Mount an ISO image file to an ESXi 4.1 host?

[vjsb22]

Hi -

I am trying to mount a Dell SUU ISO file from a VMFS datastore to an ESXi host.

In ESX the below would work fine, this doesn't work in ESXi:

mount -o loop -t iso9660 vmfs/volumes/Datastore Path/SUU_740_Q42013_A00.ISO/
SUU_740_Q42013_A00.ISO /mnt/cdrom/.

Can anyone help?

Thanks.

[CoolRam]

Since you are loop mounting the device it should work. Are you booting VM  from this ISO??

[vjsb22]

I need to mount the ISO file to the physical ESXI host.  Not to a VM.

[cykVM]

This seems to be a DELL Server Update Utility (SUU) CD you are trying to mount there. As far as I know they are made to boot the (physical) server with and are useless if mounted within the server's OS - especially in VMWare.

So either burn a CD/DVD from it and boot the server from that to perform the updates or if you have a DRAC card in that DELL box you may try to mount the ISO as virtual media inside DRAC's webinterface.

[BenLiebowitz]

If it's a Dell, do you have iDRAC?  If so, you can connect to the iDRAC and mount the ISO remotely. 

[vjsb22]

Yes, there is an iDrac.  I have attached the ISO image to the virtual media (cd/dvd drive) (pic attached).

How do I access the ISO file from the ESXi shell?

[BenLiebowitz]

This post may help... 

How to mount and unmount CDROMs in ESXi | Virtually everything

[cykVM]

I still think, you are going the wrong route. What exactly are you trying to do after the ISO is accessioble in VMWare?

[BenLiebowitz]

Agreed... You can use the Dell Lifecycle Controller to connect to the ISO mounted in your iDRAC to install Firmware/BIOS updates... 

[cykVM]

Not sure if that will work with his DELL box. If I'm not mistaken it's a PE 2950 from his screenshot above. This does not have an iDRAC but an old DRAC.

[vjsb22]

The BMC is a DRAC 5 on a 2950 Dell.  I need to update the drivers on all hardware, running sh suu -u  from the ISO gets all drivers and updates the server.

Steps for ESX host:

1. In ESX shell create /mnt/isocd folder.

2. mount -t iso9660 -o loop /vmfs/volumes/datastore path/suu_740_Q42013_A00.iso /mnt/isocd.

3. CD to /mnt/isocd.

4. sh suu -u

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Now that the servers are ESXi 4.1, soon to be ESXi 5.5, I need to run a hardware driver update, the above and below steps fail.

ESXi steps - I tried the suggestion below in the last half hour - when I get to step 4, it fails saying "set failed: not supported".

1. Mount ISO to Virtual Media via DRAC of host.

2. esxcfg-mpath –l | grep CD-ROM. (should see 2 CD-ROMs now).

3. Determine which CD-ROM is the ISO file. (should be the USB CD_ROM). The TEAC is the physical and not the virtual media.

4. /sbin/vsish -e set /vmkModules/iso9660/mount mpx.vmhba32:C0:T0:L0

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Dell SUU ISO is not bootable either.

I've been at this for 2 days, and I'm not sure what else to try?

[BenLiebowitz]

Ahhh, I didn't see that...

In that case, what I've done in the past is setup the Dell Repository Manager on one of my servers... 

http://en.community.dell.com/techcenter/systems-management/w/wiki/1767.dell-repository-manager

I used Dell RM to create a custom SUU bundle for a specific piece of hardware.  I created the SUU for LINUX and then when i exported the package, selected LinuxBootable.  It creates a bootable ISO that boots into LINUX and deploys the latest firmware/bios updates.  It will try to update drivers, but it's running off an ISO and won't be able to. 

This PDF is for an older version of the Dell Repository Manager but may help.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CDUQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.co...

[vjsb22]

Do you import the custom suu bundle into VUM?

[vjsb22]

Actually, the 2950 isn't included in the Dell Repository Manager.  Is there anything else I can try?  The only other option is to manually download the drivers?

[cykVM]

You can try the approach posted by user EVW here: Re: Does anybody updated BIOS on DELL Power Edge 2950?

[BenLiebowitz]

This blog post on adding the drivers to VUM may help you.

[cykVM]

This blog post on adding the drivers to VUM may help you.

Wow, that's what I call a super-secret blog :smileycool:

[BenLiebowitz]

Okay okay...

Add HP or Dell drivers to VMware Update Manager (VUM) - www.ivobeerens.nl

Also, here's a VMware Community post from last year that touched on the subject.

vCenter Update Manager and updating drivers