Document Change History

The document change history outlines the updates and modifications made to this document for a release train.

Document Change History

Date

Release

Sections Updated

December 03, 2024

17.15.2

August 14, 2024

17.15.1

Introduction

Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series Switches are the next generation purpose-built 40 GigabitEthernet, 50 GigabitEthernet, 100 GigabitEthernet, and 400 GigabitEthernet modular core and aggregation platform providing resiliency at scale with the industry’s most comprehensive security while allowing your business to grow at the lowest total operational cost. They have been purpose-built to address emerging trends of Security, IoT, Mobility, and Cloud.

They deliver hardware and software convergence in terms of ASIC architecture with Unified Access Data Plane (UADP) 3.0 and Cisco Silicon One Q200. The platform runs an Open Cisco IOS XE that supports model driven programmability, Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) Solid State Drive (SSD) local storage, and a higher memory footprint). The series forms the foundational building block for SD-Access, which is Cisco’s lead enterprise architecture.

It also supports features that provide high availability, advanced routing and infrastructure services, security capabilities, and application visibility and control.

Supported Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series Switches Model Numbers

The following table lists the supported switch models. For information about the available license levels, see section License Levels.

Switch Model

(append with “=” for spares)

Description

Introductory Release

C9606R

Cisco Catalyst 9606R Switch

  • Redundant supervisor module capability

  • Four linecard slots

  • Hot-swappable fan tray, front and rear serviceable, fan tray assembly with 9 fans.

  • Four power supply module slots

Cisco IOS XE Gibraltar 16.11.1

Supported Hardware on Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series Switches

Product ID

(append with “=” for spares)

Description

Introductory Release

Supervisor Modules

C9600-SUP-1

Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series Supervisor 1 Module

This supervisor module is supported on the C9606R chassis.

Cisco IOS XE Gibraltar 16.11.1

C9600X-SUP-2

Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series Supervisor Engine 2

This supervisor module is supported on the C9606R chassis.

Cisco IOS XE Cupertino 17.7.1

SATA1 SSD2 Modules (for the Supervisor)

C9K-F2-SSD-240GB

Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series 240GB SSD Storage

Cisco IOS XE Gibraltar 16.11.1

C9K-F2-SSD-480GB

Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series 480GB SSD Storage

Cisco IOS XE Gibraltar 16.11.1

C9K-F2-SSD-960GB

Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series 960GB SSD Storage

Cisco IOS XE Gibraltar 16.11.1

Line Cards

C9600X-LC-56YL4C

Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series 56-Port SFP56, 4-Port QSFP28 line card.

  • C9600X-SUP-2

    • 56 SFP56 ports of 50G/25G/10G

    • 4 QSFP28 ports of 100G/40G

  • C9600-SUP-1

    • Not supported

Cisco IOS XE 17.13.1

C9600X-LC-32CD

Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series 30-Port QSFP28, 2-Port QSFP-DD line card.

  • C9600X-SUP-2

    • 30 QSFP28 ports of 100G/40G

    • 2 QSFP-DD ports of 400G/200G/100G/40G

  • C9600-SUP-1

    • Not supported

Cisco IOS XE Cupertino 17.9.1

C9600-LC-40YL4CD

Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series 40-Port SFP56, 2-Port QSFP56, 2-Port QSFP-DD line card.

  • C9600X-SUP-2

    • 40 SFP56 ports of 50G/25G/10G

    • 2 QSFP56 ports of 200G/100G/40G

    • 2 QSFP-DD ports of 400G/200G/100G/40G

  • C9600X-SUP-1

    • 40 SFP28 ports of 25G/10G/1G

    • 2 QSFP28 ports of 100G/40G

Cisco IOS XE Cupertino 17.7.1

C9600-LC-48YL

Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series 48-Port SFP56 line card.

  • C9600X-SUP-2

    • 48 SFP56 ports of 50G/25G/10G

  • C9600X-SUP-1

    • 48 SFP28 ports of 25G/10G/1G

Cisco IOS XE Gibraltar 16.11.1

C9600-LC-24C

Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series 24-Port 40G/12-Port 100G line card.

  • C9600X-SUP-2

    • 24 QSFP28 ports of 100G/40G

  • C9600-SUP-1

    • 12 ports of 100G or 24 ports of 40G

Cisco IOS XE Gibraltar 16.11.1

C9600-LC-48TX

Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series 48-Port MultiGigabit RJ45 line card.

  • C9600X-SUP-2

    • 48 ports of 10G/5G/2.5G

  • C9600X-SUP-1

    • 48 ports of 10G/5G/2.5G/1G and 100M/10M

Cisco IOS XE Amsterdam 17.1.1

C9600-LC-48S

Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series 48-Port SFP line card.

  • C9600X-SUP-2

    • Not supported

  • C9600-SUP-1

    • 48 SFP ports of 1G

Cisco IOS XE Amsterdam 17.2.1

AC Power Supply Modules

C9600-PWR-2KWAC

Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series 2000W AC Power Supply Module3

Cisco IOS XE Gibraltar 16.11.1

C9600-PWR-3KWAC

Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series 3000W AC Power Supply Module

Cisco IOS XE Cupertino 17.8.1

DC Power Supply Modules

C9600-PWR-2KWDC

Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series 2000W DC Power Supply Module

Cisco IOS XE Gibraltar 16.11.1
1 Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA)
2 Solid State Drive (SSD) Module
3 Power supply output capacity is 1050W at 110 VAC.

What's New in Cisco IOS XE 17.15.x

Hardware Features in Cisco IOS XE 17.15.2

Feature Name

Description

Cisco 400G QSFP-DD Cable and Transceiver Modules

Supported transceiver module product number:

  • QDD-400G-LR4-S

Compatible line cards:

  • C9600-LC-40YL4CD and C9600X-LC-32CD line cards on Cisco Catalyst 9600X Supervisor Module 2 (C9600X-SUP-2)

For information about the module, see Cisco 400G QSFP-DD Cable and Transceiver Modules Data Sheet. For information about device compatibility, see the Transceiver Module Group (TMG) Compatibility Matrix.

Software Features in Cisco IOS XE 17.15.2

Feature Name

Description

Multicast Flow-aware SG Timer

This feature introduces a mechanism to extend the expiry timer for newly created (S,G) mroute traffic. The ip mroute extend-timer command is introduced.

(Network Advantage)

Multi-Cluster Fabric – Router MAC Rewrite with Nexthop-Self BGP Attribute

Traditional EVPN fabric with eBGP used Nexthop. Native eBGP EVPN for VxLAN or MPLS involves Nexthop rewrite at the fabric boundary.

When multiple EVPN fabrics are inter-connected at the boundary, they need to rewrite Nexthop IP address with VTEP IP address. In the case of VxLAN, local VTEP Router MAC address and VNI need rewrite and in case of MPLS, neighbor update-source IP address and VRF label need a rewrite operation.

Whenever Nexthop IP address is changed by any means (implicit eBGP-eBGP advertisement, via route-map, Nexthop-self configuration), associated RNH attributes need to be changed.

(Network Advantage)

New on the WebUI

There are no new WebUI features in this release.

Hardware and Software Behavior Changes in Cisco IOS XE 17.15.2

There are no behavior changes in this release.

Hardware Features in Cisco IOS XE 17.15.1

There are no new hardware features in this release.

Software Features in Cisco IOS XE 17.15.1

Feature Name

Applicable Models

Description

AAA PAC-less Authentication

All Models

In multi ISE node environment when the primary ISE node is unavailable, device can automatically switch to the secondary node without needing to re-establish a Provisioning Authentication Credential (PAC), ensuring minimal disruption.

AAA PAC-less authentication simplifies the authentication process by eliminating the need for a PAC, improves scalability, enhances the user experience, and enables more modern authentication methods while aligning with Zero Trust security principles.

See Cisco TrustSec → Cisco TrustSec Overview.

