Cisco APIC Installation and ACI Upgrade and Downgrade Guide

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Cisco APIC Installation and ACI Upgrade and Downgrade Guide

Upgrade or downgrade the switches using the NX-OS style CLI

Updated: July 12, 2026

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Upgrades or downgrades switches by configuring firmware repositories and switch groups through the NX-OS style CLI. This procedure manages firmware versions and scheduling for network infrastructure nodes.

Procedure

1.

Download the image from the source into the controller.

Example:


                        apic1# 
                        scp <username>@<image_host_IP>:/<filename_and_image_absolute_path>
                        .
                        apic1# 
                        pwd
                        /home/admin
                        apic1# 
                        ls
                        <ver-no>.bin
2.

Display repository information.

Example:


                        apic1# 
                        show firmware repository
Note

When you migrate to 6.0 (2) by using the CLI mode to upgrade the firmware, the maintenance group displays two target firmware versions. It displays both these images because their base version is the same. Both the firmware versions belong to the same release, where one version has the 64 bit extension and the other version does not have the 64 bit extension as shown below:


                            apic1(config-firmware-switch)# 
                            show running-config
                            # Command: show running-config firmware switch-group 64bit
                            # Time: Thu Jan 19 05:23:15 2023
                            firmware
                            switch-group 64bit
                            switch 102
                            switch 103
                            switch 104
                            switch 105
                            switch 152
                            
                                firmware-version aci-n9000-dk9.16.0.2.bin
                             
                            
                                firmware-version aci-n9000-dk9.16.0.2-cs_64.bin
                             
                            exit
                            exit

The firmware-version aci-n9000-dk9.16.0.2.bin and f irmware-version aci-n9000-dk9.16.0.2-cs_64.bin firmware statements in the above output shows 2 firmware versions are present even though 1 is configured.

3.

Add the firmware image to the repository.


                        apic1# 
                        firmware repository add <image_filename>

Example:


                        apic1# 
                        firmware repository add aci-apic-dk9.2.0.1r.iso
4.

Configure the switch group for upgrade.


                        apic1# 
                        configure
                        apic1(config)# 
                        firmware
                        apic1(config-firmware)# 
                        switch-group <switch_group>
                        apic1(config-firmware-switch)# 
                        switch <switches_to_add_to_group>
                        apic1(config-firmware-switch)# 
                        firmware-version <image_filename>
Note

You can also use the no argument with the switch command above to remove switches from the group:

Example:


                        apic1# 
                        configure
                        apic1(config)# 
                        firmware
                        apic1(config-firmware)# 
                        switch-group group1
                        apic1(config-firmware-switch)# 
                        switch 101-104,201,202
                        apic1(config-firmware-switch)# 
                        firmware-version aci-n9000-dk9.12.2.2e.bin
                        apic1(config-firmware-switch)# 
                        no switch 203,204
5.

Specify whether to proceed to the next set of nodes if the upgrade fails on the current set of nodes.


                        apic1(config-firmware-switch)# 
                        [no] run-mode {pause-never | pause-on-failure}

Example:


                        apic1(config-firmware-switch)# 
                        run-mode pause-on-failure
6.

Determine if you want to assign a scheduler for the upgrade or if you want to upgrade immediately.

  • If you want to assign a scheduler for the upgrade, a scheduler must exist to specify when the upgrade will be executed. See Upgrade or downgrade with the scheduler for more information about the scheduler.

    To assign that existing scheduler for the upgrade:

    
                                apic1(config-firmware-switch)# 
                                schedule <scheduler_name>

    For example:

    
                                apic1(config-firmware-switch)# 
                                schedule myNextSunday

  • If you want to upgrade immediately, return to EXEC mode and type the command firmware upgrade switch-group .

    Note

    The firmware upgrade switch-group command performs the upgrade immediately in this situation. This takes priority over any configured scheduled upgrades. 

    
                                apic1(config-firmware-switch)# 
                                exit
                                apic1(config-firmware)# 
                                exit
                                apic1(config)# 
                                exit
                                apic1# 
                                firmware upgrade switch-group <switch_group>

    For example:

    
                                apic1# 
                                firmware upgrade switch-group group1
7.

Verify the upgrade status for the switch group.


                        apic1# 
                        show firmware upgrade status switch-group <switch_group>

The output that is produced from this command will vary, depending on the release:

  • For releases prior to Release 4.2(5), output similar to the following appears:

  • For Release 4.2(5) and later, output similar to the following appears, where the Download-Status and Download-Progress(%) columns are now available to provide additional information: