Solved: Re: Stacked Catalyst 9200 upgrade to 16.12.04 - Page 2

MichaelBorg91237 · ‎04-01-2021

Hi Everyone,

I am driving myself a little bit mad on this one. I am planning an IOS 16.12.04 upgrade (from 16.12.02) on two stacked Catalyst 9200 switches. These switches are located in Germany (I am located in England) so I need to make sure nothing goes wrong. The upgrade deadline is approaching and I am not sure if I am am planning this correctly. I found the document below which looked good but I realised this doesn't mention a stack anywhere apart form the boot flash stage "If your switches are configured with auto boot, then the stack will automatically boot up with the new image. If not, you can manually boot flash:packages.conf".

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/switches/lan/catalyst9200/software/release/16-12/release_notes/ol-16-12-9200.html

My senior colleague said that I need to make sure I upload and set the secondary switch to use the new version as well but as far as I can see this is not mentioned in the above document. Can I use the above document instructions and only install the new IOS on the master switch after which it replicates the new image to the slave switch when that is rebooted?

Kind Regards,

Michael Borg

Leo Laohoo · ‎04-07-2021

If-and-When the script goes as expected (< --- EMPHASIS) the old firmware and packages should still be there. The most important file to look for is "packages.conf.00-". This should contain old list of packages the switch needs to load.

If you want to roll back, rename "packages.conf.00-" to "packages.conf" and reboot.

Just in case "packages.conf.00-" does not get backed-up by the script (which I have seen happen several times), before running the "install" command, create a copy of the file: copy flash:packages.conf flash:packages.conf.bak

MichaelBorg91237 · ‎04-08-2021

Morning Leo,

Great, that's very handy information!

One question though, as I'll run the install remove inactive command at the start of the install to free up space for 16.12.5, cat9k_lite_iosxe.16.12.02.SPA.bin will get removed. Isn't cat9k_lite_iosxe.16.12.02.SPA.bin the file that packages.conf uses to boot up with and this will then fail? Or does packages.conf use the .pkg files to boot up?

As usual, many thanks for your advise on this!

Kind Regards,

Michael Borg

Leo Laohoo · ‎04-08-2021

@MichaelBorg91237 wrote:

I'll run the install remove inactive command at the start of the install to free up space for 16.12.5

There are two ways about this.

First, download the old BIN file from the Cisco website and clean up the flash. If you need to roll-back, then re-run the install command on the old version.

If you cannot download from the Cisco website, do not clean up the flash.

MichaelBorg91237 · ‎04-08-2021

Hi Leo,

Understood. I have to clean up the flash at the start of the install as there isn't quite enough free space to extract the new image. I have downloaded the old .bin file to a local server and will ftp that over to the switch in the case of a rollback.

Many thanks for all your advise on this. I'm confident in the upgrade now and will schedule it for next week. Have a nice evening and stay safe.

Kind Regards,

Michael Borg

Leo Laohoo · ‎04-08-2021

Just want to re-iterate the warning: The Install Command will reboot the stack.

It is really a stupid "option" but there is nothing anyone (outside of Cisco) can do about it.

MichaelBorg91237 · ‎04-09-2021

Morning Leo,

Yeah the installation notes does say that so I am well aware thanks. I'm submitting the change today and will perform this upgrade next week. Fingers crossed everything goes well.

Thanks again for your advise on this.

Kind Regards,

Michael Borg

MichaelBorg91237 · ‎04-10-2021

Hi again Leo,

Sorry, me again haha. I just thought of something the higher ups will no doubt ask when I present the change next week. You said you have 10 TAC cases open for 16.12.04 and it's a 'disaster' version. What are the kind of issues you've faced with this version?

A colleague already challenged me saying I should install 16.12.04 not 16.12.05b but I disagreed.

Kind Regards,

Michael Borg

Leo Laohoo · ‎04-10-2021

@MichaelBorg91237 wrote:

What are the kind of issues you've faced with this version?

Where do I start?

PoE/SNMP will stop after a few weeks uptime (CSCvv28324). SMU update does not work. Several TAC Cases.
High CPU (and eventually crashes the standby switch). Multiple TAC cases not resolved.
Memory leak. Multiple TAC Cases not resolved.
Continuous Dot1X ports flapping will eventually cause the standby switch to crash.

Take a pick.

MichaelBorg91237 · ‎04-11-2021

Morning Leo,

Oh wow that's not good! Many thanks. That gives me plenty of ammunition in my change request presentation. Have a nice Sunday and stay safe.

Kind Regards,

Michael Borg

jmcgrady1 · ‎08-17-2022

Leo which ios have you found the most reliable for 9200L in 2022?

Leo Laohoo · ‎08-17-2022

@jmcgrady1 wrote:
Leo which ios have you found the most reliable for 9200L in 2022?

For switches, CSL support starts at 16.9.X. For routers, CSL support starts at 16.10.X.

If the 9200/9200L can work on 16.6.X, then use 16.6.10.

Have a read: IOS-XE leaks like a sieve

jmcgrady1 · ‎08-21-2022

Unfortunately 16.6.X is no longer available for download

Leo Laohoo · ‎08-22-2022

Raise a TAC Case and ask them if they can publish 16.6.10.

moussa2097 · ‎02-15-2023

Hello,

I've myself upgraded several Cisco 9200 stacked switches, and the process is quite easy.

You just need to make sure that all the switches in the stack get the exact same OS file on their flash, or you'll have a version mismatch at the reboot.

So, the process I followed was to upgrade 2 stacked 9200 switches to the latest 17.03.06 Os version.

1. Tftp copy the downloaded file from cisco to the master's flash.

2.Copy the file to the second switch's flash

3.check the presence of the files by doing : show flash-1 : and show flash-2:

4.Verify that the correct file is in the bootloader by doing: show boot /show boot system switch (1/2)

5.Reload

Regards,

Moussa

Leo Laohoo · ‎02-15-2023

@moussa2097

The process is Bundle Mode and is not recommended method.

Install Mode is recommended and one of the benefits of this is installing SMU. Bundle Mode does not support SMU.