(Network Essentials)

AWS S3 and CloudWatch Support

All Models

Cisco Catalyst 9000 Series Switches support Amazon Web Services S3 and CloudWatch. With AWS S3, network administrators can mount an Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) bucket to the bootflash. The S3 bucket enables easy distribution of software images, software maintenance upgrades (SMUs), and scripts to multiple devices without any disruptions. Network administrators can also create, edit, and delete the cloud storage instance using AWS S3 functionality, and make them accessible as part of the bootflash.

The AWS CloudWatch is a monitoring and logging service that provides data that enables you to understand, optimize, and enhance the performance of your applications, systems, and services running on the Cloud platform and on-premise servers.

Global Link Debounce Timer

C9600X-SUP-2

The Link Debounce Timer delays notification of a link up or down status change. Delayed notification of a link status change can decrease traffic loss due to network reconfiguration when network ethernet port experiences minor faults in the link. The Link Debounce Up Timer is a new enhancement of the feature which delays notification of a link from down to up status change.

The feature is implemented on Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series Supervisor 2 Module at the global level only. Per port configuration is not supported.

See Interface and Hardware Components → Configuring Link Debounce Timer.

(Network Essentials)

MACsec over Port Channel Subinterfaces

C9600X-SUP-2

MACsec is supported over port channel subinterfaces.

See Security → Configuring MACsec Encryption.

(Network Advantage)

Port Settings Configuration for Interfaces

All Models

The port-settings command is introduced. The port-settings command can simultaneously or separately configure the speed, duplex, and auto negotiation for an interface, an interface range, or a port channel interface.

When using a single command to configure multiple parameters of the port-settings command, the order must be, speed, duplex, and autoneg. If you specify speed first, you can configure duplex and autoneg for the interface. If you specify duplex first, you can only configure autoneg. And, if you specify autoneg first, you cannot configure speed or duplex.

See Interface and Hardware Components → Configuring Interface Characteristics.

(Network Essentials)

Programmability:

  • YANG Data Models

All Models

The following programmability features are introduced in this release:

See Programmability.

(Network Essentials and Network Advantage)

Serviceability: Embedded Packet Capture on Control-Plane Interface

C9600X-SUP-2

Embedded Packet Capture is supported on control plane packets.

See Network Management → Configuring Packet Capture.

(Network Essentials)

Serviceability: Embedded Packet Capture on Layer 2 Interfaces

C9600X-SUP-2

Embedded Packet Capture is supported on Layer 2 Interfaces.

See Network Management → Configuring Packet Capture.

(Network Essentials)

Serviceability: Enhanced Drop Detection

C9600X-SUP-2

Enhanced Drop Detection allows you to determine where packets are being dropped in the processing path.

See Network Management → Configuring Enhanced Drop Detection and Enhanced Packet Drop Analyzer.

(Network Essentials)

Serviceability: Packet Drop Analyzer

C9600X-SUP-2

Packet Drop Analyzer allows you to configure traps to punt dropped packets to a CPU based destination for the purpose of debugging.

See Network Management → Configuring Enhanced Drop Detection and Enhanced Packet Drop Analyzer.

(Network Essentials)

Unique BGP Identifier for BGP-4

All Models

Enhancement to Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) IPv4 router-id, added support for RFC 6286, which allows configuring IPv4 multicast and local range addresses as BGP router-ID, in addition to allowing peers with the same BGP router-ID and different ASes to establish a BGP connection.

(Network Advantage)

WAN MACsec over Port Channel Subinterfaces

C9600X-SUP-2

WAN MACsec is supported over port channel subinterfaces.

See Security → Configuring MACsec Encryption.

(Network Advantage)

New on the WebUI

There are no new WebUI features in this release.

Hardware and Software Behavior Changes in Cisco IOS XE 17.15.1

Behavior Change

Description

udld port Field Renamed

The udld port field name in the output of the show run yang interface has been renamed to udld port enable.

Egress ACL: NAT Traffic

When nat scale command is enabled, egress ACL gets applied to both NAT translated and untranslated traffic.

Caveats

Caveats describe unexpected behavior in Cisco IOS-XE releases. Caveats listed as open in a prior release are carried forward to the next release as either open or resolved.

Open Caveats in Cisco IOS XE 17.15.x

There are no open caveats in this release.

Resolved Caveats in Cisco IOS XE 17.15.2

Identifier

Headline

CSCwi83012

SNMP results still contain 4 lanes for 100G optics which do not have multiple lanes

CSCwm84140

Cat 9500/9600 Sup-1 SVL: Unexpected Standby Reload due to TMPFS Space Exhaustion

Resolved Caveats in Cisco IOS XE 17.15.1

Identifier

Headline

CSCwi97513

C9606R with PSU unit C9600-PWR-3KWAC Capacity shows na and modules in power deny state

CSCwi91894

C9600-BrentonLC: Link down with SFP GLC-LH-SMD on interop with 9300L

CSCwi85562

Default Power mode for Catalyst 9600 is combined, always showing PS Current Operating State as none

CSCwj34178

Shutdown 9600-Sup1 when "ASIC minor temp alarm + FAN failure"

CSCwj56954

C9600X Capacity shows 2000W when use C9600-PWR-2KWAC at 100V

Feature Support

This section lists the supported and unsupported features.

All Supported Features

For the complete list of features supported on a platform, see the Cisco Feature Navigator.

Differences in Feature Support Between Switch Models

For the most part, the list of supported software features is common across Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series Supervisor 1 and 2 Modules. However, the differences in the hardware and software capabilities between these variants, means that there are exceptions to this. The following sections list these exceptions, that is, when a feature is introduced, but not supported on all available supervisor modules.

For the list of Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series Supervisor Module PIDs, see Supported Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series Switches Model Numbers.

BGP EVPN VXLAN

Feature

Not Supported On These Variants

Layer 2 Broadcast, Unknown Unicast, and Multicast (BUM) Traffic Forwarding using Ingress Replication

C9600X-SUP-2

BUM Traffic Rate Limiting

C9600X-SUP-2

Dynamic ARP inspection (DAI) and DHCP Rogue Server Protection

C9600X-SUP-2

EVPN VXLAN Centralized Default Gateway

C9600X-SUP-2

VXLAN-Aware Flexible Netflow

C9600X-SUP-2

MPLS Layer 3 VPN Border Leaf Handoff

C9600X-SUP-2

MPLS Layer 3 VPN Border Spine Handoff

C9600X-SUP-2

VPLS over MPLS Border Leaf Handoff

C9600X-SUP-2

VPLS over MPLS Border Spine Handoff

C9600X-SUP-2

Interworking of Layer 3 TRM with MVPN Networks for IPv4 Traffic

C9600X-SUP-2

Private VLANs (PVLANs)

C9600X-SUP-2

BGP EVPN VXLAN with IPv6 in the Underlay (VXLANv6)

C9600X-SUP-2

EVPN Microsegmentation

C9600X-SUP-2

VRF aware NAT64 EVPN Fabric

C9600X-SUP-2

Cisco TrustSec

Feature

Not Supported On These Variants

Cisco TrustSec Security Association Protocol (SAP)

C9600X-SUP-2

Cisco TrustSec SGT Caching

C9600X-SUP-2

High Availability

Feature

Not Supported On These Variants

Quad-Supervisor with Route Processor Redundancy

C9600X-SUP-2

Secure StackWise Virtual

C9600X-SUP-2

Interface and Hardware

Feature

Not Supported On These Variants

EnergyWise

C9600X-SUP-2

IP Addressing Services

Feature

Not Supported On These Variants

Next Hop Resolution Protocol (NHRP)

C9600X-SUP-2

Network Address Translation (NAT)

C9600X-SUP-2

Gateway Load Balancing Protocol (GLBP)

C9600X-SUP-2

Web Cache Communication Protocol (WCCP)

C9600X-SUP-2

Switchport Block Unknown Unicast and Switchport Block Unknown Multicast

C9600X-SUP-2

Message Session Relay Protocol (MSRP)

C9600X-SUP-2

TCP MSS Adjustment

C9600X-SUP-2

WCCP IPv4

C9600X-SUP-2

GRE IPv6 Tunnels

C9600X-SUP-2

IP Fast Reroute (IP FRR)

