A network has wireless enabled nodes of more than one hardware type. A computing device obtains a software update for one of the node types and sends an announcement of availability through the network. The announcement includes a node type identifier. A node that recognizes the identifier as matching its own hardware type collects the software update through a series of one or more requested packet transfers from the controller. Each packet carrying part of the update also includes the node type identifier. A node of a different type that has received the packets may serve as a source of missing packets to other nodes. Alternatively, nodes needing missing packets can fetch them from the computing device. When the software update is completely received by a node of the identified type, that node reboots and executes the updated software. Any node of another type discards the packets.