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Upgrade Steps for Cisco Catalyst 4500-E Switch to

Cisco IOS XE Software Release 3.6.0E - 15.2(2)E
Introduction
Operating on redundant systems, the In-Service Software Upgrade (ISSU) process allows Cisco IOS Software to
be updated or otherwise modified while packet forwarding continues.

This document covers the detail for upgrading the Cisco Catalyst 4500-E standalone switch with a redundant
supervisor engine as well as the Virtual Switching System (VSS) with Cisco Catalyst 4500 Supervisor Engines 8-E,
7-E, and 7L-E. The steps provided in this document should be followed to maximize uptime while you upgrade your
Cisco Catalyst 4500-E switch to Cisco IOS XE Software Release 3.6.0E - 15.2(2)E.

Restriction of ISSU to Cisco IOS XE Software Release 3.6.0E - 15.2(2)E

Cisco IOS XE Software Release 3.6.0E - 15.2(2)E contains infrastructure changes in the Cisco Catalyst 4500-E
switch software. Because of these changes, high-availability (HA) synchronization cannot be done between the
supervisor engines loaded with Cisco IOS XE Software Release 3.6.0E - 15.2(2)E and any image version prior to
Cisco IOS XE Software Release 3.6.0E - 15.2(2)E.

This HA restriction is only with Supervisor Engines 8-E, 7-E, and 7L-E.

Upgrade of Standalone Switch (Non-VSS) with Cisco Catalyst 4500 Supervisor Engine 6-E and
Older Supervisor Engines
With other supervisor engines, the ISSU is supported as long as the ISSU is performed between Cisco IOS XE
Software Release 3.6.0E - 15.2(2)E and a release that is within an 18-month window of Cisco IOS XE Software
Release 3.6.0E - 15.2(2)E.

Note: This document is for a testbed in which two supervisor engines are used. If you are using a single supervisor
engine, ignore the steps for redundant supervisor engines.

Prerequisites
Requirements
Make sure that you meet these requirements before you attempt these steps:

During the upgrade there will be some downtime for the switch. Therefore, it is recommended that upgrades be
performed during a maintenance window.

Make sure that you have the Supervisor Engine 8-E booted up with rommon version 15.1(1r)SG4. The updated
rommon software is available for download at Cisco.com.The detailed steps to upgrade the Cisco Catalyst 4500-E
supervisor engine are provided at
http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/switches/lan/catalyst4500/release/note/OL_24829.html.

The standby supervisor engine should be in redundant Stateful Switchover (SSO) mode.

2014 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Page 1 of 6
 Components Used
The information in this document is based on these software and hardware versions:

Cisco Catalyst 4500-E

Cisco IOS XE Software Release 3.6.0E - 15.2(2)E
Supervisor Engines 8-E, 7-E, and 7L-E
The information in this document was created from the devices in a specific lab environment. The CLI command
output is taken from a switch with Supervisor Engine 7-E. If your network is live, make sure that you understand the
potential effects of the CLI commands.

Steps to Upgrade a Redundant System (Non-VSS)

In this section, you are presented with the information to configure the features described in this document.

Note: Use the Command Lookup Tool (registered customers only) to obtain more information about the commands
used in this section.

The image can be copied with Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) or a compact flash device. If the compact flash
is not available, the software image and configuration file can be copied with TFTP as well.

1. Copy the new image to the active supervisor engine bootflash or compact flash device.

Cat4k1#copy usb0:cat4500e-universalk9.SPA.03.06.00.E.152-2.E.bin bootflash:

Destination filename [cat4500e-universalk9.SPA.03.06.00.E.152-2.E.bin]?
Copy in
progress...CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

--- Output suppressed.

2. Copy the new image to the standby supervisor engine bootflash or compact flash device.

Cat4k1#copy usb0:cat4500e-universalk9.SPA.03.06.00.E.152-2.E.bin slavebootflash:

Destination filename [cat4500e-universalk9.SPA.03.06.00.E.152-2.E.bin]?
Copy in
progress...CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

--- Output suppressed.

3. Modify the switch configuration to set the boot image to the Cisco IOS XE Software 3.6.0E software image.

Cat4k1#config terminal
Enter configuration commands, one per line.
End withCNTL/Z.
Cat4k1 (config)#boot system flash bootflash:cat4500e-
universalk9.SPA.03.06.00.E.152-2.E.bin

2014 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Page 2 of 6
 4. Copy the running configuration to the startup configuration. It will save the configuration in the standby
supervisor engine too.

Cat4k1#copy running-config startup-config

Destination filename [startup-config]?
Building configuration... Compressed configuration from 18412 bytes to 6376
bytes[OK]
Cat4k1#
5. Verify that the Cisco IOS XE Software 3.6.0E software image is set to boot on next reload.

