Managing Firmware Upgrades

Firmware is the software programmed on Instant On APs, switches and gateways to make sure the devices run and provide functionality to users When the firmware is upgraded, device performance and functionality is improved through feature enhancements and bug fixes.

Upgrading the Firmware for an Instant On AP, Switch or Gateway

When an AP, switch, or gateway is deployed into the network, it joins an Instant On site, which is a group of APs and switches that are configured and managed from a single location. Upon joining the site, the AP, switch, or gateway automatically syncs its Instant On software image with the software image version configured on the site. Each time the software image is updated on the site, all APs and switches in the site are upgraded to the new software image version.

Instant On Image Server

Every version of the Instant On software image is uploaded and stored in a cloud-based image server that is hosted by HPE Networking. The image server always contains the latest version of the Instant On software so that you can keep your system up-to-date. See Updating the Software Image on an Instant On Site for more details on updating your APs to the latest version of the Instant On software image.

Updating the Software Image on an Instant On Site

Instant On allows you to control when a software update on the site needs to take place. This is done by configuring a day of the week and time of your preference for the site on the Instant On mobile app. When a new software update is available, an information alert is displayed with sufficient information of when the update will occur. The Software update page displays the new version number and the What's new: information in the release. The page also includes the scheduled time for the update and the options—Install now or Schedule update. Clicking on the Schedule update link opens a calendar from which the administrator can pick a specific date on which the update is preferred. The software update can be extended up to a maximum of 30 days from when the alert is generated. If a date is not set in the calendar, the software update will take place based on the preferred day of the week setting.

To create a schedule for the software update to be installed automatically on the site using the mobile app, follow these steps:

  1. Tap the advanced menu () icon on the Instant On home screen. Select Site management from the menu.
  2. Under Software, click the Software update to view the scheduling options.
  3. Select the Day of the week for the software update to be installed automatically.
  4. Tap on the local time and select a suitable Site local time.
  5. Under Installation delay, move the slider to set the preferred delay for automatic installation of the latest software update. The available options are: No Delay, 1 Week, 2 Weeks, 3 Weeks, and 4 Weeks.

The status of the upgrade is displayed in the Software update page by means of a progress bar. The progress bar will be green if the firmware update was successful or yellow if some device(s) failed to install the firmware.

At the end of the software update, a list is displayed that lets the user know how many devices successfully installed the firmware successfully and how many did not complete the installation. If one or more devices failed to update, the Devices Software card displays the warning Some devices failed to update to new software version. with a Retry Installation link. See Retrying a Failed Software Update.

When the software is up-to-date, the page will show the current Instant On software version and the date of the last update.

Verifying Client Connectivity During Upgrade

Instant On APs and switches are automatically rebooted with the new version of the Instant On software image during a software upgrade. When an AP goes down during the reboot, the wireless clients connected to that AP are either moved to another AP in the Instant On site or completely dropped from the network. Though this scenario is expected, keep in mind that a firmware upgrade can cause major disruptions for the clients in your network. This is limited to the time-period that the APs take to reboot, which is 3-5 minutes. We recommend that you schedule this activity for when you don't expect users connected to the network actively.

Upgrade Failure

If a software upgrade fails, a Device not updated alert is generated to advise the user about a possible issue on the network. The Instant On APs or switches will continue to operate on the existing software version. You can either wait for the upgrade to be retried automatically during the next maintenance window, or trigger a retry immediately from the Software page. See Retrying a Failed Software Update.

Retrying a Failed Software Update

When one or more devices fail to install a new software version during a maintenance window, each affected device raises a Device not updated alert and the Devices Software card on the Software page displays the warning Some devices failed to update to new software version. You can trigger another update attempt on demand instead of waiting for the next scheduled maintenance window.

You can open the Software page in either of two ways:

  • From the alert—Open the Device not updated alert and, under Recommended Actions, click Retry software update to go directly to the Software page.
  • From Site management—Follow the steps below.

Follow these steps to retry a failed software update from Site management:

  1. Click the Site icon () at the top-right corner of the UI screen. The Site management page is displayed.
  2. Click the Software tab to view the scheduling options.
  3. In the Devices Software card, under the Some devices failed to update to new software version. warning, click Retry installation.
  4. The update process restarts for all affected devices in the site. The firmware is downloaded again, if needed, and reinstalled. Track the progress in the progress bar of the Devices Software card.

When all devices are updated successfully, the warning and the Retry installation link are removed, and the related Device not updated alerts are cleared.

The Retry Installation action applies to all affected devices in the site, not to an individual device. It is unavailable while a scheduled maintenance window or a previously triggered retry is still in progress.

Instant On Mobile App Compatibility

Though the Instant On mobile app is backward-compatible with older versions of the Instant On software image, the Instant On software image is NOT backward-compatible with older versions of the mobile app. If the mobile app installed on your device is older than the Instant On software image running on your Instant On site, a warning message appears when you attempt to launch the app.

The mobile app can only be launched if it is updated to the latest version. To update the mobile app, click the app store icon that is available below the warning message.