HP A7533A - Brocade 4Gb SAN Switch Base, Administrator'S Manual

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214 Installing and maintaining firmware
If you are using an HP StorageWorks 4/256 SAN Director, or an HP StorageWorks DC SAN Backbone
Director or HP StorageWorks DC04 SAN Director Switch enterprise-class platform, with one or more AP
blades: The Fabric OS automatically detects mismatches between the active CP firmware and the blade’s
firmware. The auto-leveling process will automatically update the blade firmware to match the active CP. At
the end of the auto-leveling process, the active CP and the blade will run the same version of the firmware.
If the firmware download process is interrupted by an unexpected reboot, the system will automatically
repair and recover the secondary partition. You must wait for the recovery to complete before issuing
another
firmwareDownload
command.
The command supports both non-interactive and interactive modes. If the
firmwareDownload
command
is entered without any operands, or if there is any syntax error in the parameters, the command enters an
interactive mode, in which you are prompted for input
IMPORTANT: For each switch in your fabric, complete all firmware download changes on the current
switch before issuing the
firmwareDownload
command on the next switch. This process ensures
nondisruption of traffic between switches in your fabric.
To verify that the
firmwareDownload
process is complete, enter the
firmwareDownloadStatus
command on the switch, verify that the process is complete, and then move on to the next switch.
Upgrading and downgrading firmware
Upgrading means installing a newer version of firmware. Downgrading means installing an older version
of firmware.
In most cases, you will be upgrading firmware. However, some circumstances may require installing an
older version; that is, downgrading the firmware. The procedures in this section assume that you are
upgrading firmware, but they work for downgrading as well, provided the old and new firmware versions
are compatible. Always reference the latest release notes for any new information regarding downgrades
under particular circumstances.
Effects of firmware changes on accounts and passwords
Table 55 describes what happens to accounts and passwords when you replace the switches firmware with
a different version, such as downgrading from Fabric OS 5.3.0 to 5.2.0 or earlier.
For details on Administrative Domains and the firmware download process, see Chapter 7, ” Managing
administrative domains ” on page 191 for more information. For more details on older releases of Fabric
OS, see Appendix B, ” Understanding legacy password behavior ” on page 537.
For details about testing and restoring firmware, see ” Test and restore firmware on enterprise-class
platforms ” on page 228.
Considerations for FICON CUP environments
To prevent channel errors during nondisruptive firmware installation, the switch CUP port must be taken
offline from all host systems.
Table 55
Effects of firmware changes on accounts and passwords
Change First time Subsequent times
(After upgrade, then downgrade,
then upgrade)
Upgrading Default accounts and their passwords are
preserved.
User-defined and default accounts and
their passwords are preserved.
Downgrading User-defined accounts are no longer valid.
Default accounts and their passwords
are preserved. If a default account was
disabled, it is reenabled after the
downgrade.
User-defined and default accounts and
their passwords are preserved, including
accounts added after the first upgrade.