Firmware Upgrades

[cbaker]

I hope I do not sound like an idiot but to date I have never had to upgrade the firmware on our Catalyst switches. So now I am at the point to where I want to but it seems as if either some of the switches have no upgrades and I also want to be sure I am selecting the correct firmware to download. Advice would be very welcome...

[ankbhasi]

Hi Friend,

You have to update which switches do you have and then only the the correct IOS can be updated?

Regards,

Ankur

[Iain]

To gain access to the IOS images that you will need, you will probably need to have at least one SmartNET contract assigned to your CCO cisco login. Otherwise, you might not be able to gain access to download the new IOS images.

Once you get this figured out, you can use the Feature Navigator to find the IOS which is compatible with your switch.

It is very important that you verify you meet the minimum memory requirements BEFORE you start the upgrade procedure! There are various commands (depending on your switch model) which will tell you how much RAM & flash memory are on your switch.

http://tools.cisco.com/ITDIT/CFN/jsp/index.jsp

You will need a tftp server to enable you to copy the IOS software from a pc to the switch. SolarWinds TFTP server is free and stable.

http://www.solarwinds.net/products/freetools/

The actual upgrade procedure will vary slightly from switch to switch. Below is a procedure for upgrading some of the older 3500XL switches.

http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/473/36.shtml

If you have a different model, you will want to search for an upgrade procedure which more closely matches your gear.

Good luck!

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