C9600X-SUP-2

Non-stop Routing

C9600X-SUP-2

IP Multicast Routing

Feature

Not Supported On These Variants

Multicast Routing over GRE Tunnel

C9600X-SUP-2

Multicast VLAN Registration (MVR) for IGMP Snooping

C9600X-SUP-2

IPv6 Multicast over Point-to-Point GRE

C9600X-SUP-2

IGMP Proxy

C9600X-SUP-2

Bidirectional PIM

C9600X-SUP-2

Multicast VPN

C9600X-SUP-2

MVPNv6

C9600X-SUP-2

mVPN Extranet Support

C9600X-SUP-2

MLDP-Based VPN

C9600X-SUP-2

PIM Snooping

C9600X-SUP-2

PIM Dense Mode

C9600X-SUP-2

IP Routing

Feature

Not Supported On These Variants

OSPFv2 Loop-Free Alternate IP Fast Reroute

C9600X-SUP-2

EIGRP Loop-Free Alternate IP Fast Reroute

C9600X-SUP-2

Policy-Based Routing (PBR) for IPv6

C9600X-SUP-2

VRF-Aware PBR

C9600X-SUP-2

PBR for Object-Group Access Control List (OGACL) Based Matching

C9600X-SUP-2

Multipoint GRE

C9600X-SUP-2

Web Cache Communication Protocol (WCCP)

C9600X-SUP-2

Unicast and Multicast over Point-to-Multipoint GRE

C9600X-SUP-2

Layer 2

Feature

Not Supported On These Variants

Multi-VLAN Registration Protocol (MVRP)

C9600X-SUP-2

Loop Detection Guard

C9600X-SUP-2

Resilient Ethernet Protocol

All

Multiprotocol Label Switching

Feature

Not Supported On These Variants

LAN MACsec over Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS)

C9600X-SUP-2

BGP Multipath Load Sharing for Both eBGP and iBGP in an MPLS VPN

C9600X-SUP-2

MPLS over GRE

C9600X-SUP-2

MPLS Layer 2 VPN over GRE

C9600X-SUP-2

MPLS Layer 3 VPN over GRE

C9600X-SUP-2

Virtual Private LAN Service (VPLS)

C9600X-SUP-2

VPLS Autodiscovery, BGP-based

C9600X-SUP-2

VPLS Layer 2 Snooping: Internet Group Management Protocol or Multicast Listener Discovery

C9600X-SUP-2

Hierarchical VPLS with MPLS Access

C9600X-SUP-2

VPLS Routed Pseudowire IRB(v4) Unicast

C9600X-SUP-2

MPLS VPN Inter-AS Options (options B and AB)

C9600X-SUP-2

MPLS VPN Inter-AS IPv4 BGP Label Distribution

C9600X-SUP-2

Seamless Multiprotocol Label Switching

C9600X-SUP-2

Network Management

Feature

Not Supported On These Variants

ERSPAN

C9600X-SUP-2

Flow-Based Switch Port Analyser

C9600X-SUP-2

FRSPAN

C9600X-SUP-2

Egress Netflow

C9600X-SUP-2

IP Aware MPLS Netflow

C9600X-SUP-2

NetFlow Version 5

C9600X-SUP-2

Cisco Application Visibility and Control (AVC)

All

Quality of Service

Feature

Not Supported On These Variants

QoS Ingress Shaping

C9600X-SUP-2

VPLS QoS

C9600X-SUP-2

Microflow Policers

C9600X-SUP-2

Per VLAN Policy and Per Port Policer

C9600X-SUP-2

Mixed COS/DSCP Threshold in a QoS LAN-queueing Policy

C9600X-SUP-2

Easy QoS: match-all Attributes

C9600X-SUP-2

Classify: Packet Length

C9600X-SUP-2

Class-Based Shaping for DSCP/Prec/COS/MPLS Labels

C9600X-SUP-2

CoPP Microflow Policing

C9600X-SUP-2

Egress Policing

C9600X-SUP-2

Egress Microflow Destination-Only Policing

C9600X-SUP-2

Ethertype Classification

C9600X-SUP-2

Packet Classification Based on Layer3 Packet-Length

C9600X-SUP-2

PACLs

C9600X-SUP-2

Per IP Session QoS

C9600X-SUP-2

Per Queue Policer

C9600X-SUP-2

QoS Data Export

C9600X-SUP-2

QoS L2 Missed Packets Policing

C9600X-SUP-2

Security

Feature

Not Supported On These Variants

Lawful Intercept

C9600X-SUP-2

MACsec:

  • MACsec EAP-TLS

  • Switch-to-host MACsec

  • Certificate-based MACsec

  • Cisco TrustSec SAP MACsec

C9600X-SUP-2

MAC ACLs

C9600X-SUP-2

Port ACLs

C9600X-SUP-2

VLAN ACLs

C9600X-SUP-2

IP Source Guard

C9600X-SUP-2

IPv6 Source Guard

C9600X-SUP-2

Web-based Authentication

C9600X-SUP-2

Port Security

C9600X-SUP-2

Weighted Random Early Detection mechanism (WRED) Based on DSCP, PREC, or COS

C9600X-SUP-2

IEEE 802.1x Port-Based Authentication

C9600X-SUP-2

Dynamic ARP Inspection

C9600X-SUP-2

Dynamic ARP Inspection Snooping

C9600X-SUP-2

System Management

Feature

Not Supported On These Variants

Unicast MAC Address Filtering

C9600X-SUP-2

VLAN

Feature

Not Supported On These Variants

Wired Dynamic PVLAN

C9600X-SUP-2

Private VLANs

C9600X-SUP-2

Limitations and Restrictions

  • Auto negotiation: The SFP+ interface (TenGigabitEthernet0/1) on the Ethernet management port with a 1G transceiver does not support auto negotiation.

  • Control Plane Policing (CoPP): The show running-config command does not display information about classes configured under system-cpp policy, when they are left at default values. Use the show policy-map system-cpp-policy or the show policy-map control-plane commands in privileged EXEC mode instead.

  • Convergence: During SSO, a higher convergence time is observed while removing the active supervisor module installed in slot 3 of a C9606R chassis.

  • Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series Supervisor 2 Module (C9600X-SUP-2) on a C9606R chassis does not support Quad-Supervisor with RPR.

  • Hardware Limitations: Optics:

    • Installation restriction for C9600-LC-24C linecard with CVR-QSFP-SFP10G adapter: This adapter must not be installed on an even numbered port where the corresponding odd numbered port is configured as 40GE port. For example, if port 1 is configured as 40GE, CVR-QSFP-SFP10G must not be installed in port 2.

      Installation restriction for C9600-LC-24C linecard with CVR-QSFP-SFP10G adapter: If you insert a 40-Gigabit Ethernet Transceiver Module to odd numbered port, the corresponding even numbered port does not work with CVR-QSFP-SFP10G adapter.

    • GLC-T and GLC-TE operating at 10/100Mbps speed are not supported with Cisco QSA Module (CVR-QSFP-SFP10G).

    • SFP-10G-T-X supports 100Mbps/1G/10G speeds based on auto negotiation with the peer device. You cannot force speed settings from the transceiver.

  • Hardware Limitations: Power Supply Modules:

    • Input voltage for AC power supply modules: All AC-input power supply modules in the chassis must have the same AC-input voltage level.

    • Using power supply modules of different types: When mixing AC-input and DC-input power supplies, the AC-input voltage level must be 220 VAC.

  • In-Service Software Upgrade (ISSU)

    • Within a major release train (16.x or 17.x or 18.x ), ISSU is supported between any two EMs that are released not more than 3 years apart.

