How often these days do most network groups upgrade software on Access Layer devices

[michael.Abrahams@marist.edu]

We have had 93/9400's implemented in our network over the last 2 years. We have gone with the latest recommended every year so far. We just upgraded to 16.9.4 back in December. Cisco announced a few months ago 16.9.5.  How often should we be looking to upgrade. At this rate thats about every 1/4 to semi annually. How often are network staff doing this?

[Reza Sharifi]

In my opinion, if the software version you are running is pretty stable and you don't need any new features that is only supported in a newer version, upgrading once a year is more than enough. I some cases, an upgrade from one version to another can cause instability in your environment and keep you up at night unnecessarily. 

HTH

[Joseph W. Doherty]

As software doesn't "wear out" you might go years and years on a stable release, if it meets your needs. Excluding feature needs, the primary reason you might upgrade on a sooner basis is to deal with disclosed security bugs.

[Leo Laohoo]

1. Where I work, I have no "restrictions" as to when or the rate I can upgrade the firmware. I can upgrade the firmware whenever I feel like it.
2. I try to stick to my rule-of-thumb: Reboot the switches once a year.

[michael.Abrahams@marist.edu]

Leo Laohoo,

What I am looking for is some kind of "normal" cycle of what a typical engineer would do if he/she has some restrictions and was only able to coordinate several times a year because customers expect not much down time. 

[Leo Laohoo]

I schedule the routers/switches/WLC to reboot between 6 to 7 am.