Firmware upgrade on a HP ProCurve 6600 series (24g-4xg or 48g-4xg or 24xg) can be done in several ways, here I will cover upgrading firmware using USB stick.

HP 6600 series always keep two boot images on the flash – (i)primary boot image and (ii)secondary boot image; by default switch boot from the primary. During new firmware upgrade the system automatically take a backup of primary image and copy this to the secondary – so no worry; if you messed up with firmware upgrade you can tell the system to boot from secondary (which is you current good one in fact).

Also firmware upgrade process will keep a backup of your “configurations” in the switch – however it is recommended you should take copy of the same before start upgrade process.

1. Download the latest firmware from HP My Networking site – https://h10145.www1.hp.com/downloads/ProductsList.aspx?lang=&cc=&prodSeriesId=

The latest firmware as of today (June 2014) is K.15.13.0005. The firmware file is a “.swi” extension file. Copy this file onto a USB flash drive (do not put this in a sub directory). Before the upgrade make sure which version is you are currently running; the command is “#show flash” – screenshot –

2. Insert the USB stick to the switch; the switch will automatically mount the USB. Do a “#show flash” to see the firmware file visible on the switch.

3. Once you see the firmware file on the switch – let’s start firmware upgrade process. Copy the firmware file to primary flash. The command and screenshot following –

#copy usb flash K_15_13_0005.swi primary

4. Once the copy is finish make sure your primary flash is showing the latest version; the command is “#show flash” again –

(now primary and secondary version are different)

5. Optional – you might need to tell the switch to boot from the primary image; command is “#boot system flash primary” – screenshot following –

The switch will reboot during firmware upgrade.

Once all above are done – do a “#show flash” to confirm the switch is running with the latest firmware.