Brocade Switch Firmware Upgrade Guide

Back to: Brocade FC (Fibre Channel) Switches

Understanding Firmware Versions

• Major version: A significant release introducing new features or substantial changes (e.g., 9.0.0).
• Minor version: Incremental improvements or small feature additions within a major version (e.g., 9.1.0).
• Patch version: Bug fixes or security patches applied to a minor version (e.g., 9.1.1).

Planning for Firmware Upgrade

1. Know the current firmware version on the switch:
   firmwareShow
2. Check hardware and software compatibility:
   • Review the Fabric OS (FOS) release notes to ensure compatibility with your hardware and connected devices.
3. Determine the upgrade path:
   • Plan the upgrade hops required to reach the target version.
   • Brocade does not support upgrading/downgrading more than two versions Jumps at a time.
4. Major to major version upgrades:
   • If upgrading between major versions, install the corresponding minor version first (e.g., upgrade from 8.x to 9.x by first installing 9.0.0).
5. Redundancy check:
   • Ensure redundant paths for critical workloads are functional.
6. Health check:
   • Verify all ports and overall switch health:
   switchShow
7. Backup logs and configuration:
   • Collect logs and upload configurations to the FTP server:
   configUpload -ftp -server <FTP_SERVER_IP> -user <FTP_USER> -file <FILENAME>
8. Initiate firmware upgrade:
   • Use the firmwareDownload command to download firmware to the switch:
   firmwareDownload -ftp -server <FTP_SERVER_IP> -user <FTP_USER> -file <FIRMWARE_FILE>
9. Upgrade OS:
   • Brocade switches have two flash partitions: primary and secondary.
   • During the firmware upgrade:
     • The primary partition becomes the secondary.
     • The secondary partition becomes the primary.
   • Firmware is first installed on the new primary partition (previously secondary), triggering a reboot.
10. Commit firmware:
    • The switch checks all components post-reboot.
    • If everything works correctly, the new firmware is committed to the secondary partition (previously primary).
    • The partitions then revert to their original roles.

Additional Firmware Commands

• Commit the firmware manually:
  firmwareCommit
• Restore firmware to a previous version:
  firmwareRestore
• Check firmware download status:
  firmwareDownloadStatus
• Manually reboot and commit firmware:
  firmwareDownload -s
• Install firmware from USB:
  firmwareDownload -u

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.

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
4. Confirm available storage space:
   ssh root@switch> df
5. Backup current configuration to FTP server:
   configUpload -ftp -server <FTP_SERVER_IP> -user <FTP_USER> -file <FILENAME>

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 -ftp -server <FTP_SERVER_IP> -user <FTP_USER> -file <FIRMWARE_FILE>
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
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 -ftp -server <FTP_SERVER_IP> -user <FTP_USER> -file <FILENAME>
4. Confirm zoning and fabric health:
   fabricShow
5. Review error logs:
   errShow

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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