January 22, 2018October 30, 2026 by harlan

How to Update Dell Force10 S50N Switch Firmware (FTOS) via TFTP

Updating the FTOS firmware on a Dell Force10 S50N switch takes one command and a TFTP server. You can connect over the serial console or SSH.

Firmware download: FTOS-SB-8.4.2.7.bin

Steps

Install a TFTP server on your desktop and copy the firmware file into its folder.
Connect to the switch (serial or SSH) and run the upgrade, pointing at your TFTP server’s IP:

Force10#upgrade system tftp://192.168.1.xxx/FTOS-SB-8.4.2.7.bin
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Erasing Sseries ImageUpgrade Table of Contents, please wait
.................................................................!
17234435 bytes successfully copied
Force10#

Save the configuration with write before you issue reload.

Example Running Config (Two-Unit S50N Stack)

For reference, here’s my running config for a two-switch S50N stack serving VMware hosts and an EqualLogic iSCSI SAN. Repeated interface blocks are trimmed; each port type is shown once.

force10#show running-config
Current Configuration ...
! Version 8.4.2.7
!
redundancy auto-synchronize full
!
hardware watchdog
!
hostname force10phx
!
enable password 7
!
username root password 7 privilege 15
username admin password 7 privilege 15
!
ethernet cfm
!
protocol spanning-tree rstp
no disable
!
stack-unit 0 provision S50N
!
! vHost data ports (0/1-0/6, 1/1-1/6)
interface GigabitEthernet 0/1
description vHost IP 07-01
no ip address
mtu 9252
no shutdown
!
! vHost iSCSI ports (0/7-0/12, 1/7-1/12)
interface GigabitEthernet 0/7
description vHost iSCSI 07-01
no ip address
mtu 9252
switchport
flowcontrol rx on tx on
spanning-tree rstp edge-port
no shutdown
!
! EqualLogic iSCSI ports (0/13-0/20, 1/13-1/20)
interface GigabitEthernet 0/13
description EQL iSCSI Port
no ip address
mtu 9252
switchport
flowcontrol rx on tx on
spanning-tree rstp edge-port
no shutdown
!
interface GigabitEthernet 0/43
description Config Port
no ip address
mtu 1500
switchport
no shutdown
!
interface GigabitEthernet 0/46
description DMZ UpLink 01
no ip address
switchport
no shutdown
!
! Unused ports
interface GigabitEthernet 0/21
no ip address
shutdown
!
stack-unit 1 provision S50N
! (unit 1 mirrors unit 0; DMZ UpLink 02 on 1/46)
!
interface Port-channel 1
description vHost 7 IP
no ip address
mtu 9252
switchport
switchport mode private-vlan trunk
no spanning-tree
channel-member GigabitEthernet 0/1-2
channel-member GigabitEthernet 1/1-2
no shutdown
!
! Port-channel 2 (vHost 8: 0/3-4, 1/3-4) and 3 (vHost 9: 0/5-6, 1/5-6) are identical
!
interface Vlan 28
description PHX Production
name PHX Production
no ip address
tagged Port-channel 1-3
no shutdown
!
interface Vlan 29
description PHX Operations
name PHX Operations
ip address 192.168.29.175/24
tagged Port-channel 1-3
untagged GigabitEthernet 0/22,43
untagged GigabitEthernet 1/22,39,42
no shutdown
!
interface Vlan 30
description PHX Development
name PHX Development
no ip address
tagged Port-channel 1-3
no shutdown
!
interface Vlan 369
description DMZ
name DMZ
no ip address
tagged Port-channel 1-3
untagged GigabitEthernet 0/46
untagged GigabitEthernet 1/41,46
no shutdown
!
interface Vlan 387
description Development
name Development
no ip address
tagged Port-channel 1-3
no shutdown
!
interface Vlan 732
description PHX DB
name PHX DB
no ip address
tagged Port-channel 1-3
no shutdown
!
interface Vlan 999
description iSCSI LAN
name iSCSI LAN
no ip address
mtu 9252
tagged GigabitEthernet 0/7-12
tagged GigabitEthernet 1/7-12
untagged GigabitEthernet 0/13-20
untagged GigabitEthernet 1/13-20
no shutdown
!
ip route 0.0.0.0/0 Vlan 29 192.168.x
!
ip name-server 192.168.x
!
logging history debugging
logging trap debugging
logging source-interface Vlan 29
logging 192.168.x
!
snmp-server community public ro
snmp-server enable traps snmp authentication coldstart linkdown linkup
snmp-server enable traps stp
snmp-server enable traps xstp
snmp-server enable traps envmon fan supply temperature
snmp-server location xxxx
no ip telnet server enable
!
ntp server 192.168.x
!
ip ssh server enable
!
buffer-profile global 4Q
!
line console 0
line vty 0
! ... line vty 1-9
!
end

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