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During my research on Zero-touch Provisioning (ZTP) for KB 16.01/16.02/16.03, I came across `AutoRun` scripting. While I understand the setup/requirements for using this feature, there's very little documentation on how to create these with supported software. For example, the 16.01 Configuration Guide on page 333 states that HPE PCM+ is needed to create valid scripts (16.02/16.03 reveal an upgrade is needed for 3810- and 5400-series switches), and that "the ability to create a valid AutoRun file will be incorporated into an upcoming HPE Switch Manager update." Searches on Google do not bring any results on what this software is. As such, I pursued and managed to download the no-longer-supported PCM+.

I spent some time struggling with PCM+ and found that it has to be installed on Windows 7 (maybe 8) because the NTDLL.DLL on Windows 10 is not compatible. After an hour of setup and downloading the update files, I started the process of going from the initial release version to version 9. 24 hours have passed and the update status bar hasn't budged, nor has any output aside from "Connected to server" been printed. I'll restart it and upgrade in increments to see if it resolves this.

Now, I know PCM+ is no longer supported, but I'd really like to take advantage of this feature. We have over a dozen new 5406/5412/3810M units that were shipped with 15.17. We need to upgrade to 16.03 (16.01 at minimum) so we can use ZTP for automating the provisioning process. Is there any way that I could either A) create these scripts myself from scratch or B) beg a community member to create these on our behalf?

This a long time since I heard this feature 8-). I see you also mentioning ZTP. In order for me to fully understand your need I've a question:

Is it a must for you to use USB key's or can it also be network deployment?

Dobias,

We can do network deployment but we would prefer not to. The process of generating DHCP addresses for each switch, setting 2 or 3 up in our lab (as that's all we have space and power for), manually transferring the firmware, confirming the change, and then moving to the next switch can consume too much of our time. We need to automate the process as much as possible so we can work on other equipment for our project -- such as preparing the 300 wireless APs to be deployed on Monday -- and so we can eliminate human error. This is also our first project of many, as we estimate the purchase of more than 30 switches in the next four months since we are gradually replacing old equipment.

(I've managed to update PCM+ to patch 6. It appears you need to incrementally upgrade patch versions.)

Ok, I may have figured it out now that I've finished upgrading PCM+. I was trying to create the script for multiple devices which kept giving me error messages. Since it's my day off, I'm waiting to hear back from a co-worker as to whether or not the script works as intended. I had to do the following:

1. From the toolbar, select "USB Auto-run"
2. Select "Create a single XML file for one or more devices," skip filling the fields, and hit "Next"
3. Enter the following:
   1. (Command) copy usb flash KB_16_02_0016.swi secondary
   2. (Input option) [Select file]
4. Hit "Next" and enter the following for Post Commands:
   
   1. (Command) boot system flash secondary
5. Hit "Next" and uncheck "Run only once"
6. Select path to save file to

It appears that the output is an XML file (and the firmware we chose). I think I can modify this file directly instead of having to create new ones in the future. If this works, I'll mark this as an answer.

Update 1: The original script didn't reboot after copying the file over. We had to shuffle commands around as a result. I've changed the PostCommands to Commands to reflect this.

The *.cmd.xml file contents:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<CommandFile xmlns="http://www.procurve.com/usbmgt/CommandFileFormat">
  <CommandFileBody xmlns="">
    <FileFormatVersion>Version 1.0</FileFormatVersion>
    <TypeOfCommandFile>Run as many times</TypeOfCommandFile>
    <DeviceDescription/>
    <Commands>
      <Command>copy usb flash KB_16_02_0016.swi secondary</Command>
      <InputPath>/ufa0/KB_16_02_0016.swi</InputPath>
    </Commands>
    <Commands>
      <Command>boot system flash secondary</Command>
    </Commands>
    <Commands>
      <Command>y</Command>
    </Commands>
    <AuthorInfo>
      <TimeStamp>2017-02-17T09:38:22.866-07:00</TimeStamp>
      <Name>Administrator</Name>
    </AuthorInfo>
    <OperatorInfo>
      <TimeStamp>2017-02-17T09:38:22.866-07:00</TimeStamp>
      <Name>TO BE SPECIFIED</Name>
    </OperatorInfo>
    <PCMInfo>
      <TimeStamp>2017-02-17T09:38:22.866-07:00</TimeStamp>
      <Name>Testing-PCM</Name>
    </PCMInfo>
  </CommandFileBody>
</CommandFile> 

I don't know if I accidentally deleted my comment or if someone removed it, but we have a partial solution. Though I managed to update PCM+ through incremental upgrades, it appears that this wasn't necessary. I was trying to create the USB script by creating an XML for multiple devices instead of a single device. The multiple devices option would stop us for some reason.

If you create a USB AutoRun Script, you can choose Single Device -> Next -> leave the device information blank -> Next -> fill out the command(s) you want to run -> Next -> fill out the commands you want to run when the USB is removed -> Next -> deselect "Run Once" -> Save the script out to file. Note that the file will end with `.cmd.xml`

We decided to copy the firmware from flash to secondary, then reboot and confirm the reboot command. (We wanted the system to reboot after the USB was removed but this did not work.) Our script resulted in the following:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<CommandFile xmlns="http://www.procurve.com/usbmgt/CommandFileFormat">
  <CommandFileBody xmlns="">
    <FileFormatVersion>Version 1.0</FileFormatVersion>
    <TypeOfCommandFile>Run as many times</TypeOfCommandFile>
    <DeviceDescription/>
    <Commands>
      <Command>copy usb flash KB_16_02_0016.swi secondary</Command>
      <InputPath>/ufa0/KB_16_02_0016.swi</InputPath>
    </Commands>
    <Commands>
      <Command>boot system flash secondary</Command>
    </Commands>
    <Commands>
      <Command>y</Command>
    </Commands>
    <AuthorInfo>
      <TimeStamp>2017-02-17T09:38:22.866-07:00</TimeStamp>
      <Name>Administrator</Name>
    </AuthorInfo>
    <OperatorInfo>
      <TimeStamp>2017-02-17T09:38:22.866-07:00</TimeStamp>
      <Name>TO BE SPECIFIED</Name>
    </OperatorInfo>
    <PCMInfo>
      <TimeStamp>2017-02-17T09:38:22.866-07:00</TimeStamp>
      <Name>Testing-PCM</Name>
    </PCMInfo>
  </CommandFileBody>
</CommandFile>

My coworker informed me that this worked just fine. We will use this as our base template script for anything we need to automate via USB