The documentation set for this product strives to use bias-free language. For the purposes of this documentation set, bias-free is defined as language that does not imply discrimination based on age, disability, gender, racial identity, ethnic identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and intersectionality. Exceptions may be present in the documentation due to language that is hardcoded in the user interfaces of the product software, language used based on RFP documentation, or language that is used by a referenced third-party product. Learn more about how Cisco is using Inclusive Language.
The Extended Fast Software Upgrade feature is supported starting with Cisco IOS XE Amsterdam 17.3.2a. Ensure that the software version that is installed on your switch is Cisco IOS XE Amsterdam 17.3.2a or later before you start the upgrade process.
You must disable manual boot using the no boot manual command.
The following restrictions are applicable to both standalone and stacked switch:
This feature is supported only if the switch is running in install mode.
This feature is not supported on a switch that is configured with Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) only. The switch must additionally be configured with either Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP) or Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol (MSTP).
For a root device, Extended Fast Software Upgrade feature is not supported if any of the device ports in forwarding state are connected to a STP peer (A device with STP configured and directly connected to root device).
For a device, with STP configured and not defined as a root device, Extended Fast Software Upgrade feature is supported only if the number of device ports in the forwarding state connected to a STP peer is less or equal to 1.
Application hosting may not restart automatically after performing Extended Fast Software Upgrade. You may need to disable and re-enable Cisco IOx, configure application hosting, and install, activate and start an application again.
The following restrictions are applicable for a stacked switch:
This feature is not supported if the stacked switch is configured in the partial-ring state.
This feature is not supported on a stacked switch that is configured with Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD).
This feature is not supported on a stacked switch that is configured with MACsec Key Agreement (MKA).
This feature is not supported on a stacked switch that is configured with Cisco TrustSec.
Configured UniDirectional Link Detection (UDLD) message intervals are ignored during traffic downtime. The intervals are restored to the configured values after Extended Fast Software Upgrade is completed.
Extended Fast Software Upgrade reduces the traffic downtime during software reload or upgrade operations. Compared to Fast Software Upgrade, the traffic downtime is reduced to less than 30 seconds, depending on the switch configuration. Extended Fast Software Upgrade uses graceful restart capability (also known as Cisco NSF) to ensure that switch configurations, such as certain routing protocols, remain unaffected during a software upgrade or reload.
 Note |
Extended Fast Software Upgrade works on access layer switches only. |
Perpetual Power over Ethernet (PoE), if configured, continues to provide uninterrupted power to the connected devices during software reload or upgrade.
The following protocols are supported with Extended Fast Software Upgrade feature:
Note |
For all protocols other than the following, the traffic downtime will be longer than 30 seconds: |
BGP (IPv4 and IPv6 address families)
Flexible NetFlow
IEEE 802.1X Port-Based Authentication
Intermediate System-to-Intermediate System (IS-IS)
Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) snooping
Layer 2 Switching
Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP)
MAC authentication bypass
Multicast Listener Discovery (MLD) snooping
Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) or OSPFv2 or OSPFv3
Per VLAN Spanning Tree (PVST)
QoS
Static Port-channels (Mode on)
STP with RSTP or MSTP
UDLD
Virtual routing and forwarding (VRF)
Web authentication
The following sections provide configuration information on how to perform Extended Fast Software Upgrade on a standalone switch.
To upgrade the software on a standalone switch, perform the following procedure:
Use the show graceful-reload command in privileged EXEC mode to ensure that all the routing protocols are in UP status.
Use the install remove inactive command in privileged EXEC mode to free the disk space for the new software, if necessary.
| Command or Action | Purpose | |
|---|---|---|
|
Step 1 |
enable Example: |
Enables privileged EXEC mode. Enter your password, if prompted. |
|
Step 2 |
install add file image activate reloadfast commit Example: |
Upgrades the switch with the new software image. The image keyword includes the location of the file (TFTP, HTTP, flash drives) and the image name. |
To upgrade the software on a standalone switch, perform the following procedure:
Use the show graceful-reload command in privileged EXEC mode to ensure that all the routing protocols are in UP status.
