Reference Guide

Upgrade Procedures
For detailed upgrade procedures, refer to the Dell Networking OS Release Notes for your switch. The release notes describe the
requirements and steps to follow to upgrade to a desired OS version.
Upgrade Overview
To upgrade system software on the switch, follow these general steps:
1. Identify the boot and system images currently stored on the Z9500 (Control Processor, Route Processor, and line-card
CPUs) using the show boot system all command.
2. Upgrade the operating system image using the following commands:
● upgrade system
● boot system
● write memory
● reload
3. Upgrade the bootflash and bootselector images (if necessary) using the upgrade boot bootflash-image and
upgrade boot bootselector-image commands. Then reload the switch.
For detailed upgrade procedures, refer to the Z9500 Release Notes.
Get Help with Upgrades
Direct any questions or concerns about the OS upgrade procedures to the Dell Technical Support Center. You can reach
Technical Support:
● On the web: http://support.dell.com/
● By email: [e-mail]
● By phone: US and Canada: 866.965.5800, International: 408.965.5800.
Z9500 Bootup and Upgrades
The Z9500 switch has multiple CPUs that boot up at the same time but separately from one another. The switch supports
bootups from a network-server download as well as from the local flash. Each CPU has a local flash with multiple partitions,
including partitions A and B where system images are stored. All CPUs must be configured to boot up in the same way:
● Using a software image stored on a network server (network boot) and downloaded on the switch or stored in the local flash
(flash boot)
● When booting from the local flash, boot up with an image stored in the same partition: A or B.
A firmware upgrade includes upgrades for the system image, BIOS, and bootcode. Use the upgrade command to upgrade the
switch firmware by downloading an image from a network server or from the local flash. This image contains independent
images for the CPUs: Control Processor (CP), Route Processor (RP), and line-card processor (LP). Each separate image runs
on a different CPU and are unpacked and downloaded on the appropriate CPU via the party bus. You can use TFTP or FTP to
copy images to the local storage of each CPU.
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