Brocade Mobility 7131 Access Point Product Reference Guide (Supporting software release 4.4.0.0 and later) - Manual (Page 121)

Brocade Mobility 7131 Access Point Product Reference Guide 109
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4
Updating Device Firmware
Brocade Mobility periodically releases updated versions of the Mobility 7131 Access Point device
firmware to the Brocade Mobility Web site. If the Mobility 7131 Access Point firmware version
displayed on the System Settings page (see Configuring System Settings on page 4-67) is older
than the version on the Web site, Brocade Mobility recommends updating the Mobility 7131 Access
Point to the latest firmware version for full feature functionality.
The access point’s automatic update feature updates the access point’s firmware and
configuration file automatically when the access point is reset or when the access point initiates a
DHCP request.
The firmware is automatically updated each time firmware versions are found to be different
between what is running on the access point and the firmware file located on the server. The
configuration file is automatically updated when the configuration file name on the server is
different than the name of the file previously loaded on the access point or when the file version
(on the server) is different than the version currently in use on the access point.
Additionally, the configuration version can be manually changed in the text file to cause the
configuration to be applied when required. The parameter name within the configuration file is
“cfg-version-1.1-01.” The access point only checks the two characters after the third hyphen (01)
when making a comparison. Change the last two characters to update the access point’s
configuration. The two characters can be alpha-numeric.
Upgrading from a legacy to a new firmware version is a two step process requiring the same
upgrade procedure to be repeated twice. The first upgrade will result in a bootloader change, and
the second upgrade will result in the actual firmware update. For subsequent upgrades, a single
download will suffice. Using Auto Update, the access point will automatically update itself twice
when upgrading.
Upgrading to a new access point firmware baseline does not retain the configuration of the
previous (lower version) firmware. Brocade Mobility recommends users export their 1.0
configuration for backup purposes prior to upgrading.
NOTE
If using Mobility 7131 Access Point legacy hardware, ensure you are running
3.2.1.0-012R version firmware before upgrading to 4.x version firmware. The 3.2.1.0-012R version
image is referred to as the pivot image. Users will observe a FAIL: Firmware check message if the
pivot image is not used when upgrading from an image earlier than 3.2.1.0-012R. When
downgrading firmware (from 4.x), ensure you have downgraded to the 3.2.1.0-012R (pivot image)
first, before additional downgrades to 3.1 or 3.x.
CAUTION
A Mobility 7131N Access Point model access point only supports version 4.x firmware and above.
A Mobility 7131N Access Point model cannot be downgraded to a 3.2 (or earlier) firmware
version. However, a Mobility 7131 Access Point and a Mobility 7131N Access Point model access
point share the same firmware, as long as its version 4.x or above.
When downloading to a lower firmware version, all configuration settings are lost and the access
point returns to factory default settings of the lower version.