Use the install remove inactive command in privileged EXEC mode to free the disk space for the new software, if necessary.
| Command or Action | Purpose | |
|---|---|---|
|
Step 1 |
enable Example: |
Enables privileged EXEC mode. Enter your password, if prompted. |
|
Step 2 |
configure terminal Example: |
Enters global configuration mode. |
|
Step 3 |
ipv6 nd reachable-time seconds Example: |
Sets the time limit for a remote IPv6 node to be considered reachable after a reachability confirmation event has occurred. |
|
Step 4 |
end Example: |
Returns to privileged EXEC mode. |
|
Step 5 |
write memory Example: |
Saves the configuration on the switch. |
|
Step 6 |
install add file image activate reloadfast commit Example: |
Upgrades the switch with the new software image. The image keyword includes the location of the file (TFTP, HTTP, flash drives) and the image name. |
To upgrade the software on a standalone switch configured with IPv6 MLD, perform the following procedure:
Use the show graceful-reload command in privileged EXEC mode to ensure that all the routing protocols are in UP status.
Use the install remove inactive command in privileged EXEC mode to free the disk space for the new software, if necessary.
| Command or Action | Purpose | |
|---|---|---|
|
Step 1 |
enable Example: |
Enables privileged EXEC mode. Enter your password, if prompted. |
|
Step 2 |
configure terminal Example: |
Enters global configuration mode. |
|
Step 3 |
ipv6 mld snooping Example: |
Enables IPv6 MLD snooping. |
|
Step 4 |
end Example: |
Returns to privileged EXEC mode. |
|
Step 5 |
write memory Example: |
Saves the configuration on the switch. |
|
Step 6 |
install add file image activate reloadfast commit Example: |
Upgrades the switch with the new software image. The image keyword includes the location of the file (TFTP, HTTP, flash drives) and the image name. |
To upgrade the software on a standalone switch configured with BGP, perform the following procedure:
Use the show graceful-reload command in privileged EXEC mode to ensure that all the routing protocols are in UP status.
Use the install remove inactive command in privileged EXEC mode to free the disk space for the new software, if necessary.
| Command or Action | Purpose | |
|---|---|---|
|
Step 1 |
enable Example: |
Enables privileged EXEC mode. Enter your password, if prompted. |
|
Step 2 |
configure terminal Example: |
Enters global configuration mode. |
|
Step 3 |
router bgp autonomous-system-number Example: |
Enters BGP router configuration mode. |
|
Step 4 |
bgp graceful-restart Example: |
Enables NSF awareness on a switch. By default, NSF awareness is disabled. |
|
Step 5 |
end Example: |
Returns to privileged EXEC mode. |
|
Step 6 |
write memory Example: |
Saves the configuration on the switch. |
|
Step 7 |
install add file image activate reloadfast commit Example: |
Upgrades the switch with the new software image. The image keyword includes the location of the file (TFTP, HTTP, flash drives) and the image name. |
To upgrade the software on a standalone switch configured with OSPFv3, perform the following procedure:
Use the show graceful-reload command in privileged EXEC mode to ensure that all the routing protocols are in UP status.
Use the install remove inactive command in privileged EXEC mode to free the disk space for the new software, if necessary.
| Command or Action | Purpose | |
|---|---|---|
|
Step 1 |
enable Example: |
Enables privileged EXEC mode. Enter your password, if prompted. |
|
Step 2 |
configure terminal Example: |
Enters global configuration mode. |
|
Step 3 |
ipv6 nd reachable-time seconds Example: |
Sets the time limit for a remote IPv6 node to be considered reachable after a reachability confirmation event has occurred. |
|
Step 4 |
snmp ifmib ifindex persist Example: |
Enables SNMP ifIndex persistence globally. |
|
Step 5 |
router ospfv3 process-id Example: |
Enters OSPFv3 router configuration mode. |
|
Step 6 |
router-id ip-address Example: |
Sets a fixed router ID for the OSPFv3 instance. |
|
Step 7 |
interface-id snmp-if-index Example: |
Enables SNMP ifIndex persistence on the specified interface. |
|
Step 8 |
end Example: |
Returns to privileged EXEC mode. |
|
Step 9 |
write memory Example: |
Saves the configuration on the switch. |
|
Step 10 |
install add file image activate reloadfast commit Example: |
Upgrades the switch with the new software image. The image keyword includes the location of the file (TFTP, HTTP, flash drives) and the image name. |
To reload software on a standalone switch, perform the following procedure.
