Introduction
Featured Speaker
Leo Laohoo is a network engineer. Leo specializes in wireless and LAN/WAN technologies. He previously worked with EDS (today HP) and SITA/Equant, he holds a Colleague Degree in Business Management and a CCNA.
On his free time, Leo enjoys participating in the Cisco Support Community, he states that it is a “TWO-way street”. He is one of the top Cisco Designated VIPs and a member of the elite Cisco Support Community Hall of Fame program. The Cisco Support Community is a place where you can help someone else and at the same time learn from other people’s responses their responses to you answers.
IOS Upgrade on Catalyst Switches 2900, 3500 and 3700 - Easy as Pi
Q: How long does it take to upgrade the IOS of a switch?
A: There is no exact duration, the amount of time it'll take to upgrade a switch depends on many factors, such as platform, from which code are you upgrading, to which code are you upgrading, members in the stack (if applicable), etc.
I would recommend to schedule a 30-40min MW per switch, however keep in mind it is just an average.
Q: Is there a way you can verify whether the new IOS in on top or below in the flash directory?
A: No, there is no command to sort the "sh flash" output
Q: After upgrade whats the recommended option when i put show version, intall mode or bundle mode?
A: Install mode is the recommended
Q: Can separate updated switches in a stack be rebooted one at a time and out of order and after all are up would the stack recover?
A: You can find the answer to this question on the Ask the Expert event.
Q: ftp vs tftp - what is preferred?
A: It depends, If you want speed, you can go for TFTP (UDP), if you are looking for reliability, then you should go for FTP (TCP)
Q: Do you need to modify a boot variable when using an archive download-sw ?
A: No, the boot variable will be modified automaticaly
Q: Can I have a boolean output on the md5 verify command? I want a boolean output on the successful md5 verify command to automate the process?
A: You can find the answer to this question on the Ask the Expert event.
Q: What about upgrading 3850 stack?
A: A: This topic is not be covered on this presentation, however here is the 3850s upgrade guide for your referece http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/switches/catalyst-3850-series-...
Q: What does the message: "not enough space unpacking/downloading/extracting files one by one" mean?
A: It means you don't have enough space to extract a .tar file directly from the switch file system.
You must perform this task from a tftp server, please refer to this documentation:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/switches/lan/catalyst2950/software/re
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/switches/lan/catalyst2950/software/relea...
Q: Why would it not be verified, how does it get corrupt?
A: You can find the answer to this question on the Ask the Expert event.
Q: Is the archive -download feature available in every OS?
A: It is supported just on IOS, not on IOS-XE or IOS-XR
Q: What are the steps in the process of archive download-sw cmd that the switch takes after hitting enter?
A: 1. the image is loaded on the switch/all stack members
2. The files are extacted
3. New image is installed
4. boot vairable is changed to the new code
Q: Memory means RAM or Flash?
A: It means flash
Q: Does Cisco Prime Infrastructure 2.2 and later always use the recommended 'archive download-sw' command? Any advice presenter might have on using CPI?
A: You can find the answer to this question on the Ask the Expert event.
Q: What perfomance isses does it have when upgrading the OS on a production switch?
A: There is going to be a downtime, hence the upgarde should be performed during a maintenance window
Q: Any recommendations or special steps if we want to do ISSU?
A: Recomendations may depend on the platform, you can find more info at Cisco.com
Q: I think the warning is shown bc there are more than 1 switch, is that alright?
A: You can find the answer to this question on the Ask the Expert event.
Q: Does the 3550 support layer 3 functions?
A: Yes, but it depends on the license you are running. You can verify which feature is supported on which platform easily and quickly using the Cisco Feature Navigator.
http://cfn.cloudapps.cisco.com/ITDIT/CFN/jsp/by-feature-technology.jsp
Q: Archive-download command came on IOS 12.2(25)FX, for any IOS before that is it still the copy command which is recommended?
A: Yes, you can use the copy command
Q: Is the archive download available in all old models or it's available from certain version?
A: I've seen this feature available also on older models as 2950s, 3550, etc
Q: Archive command depand on IOS version or is it work all switches?
A: It works on all IOS switches running 12.2 train or newer
Q: In a stack: is it necessary to count the members after reload?
A: You can find the answer to this question on the Ask the Expert event.
Q: SCP was also recently added. When do i need to use it?
A: You should use SCP if you are concerned about security as it provides a secure and authenticated method for copying files
Q: Does the archive download tells you that there incompartibility on version for example ipbase and ip services?
A: No, the license will remain the same, despiting which version you are upgrading
Q: Can I have a boolean output on the md5 verify command?
A: No, the output and the value on the cisco webpage is always hex
Q: What is micro code - is he just talking about upgrading OS?
A: You can find the answer to this question on the Ask the Expert event.
Q: Do we need to check hard disk space when using arc.. download?
A: Yes, checking flash memory space before upgrading is a best practice
Q: Do you recommend archive download-sw tftp transfer over an wan interface?
A: For speed yes, for reliability no, but also keep in mind the bandwith of WAN links is not that high.
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