    • Within a major release train, ISSU is supported from:

      • Any EM (EM1, EM2, EM3) to another EM (EM1, EM2, EM3)

        Example: 16.9.x to 16.12.x, 17.3.x to 17.6.x, 17.6.x to 17.9.x

      • Any release within the same EM

        Example: 16.9.2 to 16.9.3 or 16.9.4 or 16.9.x, 16.12.1 to 16.12.2 or 16.12.3 or 16.12.x, 17.3.1 to 17.3.2 or 17.3.3 or 17.3.x

    • Between major release trains, ISSU is not supported from:

      • An EM of a major release train to an EM of another major release train

        Example: 16.x.x to 17.x.x or 17.x.x to 18.x.x is not supported

      • An SM to EM or EM to SM

        Example: 16.10.x or 16.11.x to 16.12.x is not supported

    • ISSU is not supported on engineering special releases and .s (or similar) images.

    • ISSU is not supported between Licensed Data Payload Encryption (LDPE) and No Payload Encryption (NPE) Cisco IOS XE software images.

    • ISSU downgrades are not supported.

    • While ISSU allows you to perform upgrades with zero downtime, we recommend you to do so during a maintenance window only.

    • If a new feature introduced in a software release requires a change in configuration, the feature should not be enabled during ISSU.

    • If a feature is not available in the downgraded version of a software image, the feature should be disabled before initiating ISSU.

  • QoS restrictions

    • When configuring QoS queuing policy, the sum of the queuing buffer should not exceed 100%.

    • Policing and marking policy on sub interfaces is supported.

    • Marking policy on switched virtual interfaces (SVI) is supported.

    • QoS policies are not supported for port-channel interfaces, tunnel interfaces, and other logical interfaces.

  • Secure Shell (SSH)

    • Use SSH Version 2. SSH Version 1 is not supported.

    • When the device is running SCP and SSH cryptographic operations, expect high CPU until the SCP read process is completed. SCP supports file transfers between hosts on a network and uses SSH for the transfer.

      Since SCP and SSH operations are currently not supported on the hardware crypto engine, running encryption and decryption process in software causes high CPU. The SCP and SSH processes can show as much as 40 or 50 percent CPU usage, but they do not cause the device to shutdown.

  • Smart Licensing Using Policy: Starting with Cisco IOS XE Amsterdam 17.3.2a, with the introduction of Smart Licensing Using Policy, even if you configure a hostname for a product instance or device, only the Unique Device Identifier (UDI) is displayed. This change in the display can be observed in all licensing utilities and user interfaces where the hostname was displayed in earlier releases. It does not affect any licensing functionality. There is no workaround for this limitation.

    The licensing utilities and user interfaces that are affected by this limitation include only the following: Cisco Smart Software Manager (CSSM), Cisco Smart License Utility (CSLU), and Smart Software Manager On-Prem (SSM On-Prem).

    This limitation is removed from Cisco IOS XE Cupertino 17.9.1. If you configure a hostname and disable hostname privacy (no license smart privacy hostname global configuration command), hostname information is sent from the product instance and displayed on the applicable user interfaces (CSSM, CSLU, SSM On-Prem). For more information, see the command reference for this release.

  • TACACS legacy command: Do not configure the legacy tacacs-server host command; this command is deprecated. If the software version running on your device is Cisco IOS XE Gibraltar 16.12.2 or a later release, using the legacy command can cause authentication failures. Use the tacacs server command in global configuration mode.

  • USB Authentication: When you connect a Cisco USB drive to the switch, the switch tries to authenticate the drive against an existing encrypted preshared key. Since the USB drive does not send a key for authentication, the following message is displayed on the console when you enter password encryption aes command:
    Device(config)# password encryption aes
Master key change notification called without new or old key

  • Catatyst 9000 Series Switches support MACsec switch-to-switch connections. We do not recommend configuring MACsec switch-to-host connections in an overlay network. For assistance with an existing switch-to-host MACsec implementation or a design review, contact your Cisco Sales Representative or Channel Partner.

  • VLAN Restriction: It is advisable to have well-defined segregation while defining data and voice domain during switch configuration and to maintain a data VLAN different from voice VLAN across the switch stack. If the same VLAN is configured for data and voice domains on an interface, the resulting high CPU utilization might affect the device.

  • YANG data modeling limitation: A maximum of 20 simultaneous NETCONF sessions are supported.

  • Embedded Event Manager: Identity event detector is not supported on Embedded Event Manager.

  • On the Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series Supervisor 2 Module, TCAM space will not be reserved for different features. The available TCAM space will be shared across the features.

  • The File System Check (fsck) utility is not supported in install mode.

  • The command service-routing mdns-sd is being deprecated. Use the mdns-sd gateway command instead.

Licensing

This section provides information about the licensing packages for features available on Cisco Catalyst 9000 Series Switches.

License Levels

The software features available on Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series Switches fall under these base or add-on license levels.

Base Licenses

  • Network Advantage

Add-On Licenses

Add-On Licenses require a Network Essentials or Network Advantage as a pre-requisite. The features available with add-on license levels provide Cisco innovations on the switch, as well as on the Cisco Catalyst Center.

  • DNA Advantage

To find information about platform support and to know which license levels a feature is available with, use Cisco Feature Navigator. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to https://cfnng.cisco.com. An account on cisco.com is not required.

Usage Guidelines

This section provides the guidelines for license levels.

  • The duration or term for which a purchased license is valid:

    Smart Licensing Using Policy

    Smart Licensing

    • Perpetual: There is no expiration date for such a license.

    • Subscription: The license is valid only until a certain date (for a three, five, or seven year period).

    • Permanent: for a license level, and without an expiration date.

    • Term: for a license level, and for a three, five, or seven year period.

    • Evaluation: a license that is not registered.

  • Base licenses (Network-Advantage) are ordered and fulfilled only with a perpetual or permanent license type.

  • Add-on licenses (DNA Advantage) are ordered and fulfilled only with a subscription or term license type.

  • An add-on license level is included when you choose a network license level. If you use DNA features, renew the license before term expiry, to continue using it, or deactivate the add-on license and then reload the switch to continue operating with the base license capabilities.

  • Evaluation licenses cannot be ordered. They are not tracked via Cisco Smart Software Manager and expire after a 90-day period. Evaluation licenses can be used only once on the switch and cannot be regenerated. Warning system messages about an evaluation license expiry are generated only 275 days after expiration and every week thereafter. An expired evaluation license cannot be reactivated after reload. This applies only to Smart Licensing. The notion of evaluation licenses does not apply to Smart Licensing Using Policy.

Available Licensing Models and Configuration Information

  • Cisco IOS XE Gibraltar 16.11.1 to Cisco IOS XE Amsterdam 17.3.1: Smart Licensing is the default and the only supported method to manage licenses.

    In the software configuration guide of the required release, see System Management → Configuring Smart Licensing.

  • Cisco IOS XE Amsterdam 17.3.2a and later: Smart Licensing Using Policy, which is an enhanced version of Smart Licensing, is the default and the only supported method to manage licenses.

    For more information, see Configuring Licenses on Cisco Catalyst 9000 Series Switches.

For a more detailed overview on Cisco Licensing, go to Cisco Software Licensing Guide.

Switch Software Version Information

This section provides information about software, images, and ROMMON, and Field-Programmable Gate Array (FGPA) versions.

Finding the Software Version

The package files for the Cisco IOS XE software are stored on the system board flash device (flash:).

You can use the show version privileged EXEC command to see the software version that is running on your switch.

 Note
Although the show version output always shows the software image running on the switch, the model name shown at the end of this display is the factory configuration and does not change if you upgrade the software license.

You can also use the dir filesystem: privileged EXEC command to see the directory names of other software images that you might have stored in flash memory.

Finding the Software Images

Release

Image Type

File Name

Cisco IOS XE 17.15.2

CAT9K_IOSXE

cat9k_iosxe.17.15.02.SPA.bin

No Payload Encryption (NPE)

cat9k_iosxe_npe.17.15.02.SPA.bin

Cisco IOS XE 17.15.1

CAT9K_IOSXE

cat9k_iosxe.17.15.01.SPA.bin

No Payload Encryption (NPE)

cat9k_iosxe_npe.17.15.01.SPA.bin

To download software images, visit the software downloads page: Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series Switches.