Use the show graceful-reload command in privileged EXEC mode to ensure that all the routing protocols are in UP status.
| Command or Action | Purpose | |
|---|---|---|
|
Step 1 |
enable Example: |
Enables privileged EXEC mode. Enter your password, if prompted. |
|
Step 2 |
reload fast Example: |
Reloads the switch without software upgrade. |
To reload software on a standalone switch configured with BGP, perform the following procedure.
Use the show graceful-reload command in privileged EXEC mode to ensure that all the routing protocols are in UP status.
| Command or Action | Purpose | |
|---|---|---|
|
Step 1 |
enable Example: |
Enables privileged EXEC mode. Enter your password, if prompted. |
|
Step 2 |
configure terminal Example: |
Enters global configuration mode. |
|
Step 3 |
router bgp autonomous-system-number Example: |
Enters BGP router configuration mode. |
|
Step 4 |
bgp graceful-restart Example: |
Enables NSF awareness on the switch. By default, NSF awareness is disabled. |
|
Step 5 |
end Example: |
Returns to privileged EXEC mode. |
|
Step 6 |
write memory Example: |
Saves the configuration on the switch. |
|
Step 7 |
reload fast Example: |
Reloads the switch without software upgrade. |
To reload software on a standalone switch configured with OSPv3, perform the following procedure.
Use the show graceful-reload command in privileged EXEC mode to ensure that all the routing protocols are in UP status.
| Command or Action | Purpose | |
|---|---|---|
|
Step 1 |
enable Example: |
Enables privileged EXEC mode. Enter your password, if prompted. |
|
Step 2 |
configure terminal Example: |
Enters global configuration mode. |
|
Step 3 |
ipv6 nd reachable-time seconds Example: |
Sets the time limit for a remote IPv6 node to be considered reachable after a reachability confirmation event has occurred. |
|
Step 4 |
snmp ifmib ifindex persist Example: |
Globally enables SNMP ifIndex persistence. |
|
Step 5 |
router ospfv3 process-id Example: |
Enters OSPFv3 router configuration mode. |
|
Step 6 |
router-id ip-address Example: |
Sets a fixed router ID for the OSPFv3 instance. |
|
Step 7 |
interface-id snmp-if-index Example: |
Enables SNMP ifIndex persistence on the specified interface. |
|
Step 8 |
end Example: |
Returns to privileged EXEC mode. |
|
Step 9 |
write memory Example: |
Saves the configuration on the switch. |
|
Step 10 |
reload fast Example: |
Reloads the switch without software upgrade. |
The following sections provide configuration information on how to perform Extended Fast Software Upgrade on a stacked switch.
To upgrade the software on a stacked switch, perform the following procedure:
Use the install remove inactive command in privileged EXEC mode to free the disk space for the new software, if necessary.
| Command or Action | Purpose | |
|---|---|---|
|
Step 1 |
enable Example: |
Enables privileged EXEC mode. Enter your password, if prompted. |
|
Step 2 |
install add file image activate reloadfast commit Example: |
The following processes happen:
The image keyword includes the location of the file (TFTP, HTTP, flash drives) and the image name. |
To upgrade the software on a stacked switch configured with BGP, perform the following procedure:
Use the show graceful-reload command in privileged EXEC mode to ensure that all the routing protocols are in UP status.
Use the install remove inactive command in privileged EXEC mode to free the disk space for the new software, if necessary.
| Command or Action | Purpose | |
|---|---|---|
|
Step 1 |
enable Example: |
Enables privileged EXEC mode. Enter your password, if prompted. |
|
Step 2 |
configure terminal Example: |
Enters global configuration mode. |
|
Step 3 |
router bgp autonomous-system-number Example: |
Enters BGP router configuration mode. |
|
Step 4 |
bgp graceful-restart all Example: |
Enables NSF awareness on a switch. By default, NSF awareness is disabled. |
|
Step 5 |
end Example: |
Returns to privileged EXEC mode. |
|
Step 6 |
write memory Example: |
Saves the configuration on the switch. |
|
Step 7 |
install add file image activate reloadfast commit Example: |
Upgrades the switch with the new software image. The image keyword includes the location of the file (TFTP, HTTP, flash drives) and the image name. |
To upgrade the software on a stacked switch configured with IS-IS, perform the following procedure:
Use the install remove inactive command in privileged EXEC mode to free the disk space for the new software, if necessary.
