Dell PowerConnect 5316M Ethernet switch firmware

To provide consistent performance throughout the fabric, administrators should ensure that all switch modules are running the same version of firmware.

SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT

For the firmware update process, the McDATA management interface requires administrators to log in to the switch using the “admin” account and access the advanced configuration console mode using the admin start command.4

Brocade Silkworm 3014 Fibre Channel switch firmware. Brocade Fibre Channel switch firmware can be upgraded using either a Web-based GUI or a CLI. To update the fabric OS in command- line mode, administrators should execute the firmwaredownload command from an FTP server or from a local Network File System (NFS) directory while in admin mode:

firmwaredownload options host_or_IP,user

/path/to/the/pfile passwd

The updated firmware is in the form of Red Hat® Package Manager (RPM™) packages with names defined in pfile, a binary file that contains specific firmware information and the names of firmware packages to be downloaded.

In dual-domain systems, the firmwaredownload command downloads the firmware image by default to both control proces- sors (CPs) in rollover mode, which helps prevent disruption to application services. This operation depends on support for the High-Availability (HA) fea-

ture, which can be enabled through the haenable com- mand in the switch CLI. If HA support is not avail- able, administrators can still upgrade the CPs one at a time, using the –soption. 5

Systems supported by the Brocade firmware have two partitions of nonvolatile stor- age areas—a primary and a secondary partition—to store

two firmware images. The firmwaredownload command loads the updated image into the secondary partition and swaps the second- ary partition to be the primary partition. The command then reboots the CP and activates the updated image. Finally, it performs the firmwarecommit procedure automatically to copy the updated image to the other partition (unless the –noption is used).

To update the firmware using the GUI, administrators should launch the Brocade Web console by entering the IP address of the switch in the browser address line. They should then log in

as “admin” and navigate to the Firmware tab. On the Firmware page, administrators should enter the FTP server’s IP address and the path to the firmware image file, then begin the firmware update process.

At the switch console, administrators can use the firmwaredownloadstatus command to monitor the download process. After the download is finished, administrators can enter the firmwareshow command to verify that the firmware update completed successfully.

Dell PowerConnect 5316M Ethernet switch firmware.

Two firmware images can be stored in the flash memory of the PowerConnect 5316M switch module. The images are called active and nonactive, depending on which image the switch is currently running. The switch also supports two protocols to download the images: network-based TFTP and serial port–based xmodem.

To use the TFTP method, administrators must complete the following setup procedures before starting the firmware update process:

1.Set up a TFTP server.

2.Install the updated firmware image on the TFTP server.

3.Log in to the switch, and enter the privileged EXEC mode.6

After logging in, administrators can execute the following com- mand in privileged EXEC mode to copy the file named “image” to the nonactive image file:

console# copy tftp:// hostname/path/to/the/

systemimage flash

After the flash update is complete, the switch can be instructed to boot from either of the two images by executing the following command in privileged EXEC mode:

console# boot system {image1 image2}

Administrators should enter the following command to verify whether the switch successfully booted into the updated system image:

console# show version

Although administrators may never need to upgrade the switch boot image, they can do so by executing the following command:

4For more information about the CLI-based firmware update process for the McDATA 4314 switch, refer to the McDATA 4314 Command Line Interface Guide on the CD that ships with the McDATA switch.

5For more information about command options for Brocade Silkworm 3014 Fibre Channel switch firmware, refer to the Brocade Fabric Operating System (FOS) Reference Manual on the CD that ships with the Brocade switch.

6For more information about the operation modes of the PowerConnect 5316M switch and how to configure the system identity, refer to the Dell PowerConnect 5316M Ethernet Switch Module User’s Guide and the Dell PowerConnect CLI 5316M Reference Guide at support.dell.com/support/edocs/network/PC5316M/en.

DELL POWER SOLUTIONS

August 2005

1855 specifications

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