Sun, for a company that wants to be open, you're sure good at hiding Useful Information.
I just discovered that I needed to be upgrading the LSI Logic controllers on my X4100s along with the System Processor firmware and system BIOS. Fine. The only downloads available are ISO images, which kind of defeats the purpose of having something like System Manager if I have to reboot servers by hand and point them at an ISO image (or worse, burn a CD). So I go poking about, and find "Remote Installation of LSI software on Sun Fire[TM] x4100,Sun Fire[TM] x4200" - woo hoo, looks good.
Problem is: it's restricted-access. We have a support contract on these things, but I've no idea how to properly associate them with my account, and what would it kill Sun to release this information publicly? It's not like they suddenly would lose money on the 56 X4100s we purchased, about 20 of which right now are running an unsupported configuration because stupid me made an assumption. I'm also referred to the documentation that "comes with the download", except there isn't any - just an ISO image which can only be booted from, not read.
Thanks a lot for making my life more difficult than it needs to be, Sun. I suggest before trumpeting your new openness and ease of management, that you ensure *you really are open and easy to manage*. Now I have a choice: spend another five or ten hours researching this from third-party sources and maybe not have a solution, or boot this fucking ISO 56 times. Neither option makes me happy, not when I know somebody's playing the "I have some information but I'm not telling you" game.
Update: some more Google-fu brought me here, which says, basically, "LOL U CANT USE SYSTEM MANAGER TO DELIVER HALF THE FIRMWARE REQUIRED 4 UR PLATFORM". Thanks a lot, Sun - remind me again why one uses N1SM? I assume that what's behind the paywall is something along the lines of "This is unsupported, but..."