cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
cancel
3346
Views
25
Helpful
8
Replies

Firmware Upgrade over Expressway

Joel Jackson
Level 1
Level 1

I'm going to be installing a device pack in CUCM (10.5.2) so that we can resolve some bugs with phones registered via Expressway (X8.10). Currently the phones (7841s and 8851s) are running 10.3.2 and we will be going to the 11.7 firmware. I'm curious to know if the phones will begin downloading the firmware in the same manner as the internal phones. If not, what are the options for getting them upgraded? It would suck to have to send replacement phones to these users.

1 Accepted Solution

Accepted Solutions

Just wanted to follow up on this post. I installed the device pack last night and phones register over expressway DID indeed upgrade their firmware remotely. So which is it? Not supported and won't upgrade or not supported but may upgrade?

View solution in original post

8 Replies 8

Patrick Sparkman
VIP Alumni
VIP Alumni

Software upgrades via MRA isn't supported, see CSCvb29314.

Thanks. I see they have the following "workaround"in the article: :
Use CUCM TFTP or move Load server to be externally accessible for external phones.

 

They don't include any details on this. Could you provide insight into where to begin doing this?

I don't know to be honest, there is thread linked at the bottom of the page for the bug where someone asks the same question, but hasn't yet received an answer.

Just wanted to follow up on this post. I installed the device pack last night and phones register over expressway DID indeed upgrade their firmware remotely. So which is it? Not supported and won't upgrade or not supported but may upgrade?


@Joel Jackson wrote:

So which is it? Not supported and won't upgrade or not supported but may upgrade?


I guess the answer is always "Not supported:", with the additon of "it may upgrade if the endpoint can access the TFTP server to get the software". - so it'll depend greatly on your, or other people's,.deployments as to whether it's possible or not.

Wayne
--
Please remember to mark helpful responses and to set your question as answered if appropriate.

My question exactly. I did a firmware update recently from 11.0(1) to 11.7(1) on several remote 8851 IP phones. Each of them updated successfully and re-registered via Expressway. I was pretty astonished that it worked... but it makes me nervous to think about downgrading or reverting to some inactive load version: suppose this is "unsupported" or unstable? 

 

The fact that our Expressway-C IP address is in a DMZ, with indeed access to our TFTP server, probably explains why this works... but it's still puzzling to me.

Our setup is that the EXP-E servers are in the DMZ and the C servers are internal. The E servers can only communicate with the C servers. I'm not sure how that works but was sure surprised and glad that it did.

IP Phones and TelePresence endpoints connected over MRA can receive firmware upgrades with the standard process of adding new firmware to CUCM TFTP servers and changing the device defaults, or endpoint specific "Phone Load Name".  Registered MRA endpoints have access to the CUCM TFTP server(s) via the Expressway E/C pair, and are able to download config files, firmware, tones, etc.  The request is made by the endpoint on TCP 8443 (HTTPS), and Expressway-C proxies this request to the request to CUCM TFTP servers on TCP 6970 (HTTP).  This is supported and working since Expressway release X8.1.1.  But seeing this confusion, I'll make sure we have this included in the MRA deployment guide.

 

The limitation called out in the referenced bug (CSCvb29314) is referring to an on-prem option of using a generic (non-CUCM) TFTP load server to distribute firmware to IP Phones.  This is not compatible with MRA/

 

HTH,

Kevin

Getting Started

Find answers to your questions by entering keywords or phrases in the Search bar above. New here? Use these resources to familiarize yourself with the community: