[German]Anyone still using an older HPE MicroServer Gen 10 Plus must be careful when installing firmware updates. It is probably possible to install the wrong firmware on the devices. As a result, the ProLiant MicroServer Gen 10 Plus in question will then become unusable (bricked). There are several reports in the HP support forum from those affected who have ruined their hardware in this way.
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ProLiant MicroServer Gen 10 Plus
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) offers a server family in various product generations under the brand name ProLiant. Servers in this product line are rack-based and are mainly used in data centers and environments. The four product lines are differentiated by series, which shows the processor configuration.
However, there are two variants of the ProLiant MicroServer Gen 10 Plus. The newer HPE MicroServer Gen10 Plus v2 servers model shown in the image above with an Intel Pentium E-2314 processor. And the older ProLiant MicroServer Gen 10 Plus servers (without the V2) from 2020 with Intel Xeon E-2224 or Intel Pentium G5420. This model is also labeled as compatible for Windows 11, for example.
Wrong firmware bricks ProLiant Microserver
There are probably problems with the older ProLiant MicroServer Gen 10 Plus servers (without the V2), because the HPE support area offers firmware for both HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen10 Plus and HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen10 Plus V2 (see following figure).
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It is now possible to install the firmware for the HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen10 Plus V2 on the older ProLiant MicroServer Gen10 Plus server (without the V2). However, as heise reports here, this does not work, as the firmware updates are not compatible between the models.
In the HPE support forum, those affected who have bricked their ProLiant MicroServer Gen 10 Plus servers by installing the wrong V2 firmware update are posting. In this thread an affected person writes:
I accidentally flashed the wrong PLC firmware to my microserver gen10 plus.
I updated the PLC firmware of the microserver gen10 plus V2 model to the normal gen10 plus model.
The update process went into an infinite loop and I tried to force a reboot, but the green power button just flashes and does not turn on.
The iLO is working fine, but I can't reinstall the new firmware because I can't power on my server.
The machines in question are definitely unusable after the flash process as they can no longer boot. There are several people affected in the linked thread. The tricks mentioned in the forum to revive them do not work – a new firmware can no longer be installed.
The problem has existed for months, and HPE continues to offer the two firmware versions for download on its website. Apparently, HPE is also unable to carry out essential checks for firmware updates. This would prevent the installation of an unsuitable firmware update. This looks bad for those affected: It is their fault for selecting the incompatible firmware, but HPE has also made a big mistake here. Unfortunately, the affected devices from 2020 have probably long since fallen out of support, so replacing them is no longer an option. Reminds me of the BIOS update for HP devices discussed below.
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