Upgrade from 8.2.166.0 to 8.10.151.0

[LAN team]

Hello,

Is it possible to upgrade a 5520 WLC directly from 8.2.166.0 to 8.10.151.0 or is it necessary to do a step upgrade to 8.5.xxx ?

Thankx 

[balaji.bandi]

you need to go to 8.5 then 8.10

when you going 8.10 check the release notes : 

CIMC Utility Upgrade for 5520 and 8540 Controllers

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/wireless/controller/release/notes/crn810mr5.html#cimc-upgrade

[Arshad Safrulla]

There is an upgrade path, before that please make sure that you have upgraded the CIMC of the WLC to the latest Cisco recommended. (applicable to 5520 & 8540). Depending on the AP's you have plan might change as there are some bugs which affect only certain AP's in certain codes. My rough plan would be as below.

1. Upgrade the CIMC of the WLC's. 

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/wireless/controller/release/notes/crn810mr4.html#:~:text=under%20Controller%20Summary.-,CIMC%20Utility%20Upgrade%20for%205520%20and%208540%20Controllers,-The%20AIR-CT5520

2. Upgrade to 8.3.151.0 (If you have X700 series AP's)

3 Upgrade the code to 8.5.X.X (Latest recommended version can be found in the below link)

4. Then upgrade to 8.10.151.0 or at the moment Cisco recommendation is AireOS 8.10.162.0

5. During the whole process check whether there is any requirement to install any Supplemental AP bundle Images if you have 1500 series AP's.

Some links that might help you plan better

• Recommended AireOS by Cisco TAC - 

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/wireless/wireless-lan-controller-software/200046-tac-recommended-aireos.html

• Supported AP's in 8.10.151.0 

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/wireless/controller/release/notes/crn810mr5.html

• WLAN poller for AP Flash corruption issues

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/wireless-mobility/wireless-lan-wlan/213317-understanding-various-ap-ios-flash-corru.html

• Field Notices that is relevant to X700 series AP's.

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/field-notices/703/fn70330.html

• Bugs you can refer to 

CSCvk15043
CSCvk15068
CSCvk26732
CSCvm33617
CSCvf16302
CSCvf28459
CSCvq22269

[LAN team]

Thank you for your answer Arshad.

Another question please :

FYI, this WLC is used as an Anchor then not connected directly to any AP then no matter about AP model compatibility.

About CIMC update, the component to check and update is the BMC or BIOS one ? Not clear for me  :

In the release note, I can see CIMC 3.0(4d) has to be updated to 3.0(4r) or 4.0(2n). It seems this WLC is not affceted ?

Thank you,

[Arshad Safrulla · Accepted solution]

If that's the case you can simply upgrade to 8.5 and then to 8.10. 

You have to update all the components, so select all and click on update. It is always recommended to have the latest CIMC version as this addresses lot of bugs which may be present in previous versions.For CIMC you can directly upgrade it to 4.X version from the version that is running in your WLC.

Also sharing a very informative guide which Rasika has in his personal blog space for your reference.

https://mrncciew.com/2019/09/06/cimc-upgrade-8540-5520-wlc/