How to Update HPE NC550SFP 2.x Firmware
For the next Home Lab update, I decided to increase my network infrastructure to 10Gbit. For this, I picked out VMware 7.0 U3 compatible HPE NC550SFP CNAs for a small amount of money.
However, these were at a firmware level beyond the Stone Age and were not recognized by either the HPE DL380p Gen8 or ML310e Gen8 v2 and I had no link.
So I had to update the firmware, after some research I found out that this network card can be updated with various SPPs. So I picked SPPs from 2013, 2014 and 2015 and tried to import them one by one, but in vain.
I got every time the error message that the NC550SFP CNAs can not be updated with the SPP bundles, but these must be updated with an offline “OneConnect iso“.
So my old mentor Ismail Haybat and I, we went in search of exactly this offline iso.
After a short time we found it, here is the link:
https://support.hpe.com/hpesc/public/swd/detail?swItemId=co-108044-1
Just import the iso like an SPP bundle;
- Reboot server
- Import the iso as CD/DVDvia HPE iLO Advanced
- Select the CD/DVD in the boot menu (F11) and wait for the Emulex boot menu to appear:
sorry for the “shutdown” try outs 😀
Afterwards you will be asked if you want to continue the update, answer with “y” and wait for the 100 percentage display and reboot the host. Lo and behold, the servers officially recognize the network cards and we have a link as well as traffic – that’s it!
If you have any questions please leave it in the comments. 🙂