IE4010 Upgrade Question

[evanm]

Hello Community,

I noticed that a coworker has been deploying new IOS images on IE4010s by simply copying the bin via scp to the switch and then changing the boot parameter to use ie4010-universalk9-mz.152-8.E1.bin.

[FILE COPIED TO SDFLASH VIA SCP]
conf t
boot system sdflash sdflash:{file}

This seems to be working however defers from the release note documentation found here which says to use the tar:

IE4010 Release Notes 

archive download-sw /overwrite tftp://ip/image-name.tar

I am wondering if it is ok to leave the existing switches this way or does the procedure not following the release notes create potential problems down the line?

Thanks in advance.

-E

[Richard Burts]

Whether it creates problems down the line depends on how you want to manage the switch. If you plan to manage the switch using SSH/telnet CLI then you are probably ok. If you want to manage the switch using the GUI then you have a problem. Using the approach using the archive command uses a set of files that provide support for GUI but you do not get them if you simply copy the bin file. So what is your approach to managing the switches?

[evanm]

Thanks Rick for the prompt reply. We are currently managing these switches via manually via SSH but DNAC will most likely be used in the future. I think the proper approach is to proceed with using Archive download command going forward.

[Leo Laohoo · Accepted solution]

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@evanm wrote:

I am wondering if it is ok to leave the existing switches this way or does the procedure not following the release notes create potential problems down the line?

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I never encourage people to do it this way because it is fraught with danger.  

1. There is no guarantee the copied BIN file is not corrupt.  
2. There is no guarantee changing the boot variable string is correct.  
3. There is no guarantee the copied BIN file is compatible

If I use the "archive download-sw" command, #1, #2 and #3 are eliminated.   

NOTE: 

1. I have been upgrading switches using the "archive download-sw" command and I have never lost a single switch.  I do not use DNAC and I do not use PI.  Everything is done manually.  
2. And I have some IE4010 in the network.  

IOS Upgrade on Catalyst 2k, 3k - Easy as Pi

IE4010 has two places to store files:  SD Flash and internal flash.  

Without specifying the "location", the system will unpack into the SD Flash (default): 

archive download-sw /overwrite /image tftp://<IP ADDRESS>/<FILENAME>.tar

To unpack the IOS files into the flash, enter the location: 

archive download-sw /overwrite /image tftp://<IP ADDRESS>/<FILENAME>.tar flash:

WARNING:  

For unknown reasons, unpacking the IOS into the flash is SLOW and during the file verification stage, the session would not be responsive for about 7 minutes.  

[evanm]

Thanks Leo. The MD5 is validated manually with "verify /md5" however seems archive download is the best approach as stated.

Much appreciated.