Upgrading 3Com HiPer ARC NAC Software Version
Hi. I have a 3Com Total Control Chasis that has several 3Com HiPer ARC NAC cards in it. I'm trying to upgrade the Software on these cards to 5.3.2. Some of these cards have: #of cards software version Hardware Version DRAM Flash 2 4.1.11 19.0.0 131072 16384 1 4.1.72 19.0.0 65536 8192 1 4.2.32 19.0.0 131072 16384 1 5.3.107 23.0.0 131072 16384 Everytime I go to update these cards using 3Com's total control Manger software v8.2.6 the update gets to about 80% then stops, says it's completed. The cards get stuck/hung up and I have to power cycle the chasis. The cards keep the same software version. Could someone tell me what I might be doing wrong. Do I have to upgrade these cards in increments? Can't I just flash-update them directly to the 5.3.2 update? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, jim jmccay@adsnet.com
Are you trying to upgrade all the cards at once? We had a similar issue awhile back with some of our chassis. I tried to flash 2 at the same time, and it hit 80% and stopped but said complete like you saw. With those cards I ended up having to upgrade the code via a console connection because whatever happened damaged the existing code to the point where I couldn't get TCM to see the cards. If you can still see the cards in TCM after they reset, try flashing just one at a time and see what that does. I also came across a white paper recently while trying to take my chassis to TCS 4.5 that noted some hardware seems to not like flashing up directly to TCS 4.5 or beyond from older code. In those cases it recommended flashing to the TCS 4.3 software first and then continuing on. Hope that might give you a few ideas. Regards, Lee Terrell Jim Mc Cay wrote:
Hi.
I have a 3Com Total Control Chasis that has several 3Com HiPer ARC NAC cards in it. I'm trying to upgrade the Software on these cards to 5.3.2. Some of these cards have:
#of cards software version Hardware Version DRAM Flash 2 4.1.11 19.0.0 131072 16384 1 4.1.72 19.0.0 65536 8192 1 4.2.32 19.0.0 131072 16384 1 5.3.107 23.0.0 131072 16384
Everytime I go to update these cards using 3Com's total control Manger software v8.2.6 the update gets to about 80% then stops, says it's completed. The cards get stuck/hung up and I have to power cycle the chasis. The cards keep the same software version. Could someone tell me what I might be doing wrong. Do I have to upgrade these cards in increments? Can't I just flash-update them directly to the 5.3.2 update?
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, jim jmccay@adsnet.com
Thanks for the info. Could you point me to a site(s) were I could get detailed info on how to flash the cards via console connection? Could you also point me to the site where you saw that white paper on updating the chassis? I don't have any software updates below 4.9 so I'm not too sure where I'm going to find updates below 4.9 to use to update my cards. Thanks, jim Lee Terrell wrote:
Are you trying to upgrade all the cards at once? We had a similar issue awhile back with some of our chassis. I tried to flash 2 at the same time, and it hit 80% and stopped but said complete like you saw. With those cards I ended up having to upgrade the code via a console connection because whatever happened damaged the existing code to the point where I couldn't get TCM to see the cards.
If you can still see the cards in TCM after they reset, try flashing just one at a time and see what that does.
I also came across a white paper recently while trying to take my chassis to TCS 4.5 that noted some hardware seems to not like flashing up directly to TCS 4.5 or beyond from older code. In those cases it recommended flashing to the TCS 4.3 software first and then continuing on.
Hope that might give you a few ideas.
Regards, Lee Terrell
Jim Mc Cay wrote:
Hi.
I have a 3Com Total Control Chasis that has several 3Com HiPer ARC NAC cards in it. I'm trying to upgrade the Software on these cards to 5.3.2. Some of these cards have:
#of cards software version Hardware Version DRAM Flash 2 4.1.11 19.0.0 131072 16384 1 4.1.72 19.0.0 65536 8192 1 4.2.32 19.0.0 131072 16384 1 5.3.107 23.0.0 131072 16384
Everytime I go to update these cards using 3Com's total control Manger software v8.2.6 the update gets to about 80% then stops, says it's completed. The cards get stuck/hung up and I have to power cycle the chasis. The cards keep the same software version. Could someone tell me what I might be doing wrong. Do I have to upgrade these cards in increments? Can't I just flash-update them directly to the 5.3.2 update?
