AMF Auto-upgrade

This video shows how upgrading a large complex network can be automated with the Allied Telesis Management Framework (AMF).

Hello, my name is Chi. I am a test engineer and have worked at Allied Telesis for over 7 years. One of my many jobs is to upgrade Firmware on devices. I feel it can be a very time consuming task, especially when I have to do so on lots of devices, on a large network. Each device must be individually contacted and taken through the upgrade process. The right software has to be manually chosen for each device, and then the upgrade and reboot process must be closely monitored, to make sure the upgrade will succeed. If any device has failed to upgrade, a backup procedure must be carried out.

Now, Allied Telesis provides easy solutions for test engineers, like me, or network administrators. Allied Telesis Management Framework, or AMF, is a powerful network management tool. It completely automates the upgrade procedure, and also provides an efficient, robust network upgrade process with little user intervention.
With a single command, the testers or network administrators, simply store the software in a specified location, for example on a TFTP server, or on a web server, or even on a flash stick that directly attaches to the AMF master. Then, with a single command, a rolling reboot process is kicked off, which works through all chosen switches, one at a time.
Each switch will look for the most compatible release file. They all know which release files are suitable for them.
The switch then performs several checks. This includes checking there is enough space on the flash and upgrading unit.
The new release file is copied to the flash on the device; in the boot image settings will be changed too, the old release file is set as the backup release file.
The switch is then rebooted. On boot-up the new release file is verified. If a device fails to upgrade, it will fall back to the old release.
Finally on the completion of the upgrade process, a report is run to show the upgrade status of each device.
The upgrade doesn't have to be performed across the whole network. It can be confined to a specified set of devices, for example on all edge switches, or on all switches of particular model. Of course, AMF upgrades can be scheduled ahead of time -- an overnight upgrade is a great way to minimize network disruption.
The AMF rolling upgrade automates a traditional labor intensive task, for a trouble-free network, while maximizing the network availability.
Allied Telesis Management Framework is available on the SwitchBlade and all x serial switches.