Cisco APIC Installation and ACI Upgrade and Downgrade Guide
Cisco APIC Installation and ACI Upgrade and Downgrade Guide
Consider the limitations when mixing first-generation and newer generation switches in vPC pairs during migration.
As documented in Cisco APIC Layer 2 Networking Configuration Guide, mixing a first-generation switch and newer generation switch in the same vPC pair is not supported. However, it is supported temporarily during the migration with a limitation where the secondary vPC switch will keep its vPC legs down.
Complete the following steps:
The Auto Firmware Update policy must be disabled.
Upgrade the Cisco APIC cluster to the 4.2(7v) release if the cluster is running an older release. Also upgrade all the switches to the 14.2(7v) release. Wait for the fabric to converge.
Upgrade the Cisco APIC cluster to 5.2(7f) release and wait for the cluster to become "Fully Fit."
Upgrade switches that are not to be replaced to 15.2(7f).
Ensure that the new switches are preloaded and running the equivalent release as the Cisco APICs, that is 15.2(7f) release. Other than source and target version software releases 4.2(7v)/14.2(7v) and 5.2(7f)/15.2(7f), no other software releases are supported for this migration procedure.
The procedure below is not supported when the minimum software version requirement for the new switches is newer than 15.2(7f). In such a case, you need to remove both of the old switches in the vPC pair at once, and add the new switches in one shot.
Follow these steps to replace old ACI switches with new switches when they cannot run the same software version:
| 1. | From the Cisco APIC GUI, perform the Remove From Controller operation for the operational secondary vPC switch node. The Cisco APIC clean reboots the switch. Wait for about 10 minutes for this operation to finish. This action prompts all traffic to use the other first generation switch for data traffic.
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| 2. | Disconnect the cabling from the first generation switch that you just removed. |
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| 3. | Uninstall the old switch by reversing the order of the steps in the "Installing the Switch Chassis" section of the switch-specific Hardware Installation Guide. |
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| 4. | Install the new switch by following the steps in the "Installing the Switch Chassis" section of the switch-specific Hardware Installation Guide. |
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| 5. | Connect the loose cabling that you removed from the old switch to the same ports on the new switch. |
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| 6. | Register the new second generation switch with the Cisco APIC. Register the new node with the same node name and node ID. This switch becomes part of the fabric. The Cisco APIC pushes the policies to the new switch and keeps down the vPC legs because there is a mismatch of the generation of switches. At this point, the vPC primary continues to send the data traffic. |
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| 7. | Before you proceed to Step 8, wait for 10 to 15 minutes for the new switch to download the configurations. |
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| 8. | From the Cisco APIC GUI, perform the Remove From Controller operation for the vPC primary. The Cisco APIC clean reboots the switch. Wait for about 10 minutes for this operation to finish. The vPC leg on the new switch, which the Cisco APIC kept down earlier, comes up. This action prompts all traffic to move to the new switch. The vPC ports on the new switch can take a few minutes to come up, during which time there will be traffic drops. The duration of traffic drops varies by the scale and flows in the fabric. |
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| 9. | Disconnect the cabling from the first generation switch. |
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| 10. | Uninstall the first generation switch as you did in Step 3. |
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| 11. | Install the second generation switch as you did in Step 4. |
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| 12. | Connect the loose cabling as you did in Step 5. |
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| 13. | Register the new second generation switch with the Cisco APIC. Register the new node with the same node name and node ID. This switch becomes part of the fabric. The Cisco APIC pushes policies to the new switch and the vPC legs comes up and starts passing traffic. |
This reference describes the procedure for old and new switches that can run the same ACI software version, which follows the same steps as the procedure for switches that cannot run the same version but without additional version requirements.
Follow the same steps as the Old and new switches cannot run the same ACI software version section of “Leaf Switches with vPC” below. It is the same procedure without the additional requirements such as specific source and target version requirements mentioned in Before you begin section in the Old and new switches cannot run the same ACI software version section.