Upgrading firmware

The Upgrade wizard moves a switch to a target FastIron version. If getting there requires passing through intermediate releases, ICX Setup works out the hops for you and runs them one after another, verifying the switch at each step.

1. Choose the firmware file

Point the wizard at the firmware for your target version — either a .bin image or the .zip download from the CommScope / RUCKUS support portal (ICX Setup extracts the right image from the zip). The picker rejects anything that isn’t a .bin or .zip, and warns if the image family doesn’t match your switch model — “This firmware file is for <X>. Select the correct file for your switch model.”

Keep intermediate images in the same folder

A multi-hop upgrade needs every release along the path, not just the final one. Put all of them in the same folder as your target image — ICX Setup serves firmware from that folder and checks every hop is present before it starts.

2. Review the upgrade path

ICX Setup calculates the path from your current version to the target, inserting any required intermediate releases. FastIron enforces certain hops — for example, older non-UFI builds must pass through 08.0.80f before any modern UFI image, and 08.0.95+ must go through 09.0.10a on the way to 10.0.10.

The Upgrade Path screen shows the plan as numbered steps, each with its image filename, and an estimated time (roughly 8 minutes per step). A one-step plan is labelled “Direct”; anything longer is “Multi-step”.

The wizard won’t build a path that FastIron doesn’t allow — it stops up front if the target is a pulled release, if the target drops support for your model, or if your stack is larger than the target version allows.

3. Run the upgrade

For each step, ICX Setup:

1. Starts a local HTTPS firmware server and has the switch pull the image with copy https flash <server-ip> <file> primary port 8443.
2. Verifies the image landed in the primary flash partition.
3. Saves the config with write memory.
4. Boots the new image (boot system flash primary, confirming the prompt).
5. Waits for the switch to reboot and come back — up to 10 minutes — then re-logs-in and confirms show version reports the expected version.

After the final step it syncs the primary image to the secondary partition (copy flash flash secondary) so both partitions match, and for a stack it verifies every member reached the target version.

The firmware transfer

Firmware is served over HTTPS from your Mac — not TFTP — on port 8443 (falling back to 8444/8445 if busy), using a freshly generated self-signed certificate and a per-session token. The switch downloads directly from your laptop; nothing goes to the internet. The default transfer timeout is 15 minutes and is adjustable from 5 to 60 minutes in Settings. See Security and privacy for how the transfer is secured.

Don’t interrupt a reboot

Leaving mid-upgrade cancels it and can leave the switch in an inconsistent state — the wizard warns you before it lets you back out. If a reboot genuinely hangs past 10 minutes you’ll see “Switch did not come back after reboot within 10 minutes”; wait a little longer or power-cycle. See Troubleshooting.

Version rules worth knowing

• UFI images apply at FastIron 08.0.90 and later.
• HTTPS firmware transfer is supported from 08.0.80. Very old switches below that don’t support the HTTPS pull ICX Setup uses.

What you need

• The target firmware file (.bin or .zip), plus any intermediate images the path requires, all in one folder.
• A connected switch (serial or SSH). Over SSH, the switch reconnects itself after each reboot.

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Troubleshooting · Contact support.