CUCM 7.1.5 Upgrade - default phone firmware

[us10610]

Does anybody know what default firmware versions are included with CUCM7.1.5 for 7941G-GE, 7961G-GE, 7965G-GE and 7971G-GE?

I am preparing for an upgrade and have read that I can update the firmware in advance to minimize the downtime. I believe that I could install a stable version and set it in the default device profile but I don't know if it reverts back to default load when the upgrade is performed.

Any help would be appreciated.

Greg

[Rob Huffman]

Hi Greg,

Excellent plan my friend

Check out Table 19

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/cucm/compat/ccmcompmatr.html#wp43813

Cheers!

Rob

Please support CSC Helps Haiti

https://supportforums.cisco.com/docs/DOC-8895

https://supportforums.cisco.com/docs/DOC-8727

[us10610]

Thank you for directing me to the firmware document.

Do you know if during the upgrade, the default phone load will be used or will it retain the value in the default device list?

Thanks,

Greg

[Rob Huffman]

Hey Greg,

When you upgrade to a newer version of CUCM the phones will upgrade

to the Firmware version listed in the doc I linked. The way to mitigate all this

additional overhead during the upgrade window is to upgrade the phones ahead

of time. Be careful with these newest fimware versions, you will need to go to 8.5.2

prior to any 8.5.3 & 9.0 version.

Cheers!

Rob

[us10610]

Thanks for the info and the heads up. Now that I know what version to expect, I'll be able to research the best way to get there.

Thanks again.

Greg

[us10610]

One more quick question, we currently run firmware v8-3-2S which looks like it needs to be updated to v8-3-3 before going to v9-0-3 or later.

If we we to do the in place upgrade of UCM from 5.1.3 to 7.1.5 would this interim step still be needed?

Thanks,

Greg

[Rob Huffman]

Hi Greg,

Yes, this interim step will be required

I have seen a number of instances recently where the CUCM upgrade

failed miserably due to this "Firmware" SNAFU. I would try to get to 8.5.2

at least before the upgrade, but preferably the actual 9.0.x firmware that

was shown in the first link. This has caught many people off-guard during the

upgrade process. The upgrade of CUCM itself will work but the phones fail

and sit spinning with a tftp-Auth error on the display.

Firmware Upgrade Issues for SCCP

NoteFor all SCCP firmware upgrades from firmware release versions earlierthan 8.3(3) to version 8.5(3) or greater, you must first upgrade yourfirmware to version 8.5(2). Once you have upgraded to version 8.5(2),you can upgrade your IP Phone to version 8.5(3) or later.

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/cuipph/firmware/8_5_3/english/release/notes/7900_853.html#wp57602

Hope this helps! Best of luck!
Rob

[balitewiczp]

If I may continue on this thread.

I currently have a7.1.3 cluster with phones on sccp version 9.1.1

If I am reading the thread correctly, when i upgrade the cluster to 7.1.5, the phones will actually downrev back to sccp 9.0 (the version contained within the 7.1.5 image)

I would then need to reapply the 9.1.1 sccp firmware.

Am I reading this correct?

Thanks for the sanity check

[us10610]

The phones would down grade if they are restarted. Provided that the upgrade is in place, the phone load will already be available in the TFTP directory. Post install, the default device load will be changed to whatever is contained in the image. You will only have to record the default device settings and re-enter them after the update. Provided that the phones aren't restarted during this time, there will be no affect.

Also, I wanted to mention another coveat relating to the 8.5.2s issue. New phones that are shipped with older firmware can not load the default.term load that is contained in 7.1.5. We had to copy the version from 8.5.2s and over write new.

[balitewiczp]

thanks for the info.  What I have done to speed things up is to downrev my phones tom 9.1, to 9

.0, which is the default firmware installed with 7.1.5   after the cm upgrade, I'll re-apply 9.1 firmware

Also, i see now that 7.1.5 SU4 is releasing soon.  As I am upgrading this friday, I hope its available to download before then.

thanks for your help

[adamcrabb]

Also beware that when you try to add more phones later you will have to two-step them to the new firmware.... A Real Pain!  This will be true for some time as the phones coming from the factory have old firmware on them.  You can probably set the specific load via BAT but doing this at a remote site can add hours to the install because TFTP isnt exactly the fastest if your cluster is 100ms away. 

Easy way to prove:  After you upgrade to 7.1.5 plug in a new phone and watch it get the "Auth Fail" message.

Not sure what changed but this is going to cause me major headaches with 3000 new phones in the next few years.