HP 7500/7900 Switch Series - HP 7500-CMW520-R6703 Release Notes

Appendix B Software Upgrade

CAUTION:

Upgrade software only when necessary and under the guidance of a technical support engineer.

Software used for upgrade

Boot ROM images

Boot ROM images are used to upgrade the Boot ROM program of cards, including the main processing

units (MPUs) and line processing units (LPUs). A Boot ROM image is a .btw file.

NOTE:

 Generally, there is no need to upgrade the Boot ROM program independently. The device uses the

shipped Boot ROM program.

 If a separate upgrade is required, do that under the guidance of an HP technical support engineer. A

Boot ROM upgrade failure might render the device unusable.

System software images

System software images are used at switch startup. The 7500 series support two types of system software

image:

 Main system software image: The default system software image a switch uses for startup.

 Backup system software image: The system software image a switch uses for startup when the main

system software image is invalid.

Patch files

Patch files are released to fix software defects. A patch file may contain one or more patches (or called

patch units). Patch files must be used together with the intended system software to fix the defects of the

latter, but not for adding or deleting features.

Upgrade methods

You can upgrade switch software by using one of the following methods:

Upgrade mode

Object

Remarks

Upgrade from the CLI

 Boot ROM

 System software

 Reboot the switch to validate the upgrade.

 This method interrupts services.

Patches

This method does not interrupt services, and fixes the

target system software only.

Upgrade from the boot

 Boot ROM

 System software

This method can be used when the switch cannot start up.