Old Catalyst 2960 upgraded IOS, but not bootloader?

[tjdavies]

I am prepping some old donated equipment to be given to a local tech school's network program. Several of the switches are Cisco Catalyst 2960 (not 2960S or X) Switches, model WS-C2960-48TT-L. The org that donated the switches asked me to wipe them of any config/data they might contain. I figured while I did that, it would be simple to upgrade their IOS version to the latest. Even though Cisco's recommended IOS version for these is a 12.2 version, I decided to upgrade them to v15 so they would match other switches in the donation pool (other models like 2960S and 3560V2). Since I do not have credentials for these switches, I booted them into ROMMON mode and formatted the flash. Since these don't have USB ports, I XMODEMed over c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE11.bin and booted the switch to confirm the copy went well.

When I booted it up and checked the version, the IOS version was v15, as expected, but I noticed that the bootloader version listed was still the old v12.2 version! See sh ver results below.

Is this a problem?

How do I update the bootloader?

Switch#sh ver
Cisco IOS Software, C2960 Software (C2960-LANBASEK9-M), Version 15.0(2)SE11, RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc3)
ROM: Bootstrap program is C2960 boot loader
BOOTLDR: C2960 Boot Loader (C2960-HBOOT-M) Version 12.2(44)SE6, RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc1)

System image file is "flash:/c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE11.bin"

Model number : WS-C2960-48TT-L
Switch Ports Model SW Version SW Image
------ ----- ----- ---------- ----------
* 1 50 WS-C2960-48TT-L 15.0(2)SE11 C2960-LANBASEK9-M

I deleted several lines of the sh ver output for the sake of brevity.

Thanks,

Tom

[Flavio Miranda · Accepted solution]

@tjdavies 

 I dont believe this is a problem.If were required, the bootloader would be upgraded . They are mentioning 3750 below but this doc also incluse 2960.

"If you are upgrading a Catalyst 3750 switch that is running a release earlier than Cisco IOS Release 12.1(19)EA1c, this release includes a bootloader upgrade. The bootloader can take up to 1 minute to upgrade the first time that the new software is loaded. Do not power cycle the switch during the bootloader upgrade."

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/switches/lan/catalyst3750/software/release/15-0_2_se/release/notes/OL25301.html

[tjdavies]

Thank you!

[Leo Laohoo]

Cisco has lifted the restriction regarding bootloader/micro-code upgrades due to complaints from customers.  

If the switch does not auto-upgrade the bootloader/micro-code, then it is fine.

The last supported IOS firmware supported by the venerable 2960 are 12.2(55)SE12 & 15.0(2)SE11.