cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
cancel
333
Views
0
Helpful
3
Replies

Best Practice for config upgrade

Mokhalil82
Level 4
Level 4

Hi

 

Is there a best practice guide to follow to performing a network upgrade. So I am replacing a stack of 5 3750 switches and replacing with 2 stacks of 2 3750x switches, but then also introducing a 4500x vss pair aswell as the new core. Is there an easy migration process to migrate the config or do I have to understand what the current network is configured as and build a new config for the new topology.

 

Im new to this process so just wondering if I can find an easier way, Thanks

1 Accepted Solution

Accepted Solutions

Jon Marshall
Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame

Is there an easy migration process to migrate the config or do I have to understand what the current network is configured as and build a new config for the new topology.

You really need to understand how the current network is configured before you can do the upgrade otherwise if something doesn't work you will have no idea of where to begin troubleshooting.

That doesn't mean you need to build an entirely new configuration because you may well be able to apply most of the configuration on your existing switches to the new switches although it's not clear what functions the new switches will be doing ie.

currently you have a stack of 3750s doing what ? eg. access for users, routing for vlans etc.

you are replacing them with 3750x's switches and 4500x switches so are you splitting up the functions of the 3750s between them.

If you are then obviously you cannot take the existing configuration and copy it to both the 3750x and the 4500x switches.

When I did upgrades like this I would download the existing configurations to my laptop and make any necessary edits. If I couldn't use the existing configuration I just created new ones. When I came to upgrade I had all the configurations ready to load onto the switches.

Bear in mind that some configuration just won't copy across ie. if you have QOS on your current switches and you try to copy that to the 4500x it probably wont work as they use different commands for a lot of the same functions.

But the key thing is you must understand what you are trying to do ie. simply trying to copy across configurations without the understanding could create a lot of problems.

Jon

 

View solution in original post

3 Replies 3

Jon Marshall
Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame

Is there an easy migration process to migrate the config or do I have to understand what the current network is configured as and build a new config for the new topology.

You really need to understand how the current network is configured before you can do the upgrade otherwise if something doesn't work you will have no idea of where to begin troubleshooting.

That doesn't mean you need to build an entirely new configuration because you may well be able to apply most of the configuration on your existing switches to the new switches although it's not clear what functions the new switches will be doing ie.

currently you have a stack of 3750s doing what ? eg. access for users, routing for vlans etc.

you are replacing them with 3750x's switches and 4500x switches so are you splitting up the functions of the 3750s between them.

If you are then obviously you cannot take the existing configuration and copy it to both the 3750x and the 4500x switches.

When I did upgrades like this I would download the existing configurations to my laptop and make any necessary edits. If I couldn't use the existing configuration I just created new ones. When I came to upgrade I had all the configurations ready to load onto the switches.

Bear in mind that some configuration just won't copy across ie. if you have QOS on your current switches and you try to copy that to the 4500x it probably wont work as they use different commands for a lot of the same functions.

But the key thing is you must understand what you are trying to do ie. simply trying to copy across configurations without the understanding could create a lot of problems.

Jon

 

Thanks for the response Jon, very helpful advice as always

 

The existing 3750 stack currently acts as the core with multiple links going out as port channels to all access layer switches and is being replaced by two 3750 stacks that will only act as the access layer with the new 4500x vss pair acting as the new core. 

I understand its not a straight forward copy job with the configs as the vlan interfaces are now moving to the 4500x pair as well as snmp and the routing. 

I was just checking to see if someone has an easy plan on how to go ahead with this sort of migration. 

3750 to 3750X? 

 

I've got a stupid question:  Why not ADD a 3750X to the stack?  The current 3750 stack will push the config to the 3750X.  

 

Once the 3750X gets the config, then you can "promote" the 3750X to become the "master" of the stack and you start removing the old 3750 one by one (and adding a 3750X as you go along). 

Review Cisco Networking products for a $25 gift card