Why Upgrade Firmware

[Fidelia Boldul]

Cansomeone please explain the step-by-step process on how to upgrade a ProSafe GS752TP's firmware? The current version of sofware my switch is running is 6.0.1.16 - I believe this is already the highest version, however I'm doing this strictly for learning purposes. I've upgraded smaller "home office" switches by simply dowonloading the firmware and pushing it through a tftp utility (or some switches have a built in utility) so I understand the concept of what I'm doing.

I'm not having any luck using the tftp utility, or the built in utility on my switch - which leads me to believe I'm doing something wrong. So if someone could outline the process (with links, applications, etc...) that I'll need to perform the upgrade I'd really appreciate it. I've looked up articles, read the manual, downloaded the how-to however I can't find simple step by step instructions.

When I tried to downgrade the firmware from 6.0.1.16 to 6.0.1.14 using the procedure you provided I got to the part where the "Select File" field went blank (which should have meant the downgrade completed), however when I log back into the GUI the software version is still 6.0.1.16. Any thoughts?

If ever you are not able to access the web-GUI of the GS752TP, you may use the Smart Control Center utility in order to be able to upgrade/downgrade the firmware. Install it on a PC then connect that PC directly to the GS752TP. Launch the Smart Control Center utility and the GS752TP switch should be detected for you to be able to manage it. You may download the latest Smart Control Center utility v1.1.3.2 here.

Kindly check the Dual Image Status of the GS752TP. On the web-GUI, go to Maintenance > File Management > Dual Image > Dual Image Status. Refer to page 236-237 of the GS752TP administration manual here.

Quick question - I noticed that the switche's GUI has a "device reboot" option. On the physical switch itself there's a "reset" button (and a "factory defaults" button). I understand the "factory default" button will wipe all settings and set them to default, but what does the "reset" button do? Is it the same as the "device reboot" option in the GUI?

Yes, the reset button on the switch on just reboots the switch. When a switch is on a rack it is much easier to just push a button that to unplug and replug the power cable to reboot it. It works the same way as the "device reboot" on the UI.

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Hi!

I am trying to research this topic but have not had much luck.

Is there a way to automate firmware upgrades? I know I can manually schedule upgrades, but that can be tedious as an MSP managing dozens of organizations.

QUOTE:

Hello, I also work for an MSP and am running into this issue, however, we have those configurations set and we still see that there are updates available even with the window set.

Any idea on how I can track down why this may not be working properly? Log files,etc.

I set it up like this for a few years now, but it just does not work. The only difference with your configuration is that I don't want to try beta firmware.

Currently I check in every half year or so and schedule an upgrade manually.

The firmware is only upgraded when the existing firmware is either warning or no longer a stable release. If you enable betas then the same applies to replacing a beta that is no longer current with the current one.

First, I tried using the upgrade wizard using a 940-0127E cable and then a straight USB cable (yes, we removed NMC 2). I wasn't sure if we should use the USB or the console port (APC Telco support said the console port - RJ45). With USB and the 4.0 Upgrade wizard, all I got was something to the affect that there was no compatible upgrade available (the driver did install completely and properly). When I tried the 940-0127E on the console port, we only got a warning that no port could be found (I assume the wizard only looks for COM ports below a certain number?). Tried on 3 machines all with Windows 7 Ultimate. Also tried safe mode and with pretty much everything that I could disable, disabled..... No luck.

Next, I tried a different approach and used FTP to place the firmware file suggested in FA164737 onto the UPSFW directory on the NMC2. That worked fine, but I keep getting "incompatible with this UPS" warnings. The file suggested is SMT4UPS_07-1_Le_NOT750.enc. I tried a few others with the same results. I was just guessing.....

I am standing down until I get some guidance. I am confused as to what the current firmware revision should be anyway. Looks like the wizard is pushing 7.1, but in other places I have seen references to > 8.0.

In summary, some pieces of hardware, while they have the same SKU i.e. SMT1500, have different hardware. The ID you see, 14, identifies the hardware to me. The different hardware versions support different firmware to support their different internal hardware. Functionality is the same.