| Command or Action | Purpose | |
|---|---|---|
|
Step 1 |
enable Example: |
Enables privileged EXEC mode. Enter your password, if prompted. |
|
Step 2 |
configure terminal Example: |
Enters global configuration mode. |
|
Step 3 |
router isis area-tag Example: |
Enables the IS-IS routing protocol to specify an IS-IS process, and places the switch in router configuration mode. |
|
Step 4 |
nsf {cisco | ietf} Example: |
Enables NSF operation for IS-IS.
|
|
Step 5 |
end Example: |
Returns to privileged EXEC mode. |
|
Step 6 |
write memory Example: |
Saves the configuration on the switch. |
|
Step 7 |
install add file image activate reloadfast commit Example: |
Upgrades the switch with the new software image. The image keyword includes the location of the file (TFTP, HTTP, flash drives) and the image name. |
To reload software on a stacked switch, perform the following procedure.
| Command or Action | Purpose | |
|---|---|---|
|
Step 1 |
enable Example: |
Enables privileged EXEC mode. Enter your password, if prompted. |
|
Step 2 |
reload fast Example: |
The following processes happen:
|
To reload software on a stacked switch configured with BGP, perform the following procedure.
Use the show graceful-reload command in privileged EXEC mode to ensure that all the routing protocols are in UP status.
| Command or Action | Purpose | |
|---|---|---|
|
Step 1 |
enable Example: |
Enables privileged EXEC mode. Enter your password, if prompted. |
|
Step 2 |
configure terminal Example: |
Enters global configuration mode. |
|
Step 3 |
router bgp autonomous-system-number Example: |
Enters BGP router configuration mode. |
|
Step 4 |
bgp graceful-restart all Example: |
Enables NSF awareness on all switches in the stack. By default, NSF awareness is disabled. |
|
Step 5 |
end Example: |
Returns to privileged EXEC mode. |
|
Step 6 |
write memory Example: |
Saves the configuration on the switch. |
|
Step 7 |
reload fast Example: |
Reloads the switch without software upgrade. |
To reload software on a stacked switch configured with IS-IS, perform the following procedure.
| Command or Action | Purpose | |
|---|---|---|
|
Step 1 |
enable Example: |
Enables privileged EXEC mode. Enter your password, if prompted. |
|
Step 2 |
configure terminal Example: |
Enters global configuration mode. |
|
Step 3 |
router isis area-tag Example: |
Enables the IS-IS routing protocol to specify an IS-IS process, and places the switch in router configuration mode. |
|
Step 4 |
nsf {cisco | ietf} Example: |
Enables NSF operation for IS-IS.
|
|
Step 5 |
end Example: |
Returns to privileged EXEC mode. |
|
Step 6 |
write memory Example: |
Saves the configuration on the switch. |
|
Step 7 |
reload fast Example: |
Reloads the switch without software upgrade. |
Use the following commands in privileged EXEC mode to verify the software upgrade or reload is successful.
|
Command |
Purpose |
|---|---|
|
show version |
Displays the hardware and software information for a device. |
|
show log | in FAST |
Displays whether software upgrade or reload using Extended Fast Software Upgrade is completed. |
|
show install summary |
Displays information about an active package. |
|
show install log |
Displays information about installation requests. |
|
show version running |
Displays information about the files that are currently running. |
|
show version | in reason |
Displays the reason for the last reload. |
| Related Topic | Document Title |
|---|---|
|
Information on routing protocols |
See the IP Routing Configuration Guide of the Software Configuration Guide (Catalyst 9300 Switches) |
|
Information on STP, PVST, and UDLD |
See the Layer 2 Configuration Guide of the Software Configuration Guide (Catalyst 9300 Switches) |
|
Information on Perpetual PoE |
See the Network Powered Lighting Configuration Guide of the Software Configuration Guide (Catalyst 9300 Switches) |
This table provides release and related information for features explained in this module.
These features are available on all releases subsequent to the one they were introduced in, unless noted otherwise.
|
Release |
Feature |
Feature Information |
|---|---|---|
|
Cisco IOS XE Amsterdam 17.3.2a |
Extended Fast Software Upgrade |
Extended Fast Software Upgrade reduces the traffic downtime during software reload or upgrade operations. Support for this feature was introduced on the 9300 and 9300L switch models of the Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches. |
Feedback