Brocade Firmware Upgrade Procedure

Brocade Firmware Upgrade Procedure explains how to safely upgrade firmware on a Brocade Fibre Channel switch.
This lesson covers pre-upgrade checks, the upgrade steps, and post-upgrade validation.

Prerequisites

  • Ensure you have administrative access to the Brocade switch.
  • Verify network connectivity between the switch and the FTP server.
  • Confirm the firmware version difference is no more than two versions for upgrade/downgrade.
  • Collect the current switch configuration as a backup.
  • Schedule a maintenance window, as the switch may experience downtime during the upgrade.
Firmware upgrade procedure

Pre-Check

  1. Check current firmware version:
    firmwareShow
  2. Verify switch health:
    switchShow
    psshow
    fanshow
    tempshow
    sensorshow
    porterrshow
    errdump
    mapsdb –show
    massam –show flash/cpu/memory
  3. Check for any hardware faults:
    errShow -r
  4. Confirm available storage space:
    ssh root@switch> df
  5. Backup current configuration to FTP server:
    configUpload
    1. Example:
      To upload the switch configuration interactively from a switch that is not enabled for Virtual Fabrics:
        1. switch:admin> configupload
        2. Protocol (scp, ftp, sftp, local) [ftp]: sftp
        3. Server Name or IP Address [host]: xx.xxx.xxx
        4. User Name [user]: user
        5. File Name [<home dir>/config.txt]:
        6. Section (all|chassis|switch [all]):
        7. Password: ******
        8. configUpload complete: All config parameters are uploaded

Firmware Upgrade Steps

  1. Download the firmware from the Brocade website to the FTP server:
      • Log in to the Brocade support portal.
      • Navigate to the firmware download section.
      • Download the appropriate firmware package and save it to your FTP server.
  2. Transfer the firmware to the Brocade switch:
    • firmwareDownload
      • Example:
        To download firmware interactively:
        • switch:admin> firmwaredownload
        • Server Name or IP Address: 192.0.2.0
        • User Name: admin
        • File Name: /admin/dist
        • Network Protocol(1-auto-select, 2-FTP, 3-SCP, 4-SFTP, 5-HTTP) [1]: 3
        • Do you want to input SCP/SFTP options (Y/N) [N]: y
        • Verifying if the public key authentication is available.Please wait …
        • The public key authentication is not available.
        • Password:
        • Do you want to continue with CRA (Y/N)[N]:
        • Do you accept and agree to the terms outlined in the End User License Agreement(EULA) for this product? Please respond with (Y/y) to Accept, (N/n) to Not accept, or (D/d) to display the EULA : Y
        • Checking system settings for firmwaredownload…
        • System settings check passed.
        • You can run firmwaredownloadstatus to get the status of this command. This command will cause a warm/non-disruptive boot but will require that existing telnet, secure telnet or SSH sessions be restarted.
        • Do you want to continue (Y/N) [Y]: y
  3. Confirm the firmware is ready for installation:
    firmwareShow
  4. Install the firmware:
    firmwareCommit
    Note: The switch might reboot during the process.

Post-Check

  1. Verify firmware upgrade:
    firmwareShow
    version
  2. Check switch health:
    switchShow
    psshow
    fanshow
    tempshow
    sensorshow
    porterrshow
    errdump
    mapsdb –show
    massam –show flash/cpu/memory
  3. Restore or verify configuration from the FTP server (if needed):
    configDownload
      • Examples
        To download the switch configuration file interactively to the current logical switch from a local directory (no chassis permissions):
        • switch:admin> configdownload
        • Protocol (scp, ftp, sftp, local) [ftp]:
        • Server Name or IP Address [host]: xxx.xxx.xxx
        • User Name [user]: admin
        • Path/Filename [<home dir>/config.txt]:
        • Section (all|chassis|FID# [all]):
        • *** CAUTION ***
        • This command is used to download a backed-up configuration for a specific switch. If using a file  from a  different switch, this file’s configuration  settings will  override any current switch settings.   Downloading a configuration file, which was uploaded  from a different type of switch, may cause the switch to fail. 
        • A switch reboot is required for the changes to take effect.
        • Please make sure all the switches are disabled by
        • using chassisdisable command. Downloading configurationto an online switch may result in some configuration not being downloaded to that switch. configDownload operation may take several minutes to complete for large files.Do you want to continue [y/n]: y
        • Password: *******
        • Activating configDownload: Switch is disabled
        • configDownload complete: All config parameters are downloaded

Verify the zoning,fabric and errors

  1. Verify zoning and fabric:
    cfgshow
    fabricShow
  2. Review error logs:
    errShow -r

Additional Notes

  • Ensure all devices connected to the switch are aware of the maintenance window.
  • Validate that NVMe over FC configurations (if any) are intact post-upgrade.
  • Schedule post-upgrade monitoring to capture any unexpected errors.
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