So, according to How do I update the firmware of my SMT, SMX, SMC, or SRT series Smart-UPS? FAQs Schneider Electr..., ID14's newest firmware version I can see available is indeed SMT4UPS_07-1_Le_NOT750.enc. >8.0 would be for different SMT1500 "IDs."

Also, this UPS has USB port then "UPS Monitoring Port (Serial). USB appears to be a standard A to B and the RJ-45 is part number 940-0625A (or 940-1525A would be fine too). The 940-0127 cable is for use with Back-UPS and some older Smart-UPS. You wouldn't use it with anything SMT/SMX related for sure. Do you have 940-0625 handy if we need it?

Well, "SMT4UPS_07-1_Le_NOT750.enc" is an ID4 file so it won't go into an ID14 UPS. Odd that the FAQ states otherwise. I don't see any ID14 firmware update images available for download so I'd guess the UPS is already at the latest firmware revision.

I am trying to find out if there is an intermediate upgrade that is required. I am also not sure, and maybe voidstar, you could confirm, that ID14 supports UPS Firmware Upgrades via the NMC assuming the right file is placed in the /upsfw directory? And did this change from 6.0.6 (which Charlie has) to 6.2.0?

Furthermore, what I can say for sure is that a valid method with the Firmware Upgrade Wizard has not been tried yet since this UPS won't support USB upgrades and 940-0625 is the required cable (which you have on order).

940-0625 is the right serial cable, as mentioned, and I do believe this should still work with a USB to serial adapter. I know I update the NMC all the time via serial XMODEM using a USB to serial adapter and see no issues, I would think it is the same concept.

I think upgrading to 6.2.0 is a good idea. It has a lot of bug fixes and also, the way the upgrades are done to the UPS is a little different so we could see if anything different happens but hopefully by then I can find out what other steps or intermediate upgrades need to be done first.

With 6.2.0 on the NMC there is a new option to do file transfers under the firmware upgrade. Used the SMT4UPS_07-1_Le_NOT750.ENC file as you suggested and the FAQ suggests. Allows transfer IMG of file without using FTP. I tried it and the UPS responds under "Last Result" with "Refused due to invalid state". Yes, the UPS output was turned off. Tried the transfer several times.

I am thinking voidstar is correct. SMT4UPS_07-1_Le_NOT750.ENC may not be the correct file for my UPS with the existing 2.0 firmware etc. It seems that every which way we move the file over.... it still wont install....

We need to use the serial cable I think. I was trying to dig up an older firmware image but haven't found one yet. I have an old version of the Firmware Upgrade Wizard, which is where I usually get the images from, but it does not have the firmware images folder like the newer versions do. I will see what I can find out still as I was asking yesterday afternoon but when do you expect the serial cable? I can also try to give you the old version of the Firmware Upgrade Wizard I obtained to see what it says when you try via the serial cable.

I should have the correct serial cable today at my office. As soon as it shows up I will let you know. I guess it makes sense that the UPS will support update via serial, but not USB. Just kind of odd since I will be suing a serial to USB converter.

Due to the way this particular UPS is designed communication port-wise, you do not/should not have to uninstall any SmartSlot accessory to upgrade the UPS via the serial cable. We can remove it just because and if you feel more comfortable but I can't provide a reason or a problem that would occur if we didn't, based on my experience.

Edit - Just to comment, I did find it on Page 3 of the user's manual for the Firmware Upgrade Wizard that it does say to remove the SmartSlot device which is more of a precaution "just in case" but I don't think it is technically required and most likely will be fine. We can go with the recommendation though.

I'll wait to hear your results. I say try the "older" wizard I gave you first. See if it finds the UPS and what you get. Then we can compare it to what the "new" one says that you got from the knowledge base last week.

I am glad you got it working. Thus, the conclusion that I can come to is that this UPS since it is older, does not support accepting the files through the NMC for some reason. Maybe the older firmware itself could not accept the upgrade via SmartSlot versus serial cable.

From my recollection the first few 5G units needed user interaction on the front panel display to kick them into the bootloader, so they were only supported by the wizard which walks the customer through this process. Later UPSes supported commanding an update directly from the NMC.

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