Cat4k1#show bootvar
BOOT variable = bootflash:cat4500e-universalk9.SPA.03.06.00.E.152-2.E.bin;
CONFIG_FILE variable does not exist
BOOTLDR variable does not exist
Configuration register is0x2102

Standby BOOT variable = bootflash:cat4500e-universalk9.SPA.03.06.00.E.152-

2.E.bin,1;
Standby CONFIG_FILE variable does not exist
Standby BOOTLDR variable does not exist
Standby Configuration register is 0x2102
6. Reload the entire shelf. It will reload both supervisor engines in the system.
Note: We need to reload both supervisor engines together. Otherwise only the supervisor engine that gets
reloaded will have the new version, and the other supervisor engine will have the older version.

Cat4k1#redundancy reload shelf

System configuration has been modified. Save? [yes/no]: yes
Reload the entire shelf [confirm]

Verify Standalone Switch Redundancy

After the switch comes up, verify that both active and standby supervisor engines are booted with the Cisco IOS
XE Software 3.6.0E version and supervisor engines are in active and standby SSO redundant mode.
Cat4k1#show redundancy
Redundant System Information :
------------------------------
Available system uptime = 32 minutes
Switchovers system experienced = 0
Standby failures = 0
Last switchover reason = none

Hardware Mode = Duplex

Configured Redundancy Mode = Stateful Switchover
Operating Redundancy Mode = Stateful Switchover
Maintenance Mode = Disabled
Communications = Up

--- Output suppressed.

2014 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Page 3 of 6
 Steps to Upgrade Virtual Switch System (VSS)
Note: Supervisor Engine 8-E supports VSS for the first time in Cisco IOS XE Software 3.6.0E. Therefore, these
steps are applicable to Supervisor Engine 7-E and Supervisor Engine 7L-E only.

1. Copy the new image to the active supervisor engine bootflash or compact flash device.

vss1#copy usb0:cat4500e-universalk9.SPA.03.06.00.E.152-2.E.bin bootflash:

Destination filename [cat4500e-universalk9.SPA.03.06.00.E.152-2.E.bin]?
Copy in
progress...CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
--- Output suppressed.
2. Copy the new image to the standby supervisor engine bootflash or compact flash device.

vss1#copy bootflash:cat4500e-universalk9.SPA.03.06.00.E.152-2.E.bin
slavebootflash:
Destination filename [cat4500e-universalk9.SPA.03.06.00.E.152-2.E.bin]?
Copy in
progress...CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

--- Output suppressed.

3. Modify the switch configuration to set the boot image to the Cisco IOS XE Software 3.6.0E software image.

vss1#config terminal
Enter configuration commands, one per line.
End withCNTL/Z.
vss1 (config)#boot system flash bootflash:cat4500e-universalk9.SPA.03.06.00.E.152-
2.E.bin

4. Copy the running configuration to the startup configuration. It will save the configuration in the standby
supervisor engine too.

vss1#copy running-config startup-config

Destination filename [startup-config]?
Building configuration...
Compressed configuration from 14022 bytes to 5201 bytes[OK]
5. Verify that the Cisco IOS XE Software 3.6.0E software image is set to boot on next reload.

vss1#config terminal
Enter configuration commands, one per line.
End withCNTL/Z.
vss1 (config)#boot system flash bootflash:cat4500e-
universalk9.SPA.03.06.00.E.152-2.E.bin

vss1#show bootvar
BOOT variable = bootflash:cat4500e-universalk9.SPA.03.06.00.E.152-2.E.bin,1;
CONFIG_FILE variable does not exist
BOOTLDR variable does not exist
Configuration register is 0x2102

2014 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Page 4 of 6
 Standby BOOT variable = bootflash:cat4500e-universalk9.SPA.03.06.00.E.152-
2.E.bin,1;
Standby CONFIG_FILE variable does not exist
Standby BOOTLDR variable does not exist
Standby Configuration register is 0x2102
6. Reload the entire shelf. It will reload both supervisor engines in the system.
Note: We need to reload both supervisor engines together. Otherwise only the supervisor engine that gets
reloaded will have the new version, and the other supervisor engine will have the older version.
vss1#redundancy reload shelf
Reload the entire shelf [confirm]
Preparing to reload this shelf
*Jul 4 06:18:55.308: %RF-5-RF_RELOAD: Shelf reload. Reason: Reload Shelf CLI
*Jul 4 06:18:57.020: %SYS-5-RELOAD: Reload requested by console. Reload Reason:
Reload Shelf CLI.

--- Output suppressed.

Verify VSS Switch Redundancy

After the switch comes up, verify that both the active switch and standby switch are booted with Cisco IOS
XE Software 3.6.0E version and VSS pair in active standby SSO redundant mode.
vss1#show redundancy
Redundant System Information :

------------------------------
Available system uptime = 6 minutes
Switchovers system experienced = 0
Standby failures = 0
Last switchover reason = none

Hardware Mode = Duplex

Configured Redundancy Mode = Stateful Switchover
Operating Redundancy Mode = Stateful Switchover
Maintenance Mode = Disabled
Communications = Up

--- Output suppressed.

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Printed in USA C11-732289-00 08/14

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