Cisco APIC Installation and ACI Upgrade and Downgrade Guide

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Cisco APIC Installation and ACI Upgrade and Downgrade Guide

Download APIC and switch images on APICs

Updated: July 12, 2026

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Configure firmware image downloads for Cisco APICs and Cisco ACI-mode switches from external file servers or local machines into the firmware repository.

This procedure downloads firmware images of the Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controllers (APICs) and Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI)-mode switches into the Cisco APIC's firmware repository from an external file server or from your local machine.

If you are downgrading the software on the Cisco APICs, the process is identical to the process for upgrading the software, except that the target release that you choose will be earlier than the currently installed release. The text for dialogs, fields, buttons, and other controls in the Cisco APIC GUI specify "upgrade" even though you are downgrading the software.

Note

In the Cisco APIC release 6.0(2) and later, download both the 32-bit and 64-bit Cisco ACI-mode switch images to the Cisco APIC. Downloading only one of the images may result in errors during the upgrade process. For more information, see Guidelines and limitations for upgrading or downgrading.

In the Cisco ACI-mode switch 16.x releases, the 64-bit switch software has the same image name as the 32-bit software when installed on the switch. To verify which version is running on the switch, use the md5sum command against the image file on switch. Compare this md5sum hash to the switch image contained in the /firmware/fwrepos/fwrepo directory of the Cisco APIC. On subsequent upgrades, the 64-bit and 32-bit image names are differentiated on the switch.

Follow these steps to download APIC and switch images on APICs:

Procedure

1.

Download the desired target version from the Cisco Software Download site (for example, 5.2(1g) release) to your file server or local machine.
2.

On the menu bar, choose Admin > Firmware.

The Dashboard window appears, which provides general information one the controllers and the leaf and spine switches (nodes).
3.

Click Images in the left navigation bar.

The Image window appears, which shows the images that you downloaded previously.
4.

Click the Actions icon and select Add Firmware from the drop-down menu.

The Add Firmware Image popup window appears.
5.

Determine if you want to import the firmware image from a local or a remote location.

  • If you want to import the firmware image from your computer, in the Location field, click the Local radio button. Click the Choose File button, then navigate to the folder on your local system with the firmware image that you want to import. Go to Step 6.

  • If you want to import the firmware image from a remote location, click either Secure copy or HTTP, depending on the method that you want to use to import the firmware image from the remote location:

    • If you selected the Secure copy radio button, enter the Secure Copy Protocol (SCP) source that you want to use to download the software image:

      1. In the URL field, enter the URL from where the image will be downloaded.

        The format for the SCP source is:

        <SCP server IP or FQDN>:/<path>/<filename>

        For example: 192.0.2.3:/path/to/the/image/aci-apic-dk9.5.0.1a.iso.
6.

Click Submit.

The Cisco APICs begins downloading the specified firmware images from the configured source. The download progress is shown in the Download Status column