H3C S5500-24P-SI Switch

[coconutdog]

Hi all, I have an H3C S5500-24P-SI switch that I am trying to obtain updated firmware and Comware for. I can't seem to find a reference on the HPE site for it. There are plenty of references for the EI versions. What is the equivalent HP product number for this switch and where would I find the software I'm after? Cheers, Matt.

[VoIP-Buddy · Accepted solution]

Matt,

Not sure what your model number is but you can start looking here:

https://h10145.www1.hpe.com/downloads/SoftwareReleases.aspx?ProductNumber=JD369A

Regards,

David

[coconutdog]

Thanks David, I'll give that a go. I was after the HP product number which turns out to be J369A which you provided. A search on the H3C product number turned up no results apart from the EI version. I'm used to the Cisco CLI so loading the file onto the H3C will be a challenge.

Cheers, Matt.

[coconutdog]

Hi David, I downloaded the files you suggested and they seem to follow the naming convention of the files on my H3C so I'm assuming they're compatible. After doing some further research, it is suggested that the bootrom image has to be compatible with the software image, One site says, "Have to go into bootmenu to download latest bootroom image in order to compatible with latest software image." I'm new to the H3C (HP) way of doing things as I have spent most of my time doing Cisco IOS stuff which to me is very straightforward. I don't want to brick the device and am unsure if it has a ROMMON recovery mode as such.

The flash in the device contains the following files:

<S5500-SI>dir
Directory of flash:/

   0     -rw-  11865416  Apr 26 2000 13:34:11   a5500si-cmw520-r2208p01-s168.bin
   1     -rw-      4864  May 12 2017 16:03:45   startup.cfg
   2     -rw-    466612  Apr 27 2000 07:02:14   a5500si-btm-607.btm
   3     drw-         -  Apr 26 2000 12:00:19   seclog
   4     -rw-       581  May 12 2017 16:03:33   system.xml

15240 KB total (3169 KB free)

The image I have downloaded is A5500SI-CMW520-R2222P05.bin. A dis ver shows the following:

<S5500-SI>dis ver
H3C Comware Platform Software
Comware Software, Version 5.20, Release 2208P01
Copyright (c) 2004-2011 Hangzhou H3C Tech. Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.
H3C S5500-28C-SI uptime is 0 week, 0 day, 3 hours, 27 minutes

H3C S5500-28C-SI with 1 Processor
128M    bytes SDRAM
16384K  bytes Flash Memory

Hardware Version is REV.B
CPLD Version is 007
Bootrom Version is 607
[SubSlot 0] 24GE+4SFP Hardware Version is REV.B

How or where can I find out if the ROM file is compatible with the software version I intend to load? I managed to get a tftp link going and have backed up the files in flash: to my computer just in case I have to revert. There seems to be little info on the webs regarding the more technical side of these switches and what I have found seems to show commands that are not available for the earlier versions of the sofware like the one I have on this switch. Perhaps us Cisco types have been spoilt when it comes to information.

I could see no place on the HP website to download the latest ROM software. Any help for this H3C newbie will be very much appreciated.

Matt.

[VoIP-Buddy]

Hi Matt!

The BTM file is the bootrom image.  It shouldn't matter if you do the bootrom upgrade after you boot the new comware image or vice versa.  I would say upgrade the bootrom first and then  boot into the new code version.

When you download the ZIP archive with the new code, the BTM file should be in it.  It is a best practice to always take a look at the release notes for any special information on the upgrade.  It will lay out what software versions are needed to work on a particular release.  If you already have the required bootrom version, for example, you don't need to upgrade the bootrom software again.

Just as an FYI, the 5500 is not representative of the rest of the H3C switches.  Most of the higher end switches handle the bootrom issue themselves when a new version starts up.  It checks the loaded bootrom code and if it isn't what it needs it will ask you if you want it upgraded or not.  If you don't do anything, the question times out and it does the upgrade.  It saves a step.

Regards,

David

[coconutdog]

Thanks for your help David. The two archives that you linked to didn't have the .btm file in them. I noticed that there was a link at the bottom for previous releases so I went there. 5500.SI_5.20.R2221P22 was a bit bigger than the others so I downloaded it an as I suspected it contained the .btm file. Sure enough there it was. The release notes for version 5500.SI_5.20.R2222P05 suggest the boot ROM version should be at least v621 or higher which is the one contained in the previous release archive.

Now to spend a bit of time researching how to apply the updated boot ROM & the latest IOS (is that what HP calls it?). Surely it has to be easier than doing an upgrade on a Cisco router? As I'm in no way familiar with HP (H3C) stuff, this should be a welcome challenge.

Cheers,

Matt.

[coconutdog]

That was easier than I thought it would be:

[S5500-SI]disp ver 
H3C Comware Platform Software
Comware Software, Version 5.20, Release 2222P05
Copyright (c) 2004-2017 Hangzhou H3C Tech. Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.
H3C S5500-28C-SI uptime is 0 week, 0 day, 1 hour, 52 minutes

H3C S5500-28C-SI with 1 Processor
128M    bytes SDRAM
16384K  bytes Flash Memory

Hardware Version is REV.B
CPLD Version is 007
Bootrom Version is 621
[SubSlot 0] 24GE+4SFP Hardware Version is REV.B

Thanks again for your help.

Matt.