ROMMON Versions

ROMMON, also known as the boot loader, is firmware that runs when the device is powered up or reset. It initializes the processor hardware and boots the operating system software (Cisco IOS XE software image). The ROMMON is stored on the following Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) flash devices on your switch:

  • Primary: The ROMMON stored here is the one the system boots every time the device is powered-on or reset.

  • Golden: The ROMMON stored here is a backup copy. If the one in the primary is corrupted, the system automatically boots the ROMMON in the golden SPI flash device.

ROMMON upgrades may be required to resolve firmware defects, or to support new features, but there may not be new versions with every release.

The following table provides ROMMON version information for the Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series Supervisor Modules. For ROMMON version information of Cisco IOS XE 16.x.x releases, refer to the corresponding Cisco IOS XE 16.x.x release notes of the respective platform.

Release

ROMMON Version (C9600-SUP-1)

ROMMON Version (C9600X-SUP-2)

17.15.2

17.8.1r[FC1]

17.10.1r

17.15.1

17.8.1r[FC1]

17.10.1r

17.14.1

17.8.1r[FC1]

17.10.1r

17.13.1

17.8.1r[FC1]

17.10.1r

Dublin 17.12.4

17.8.1r[FC1]

17.10.1r

Dublin 17.12.3

17.8.1r[FC1]

17.10.1r

Dublin 17.12.2

17.8.1r[FC1]

17.10.1r

Dublin 17.12.1

17.8.1r[FC1]

17.10.1r

Dublin 17.11.1

17.8.1r[FC1]

17.10.1r

Dublin 17.10.1

17.8.1r[FC1]

17.10.1r

Cupertino 17.9.6

17.8.1r[FC1]

17.7.1r[FC3]

Cupertino 17.9.4

17.8.1r[FC1]

17.7.1r[FC3]

Cupertino 17.9.3

17.8.1r[FC1]

17.7.1r[FC3]

Cupertino 17.9.2

17.8.1r[FC1]

17.7.1r[FC3]

Cupertino 17.9.1

17.8.1r[FC1]

17.7.1r[FC3]

Cupertino 17.8.1

17.8.1r[FC1]

17.7.1r[FC3]

Cupertino 17.7.1

17.6.1r

17.7.1r[FC3]

Bengaluru 17.6.7

17.6.1r

-

Bengaluru 17.6.6a

17.6.1r

-

Bengaluru 17.6.6

17.6.1r

-

Bengaluru 17.6.5

17.6.1r

-

Bengaluru 17.6.4

17.6.1r

-

Bengaluru 17.6.3

17.6.1r

-

Bengaluru 17.6.2

17.6.1r

-

Bengaluru 17.6.1

17.6.1r

-

Bengaluru 17.5.1

17.3.1r[FC2]

-

Bengaluru 17.4.1

17.3.1r[FC2]

-

Amsterdam 17.3.8a

17.3.1r[FC2]

-

Amsterdam 17.3.8

17.3.1r[FC2]

-

Amsterdam 17.3.7

17.3.1r[FC2]

-

Amsterdam 17.3.6

17.3.1r[FC2]

-

Amsterdam 17.3.5

17.3.1r[FC2]

-

Amsterdam 17.3.4

17.3.1r[FC2]

-

Amsterdam 17.3.3

17.3.1r[FC2]

-

Amsterdam 17.3.2a

17.3.1r[FC2]

-

Amsterdam 17.3.1

17.3.1r[FC2]

-

Amsterdam 17.2.1

17.1.1[FC2]

-

Amsterdam 17.1.1

17.1.1[FC1]

-

Field-Programmable Gate Array Version Upgrade

A field-programmable gate array (FPGA) is a type of programmable memory device that exists on Cisco switches. They are re-configurable logic circuits that enable the creation of specific and dedicated functions.

To check the current FPGA version, enter the show firmware version all command in privileged EXEC mode or the version -v command in ROMMON mode.

 Note

  • Not every software release has a change in the FPGA version.

  • The version change occurs as part of the regular software upgrade and you do not have to perform any other additional steps.

Upgrading and Downgrading the Switch Software

This section covers the various aspects of upgrading or downgrading the device software.

 Note
You cannot use the Web UI to install, upgrade, or downgrade device software.

Upgrading in Install Mode

Follow these instructions to upgrade from one release to another, using install commands, in install mode. To perform a software image upgrade, you must be booted into IOS through boot flash:packages.conf .

Before you begin

 Caution

You must comply with these cautionary guidelines during an upgrade:

  • Do not power cycle the switch.

  • Do not disconnect power or remove the supervisor module.

  • Do not perform an online insertion and replacement (OIR) of either supervisor (in a High Availability setup), if one of the supervisor modules in the chassis is in the process of a bootloader upgrade or when the switch is booting up.

  • Do not perform an OIR of a switching module (linecard) when the switch is booting up.

Note that you can use this procedure for the following upgrade scenarios:

When upgrading from ...

To...

Cisco IOS XE 17.14.x or earlier releases

Cisco IOS XE 17.15.x

This procedure shows the steps to upgrade the Cisco IOS XE software on a switch, from Cisco IOS XE 17.14.1 to Cisco IOS XE 17.15.1 using install commands, followed by sample output.

Step 1

Clean-up

install remove inactive

Use this command to clean-up old installation files in case of insufficient space and to ensure that you have at least 1GB of space in flash, to expand a new image.

Step 2

Copy new image to flash

  1. copy tftp:[[//location]/directory]/filename flash:

    Use this command to copy the new image from a TFTP server to flash memory. The location is either an IP address or a host name. The filename is specified relative to the directory used for file transfers. Skip this step if you want to use the new image from a TFTP server.

  2. dir flash:*.bin

    Use this command to confirm that the image has been successfully copied to flash.

Step 3

Set boot variable

  1. boot system flash:packages.conf

    Use this command to set the boot variable to flash:packages.conf .

  2. no boot manual

    Use this command to configure the switch to auto-boot. Settings are synchronized with the standby switch, if applicable.

  3. write memory

    Use this command to save boot settings.

  4. show bootvar

    Use this command to verify the boot variable (packages.conf) and manual boot setting (no):

Step 4

Install image to flash

install add file activate commit

Use this command to install the image.

We recommend that you point to the source image on a TFTP server or the flash , if you have copied the image to flash memory.

 Note
The system reloads automatically after executing the install add file activate commit command . You do not have to manually reload the system.

Step 5

Verify installation

After the software has been successfully installed, use the dir flash: command to verify that the flash partition has ten new .pkg files and two .conf files.

  1. dir flash:*.conf

  2. dir flash:*.conf

Step 6

Verify version

show version

After the image boots up, use this command to verify the version of the new image.

Example

The following sample output displays the cleaning up of unused files, by using the install remove inactive command:
Switch# install remove inactive

install_remove: START Mon Jul 22 19:51:48 UTC 2024
Cleaning up unnecessary package files
Scanning boot directory for packages ... done.
Preparing packages list to delete ...
    cat9k-cc_srdriver.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
      File is in use, will not delete.
    cat9k-espbase.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
      File is in use, will not delete.
    cat9k-guestshell.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
      File is in use, will not delete.
    cat9k-rpbase.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
      File is in use, will not delete.
    cat9k-rpboot.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
      File is in use, will not delete.
    cat9k-sipbase.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
      File is in use, will not delete.
    cat9k-sipspa.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
      File is in use, will not delete.
    cat9k-srdriver.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
      File is in use, will not delete.
    cat9k-webui.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
      File is in use, will not delete.
    cat9k-wlc.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
      File is in use, will not delete.
    packages.conf
      File is in use, will not delete.
  done.
 