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, jim jmccay@adsnet.com
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Jim McCay wrote:
Thanks for the info. Could you point me to a site(s) were I could get detailed info on how to flash the cards via console connection? Could you also point me to the site where you saw that white paper on updating the chassis? I don't have any software updates below 4.9 so I'm not too sure where I'm going to find updates below 4.9 to use to update my cards.
I'll forward you a couple of URLs off the Commworks Knowledgebase site for upgrading via the console. Looking back through my email, it wasn't a white paper I saw but a few initial "gotcha" notes I got after signing back up for software downloads. The situation I was up against involved one TC1000 chassis we already owned and another we just purchased to keep on-hand as backup. The chassis we already owned, I had no problem taking it to TCS 4.5 software. I upgraded the HiperARC and HiperNMC separately, then did a few of the HiperDSPs separately to make sure they took the code, then I finished them out in groups of 2. The chassis we bought as a back up I had a little more trouble with. I suspect though it was because the previous owners weren't up to speed totally on how to use/maintain it. This chassis supposedly came with v.92 software installed already, but when it arrived it really had TCS 4.2 software, so to be safe I went to 4.3 and then 4.5. So as to whether or not there is an issue involving a straight upgrade, I can't say for sure. Looking back through my initial emails with the Solunet guys, they did mention following a specific procedure if attempting to downgrade to TCS 4.3 and then back to 4.5, but if not properly followed you can risk damaging the hardware. Maybe some of the Solunet support types here can verify this. This is what they sent me: ## Downgrade Procedure ## There is a issue downgrading Hiper DSP's and Multispan DSP's from tcs 4.5 to any previous code. Please follow the procedure below or you will fry the card and have to get a RMA. Downgrading Code You may find it necessary to revert back to Total Control 1000 Release 4.3 code on either the DSP multispan card or the HiPer DSP card. Follow these steps to revert back: 1) Before you upload the code you must log into the console, or telnet, and enter the following commands: chdev mdm1 at-re1 2) After the prompt returns, initiate the code download as usual and reboot when it is completed. 3) Flash to Total Control 1000 4.3 compatible code. (Previous versions are not usable until the card successfully loads/boots 3.1.x code.) ## End Downgrade Procedure ## Reading this over again now, I remember that seemed a bit daunting, risking damage to the hardware and all, so I tried to stay away from that approach. Plus, I'm not 100% sure if this applies just to the DSP code or all cards. I would try upgrading your ARCs again one at a time and hopefully they will take the code. Final thoughts, I've also seen the 80% timeout problem when trying to run software upgrades from a congested network workstation, and a few times I've been lucky and got it to take trying something crazy like a new cable or different computer, but this was back with we had mainly NetServers before TC1000. Hope this might offer you a few more ideas to explore. Regards, Lee
Side note related to network congestion....if you are trying to upgrade from behind a firewall, try putting your machine outside your firewall and see if you have timeout problems at 80%. Todd ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lee Terrell" <leet@directcon.net> To: <usr-tc@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Friday, January 17, 2003 12:28 AM Subject: Re: [USR-TC] Upgrading 3Com HiPer ARC NAC Software Version
Jim McCay wrote:
Thanks for the info. Could you point me to a site(s) were I could get detailed info on how to flash the cards via console connection? Could you also point me to the site where you saw that white paper on updating the chassis? I don't have any software updates below 4.9 so I'm not too sure where I'm going to find updates below 4.9 to use to update my cards.
I'll forward you a couple of URLs off the Commworks Knowledgebase site for upgrading via the console. Looking back through my email, it wasn't a white paper I saw but a few initial "gotcha" notes I got after signing back up for software downloads.
The situation I was up against involved one TC1000 chassis we already owned and another we just purchased to keep on-hand as backup. The chassis we already owned, I had no problem taking it to TCS 4.5 software. I upgraded the HiperARC and HiperNMC separately, then did a few of the HiperDSPs separately to make sure they took the code, then I finished them out in groups of 2.
The chassis we bought as a back up I had a little more trouble with. I suspect though it was because the previous owners weren't up to speed totally on how to use/maintain it. This chassis supposedly came with v.92 software installed already, but when it arrived it really had TCS 4.2 software, so to be safe I went to 4.3 and then 4.5.
