Two types of updates are available for the HMC:

• • so-called iFixes, which usually fix a specific problem (or several) and
  • so-called service packs, which contain all iFixes that have accumulated up to the time the service pack is released.

Both iFixes and service packs come in the form of ISO files. The ISO file for an iFix has the form:

<PTF>_<platform>.iso
z.B.
MF70632_ppc.iso
MH01953_x86.iso

PTF (Program Temporary Fix) is the name of the fix, e.g. MF70632. The platform is either x86 for Intel-based HMCs or ppc for POWER-based HMCs. For example, the file MF70632_ppc.iso contains the iFix for MF70632.

The ISO files for a service pack have the naming convention

HMC_Update_<SP>_<platform>.iso
z.B.
HMC_Update_V9R2M953_x86.iso
HMC_Update_V10R2M1031_ppc.iso

For example, the file HMC_Update_V10R2M1031_ppc.iso contains the update for POWER-based HMCs to the service pack M1031 of version V10R2.

Both iFixes and service packs for the HMC can be downloaded from IBM Fix Central (see Downloading fixes, service packs, and release levels).

An iFix or a service pack can be installed using the command “hmc updhmc“. In the simplest case, only the PTF or the ISO file name needs to be specified in addition to the HMC:

$ hmc updhmc hmc01 MF70632
INFO: using ibmwebsite:MF70632
The corrective service file offload was successful. Continuing with HMC service installation...
Verifying Certificate Information
Authenticating Install Packages
Installing Packages...warning: /dump/hsc_install.images/images/install.d/java/ibm-java-sdk-17.0.5.0-ppc64le.rpm: Header V3 RSA/SHA256 Signature, key ID 9bce9629: NOKEY
Installing Packages...
The corrective service file was successfully applied. A mandatory reboot is required but was not specified on the command syntax.
Shared connection to 172.168.99.18 closed.
ERROR: remote HMC command returned an error (2)
$ 

Note: The return code 2 indicates that a reboot was not specified (option “-r“).