I’ve recently completed a series of NXOS upgrades on a pair of Nexus 9372TX-E switches and thought I’d document the process. It should be similar for most other models as well.
In my situation I was going from version 7.0(3)I4(5) to 9.3(4). I wanted to try to use the In-Service Software Upgrade (ISSU) process, so I checked which upgrade path Cisco recommend using the tool found here. In my case my upgrade path would be 7.0(3)I4(5) → 7.0(3)I4(8b) → 7.0(3)I7(9) → 9.3(4).
Archive current configurations of the affected devices in case of rollback
Switch1# copy running-config usb1:<hostname>.cfg
Switch2# copy running-config usb1:<hostname>.cfgEnsure there is sufficient space on the bootflash for all firmware images
Switch1# dir bootflash:
Switch2# dir bootflash:Copy the software from usb to bootflash
Switch1# copy usb1:///nxos.7.0.3.I4.8b.bin bootflash:///
Switch2# copy usb1:///nxos.7.0.3.I4.8b.bin bootflash:///Confirm current vpc status to ensure everything is in an OK state before the upgrade
Switch1# show vpc
Switch2# show vpc
Legend:
(*) - local vPC is down, forwarding via vPC peer-link
vPC domain id : x
Peer status : peer adjacency formed ok
vPC keep-alive status : peer is alive
Configuration consistency status : success
Per-vlan consistency status : success
Type-2 consistency status : success
vPC role : primary
Number of vPCs configured : 0
Peer Gateway : Enabled
Dual-active excluded VLANs : -
Graceful Consistency Check : Enabled
Auto-recovery status : Enabled, timer is off.(timeout = 240s)
Delay-restore status : Timer is off.(timeout = 30s)
Delay-restore SVI status : Timer is off.(timeout = 10s)
vPC Peer-link status
---------------------------------------------------------------------
id Port Status Active vlans
-- ---- ------ --------------------------------------------------
1 Po1 up xx Perform installation compatibility check on the first switch and then repeat the process on the second switch. In my case the upgrade process could not use ISSU and would require a reboot.
Switch1# show install all impact nxos bootflash:nxos.7.0.3.I7.9.bin
Installer will perform impact only check. Please wait.
Verifying image bootflash:/nxos.7.0.3.I4.8b.bin for boot variable "nxos".
[####################] 100% -- SUCCESS
Verifying image type.
[####################] 100% -- SUCCESS
Preparing "nxos" version info using image bootflash:/nxos.7.0.3.I4.8b.bin.
[####################] 100% -- SUCCESS
Preparing "bios" version info using image bootflash:/nxos.7.0.3.I4.8b.bin.
[####################] 100% -- SUCCESS
Performing module support checks.
[####################] 100% -- SUCCESS
Notifying services about system upgrade.
[####################] 100% -- SUCCESS
Compatibility check is done:
Module bootable Impact Install-type Reason
------ -------- -------------- ------------ ------
1 yes disruptive reset default upgrade is not hitless
Images will be upgraded according to following table:
Module Image Running-Version(pri:alt) New-Version Upg-Required
------ ---------- ---------------------------------------- -------------------- ------------
1 nxos 7.0(3)I4(5) 7.0(3)I4(8b) yes
1 bios v07.51(02/15/2016):v07.41(10/12/2015) v07.51(02/15/2016) noUpgrade the software on the first switch
Switch1# install all nxos bootflash:nxos.7.0.3.I7.9.bin
Images will be upgraded according to following table:
Module Image Running-Version(pri:alt) New-Version Upg-Required
------ ---------- ---------------------------------------- -------------------- ------------
1 nxos 7.0(3)I4(5) 7.0(3)I4(8b) yes
1 bios v07.51(02/15/2016):v07.41(10/12/2015) v07.51(02/15/2016) no
Switch will be reloaded for disruptive upgrade.
Do you want to continue with the installation (y/n)? [n] y
Install is in progress, please wait.
Performing runtime checks.
[####################] 100% -- SUCCESS
Setting boot variables.
[####################] 100% -- SUCCESS
Performing configuration copy.
[####################] 100% -- SUCCESS
Module 1: Refreshing compact flash and upgrading bios/loader/bootrom.
Warning: please do not remove or power off the module at this time.
[####################] 100% -- SUCCESS
Finishing the upgrade, switch will reboot in 10 seconds.Upon reboot, vpc will be down. However after a few minutes it will come back up.
show vpcRepeat the process for the second switch.
Switch2# show install all impact nxos bootflash:nxos.7.0.3.I7.9.bin
Switch2# install all nxos bootflash:nxos.7.0.3.I7.9.binAfter the second switch reboots, confirm vpc is still working.
Switch2# show vpcAnd that’s the first upgrade done for the pair. If your case is similar to mine where you need to upgrade several times, you get to now have the fun of repeating the process.