades, and HP BladeSystem c-Class enclosures and options. Support for ProLiant ML110 G7 and ProLiant DL120 G7 is added in version 8.70.  For a complete list of SmartStart hardware and software support, see the Server Support Guide.

Version 8.70 will be the last version of the media kit to ship with servers.

Under most circumstances, the answer is ‘yes’, this software comes free of charge and is included with your ProLiant server (as long as it is one of the supported servers described in Q&A 2 above) and BladeSystem server as long as it is BTO (build to order). CTO servers typically do not need Insight Foundation Suite kits shipped with each server, so media kits are available as separate orderable options for those servers.

• HP ESSN Server Release Sets Landing page
• HP BladeSystem Release Sets for ProLiant
• HP Firmware Release Sets Compatibility Table

• HP SUM: To perform firmware updates for selected ProLiant servers and options, boot or launch the auto run of the HP Smart Update Firmware DVD.
• HP USB Key Utility: Copy your SmartStart and Smart Update Firmware DVD on your portable USB key storage device. This utility has been updated significantly for release 1.30 in SmartStart and in the Firmware DVD.
• Online ROM Flash Components: Online method for Windows and Linux systems for performing firmware updates for selected ProLiant servers and options.

Firmware "release sets" are collection of ProLiant BladeSystem firmware, software, drivers, and PSP's that are developed, tested, and released on a regular basis to drive standardization of the following components of the firmware release process:

• Enhanced "solutions" oriented testing of the release set with ProLiant Support Packs, management applications, deployment tools, and other applications
• Enhanced release notes, documentation, and web content
• Release of firmware components outside of the release set cycle
• Call center support

Each release set is delivered via its existing firmware delivery mechanism: HP Smart Update Firmware DVD. With the new Smart Update Firmware DVD, customers will be able to perform online and offline firmware updates using a consistent toolset instead of multiple separate utilities.

Release set information will be communicated to customers in the following ways:

• Customers can elect to sign up for HP's Subscriber's Choice, a proactive email notification service for product updates. Of special interest are driver and support alerts (Customer Advisory and Product Releases) at this web site

HP Support will not require customers to upgrade to the latest individual firmware and driver components when they have standardized on a supported release set unless an individual firmware component would likely fix their specific issue

Yes, right now the release sets only support ProLiant BladeSystem and BladeSystem Matrix. Please check the Matrix compatibility web site for the specific release set information.

HP will provide support for the current release set and two previous release sets. For example, if HP delivers three release sets (A, B, and C) over three calendar quarters, any of the three releases represent a supported configuration.  Individual firmware component releases outside of a release set will be tested with the most current release set and incorporated into the subsequent release set.

If a customer has standardized on release set A, for example, and experiences a problem that is only solved on a later release set, the customer may be asked to move to the new release set to fix the problem. In a more complicated example, assume the customer is on release set A and experiences an issue that appears to be corrected with a firmware component that was released as an exception release after release set C. The customer will most likely be asked to move to release set C including the indicated firmware component.

Customers will not be asked to move off a supported release set (A, B, or C), unless the problems they are experiencing have a high probably of being fixed with a later release set and/or exception release. The release notes associated with each component will allow the Support organization and customers to be aware of bug fixes or new features within that component.

Yes, HP currently publishes best practices documentation for firmware updates.  The latest Firmware Maintenance User Guide is always available on the HP.COM web site (visit this FTP site and choose the latest version of the file).