Applying firmware to procurve switches

[Chris Bullock_1]

What is the opinion of applying firmware upgrades to switches that seem to be problem free. I have some 4108s that out of the box have been flawless and hate to upgrade the firmware just because there is a new version out there.
HPProcurve4108(config)# show version
Image stamp: /sw/code/build/gamo(m03)
Nov 11 2003 14:03:03
G.07.50
444
Boot Image: Primary

Regards,
Chris

[Matt Hobbs]

There's a lot to be said for 'if it ain't broke'.... however I'm a big fan of updating just for the sake of updating it.

The main reason I will update is because if you do run into any problems, the first thing HP support is going to ask you is, are you running the latest firmware?

You could take a different approach to this, if you do run into a problem, then update the firmware, if the problem still exists then HP will gladly assist you.

[Manuel Wolfshant]

I've run 2 HP2524 and one 2650 with obsolete firmware "for ages" (as in "two months ago I was using the latest firmware available 3 years ago") without any problem at all.
Personally I prefer "if it ain't broke don't fix it". I admit I have updated the firmware on all switches a few weeks ago... mostly because I was bored.

Anyway, if you do it, make sure you have a backup / recovery solution, just in case something goes wrong.

[Anders_35]

Never upgrade unecessarily.
HP, like any other company, will from time to time introduce new errors in their firmware.
You don't want to find out the hard way, and it often not possible to test for all possibilities before deploying.

But hey.. if you want to be at the "bleeding" edge, just be prepared to loose some blood... :-)

[bscheible]

I use procurves 2650 as well as 2824's and some others (over 200 in all). I get the same response from HP as well as other vendors when it comes to upgrading the firmware. Our standing policy is unless there is a specific technical need or a security issue we will not upgrade just to upgrade.