So as to whether or not there is an issue involving a straight upgrade, I can't say for sure. Looking back through my initial emails with the Solunet guys, they did mention following a specific procedure if attempting to downgrade to TCS 4.3 and then back to 4.5, but if not properly followed you can risk damaging the hardware. Maybe some of the Solunet support types here can verify this.
This is what they sent me:
## Downgrade Procedure ##
There is a issue downgrading Hiper DSP's and Multispan DSP's from tcs 4.5 to any previous code. Please follow the procedure below or you will fry the card and have to get a RMA.
Downgrading Code You may find it necessary to revert back to Total Control 1000 Release 4.3 code on either the DSP multispan card or the HiPer DSP card. Follow these steps to revert back: 1) Before you upload the code you must log into the console, or telnet, and enter the following commands: chdev mdm1 at-re1
2) After the prompt returns, initiate the code download as usual and reboot when it is completed.
3) Flash to Total Control 1000 4.3 compatible code. (Previous versions are not usable until the card successfully loads/boots 3.1.x code.)
## End Downgrade Procedure ##
Reading this over again now, I remember that seemed a bit daunting, risking damage to the hardware and all, so I tried to stay away from that approach. Plus, I'm not 100% sure if this applies just to the DSP code or all cards. I would try upgrading your ARCs again one at a time and hopefully they will take the code.
Final thoughts, I've also seen the 80% timeout problem when trying to run software upgrades from a congested network workstation, and a few times I've been lucky and got it to take trying something crazy like a new cable or different computer, but this was back with we had mainly NetServers before TC1000.
Hope this might offer you a few more ideas to explore.
Regards, Lee
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On Wed, 15 Jan 2003, Jim Mc Cay wrote:
#of cards software version Hardware Version DRAM Flash 2 4.1.11 19.0.0 131072 16384 1 4.1.72 19.0.0 65536 8192 1 4.2.32 19.0.0 131072 16384 1 5.3.107 23.0.0 131072 16384
Everytime I go to update these cards using 3Com's total control Manger software v8.2.6 the update gets to about 80% then stops, says it's completed.
I actually know what this is! I encountered it when going from 4.1.59 to 5.3.2. Does TCM say "Error: TFTP Access Violation?" I dug through the online archives and never found any conclusive responses to the people who posted this problem, but I recently figured it out. I kept trying to flash the card and getting stuck at 88%. I telnetted into the ARC and did "list files", and I eventually noticed that the file being uploaded to the flash, netserve.dmf, was always getting to EXACTLY 3 megabytes (3145728 bytes). Apparently this is the largest file size the older ARC software can handle. Version 5.3.x of the ARC code are around 3.4MB, so the older ARC OS can't tftp them. So, there are three solutions: You can upgrade first to a version that is smaller than 3MB, but doesn't have the filesize limit, and from there you can upgrade to the newest code. I didn't use this method, so I don't know what version qualifies--I'd guess 5.0.something. -OR- You can use a console cable to upload the code via Zmodem. -OR- You can set up a tftp server, and tell the boot PROM to tftp the software when the card is rebooted. This is what I did, and it worked. (If you have a console cable handy, you can use the menu that pops up while the ARC is booting. Otherwise you can telnet into the ARC and use the "set bootrom" commands to tell it what tftp server and filename to use.) Hope that's helpful. ____________________________________________________________________________ I. Dwayne Koonce E-mail: dwayne@txcyber.com Chief Network Administrator Phone: (979) 268-6800 Cybercom Corporation Fax: (979) 260-2652 ____________________________________________________________________________
Hi, On Mon, Jan 20, 2003 at 05:30:20PM -0600, I. Dwayne Koonce wrote:
On Wed, 15 Jan 2003, Jim Mc Cay wrote:
#of cards software version Hardware Version DRAM Flash 2 4.1.11 19.0.0 131072 16384 1 4.1.72 19.0.0 65536 8192 1 4.2.32 19.0.0 131072 16384 1 5.3.107 23.0.0 131072 16384
As far as I know, there is - exactly for this purpose - a version named ne040273.dmf, not very much functionality, but fits. The other hints will leed to success, too ;-) Hope this helps, Oliver. -- Oliver.Francke@mediaWays.net fon. +49-5246-80-1389 mob. +49-171-5597734 I used to have a sig, but I've stopped smoking.
participants (6)
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I. Dwayne Koonce -
Jim Mc Cay -
Jim McCay
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Lee Terrell -
Oliver Francke -
Todd Bertolozzi