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Upgrading software
Overview
Software upgrade enables you to add new features and fix bugs. This chapter describes types of
software and procedures to upgrade software from the CLI. For a comparison of all software upgrade
methods, see "Upgrade methods."
Software types
The following software types are available:
Boot ROM image—A .bin file that contains a basic segment and an extended segment. The
basic segment is the minimum code that bootstraps the system. The extended segment
enables hardware initialization and provides system management menus. You can use these
menus to load software and the startup configuration file or manage files when the device
cannot start up correctly. For easy software compatibility management, the Boot ROM image is
contained in the Boot image file. The Boot ROM image is upgraded automatically when the
Boot image is upgraded.
Comware image—Includes the following image subcategories:
 Boot image—A .bin file that contains the Boot ROM image and the Linux operating system
kernel. It provides process management, memory management, file system management.
 System image—A .bin file that contains the minimum feature modules required for device
operation and some basic features, including device management, interface management,
configuration management, and routing. To have advanced features, you must purchase
feature images.
 Feature image—A .bin file that contains advanced software features. Users purchase
feature images as needed.
 Patch image—A .bin file irregularly released for fixing bugs without rebooting the device. A
patch image does not add new features or functions.
Comware software images that have been loaded are called current software images.
Comware images specified to load at the next startup are called startup software images.
Boot image and system image are required for the system to work. These images might be released
separately or as a whole in one .ipe package file. If an .ipe file is used, the system decompresses the
file automatically, loads the .bin boot and system images, and sets them as startup software images.
Software file naming conventions
Software image file names use the chassis-comware version-image type-release format, for
example,5510-CMW710-SYSTEM-R1111.bin and 5510-CMW710-BOOT-R1111.bin. This document
uses boot.bin and system.bin as boot and system image file names.
Comware image redundancy and loading procedure
You can specify two lists of startup Comware software images: one main (primary) and one backup.
The boot and system images in a startup software image list must be the same version.
The system always attempts to start up with the main images. If any main images do not exist or are
invalid, the system tries the backup images. Figure 31 shows the entire Comware image loading
procedure.
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