•  Out-of-band update. The installation or update is performed by the Lenovo XClarity Controller collecting 
the update and then directing the update to the target subsystem or device. Out-of-band updates have no 
dependency on an operating system executing on the core CPU. However, most out-of-band operations 
do require the server to be in the S0 (Working) power state.
•  On-Target update. The installation or update is initiated from an Operating System executing on the 
server’s operating system.
•  Off-Target update. The installation or update is initiated from a computing device interacting directly with 
the server’s Lenovo XClarity Controller.
•  UpdateXpress System Packs (UXSPs). UXSPs are bundled updates designed and tested to provide the 
interdependent level of functionality, performance, and compatibility. UXSPs are server machine-type 
specific and are built (with firmware and device driver updates) to support specific Windows Server, Red 
Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) operating system distributions. 
Machine-type-specific firmware-only UXSPs are also available. 
See the following table to determine the best Lenovo tool to use for installing and setting up the firmware: 
Note: The server UEFI settings for option ROM must be set to Auto or UEFI to update firmware using 
Lenovo XClarity Administrator or Lenovo XClarity Essentials. For more information, see the following Tech 
Tip:
https://datacentersupport.lenovo.com/us/en/solutions/ht506118
Tool
In- 
band 
update
Out- 
of- 
band 
up-
date
On- 
target 
update
Off- 
target 
update
Graphi-
cal user 
inter-
face
Com-
mand- line 
interface
Sup-
ports 
UXSPs
Lenovo XClarity Provisioning 
Manager V3 
Limited to core system firmware only
√
2
√ √ √
Lenovo XClarity Controller 
Supports core system firmware and 
most advanced I/O option firmware 
updates
√ √ √ √
Lenovo XClarity Essentials OneCLI 
Supports all core system firmware, I/O 
firmware, and installed operating 
system driver updates
√ √ √ √ √ √
Lenovo XClarity Essentials 
UpdateXpress 
Supports all core system firmware, I/O 
firmware, and installed operating 
system driver updates
√ √ √ √ √ √
Lenovo XClarity Essentials Bootable 
Media Creator 
Supports core system firmware and I/O 
firmware updates. You can update the 
Microsoft
® 
Windows
® 
operating 
system, but device drivers are not 
included on the bootable image
√ √ √ √ √
Lenovo XClarity Administrator 
Supports core system firmware and I/O 
firmware updates
√
1
√
2
√ √
10 ThinkSystem ST650 V2 Maintenance Manual