Cisco Catalyst Center Upgrade Guide

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Set up NIC bonding

Updated: April 3, 2026

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Overview

Describes the steps required to configure NIC bonding on Catalyst Center appliances when upgrading, including switch preparation and appliance-specific procedures.

Catalyst Center 3.1.6 provides network interface controller (NIC) bonding support. To enable and use this functionality on your appliance:

  1. Confirm that you have one of these Catalyst Center appliances:

    Machine profile Machine profile alias Cisco part number Number of cores

    medium

    medium

    Second-generation:

    • DN2-HW-APL

    • DN2-HW-APL-U (promotional)

    44

    Third-generation:

    • DN3-HW-APL

    • DN3-HW-APL-U (promotional)

    32

    t2_large

    large

    Second-generation:

    • DN2-HW-APL-L

    • DN2-HW-APL-L-U (promotional)

    56

    Third-generation:

    • DN3-HW-APL-L

    • DN3-HW-APL-L-U (promotional)

    t2_2xlarge

    extra large

    Second-generation:

    • DN2-HW-APL-XL

    • DN2-HW-APL-XL-U (promotional)

    112

    Third-generation:

    • DN3-HW-APL-XL

    • DN3-HW-APL-XL-U (promotional)

    80

  2. On the switch that you will connect to your appliance, do these tasks:

    • Ensure that the switch supports dynamic interface aggregation.

    • Enable LACP on the switch then specify these settings:

      • LACP mode: active: The switch port connected to your appliance enters active negotiating state and initiates negotiations with remote ports by sending LACP packets.

      • LACP rate: fast: This changes the rate at which the LACP control packets are sent to an LACP-supported interface. Instead of the default every 30 seconds, control packets are sent once every second.

  3. Complete the procedure that matches your appliance model:

Enable NIC bonding on a medium or large appliance

If you are upgrading either a medium or large appliance to Catalyst Center 3.1.6, you have two options available when it comes to NIC bonding:

  • If you have decided to enable NIC bonding on your appliance, complete the steps described in Enable NIC bonding now. The advantage of this option is that it will result in less downtime.

  • If you are undecided about enabling NIC bonding, complete Step 1 in Enable NIC bonding later. If you decide to enable NIC bonding at some point in the future, complete the rest of this procedure, starting with Step 2.

Enable NIC bonding now

Procedure

1.

Upgrade to the appropriate Cisco IMC firmware version for your Catalyst Center release. In the Cisco Catalyst Center Appliance Installation Guide that's specific to your appliance, refer to "Update the Cisco IMC firmware."
2.

Enable the NIC that the secondary instance of your appliance's interfaces will reside on—the Intel X710-DA4 NIC for 2nd-generation appliances, and the Intel E810XXVDA4 for 3rd-generation appliances.

Refer to "Enable NIC on an upgraded appliance" in the Cisco Catalyst Center Appliance Installation Guide.
3.

Upgrade from your current Catalyst Center release to 3.1.6.
4.

Enable the interfaces that reside on your appliance's secondary NIC for configuration and use.

In the Cisco Catalyst Center Appliance Installation Guide, refer to "Reconfigure the appliance using the configuration wizard."

Note the following points:

  • When completing the wizard, the only information you need to enter is the maglev user's Linux password in the User Account Settings screen. Choose Next to skip through the various wizard screens.

    The primary and secondary instances of your appliance's interfaces are properly bonded after you complete the wizard.

  • By default, your appliance's interfaces are set to Active-Backup mode after you enable NIC bonding. If desired, you can set LACP mode for the Enterprise and Intracluster interfaces instead. The Internet and Management interfaces do not support this mode.

    For a description of the Active-Backup and LACP modes, refer to "NIC bonding overview" in the Cisco Catalyst Center Appliance Installation Guide.

Enable NIC bonding later

Procedure

1.

Upgrade from your current Catalyst Center release to 3.1.6.
2.

Upgrade to the appropriate Cisco IMC firmware version for your Catalyst Center release. In the Cisco Catalyst Center Appliance Installation Guide that's specific to your appliance, refer to "Update the Cisco IMC firmware."
3.

Enable the NIC that the secondary instance of your appliance's interfaces will reside on—the Intel X710-DA4 NIC for 2nd-generation appliances, and the Intel E810XXVDA4 for 3rd-generation appliances.

Refer to "Enable NIC on an upgraded appliance" in the Cisco Catalyst Center Appliance Installation Guide.
4.

Complete the steps described in "Power-cycle the appliance" in the Cisco Catalyst Center Appliance Installation Guide.
5.

Enable the interfaces that reside on your appliance's secondary NIC for configuration and use.

Refer to "Reconfigure the appliance using the configuration wizard" in the Cisco Catalyst Center Appliance Installation Guide.

Note the following points:

  • When completing the wizard, the only information you need to enter is the maglev user's Linux password in the User Account Settings screen. Choose Next to skip through the various wizard screens.

    The primary and secondary instances of your appliance's interfaces are properly bonded after you complete the wizard.

  • By default, your appliance's interfaces are set to Active-Backup mode after you enable NIC bonding. If desired, you can set LACP mode for the Enterprise and Intracluster interfaces instead. The Internet and Management interfaces do not support this mode.

    For a description of the Active-Backup and LACP modes, refer to "NIC bonding overview" in the Cisco Catalyst Center Appliance Installation Guide.

Enable NIC bonding on an extra large appliance

Procedure

1.

Upgrade from your current Catalyst Center release to 3.1.6.
2.

Upgrade to the appropriate Cisco IMC firmware version for your Catalyst Center release. In the Cisco Catalyst Center Appliance Installation Guide that's specific to your appliance, refer to "Update the Cisco IMC firmware."
3.

Enable the NIC that the secondary instance of your appliance's interfaces will reside on—the Intel X710-DA4 NIC for 2nd-generation appliances, and the Intel E810XXVDA4 for 3rd-generation appliances.

In the Cisco Catalyst Center Appliance Installation Guide, refer to "Enable NIC on an upgraded appliance."
4.

Complete the steps described in "Power-cycle the appliance" in the Cisco Catalyst Center Appliance Installation Guide.
5.

Enable the interfaces that reside on your appliance's secondary NIC for configuration and use.

In the Cisco Catalyst Center Appliance Installation Guide, refer to "Reconfigure the appliance using the configuration wizard."

Note these points:

  • When completing the wizard, the only information you need to enter is the maglev user's Linux password in the User Account Settings screen. Choose Next to skip through the various wizard screens.

    The primary and secondary instances of your appliance's interfaces are properly bonded after you complete the wizard.

  • By default, your appliance's interfaces are set to Active-Backup mode after you enable NIC bonding. If desired, you can set LACP mode for the Enterprise and Intracluster interfaces instead. The Internet and Management interfaces do not support this mode.

    For a description of the Active-Backup and LACP modes, refer to "NIC bonding overview" in the Cisco Catalyst Center Appliance Installation Guide.