This article is a reference guide for updating the firmware on switches. As I handle a broad range of switch vendors and models, I got tired of looking up the commands, and decided to bundle it all here in one place for easy reference.

Note that this document is not a step-by-step guide to update a specific switch but rather a reference for which CLI-commands to use.

First, look up current version and active boot bank. Can be either A: or B:

show boot system stack-unit 1upgrade system tftp://10.0.0.1/FTOS-SK-9.9.0.0P9.bin B:conf tboot system stack-unit 1 primary system://Bendwr memreload

When upgrading from USB-stick, change tftp:// to usbflash://. USB-stick needs to be FAT32.

To do

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It is possible to convert a QSFP or QSFP+ port to an single SFP or SFP+ port using the Quad to Small Form Factor Pluggable Adapter (QSA). However, in order for this to work, you'll need to configure the QSFP+ port into break-out mode to 4x10Gbps, similar like you would when using actual QSFP to 4xSFP break-out cables.

For OS10, the CLI for this action is:

interface breakout 1/1/7 map 10g-4x

This will break out the interface 1/1/7/ to 4 10Gbps links, which translates to these interfaces on the switch: 1/1/7:1, 1/1/7:2, 1/1/7:3 and 1/1/7:4:

show interface status ------------------------------------------------------------------Port Description Status Spe  ...

In case of disaster, it is usually a very good idea to periodically back up the configuration of your network switches. This article lists syntax for backing up configuration to a TFTP server for different vendors.

In the syntax examples below, the IP for the TFTP is 1.2.3.4, and we're writing to the file switch.cfg.

Note that this article is definitely not complete. If you have additions to this article, please post them in the comments.

The syntax for Dell and Cisco switches is mostly the same. For N-series and PowerConnect, a summary is displayed which needs to be confirmed, which is not the case for Cisco and Dell S-series.

For Cisco Small Business (SF- and SG-series), the CLI ne  ...

You can disable the page prompt "--More or (q)uit--" by entering the following command at the console:

terminal length 0

This disables the prompt, and allows you to do config dumps, or run show tech-support.

If you get an error about unrecognized command, your firmware is too old.

Dell Networking switches introduce a new port mode called switchport general. This type is a multi-purpose mode, combining access and trunk in one.

Access mode

The following gets written as: