Update Dell N-Series Switch Firmware via USB Drive

    Staying current with firmware or just loading up firmware for testing. New firmware can be copied from a USB FAT32 partition to switch image locations. Copy the firmware, for example, N3000_N2000v6.3.0.6.stk to a newly formatted USB flash drive.

    USB Flash Drive

    After you plug the USB drive into the switch, you can do a quick verification that the switch detects the inserted drive.

    n3048#show usb device
    
    Device Status.................................. Active
    Manufacturer................................... ADATA
    Product Name................................... ADATA USB Flash Drive
    Device Serial Number...........................
    Class Code..................................... 0x0000
    Subclass Code.................................. 0x0000
    Protocol....................................... 0x0000
    Vendor ID...................................... 0x125F
    Product ID..................................... 0xC08A
    USB Version Compliance......................... 2.0
    

    Image Transfer

    Copy the firmware from the USB drive to backup image slot.

    n3048#copy usb://N3000_N2000v6.3.0.6.stk backup
    
    Transfer Mode.................................. Binary
    Data Type...................................... Code
    Destination Filename........................... backup
    
    Management access will be blocked for the duration of the transfer
    Are you sure you want to start? (y/n) y
    

    Check the version of the firmware using show version.

    n3048#show version
    
    Machine Description............... Dell Networking Switch
    System Model ID................... N3048P
    Machine Type...................... Dell Networking N3048P
    Serial Number.....................
    Manufacturer...................... 0xbc00
    Burned In MAC Address.............
    System Object ID.................. 1.3.6.1.4.1.674.10895.3060
    SOC Version....................... BCM56340_A0
    HW Version........................ 5
    CPLD Version...................... 13
    Image File........................ N3000_N2000v6.3.0.6
    Software Capability............... ACCESS ROUTER
    
    unit active      backup      current-active next-active
    ---- ----------- ----------- -------------- --------------
    1    6.2.0.5     6.3.0.6     6.2.0.5        6.2.0.5
    

    Update Switch (Boot the Backup Image)

    Set backup image to system boot image and reload the switch.

    n3048#boot system backup
    Activating image backup ..
    n3048#reload
    Are you sure you want to reload the stack? (y/n) y
    

    Verify the active firmware.

    n3048#show version
    
    Machine Description............... Dell Networking Switch
    System Model ID................... N3048P
    Machine Type...................... Dell Networking N3048P
    Serial Number.....................
    Manufacturer...................... 0xbc00
    Burned In MAC Address.............
    System Object ID.................. 1.3.6.1.4.1.674.10895.3060
    SOC Version....................... BCM56340_A0
    HW Version........................ 5
    CPLD Version...................... 13
    Image File........................ N3000_N2000v6.3.0.6
    Software Capability............... ACCESS ROUTER
    
    unit active      backup      current-active next-active
    ---- ----------- ----------- -------------- --------------
    1    6.3.0.6     6.2.0.5     6.3.0.6        6.3.0.6
    

    In a switch stack, all stack members will receive the image, if Stack Firmware Synchronization has been enabled.

    n3048-master#show auto-copy-sw
    Stack Firmware Synchronization
    Synchronization................................ Enabled
    SNMP Trap status............................... Enabled
    allow-downgrade................................ Disabled
    

    Note: An upgrade of the firmware will require a reload of the switch, which will disrupt traffic.

    Filed in: Dell, Switching
    Reading Time: 2 minute(s)

    Remove a Member From a Dell Switch Stack

    If you ever have to permanently remove a switch from a Dell switch stack, here are the steps.

    A quick show switch stack-ports will display the ports configured for stacking or dedicated stacking ports depend on the switch model.

    console#show switch stack-ports
    
                     Configured  Running
                       Stack      Stack      Link       Link
       Interface       Mode       Mode       Status     Speed (Gb/s)
    ---------------- ---------- ---------- ------------ ------------
    Te1/2/1          Stack      Stack      Link Up      16
    Te1/2/2          Stack      Stack      Link Up      16
    Te2/2/1          Stack      Stack      Link Up      16
    Te2/2/2          Stack      Stack      Link Up      16
    

    To get the state of the stack before the removal, use show switch command.

    console#show switch
    
        Management Standby   Preconfig     Plugged-in    Switch        Code
    SW  Status     Status    Model ID      Model ID      Status        Version
    --- ---------- --------- ------------- ------------- ------------- -----------
    1   Mgmt Sw              PCT7024       PCT7024       OK            5.1.10.1
    2   Stack Mbr  Oper Stby PCT7024       PCT7024       OK            5.1.10.1
    

    Now we power off the member 2 switch. Once powered off, the Switch Status will change from OK to Not Present.

    console#show switch
    
        Management Standby   Preconfig     Plugged-in    Switch        Code
    SW  Status     Status    Model ID      Model ID      Status        Version
    --- ---------- --------- ------------- ------------- ------------- -----------
    1   Mgmt Sw              PCT7024       PCT7024       OK            5.1.10.1
    2   Unassigned           PCT7024                     Not Present   0.0.0.0
    

    Note that the switch has only been physically removed from the stack. It’s powered off in the rack, with the stacking cables removed. The switch will still have to be logically removed from the stack.

    console#configure
    console(config)#stack
    console(config-stack)#no member 2
    console(config-stack)#exit
    console(config)#show switch
    
        Management Standby   Preconfig     Plugged-in    Switch        Code
    SW  Status     Status    Model ID      Model ID      Status        Version
    --- ---------- --------- ------------- ------------- ------------- -----------
    1   Mgmt Sw              PCT7024       PCT7024       OK            5.1.10.1
    

    The switch member 2 has been removed from the switch stack. Joining the switch is as easy as connecting the stacking cables and turning on the switch.

    Or reset the configuration to the factory default. The switch might have the configuration that it had before it was part of the stack, most likely a factory default configuration, but not always, so I would verify the configuration before placing it back into production.

    Note: Some switches have front user ports set to stacking. If for some reason you want to change these to ethernet ports, you will have to reload the switch to accomplish that.

    Filed in: Dell, Switching
    Reading Time: 2 minute(s)