Contents

Upgrading software· 1

Overview· 1

Software types· 1

Software file naming conventions· 1

Comware image redundancy and loading procedure· 1

System startup process· 2

Upgrade methods· 3

Upgrade procedure summary· 3

Upgrade restrictions and guidelines· 4

Preparing for the upgrade· 4

Preloading the Boot ROM image to Boot ROM·· 4

Specifying startup images and completing the upgrade· 5

Specifying startup images for all devices in bulk· 5

Specifying startup images for devices one by one· 5

Displaying and maintaining software image settings· 6

Software upgrade examples· 7

Example of software upgrade through a reboot 7

Upgrading software

Overview

Software upgrade enables you to add new features and fix bugs. This chapter describes types of software and procedures to upgrade software from the CLI. For a comparison of all software upgrade methods, see "Upgrade methods."

Software types

The following software types are available:

·           Boot ROM image—A .bin file that contains a basic segment and an extended segment. The basic segment is the minimum code that bootstraps the system. The extended segment enables hardware initialization and provides system management menus. You can use these menus to load software and the startup configuration file or manage files when the device cannot start up correctly. For easy software compatibility management, the Boot ROM image is contained in the Boot image file. The Boot ROM image is upgraded automatically when the Boot image is upgraded.

·           Comware image—Includes the following image subcategories:

¡  Boot image—A .bin file that contains the Boot ROM image and the Linux operating system kernel. It provides process management, memory management, file system management, and the emergency shell.

¡  System image—A .bin file that contains the minimum feature modules required for device operation and some basic features, including device management, interface management, configuration management, and routing. To have advanced features, you must purchase feature images.

¡  Feature image—A .bin file that contains advanced software features. Users purchase feature images as needed.

¡  Patch image—A .bin file irregularly released for fixing bugs without rebooting the device. A patch image does not add new features or functions.

Comware software images that have been loaded are called current software images. Comware images specified to load at the next startup are called startup software images.

Boot image and system image are required for the system to work. These images might be released separately or as a whole in one .ipe package file. If an .ipe file is used, the system decompresses the file automatically, loads the .bin boot and system images, and sets them as startup software images.

Software file naming conventions

Software image file names use the chassis-comware version-image type-release format. This document uses boot.bin and system.bin as boot and system image file names.

Comware image redundancy and loading procedure

You can specify two lists of startup Comware software images: one main (primary) and one backup.

The boot and system images in a startup software image list must be the same version.

The system always attempts to start up with the main images. If any main images do not exist or are invalid, the system tries the backup images. Figure 1 shows the entire Comware image loading procedure.

In this procedure, both the main and backup image lists have feature and patch images. If an image list does not have either feature images or patch images, the system starts up with the main boot and system images after they pass verification.

If both the main and backup boot images are nonexistent or invalid, connect to the console port, and power cycle the device to load a boot image from the Boot ROM menu. For more information about downloading and loading a boot image, see the release notes for the software version.

After accessing the emergency shell, connect to the console port and load a system image so you can access the Comware system. For more information about using the emergency shell, see "Using the emergency shell."

 

Figure 1 Comware image loading procedure

 

System startup process

Upon power-on, the Boot ROM image runs to initialize hardware, and then the startup software images run to start up the entire system, as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2 System startup process

 

Upgrade methods

Upgrading method	Software types	Remarks
Upgrading from the CLI:
Upgrading software	·          Boot ROM image ·          Comware images (excluding patches)	This method is disruptive. You must reboot the entire device to complete the upgrade.
Performing an ISSU	Comware images	The ISSU method enables a software upgrade without service interruption. Use this method for a multichassis IRF fabric. For more information about ISSU, see "ISSU overview."
Upgrading from the Boot ROM menu	·          Boot ROM image ·          Comware software images	Use this method when the device cannot start up correctly.  IMPORTANT: Upgrade an IRF fabric from the CLI rather than the Boot ROM menu. The Boot ROM menu method increases the service downtime, because it requires that you upgrade the member devices one by one.

 

This chapter only covers upgrading software from the CLI.

Upgrade procedure summary

To upgrade software from the CLI:

1.      Download the upgrade software image file.

2.      (Optional.) Preload the Boot ROM image to the Boot ROM.

If a Boot ROM upgrade is required, you can perform this task to shorten the subsequent upgrade time. This task helps avoid upgrade problems caused by unexpected electricity failure.

If you skip this task, the device upgrades the Boot ROM automatically when it upgrades the startup software images.

The Boot ROM image preloaded into the Boot ROM does not affect the device running status.

3.      Specify the image file as the startup software image file.

4.      Reboot the entire IRF fabric.

5.      Verify the upgrade.

Upgrade restrictions and guidelines

The switch can start up from the built-in flash memory or the USB disk. As a best practice, store the startup images in the built-in flash memory. If you store the startup images on the USB disk, do not remove the USB disk during startup.

Preparing for the upgrade

1.      Use the display version command to verify the current Boot ROM image version and startup software version.

2.      Use the release notes for the upgrade software version to evaluate the upgrade impact on your network and verify the following items:

¡  Software and hardware compatibility.

¡  Version and size of the upgrade software.

¡  Compatibility of the upgrade software with the current Boot ROM image and startup software image.

