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07-Software upgrade configuration

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Upgrading software

This chapter describes types of software and methods to upgrade software from the CLI. For a comparison of all software upgrade methods, see "Upgrade methods."

Overview

Software upgrade enables you to add new features and fix bugs.

Software types

The following software types are available:

· BootWare 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.

· Comware image—Includes the following image subcategories:

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

¡ 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.

BootWare image, 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, for example, S12500X-CMW710-SYSTEM-R1106.bin and S12500X-CMW710-BOOT-R1106.bin. This document uses boot.bin and system.bin as boot and system image file names.

Comware image redundancy and loading procedure

You can specify one main and one backup list of Comware software images.

The system always attempts to start up with the main images. If any main image does not exist or is 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 feature or patch images, the system starts up with the 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 BootWare menu. For more information about downloading and loading a boot image, see the release notes for the software version.

Figure 1 Comware image loading procedure

System startup process

Upon power-on, the BootWare 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	· BootWare 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. As a best practice, use this method for an IRF fabric or MPU-redundant device. For more information about ISSU, see "Performing ISSU."
Upgrading from the BootWare menus	· BootWare image · Comware software images	Use this method when the device cannot start up correctly. To use this method, first connect to the console port and power cycle the device. Then press Ctrl+B at prompt to access the BootWare menu. IMPORTANT: Upgrade an IRF fabric from the CLI rather than the BooWare menus. The BootWare 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 restrictions and guidelines

Follow these restrictions and guidelines when you use the management ports on the LSXM1SUPB1 or LSXM1SUP04B1 MPU:

· If multiple management ports are connected to one remote switch, you must assign their peer ports to different VLANs on the remote switch. Login or file transfer will fail if the peer ports are in the same VLAN.

· To transfer files from the BootWare menu through TFTP or FTP, you can use only the management port M0/0/3. This interface is the forth management port on the MPU. This port is marked with a number of 3 on the card panel.

Upgrade procedure summary

To upgrade software from the CLI:

1. Download the upgrade software image file.

2. (Optional.) Preload the BootWare image to the BootWare.

If a BootWare 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 BootWare automatically when it upgrades the startup software images.

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

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

4. If you are upgrading a standalone device, reboot the device. If you are upgrading an IRF fabric, reboot the entire IRF fabric.

5. Verify the upgrade.

Preparing for the upgrade

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

3. Use the dir command to verify that both MPUs (in standalone mode) or all MPUs (in IRF mode) 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. In standalone mode, download the upgrade image file to the root directory of the flash memory on the active MPU. In IRF mode, download the file to the root directory of the flash memory on the global active MPU. If the flash memory is partitioned, save the file to the root directory of the first partition.

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

Preloading the BootWare image to BootWare

Step	Command	Remarks
1. Enter system view.	system-view	N/A
2. (Optional.) Enable BootWare image validity check.	bootrom-update security-check enable	By default, this function is enabled. This function examines the image for wrong file type, file corruption, and hardware incompatibility. As a best practice, enable it to ensure a successful upgrade.
3. Return to user view.	quit	N/A
4. (Optional.) Back up the current BootWare image in the Normal area of BootWare to the Backup area.	· In standalone mode: bootrom backup slot slot-number-list · In IRF mode: bootrom backup chassis chassis-number slot slot-number-list	Back up the BootWare image for a future version rollback or image restoration.
5. Load the upgrade BootWare image to the Normal area of BootWare.	· In standalone mode: bootrom update file file-url slot slot-number-list · In IRF mode: bootrom update file file-url chassis chassis-number slot slot-number-list	Specify the downloaded software image file for the file-url argument. The new BootWare image takes effect at a reboot.