System and method for remotely updating firmware

1. A computer-implemented method for automatically updating firmware of components of a server system in a datacenter, comprising:

mounting an OS image file to the server system via a virtual media (VM) A, the OS image file being a fixed sized bootable OS file;

automatically generating a universal serial bus (USB) read/write image containing a firmware image for VM B use, wherein the size of the USB read/write image is smaller than the size of the OS image file, and wherein the USB read/write image is accessible via a USB port of the server system;

mounting the USB read/write image to a VM B;

sending a first command to a controller of the server system to set a boot disk via the VM A;

causing the server system to be rebooted via the VM A; and

enabling an update service to automatically mount updated firmware image to the VM B.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining that a new firmware update for a component of the server system is available;

downloading the firmware update from the corresponding vendor;

saving the new firmware update to the VM B;

automatically generating a new USB read/write image containing the new firmware update for the VM B; and

causing the new firmware update to be fetched from the new USB read/write image.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2 , wherein causing the new firmware update to be fetched from the new USB read/write image comprises:

sending a second command to the controller of the server system; and

causing the controller to fetch the new USB read/write image via the VM B.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3 , wherein the second command is an OEM Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) command enabling the controller to fetch the new USB read/write image via the VM B.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the first command is an IPMI command enabling the server system to reboot via the VM A.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the OS image file is an OS International Organization for Standardization (ISO) image file.

7. A system, comprising:

a processor; and

a computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the system to perform operations comprising:

mounting an OS image file to a node via a virtual media (VM) A, the OS image file being a fixed sized bootable OS file;

automatically generating a universal serial bus (USB) read/write image containing a firmware image for VM B use, wherein the size of the USB read/write image is smaller than the size of the OS image file, and wherein the USB read/write image is accessible via a USB port of the server system;

mounting the USB read/write image to a VM B;

sending a first command to a controller of the node to set a boot disk via the VM A;

causing the node to be rebooted via the VM A; and

enabling an update service to automatically mount updated firmware image to the VM B.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the system to perform operations comprising:

determining that a new firmware update for a component of the node is available;

downloading the firmware update from the corresponding vendor;

saving the new firmware update to the VM B;

automatically generating a new USB read/write image containing the new firmware update for the VM B; and

causing the new firmware update to be fetched from the new USB read/write image.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein causing the new firmware update to be fetched from the new USB read/write image comprises:

sending a second command to the controller of the node; and

causing the controller to fetch the new USB read/write image via the VM B.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the second command is an OEM Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) command enabling the controller to fetch the new USB read/write image via the VM B.

11. The system of claim 7 , wherein the first command is an IPMI command enabling the node to reboot via the VM A.

12. The system of claim 7 , wherein the OS image file is an OS International Organization for Standardization (ISO) image file.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a system, cause the system to perform operations comprising:

mounting an OS image file to a server system via a virtual media (VM) A, the OS image file being a fixed sized bootable OS file;

automatically generating a universal serial bus (USB) read/write image containing a firmware image for VM B use, wherein the size of the USB read/write image is smaller than the size of the OS image file, and wherein the USB read/write image is accessible via a USB port of the server system;

mounting the USB read/write image to a VM B;

sending a first command to a controller of the server system to set a boot disk via the VM A;

causing the server system to be rebooted via the VM A; and

enabling an update service to automatically mount updated firmware image to the VM B.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the instructions when executed further cause the system to perform operations comprising:

determining that a new firmware update for a component of the server system is available;

downloading the firmware update from the corresponding vendor;

saving the new firmware update to the VM B;

automatically generating a new USB read/write image containing the new firmware update for the VM B; and

causing the new firmware update to be fetched from the new USB read/write image.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14 , wherein causing the new firmware update to be fetched from the new USB read/write image comprises:

sending a second command to the controller of the server system; and

causing the controller to fetch the new USB read/write image via the VM B.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the second command is an OEM Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) command enabling the controller to fetch the new USB read/write image via the VM B.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the OS image file is an OS International Organization for Standardization (ISO) image file.