HP StorageWorks 8/24 SAN Switch Firmware upgrade via USB

[Matthias Kretschmer]

Hello,
We have a new HP StorageWorks 8/24 SAN Switch with firmware version v6.3.1a and we want to upgrade to the latest version (6.4.1b).
We are trying to perform the upgrade via USB key, but suddenly we have some problems.

After connecting the USB device to the switch, I click on the USB icon and try to mount the USB device.
I always get the message:
Failed to change USB Device status.
REASON: Unable to enable usb device: Device is not found or not formatted.

Are there any limitations for the used USB device? I can not find any documentation about it.
For the moment I used a 8GB FAT32 formatted USB key and tried several folder structures on in (all files inside the the 6.4.1b folder, all files in the root of the device,...), but nothing seems to work.

Could somebody give me a hint?
This is a stand alone environment and I can not set up a ftp server to connect to. :(

Thank you very much in advance for every help.

BR
Matthias

[Torsten.]

Never done this before.


It should be easy to use a crossed cable and a laptop in order to do the ftp based update.


However, the Fabric OS Administratorâ s Guide has a chapter "Firmware download from a USB device". It says the firmware must be stored in /usb/usbstorage/brocade/firmware

First you should do an

usbStorage -e

followed by

usbStorage -l

to list the files.

Do the update like this

admin>firmwaredownload â U /usb/usbstorage/brocade/firmware/v6.3.0

[Torsten.]

... but it also says

"...
support a firmware download from a Brocade branded USB device attached to the
switch" - whatever makes the difference to "normal" USB keys.

[Johan Guldmyr]

Yes, you need the Brocade specific USB device.

If you decide to get one it would be very interesting to hear what is so special about it!

[Matthias Kretschmer]

Thank you for your fast reply, Torsten!

"...support a firmware download from a Brocade branded USB device attached to the
switch"

Wow, that would be odd. :(

I already tried to put the upgrade on the usb key at /usb/usbstorage/brocade/firmware, and I also tried to do it from the command line, but I again got:
:admin> usbstorage -e
Trying to enable USB device. Please wait...
Fail to enable USB storage device. Error:Device is not found or not formatted

:(

If I try to do it from a laptop I need to set up a ftp server on it, right?
Could you give me a short description what I need on that laptop (Windows XP) to run.

I do not understand why it is that complicated. I am already using a web interface GUI, so it would not be that difficult to do a local browse and upload like many other firmware updates (e.g. P2000 Storage).

BR
Matthias

[Torsten.]

>>
If I try to do it from a laptop I need to set up a ftp server on it, right?

You can use the built-in FTP server for windows or any other FTP server utility.


I usually use SANLOADER from HP, google found it here:

http://san-loader.software.informer.com/

[Matthias Kretschmer]

Thank you Torsten,

Unfortunately I am unable to download SANLOADER from your link.
But it sounds very nice.
Could you give me a working link or provide it to me, some how.

BR
Matthias

[Stephen Kebbell]

There are plenty of other free FTP-servers for Windows out there. I use one called CesarFTP. Should be easy to find on the web.

Regards,
Stephen

[Torsten.]

Not sure about all the sources google found - better ask HP support!

But anyway, you can use a normal FTP server.

[Johan Guldmyr]

A little self-advertisement here but I wrote a little guide about upgrading the firmware:

http://www.guldmyr.com/blog/brocade-san-switch-firmware-upgrades/

[Torsten. · Accepted solution]

>> I do not understand why it is that complicated. I am already using a web interface GUI, so it would not be that difficult to do a local browse and upload like many other firmware updates (e.g. P2000 Storage).




Hmmm, this is a brocade decision.
Having all firmware for different switches in a single depot is not so bad I think, but the file is always very large.

The P2000 is IMHO a very bad example, because there are so many different files you never are really sure what file you need ... ;-(

[Uwe Zessin]

But you need to unpack the .ZIP file and the switch only requests the .RPM packages it needs. It doesn't make sense to dump almost 1GByte into a switch (my opinion).

[Matthias Kretschmer]

Thank you all very much!
I managed it.
I used "Portable Baby FTP" which is very light and easy to use ftp server.

Thank you again.

BR
Matthias

[Uwe Zessin]

Great.

I have been using a small (223KB) single-image FTP server for up- and downloads since many, many years. Always worked for me.

It's doesn't require any great configuration and after I stop the .EXE; there is no longer an FTP-Server running on the OS ;-)

[Johan Guldmyr]

You can upgrade fw via the web interface on the brocades. I would be a little wary of doing it though.

http://bizsupport1.austin.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c01731559/c01731559.pdf

(web tools admin guide for FOS 6.2.x)

See page 73.

[Uwe Zessin]

Yes, but unless I misunderstood Figure38 you still need an FTP or SCP server. You do not upload a single bulk image.

I don't recall I ever did use the web interface ;-) and I've been doing updates since FOS V2. Maybe even before, I do have a "v1.6d" image around (just 1.139MB! - OK, it isn't Linux-based ;-), but its been a loong time.

[Johan Guldmyr]

Impressive :)

Yeah, I hope it do use an ftp/scp, pushing something, especially firmware over the httpd seems scary.

[Uwe Zessin]

Nothing wrong with HTTP.
Do you want to read ITRC forums through an FTP server ? ;-)

I'm using HTTP in automated installation of VMware ESX servers. They use a modified Red Hat Linux Kickstart installer which downloads the RPMs via HTTP (yes, it can do other protocols like FTP, too ;-)

[Johan Guldmyr]

true, I guess there is a mechanism in the firmwaredownload to verify the integrity of the downloaded file.