Software Upgrade
With the Software Upgrade page, you can perform software upgrades on all or selected
cluster members.
Before performing the upgrade, you must:
Then you can review the upgrade rules and upgrade the software.
To download a new version of switch software and the Cisco TFTP server application from
CCO to your PC or UNIX station hard disk:
- Login to CCO by following the instructions in the Release Notes for the Catalyst
2900 Series XL and the Catalyst 3500 Series XL, Cisco IOS Release 12.0(5)XP.
- Download the TFTP server application by following the instructions in CCO.
Note: To ensure full technical support, Cisco Systems recommends using
the TFTP server application (Version 1.1). Earlier versions of this application will not
properly copy the files during the upgrade process.
- Follow the instructions in CCO to download the tar file (combined IOS image and CVSM
software HTML) for 2900 and 3500 XL switches or the .bin file for Catalyst 1900 and 2820
switches.
Note: The tar file contains the same software as the corresponding .bin
and HTML files.
For information about the image filenames, see the release notes for your products.
You need the IP address of the PC or UNIX station that is acting as the TFTP server.
- To obtain the IP address of a Windows NT system, enter ipconfig at the
DOS command prompt.
- To obtain the IP address of a Windows 95 system, enter winipcfg from
the Windows Start > Run menu.
- To obtain the IP address of a UNIX station, enter ifconfig -a at the
prompt or look in the /etc/hosts file.
Note: If your PC is running the Cisco TFTP server, check for the IP
address on the title bar of the TFTP application.
The following procedure shows you how to upgrade from Release 12.0(5)XP to Release
12.0(5)XP (for example, from standard to Enterprise Edition Software) and from Release
12.0(5)XP to a later version of software. When you upgrade switches from different product
lines, follow these guidelines to ensure success and streamline the upgrade process:
- Do not upgrade switches from different product lines at the same time: perform 2900 and
3500 XL switch upgrades separately.
Note: Catalyst 1900 and 2820 switches can be grouped together for an
upgrade, but neither can be grouped with 2900 or 3500 XL switches while upgrading.
- Use the .tar version of the upgrade image for 2900 and 3500 XL switches; use the .bin
image for Catalyst 1900 and 2820 switches. These file types (.tar and .bin) contain the
software image and management code needed for the upgrade.
- Upgrade Catalyst 1900 and 2820 switches last. These switches must be rebooted soon after
the upgrade. If you fail to select Reboot Cluster in 30 seconds after the
upgrade, these switches reboot automatically.
- Do not upgrade 2900 XL switches with 4 MB of memory to Cisco IOS Release 12.0(5)XP
(WS-C2908-XL, WS-C2916M-XL, WS-C2924C-XL, and WS-C2924-XL). These switches can be upgraded
to IOS Release 11.2(8.x)SA6 original edition software to be cluster members. (To check
memory size on your switch, use the CLI command show version.
To upgrade the software on a cluster:
- Review the upgrade rules.
- In the TFTP Server IP Address field, enter the IP address of your TFTP server.
Note: To perform group upgrades, your TFTP server must be capable of
handling multiple requests and sessions simultaneously. If you are using Cisco's TFTP
server application, which is capable of handling multiple requests and session, you must
disable the Show File Transfer Progress and the Enable Logging
options to avoid TFTP server failures. To disable these options, select View >
Options from the Cisco TFTP server menu bar and deselect these options.
- In the New Image File Name field, enter the filename of the file to download from CCO.
For 2900 and 3500 switches, a .tar file contains the image. For Catalyst 1900 and 2820
switches, a .bin file contains the image. For information about image filenames, see the
release notes for your products.
Note: You can enter the path and filename in this field; you can precede
the path with a single slash (/) or no slash. If you enter only the filename in this
field, you must set up the path in the TFTP root directory of the TFTP server application.
- Select the Retain Current Image File Names checkbox if do not want to
replace your existing file with the new image.
By default, this checkbox is deselected, and the existing image is replaced by the new
name.
Note: This checkbox does not apply to Catalyst 1900 and 2820 switches.
- In the Available Cluster Members list box, select the cluster member to be upgraded, and
click Add>>.
Repeat this process until all members to be upgraded are displayed in the Selected Cluster
Members list box.
Note: See the upgrade rules for
important selection information.
You can remove switches from the Selected Cluster Members list box by selecting the switch
and clicking <<Remove.
- Click Upgrade to start the upgrade.
On Catalyst 2900 and 3500 switches, the new image is copied over the existing one if the
switch has insufficient Flash memory for two images. If the switch has sufficient Flash
memory, the new image is copied to the selected switches, but it does not replace the
current running image. Only after the new image is completely downloaded is the old one
erased, so if you experience a failure during the copy process, you can still reboot your
switch using the old image.
On Catalyst 1900 and 2820 switches, the new image always overwrites the existing one.
- Review the Software Upgrade Status Messages area to see the history of the upgrade
process.
The status messages tell you which devices successfully upgraded and which ones failed.
- If you have more switches to upgrade, repeat Steps 2 through 6. (Save Catalyst 1900 and
2820 upgrades for last.)
- Click Reboot Cluster to reboot all switches in the cluster.
All configuration changes are automatically saved to Flash memory. Then after a short
delay, the new image is loaded and run after rebooting.
Note: You lose connectivity to Cluster Manager when you reboot the
cluster.