3.      Use the dir command to verify that all IRF member devices have sufficient storage space for the upgrade images. If the storage space is not sufficient, delete unused files by using the delete command. For more information, see "Managing the file system."

4.      Configure FTP or TFTP settings.

5.      Use FTP or TFTP to transfer the upgrade image file to the root directory of a storage medium on the IRF fabric.

For more information about FTP and TFTP, see "Configuring FTP" and "Configuring TFTP."

Preloading the Boot ROM image to Boot ROM

Task	Command	Remarks
Load the upgrade Boot ROM image to the Boot ROM.	bootrom update file file-url slot slot-number-list	Specify the downloaded software image file for the file-url argument. The new Boot ROM image takes effect at a reboot.

 

Specifying startup images and completing the upgrade

You can specify startup images for IRF member devices in bulk, or one by one.

Specifying startup images for all devices in bulk

Perform this task in user view.

To specify startup images and complete the upgrade:

 

Step	Command	Remarks
1.      Specify the main or backup startup images for all devices.	·          Use an .ipe file for upgrade: boot-loader file ipe-filename all { backup | main } ·          Use .bin files for upgrade: boot-loader file boot boot-package system system-package [ feature feature-package&<1-30> ] all { backup | main }	N/A
1.      Save the running configuration.	save	This step ensures that any configuration you have made can survive a reboot.
2.      Reboot the IRF system.	reboot	At startup, each IRF member device reads the preloaded Boot ROM image to RAM, and loads the startup images.
3.      (Optional.) Verify the software image settings.	display boot-loader [ slot slot-number ]	Verify that the current software images are the same as the startup software images.

 

Specifying startup images for devices one by one

Perform this task in user view.

To specify startup images and complete the upgrade:

 

Step	Command	Remarks
1.      Specify the main or backup startup images for the master device.	·          Use an .ipe file for upgrade: boot-loader file ipe-filename slot slot-number { backup | main } ·          Use .bin files for upgrade: boot-loader file boot boot-package system system-package [ feature feature-package&<1-30> ] slot slot-number { backup | main }	N/A
2.      Specify the main startup images for each subordinate device.	·          Use an .ipe file for upgrade: boot-loader file ipe-filename slot slot-number { backup | main } ·          Use .bin files for upgrade: boot-loader file boot boot-package system system-package [ feature feature-package&<1-30> ] slot slot-number { backup | main } ·          Use the image list that the master device started up with for upgrade: boot-loader update { all | slot slot-number }	Skip this step if you have only one device. If you use the image list that the master device started up with, make sure you understand the following requirements and upgrade results: ·          If an ISSU upgrade has been performed, use the install commit command to update the main startup images on the master device before software synchronization. The command ensures startup image consistency among IRF member devices. ·          If the master device started up with the main startup image list, its main startup images are synchronized to the subordinate devices. This synchronization occurs regardless of whether any change has occurred to this image list. ·          If the master device started up with the backup startup list, its backup startup images are synchronized to the subordinate devices. This synchronization occurs regardless of whether any change has occurred to this image list. ·          Startup image synchronization will fail if any software image being synchronized is corrupted or is not available.
3.      Save the running configuration.	save	This step ensures that any configuration you have made can survive a reboot.
4.      Reboot the IRF fabric.	reboot	At startup, each device reads the preloaded Boot ROM image to RAM, and loads the startup images.
5.      (Optional.) Verify the software image settings.	display boot-loader [ slot slot-number ]	Verify that the current software images are the same as the startup software images.

 

Displaying and maintaining software image settings

Execute display commands in any view.

 

Task	Command
Display current software images and startup software images.	display boot-loader [ slot slot-number ]

 

Software upgrade examples

Example of software upgrade through a reboot

Network requirements

Use the file startup-a2105.ipe to upgrade software images for the IRF fabric in Figure 3.

Figure 3 Network diagram

 

Configuration procedure

# Configure IP addresses and routes to make sure the device and the TFTP server can reach each other. (Details not shown.)

# Complete TFTP settings on both the device and the TFTP server. (Details not shown.)

# Display information about the current software images.

<Sysname> display version

# Use TFTP to download the image file startup-a2105.ipe from the TFTP server to the root directory of the flash on the master device.

<Sysname> tftp 2.2.2.2 get startup-a2105.ipe

# Back up the image file to startup-a2105-backup.ipe. Skip this step if the flash does not have sufficient space.

<Sysname> copy startup-a2105.ipe startup-a2105_backup.ipe

# Specify startup-a2105.ipe as the main startup image file for all IRF member devices.

<Sysname> boot-loader file flash:/startup-a2105.ipe slot 1 main

<Sysname> boot-loader file flash:/startup-a2105.ipe slot 2 main

# Specify startup-a2105-backup.ipe as the backup startup image file for all IRF member devices.

<Sysname> boot-loader file flash:/startup-a2105-backup.ipe slot 1 backup

<Sysname> boot-loader file flash:/startup-a2105-backup.ipe slot 2 backup

# Verify the startup image settings.

<Sysname> display boot-loader

# Reboot the device to complete the upgrade.

<Sysname> reboot

Verifying the configuration

# Verify that the device is running the correct software.

<Sysname> display version