The following files will be deleted:
[switch 1]:
/flash/cat9k-cc_srdriver.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
/flash/cat9k-espbase.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
/flash/cat9k-guestshell.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
/flash/cat9k-rpbase.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
/flash/cat9k-rpboot.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
/flash/cat9k-sipbase.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
/flash/cat9k-sipspa.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
/flash/cat9k-srdriver.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
/flash/cat9k-webui.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
/flash/cat9k-wlc.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
/flash/packages.conf
 
Do you want to remove the above files? [y/n]y

[switch 1]:
Deleting file flash:cat9k-cc_srdriver.17.14.01.SPA.pkg ... done.
Deleting file flash:cat9k-espbase.17.14.01.SPA.pkg ... done.
Deleting file flash:cat9k-guestshell.17.14.01.SPA.pkg ... done.
Deleting file flash:cat9k-rpbase.17.14.01.SPA.pkg ... done.
Deleting file flash:cat9k-rpboot.17.14.01.SPA.pkg ... done.
Deleting file flash:cat9k-sipbase.17.14.01.SPA.pkg ... done.
Deleting file flash:cat9k-sipspa.17.14.01.SPA.pkg ... done.
Deleting file flash:cat9k-srdriver.17.14.01.SPA.pkg ... done.
Deleting file flash:cat9k-webui.17.14.01.SPA.pkg ... done.
Deleting file flash:cat9k-wlc.17.14.01.SPA.pkg ... done.
Deleting file flash:packages.conf ... done.
SUCCESS: Files deleted.
--- Starting Post_Remove_Cleanup ---
Performing Post_Remove_Cleanup on all members
[1] Post_Remove_Cleanup package(s) on switch 1
[1] Finished Post_Remove_Cleanup on switch 1
Checking status of Post_Remove_Cleanup on [1]
Post_Remove_Cleanup: Passed on [1]
Finished Post_Remove_Cleanup
 
SUCCESS: install_remove Mon Jul 22 19:52:25 UTC 2024
Switch#
Switch# copy tftp://10.8.0.6/image/cat9k_iosxe.17.15.01.SPA.bin flash:

destination filename [cat9k_iosxe.17.15.01.SPA.bin]?
Accessing tftp://10.8.0.6/image/cat9k_iosxe.17.15.01.SPA.bin...
Loading /cat9k_iosxe.17.15.01.SPA.bin from 10.8.0.6 (via GigabitEthernet0/0): 
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[OK - 601216545 bytes]
 
601216545 bytes copied in 50.649 secs (11870255 bytes/sec)

 
Switch# dir flash:*.bin

Directory of flash:/*.bin
 
Directory of flash:/
 
434184 -rw- 601216545    Jul 22 2024 10:18:11 -07:00 cat9k_iosxe.17.15.01.SPA.bin
11353194496 bytes total (8976625664 bytes free)


Switch(config)# boot system flash:packages.conf

Switch(config)# no boot manual
Switch(config)# exit
Switch# write memory
Switch# show bootvar
BOOT variable = bootflash:packages.conf
MANUAL_BOOT variable = no
BAUD variable = 9600
ENABLE_BREAK variable = yes
BOOTMODE variable does not exist
IPXE_TIMEOUT variable does not exist
CONFIG_FILE variable = 

Standby BOOT variable = bootflash:packages.conf
Standby MANUAL_BOOT variable = no
Standby BAUD variable = 9600
Standby ENABLE_BREAK variable = yes
Standby BOOTMODE variable does not exist
Standby IPXE_TIMEOUT variable does not exist
Standby CONFIG_FILE variable =
The following sample output displays installation of the Cisco IOS XE 17.15.1 software image to flash: 
Switch# install add file flash:cat9k_iosxe.17.15.01.SPA.bin activate commit
_install_add_activate_commit: START Mon Jul 22 16:37:25 IST 2024

*Jul 22 16:37:26.544 IST: %INSTALL-5-INSTALL_START_INFO: R0/0: install_engine: Started install one-shot flash:cat9k_iosxe.17.15.01.SPA.bin 
install_add_activate_commit: Adding PACKAGE
install_add_activate_commit: Checking whether new add is allowed ....

This operation requires a reload of the system. Do you want to proceed? 
Please confirm you have changed boot config to flash:packages.conf [y/n]y

--- Starting initial file syncing ---
Copying image file: flash:cat9k_iosxe.17.15.01.SPA.bin to standby
Info: Finished copying flash:cat9k_iosxe.17.15.01.SPA.bin to standby
Finished initial file syncing

--- Starting Add ---
Performing Add on Active/Standby
  [R0] Add package(s) on R0
  [R0] Finished Add on R0
  [R1] Add package(s) on R1
  [R1] Finished Add on R1
Checking status of Add on [R0 R1]
Add: Passed on [R0 R1]
Finished Add

Image added. Version: 17.15.01

install_add_activate_commit: Activating PACKAGE
Following packages shall be activated:
/flash/cat9k-wlc.17.15.01.SPA.pkg
/flash/cat9k-webui.17.15.01.SPA.pkg
/flash/cat9k-srdriver.17.15.01.SPA.pkg
/flash/cat9k-sipspa.17.15.01.SPA.pkg
/flash/cat9k-sipbase.17.15.01.SPA.pkg
/flash/cat9k-rpboot.17.15.01.SPA.pkg
/flash/cat9k-rpbase.17.15.01.SPA.pkg
/flash/cat9k-guestshell.17.15.01.SPA.pkg
/flash/cat9k-espbase.17.15.01.SPA.pkg
/flash/cat9k-cc_srdriver.17.15.01.SPA.pkg

This operation may require a reload of the system. Do you want to proceed? [y/n]y

--- Starting Activate ---
Performing Activate on Active/Standby
*Jul 22 16:45:21.695 IST: %INSTALL-5-INSTALL_AUTO_ABORT_TIMER_PROGRESS: R0/0: rollback_timer: Install auto abort timer will expire in 7200 seconds  [R0] Activate package(s) on R0
  [R0] Finished Activate on R0
  [R1] Activate package(s) on R1
  [R1] Finished Activate on R1
Checking status of Activate on [R0 R1]
Activate: Passed on [R0 R1]
Finished Activate

*Jul 22 16:45:25.233 IST: %INSTALL-5-INSTALL_AUTO_ABORT_TIMER_PROGRESS: R1/0: rollback_timer: Install auto abort timer will expire in 7200 seconds--- Starting Commit ---
Performing Commit on Active/Standby
  [R0] Commit package(s) on R0
  [R0] Finished Commit on R0
  [R1] Commit package(s) on R1
  [R1] Finished Commit on R1
Checking status of Commit on [R0 R1]
Commit: Passed on [R0 R1]
Finished Commit

Install will reload the system now!
SUCCESS: install_add_activate_commit  Mon Jul 22 16:46:18 IST 2024
The following is sample output of the dir flash:*.pkg command: 
Switch# dir flash:*.pkg
Directory of flash:/*.pkg
Directory of flash:/
475140 -rw- 2012104    Mar 20 2024 09:52:41 -07:00 cat9k-cc_srdriver.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
475141 -rw- 70333380   Mar 20 2024 09:52:44 -07:00 cat9k-espbase.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
475142 -rw- 13256      Mar 20 2024 09:52:44 -07:00 cat9k-guestshell.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
475143 -rw- 349635524  Mar 20 2024 09:52:54 -07:00 cat9k-rpbase.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
475149 -rw- 24248187   Mar 20 2024 09:53:02 -07:00 cat9k-rpboot.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
475144 -rw- 25285572   Mar 20 2024 09:52:55 -07:00 cat9k-sipbase.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
475145 -rw- 20947908   Mar 20 2024 09:52:55 -07:00 cat9k-sipspa.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
475146 -rw- 2962372    Mar 20 2024 09:52:56 -07:00 cat9k-srdriver.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
475147 -rw- 13284288   Mar 20 2024 09:52:56 -07:00 cat9k-webui.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
475148 -rw- 13248      Mar 20 2024 09:52:56 -07:00 cat9k-wlc.17.14.01.SPA.pkg

491524 -rw- 25711568   Jul 22 2024 11:49:33 -07:00  cat9k-cc_srdriver.17.15.01.SPA.pkg
491525 -rw- 78484428   Jul 22 2024 11:49:35 -07:00  cat9k-espbase.17.15.01.SPA.pkg
491526 -rw- 1598412    Jul 22 2024 11:49:35 -07:00  cat9k-guestshell.17.15.01.SPA.pkg
491527 -rw- 404153288  Jul 22 2024 11:49:47 -07:00  cat9k-rpbase.17.15.01.SPA.pkg
491533 -rw- 31657374   Jul 22 2024 11:50:09 -07:00  cat9k-rpboot.17.15.01.SPA.pkg
491528 -rw- 27681740   Jul 22 2024 11:49:48 -07:00  cat9k-sipbase.17.15.01.SPA.pkg
491529 -rw- 52224968   Jul 22 2024 11:49:49 -07:00  cat9k-sipspa.17.15.01.SPA.pkg
491530 -rw- 31130572   Jul 22 2024 11:49:50 -07:00  cat9k-srdriver.17.15.01.SPA.pkg
491531 -rw- 14783432   Jul 22 2024 11:49:51 -07:00  cat9k-webui.17.15.01.SPA.pkg
491532 -rw- 9160       Jul 22 2024 11:49:51 -07:00  cat9k-wlc.17.15.01.SPA.pkg

11353194496 bytes total (8963174400 bytes free)

The following is sample output of the dir flash:*.conf command. It displays the .conf files in the flash partition; note the two .conf files:

  • packages.conf—the file that has been re-written with the newly installed .pkg files.

