Fabric OS Administrator’s Guide 193
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Firmware download on switches 9
If Brocade 300, 4100, 4900, 5000, 5410, 5424, 5450, 5460, 5470, 5480, 5100, 5300, 5424,
7500, 7500E, 7600, 7800, 8000, and VA-40FC switches are adjacent and you start firmware
downloads on them at the same time, there may be traffic disruption.
To determine if you need to upgrade switches connected to the switch you are upgrading, use the
following procedure on each connected switch to display firmware information and build dates

Finding the switch firmware version

1. Connect to the switch and log in as admin.
2. Enter the version command.
The following information is displayed:
•Kernel displays the version of switch kernel operating system.
•Fabric OS displays the version of switch Fabric OS.
•Made on displays the build date of firmware running in switch.
•Flash displays the install date of firmware stored in nonvolatile memory.
•BootProm displays the version of the firmware stored in the boot PROM.

Obtain and decompress firmware

Firmware upgrades are available for customers with support service contracts and for partners on
the Brocade Web site at http://www.brocade.com.
At the Brocade Web site click Brocade Connect, log in, and follow the instructions to register and
download firmware. Partners with authorized accounts can use the Brocade Partner Network.
You must decompress the firmware before you can use the firmwareDownload command to update
the firmware on your equipment. Use the UNIX tar command for .tar files, the gunzip command for
all .gz files, or a Windows unzip program for all .zip files
When you unpack the downloaded firmware, it expands into a directory that is named according to
the version of Fabric OS it contains. For example, when you download and unzip v6.4.0.zip, it
expands into a directory called v6.4.0. When you issue the firmwareDownload command, there is
an automatic search for the correct package file type associated with the switch. Specify only the
path up to and including the v6.4.0 directory.

Firmware download on switches

Brocade 300, 4100, 4900, 5000, 5100, 5300, 5410, 5424, 5450, 5460, 5470, 5480, 7500,
7500E, 7600, 7800, 8000, and VA-40FC switches maintain primary and secondary partitions for
firmware. The firmwareDownload command defaults to an autocommit option that automatically
copies the firmware from one partition to the other.