  • cat9k_iosxe.17.15.01.SPA.conf— a backup copy of the newly installed packages.conf file.

Switch# dir flash:*.conf
 
Directory of flash:/*.conf
Directory of flash:/

16631  -rw- 4882 Jul 22 2024 05:39:42 +00:00  packages.conf
16634  -rw- 4882 Jul 22 2024 05:34:06 +00:00  cat9k_iosxe.17.15.01.SPA.conf
The following sample output of the show version command displays the Cisco IOS XE 17.15.1 image on the device:
Switch# show version

Cisco IOS XE Software, Version 17.15.01
Cisco IOS Software, Catalyst L3 Switch Software (CAT9K_IOSXE), Version 17.15.1, RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc1)
Technical Support: http://www.cisco.com/techsupport
Copyright (c) 1986-2024 by Cisco Systems, Inc..
<output truncated>

Downgrading in Install Mode

Follow these instructions to downgrade from one release to another, in install mode. To perform a software image downgrade, you must be booted into IOS through boot flash:packages.conf .

Before you begin

Note that you can use this procedure for the following downgrade scenarios:

When downgrading from ...

To ...

Cisco IOS XE 17.15.x

Cisco IOS XE 17.14.x or earlier releases.

 Note
New switch models that are introduced in a release cannot be downgraded. The release in which a module is introduced is the minimum software version for that model. We recommend upgrading all existing hardware to the same release as the latest hardware.

This procedure shows the steps to downgrade the Cisco IOS XE software on a switch, from Cisco IOS XE 17.15.1 to Cisco IOS XE 17.14.1 using install commands, followed by sample output.

Step 1

Clean-up

install remove inactive

Use this command to clean-up old installation files in case of insufficient space and to ensure that you have at least 1GB of space in flash, to expand a new image.

Step 2

Copy new image to flash

  1. copy tftp:[[//location]/directory]/filename flash:

    Use this command to copy the new image from a TFTP server to flash memory. The location is either an IP address or a host name. The filename is specified relative to the directory used for file transfers. Skip this step if you want to use the new image from a TFTP server.

  2. dir flash:

    Use this command to confirm that the image has been successfully copied to flash.

Step 3

Set boot variable

  1. boot system flash:packages.conf

    Use this command to set the boot variable to flash:packages.conf .

  2. no boot manual

    Use this command to configure the switch to auto-boot. Settings are synchronized with the standby switch, if applicable.

  3. write memory

    Use this command to save boot settings.

  4. show bootvar

    Use this command to verify the boot variable (packages.conf) and manual boot setting (no):

Step 4

Downgrade software image

install add file activate commit

Use this command to install the image.

We recommend that you point to the source image on a TFTP server or the flash , if you have copied the image to flash memory.

 Note
The system reloads automatically after executing the install add file activate commit command. You do not have to manually reload the system.

Step 5

Verify version

show version

After the image boots up, use this command to verify the version of the new image.

 Note
When you downgrade the software image, the ROMMON version does not downgrade. It remains updated.

Example

The following sample output displays the cleaning up of unused files, by using the install remove inactive command:
Switch# install remove inactive
 install_remove: START Mon Jul 22 11:42:27 IST 2024

Cleaning up unnecessary package files

No path specified, will use booted path bootflash:packages.conf

Cleaning bootflash:
  Scanning boot directory for packages ... done.
  Preparing packages list to delete ... 
    cat9k-cc_srdriver.17.15.01.SSA.pkg
      File is in use, will not delete.
    cat9k-espbase.17.15.01.SSA.pkg
      File is in use, will not delete.
    cat9k-guestshell.17.15.01.SSA.pkg
      File is in use, will not delete.
    cat9k-rpbase.17.15.01.SSA.pkg
      File is in use, will not delete.
    cat9k-rpboot.17.15.01.SSA.pkg
      File is in use, will not delete.
    cat9k-sipbase.17.15.01.SSA.pkg
      File is in use, will not delete.
    cat9k-sipspa.17.15.01.SSA.pkg
      File is in use, will not delete.
    cat9k-srdriver.17.15.01.SSA.pkg
      File is in use, will not delete.
    cat9k-webui.17.15.01.SSA.pkg
      File is in use, will not delete.
    cat9k-wlc.17.15.01.SSA.pkg
      File is in use, will not delete.
    packages.conf
      File is in use, will not delete.
  done.
SUCCESS: No extra package or provisioning files found on media. Nothing to clean.

SUCCESS: install_remove  Mon Jul 22 11:42:39 IST 2024

--- Starting Post_Remove_Cleanup ---
Performing Post_Remove_Cleanup on all members
[1] Post_Remove_Cleanup package(s) on switch 1
[1] Finished Post_Remove_Cleanup on switch 1
Checking status of Post_Remove_Cleanup on [1]
Post_Remove_Cleanup: Passed on [1]
Finished Post_Remove_Cleanup
 
SUCCESS: install_remove Mon Jul 22 19:52:25 UTC 2024
Switch#


Switch# copy tftp://10.8.0.6/image/cat9k_iosxe.17.14.01.SPA.bin flash:
Destination filename [cat9k_iosxe.17.14.01.SPA.bin]?
Accessing tftp://10.8.0.6//cat9k_iosxe.17.14.01.SPA.bin...
Loading /cat9k_iosxe.17.14.01.SPA.bin from 10.8.0.6 (via GigabitEthernet0/0): 
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[OK - 508584771 bytes]
508584771 bytes copied in 101.005 secs (5035244 bytes/sec)
 

Switch# dir flash:*.bin
Directory of flash:/*.bin
 
Directory of flash:/
 
434184 -rw- 508584771 Jul 22 2024 13:35:16 -07:00 cat9k_iosxe.17.14.01.SPA.bin
11353194496 bytes total (9055866880 bytes free)


Switch(config)# boot system flash:packages.conf

Switch(config)# no boot manual
Switch(config)# exit
Switch# write memory
Switch# show bootvar
BOOT variable = bootflash:packages.conf
MANUAL_BOOT variable = no
BAUD variable = 9600
ENABLE_BREAK variable = yes
BOOTMODE variable does not exist
IPXE_TIMEOUT variable does not exist
CONFIG_FILE variable = 

Standby BOOT variable = bootflash:packages.conf
Standby MANUAL_BOOT variable = no
Standby BAUD variable = 9600
Standby ENABLE_BREAK variable = yes
Standby BOOTMODE variable does not exist
Standby IPXE_TIMEOUT variable does not exist
Standby CONFIG_FILE variable =
The following example displays the installation of the Cisco IOS XE 17.14.1 software image to flash, by using the install add file activate commit command. 
Switch# install add file flash:cat9k_iosxe.17.14.01.SPA.bin activate commit
_install_add_activate_commit: START Mon Jul 22 21:37:25 IST 2024

*Jul 22 16:37:26.544 IST: %INSTALL-5-INSTALL_START_INFO: R0/0: install_engine: Started install one-shot flash:cat9k_iosxe.17.14.01.SPA.bin 
install_add_activate_commit: Adding PACKAGE
install_add_activate_commit: Checking whether new add is allowed ....

This operation requires a reload of the system. Do you want to proceed? 
Please confirm you have changed boot config to flash:packages.conf [y/n]y

--- Starting initial file syncing ---
Copying image file: flash:cat9k_iosxe.17.14.01.SPA.bin to standby
Info: Finished copying flash:cat9k_iosxe.17.14.01.SPA.bin to standby
Finished initial file syncing

--- Starting Add ---
Performing Add on Active/Standby
  [R0] Add package(s) on R0
  [R0] Finished Add on R0
  [R1] Add package(s) on R1
  [R1] Finished Add on R1
Checking status of Add on [R0 R1]
Add: Passed on [R0 R1]
Finished Add

Image added. Version: 17.14.1
install_add_activate_commit: Activating PACKAGE
Following packages shall be activated:
/flash/cat9k-wlc.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
/flash/cat9k-webui.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
/flash/cat9k-srdriver.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
/flash/cat9k-sipspa.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
/flash/cat9k-sipbase.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
/flash/cat9k-rpboot.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
/flash/cat9k-rpbase.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
/flash/cat9k-guestshell.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
/flash/cat9k-espbase.17.14.01.SPA.pkg
/flash/cat9k-cc_srdriver.17.14.01.SPA.pkg

This operation may require a reload of the system. Do you want to proceed? [y/n]y

--- Starting Activate ---
Performing Activate on Active/Standby

*Jul 22 21:45:21.695 IST: %INSTALL-5-INSTALL_AUTO_ABORT_TIMER_PROGRESS: R0/0: rollback_timer: Install auto abort timer will expire in 7200 seconds  [R0] Activate package(s) on R0
  [R0] Finished Activate on R0
  [R1] Activate package(s) on R1
  [R1] Finished Activate on R1
Checking status of Activate on [R0 R1]
Activate: Passed on [R0 R1]
Finished Activate


*Jul 22 21:45:25.233 IST: %INSTALL-5-INSTALL_AUTO_ABORT_TIMER_PROGRESS: R1/0: rollback_timer: Install auto abort timer will expire in 7200 seconds--- Starting Commit ---
Performing Commit on Active/Standby
  [R0] Commit package(s) on R0
  [R0] Finished Commit on R0
  [R1] Commit package(s) on R1
  [R1] Finished Commit on R1
Checking status of Commit on [R0 R1]
Commit: Passed on [R0 R1]
Finished Commit

Install will reload the system now!
SUCCESS: install_add_activate_commit  Mon Jul 22 21:46:18 IST 2024
The following sample output of the show version command displays the Cisco IOS XE 17.14.1 image on the device:
Switch# show version
Cisco IOS XE Software, Version 17.14.01
Cisco IOS Software [Dublin], Catalyst L3 Switch Software (CAT9K_IOSXE), Version 17.14.1, RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc1)
Technical Support: http://www.cisco.com/techsupport
Copyright (c) 1986-2024 by Cisco Systems, Inc.
<output truncated>

Upgrading the ROMMON

To know the ROMMON or bootloader version that applies to every major and maintenance release, see ROMMON Versions.

You can upgrade the ROMMON before, or, after upgrading the software version. If a new ROMMON version is available for the software version you are upgrading to, proceed as follows:

  • Upgrading the ROMMON in the primary SPI flash device

    This ROMMON is upgraded automatically. When you upgrade from an existing release on your switch to a later or newer release for the first time, and there is a new ROMMON version in the new release, the system automatically upgrades the ROMMON in the primary SPI flash device, based on the hardware version of the switch.

  • Upgrading the ROMMON in the golden SPI flash device

    You must manually upgrade this ROMMON. Enter the upgrade rom-monitor capsule golden switch command in privileged EXEC mode.

     Note

    • In case of a Cisco StackWise Virtual setup, upgrade the active and standby supervisor modules.

    • In case of a High Availability set up, upgrade the active and standby supervisor modules.

After the ROMMON is upgraded, it will take effect on the next reload. If you go back to an older release after this, the ROMMON is not downgraded. The updated ROMMON supports all previous releases.

In-Service Software Upgrade with Cisco Stackwise Virtual

In-Service Software Upgrade (ISSU) is a process that upgrades an image to another image on a device while the network continues to forward packets. ISSU helps network administrators avoid a network outage when performing a software upgrade. ISSU is supported in install mode.

ISSU is supported in dual SUP HA and StackWise Virtual system. In-Service Software Upgrade is performed either in a single step or in three-steps.

ISSU Support between Releases

  • Within a major release train (16.x or 17.x or 18.x ), ISSU is supported between any two Extended Maintenance (EM) releases that are released not more than 3 years apart.

  • Within a major release train, ISSU is supported from:

    • Any EM (EM1, EM2, EM3) release to another EM (EM1, EM2, EM3) release

      Example:

      16.9.x to 16.12,

      17.3.x to 17.6.x, 17.3.x to 17.9.x, 17.3.x to 17.12.x and so on

      17.6.x to 17.9.x, 17.6.x to 17.12.x, 17.6.x to 17.15.x and so on

      17.9.x to 17.12.x, 17.9.x to 17.15.x and so on

    • Any release within the same EM release

      Example:

      16.9.2 to 16.9.3 or 16.9.4 or 16.9.x

      16.12.1 to 16.12.2 or 16.12.3 or 16.12.x

      17.3.1 to 17.3.2 or 17.3.3 or 17.3.x

  • ISSU Recommendation: From any EM recommended release on CCO to current EM Recommended release on CCO.

See In-Service Software Upgrade (ISSU) for information on ISSU support for Catalyst platforms and Software Lifecycle Support Statement for information extended and standard maintenance releases.

Scaling Information

For information about feature scaling guidelines, see the Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series Switches datasheets at:

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/switches/catalyst-9600-series-switches/nb-06-cat9600-series-data-sheet-cte-en.html

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/switches/catalyst-9600-series-switches/nb-06-cat9600-series-line-data-sheet-cte-en.html

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/switches/catalyst-9600-series-switches/nb-06-cat9600-ser-sup-eng-data-sheet-cte-en.html

Related Content

This section provides links to the product documentation and troubleshooting information.

Troubleshooting

For the most up-to-date, detailed troubleshooting information, see the Cisco TAC website at Support & Downloads.

Go to Product Support and select your product from the list or enter the name of your product. Look under Troubleshoot and Alerts, to find information for the problem that you are experiencing.

Accessing Hidden Commands

This section provides information about hidden commands in Cisco IOS XE and the security measures that are in place, when they are accessed. These commands are only meant to assist Cisco TAC in advanced troubleshooting and are not documented.

Hidden commands are available under:

  • Category 1—Hidden commands in privileged or User EXEC mode. Begin by entering the service internal command to access these commands.

  • Category 2—Hidden commands in one of the configuration modes (global, interface and so on). These commands do not require the service internal command.

Further, the following applies to hidden commands under Category 1 and 2:

  • The commands have CLI help. Enter enter a question mark (?) at the system prompt to display the list of available commands.

    Note: For Category 1, enter the service internal command before you enter the question mark; you do not have to do this for Category 2.

  • The system generates a %PARSER-5-HIDDEN syslog message when a hidden command is used. For example: 
    *Feb 14 10:44:37.917: %PARSER-5-HIDDEN: Warning!!! 'show processes memory old-header ' is a hidden command. 
Use of this command is not recommended/supported and will be removed in future.

Apart from category 1 and 2, there remain internal commands displayed on the CLI, for which the system does NOT generate the %PARSER-5-HIDDEN syslog message.

 Important

We recommend that you use any hidden command only under TAC supervision.

If you find that you are using a hidden command, open a TAC case for help with finding another way of collecting the same information as the hidden command (for a hidden EXEC mode command), or to configure the same functionality (for a hidden configuration mode command) using non-hidden commands.

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