Upgrade or downgrade the Cisco APIC from releases 5.1x or later | Upgrade or Downgrade with APIC Release 5.1 or Later Using the GUI | Cisco APIC Installation and ACI Upgrade and Downgrade Guide

Configure the upgrade or downgrade process for Cisco APIC software from releases 5.1x or later using the GUI-based procedures.

Use these GUI-based upgrade or downgrade procedures to upgrade the software on the Cisco APICs in your fabric.

If you are not able to upgrade the software on the Cisco APICs in your fabric using these GUI-based upgrade procedures for some reason (such as if you received a Cisco APIC through a new order or Product Returns & Replacements (RMA), and the version is old and not able to join the fabric to perform an upgrade using the GUI), you can perform a clean installation of the software on the Cisco APICs through the CIMC instead to upgrade your Cisco APIC software. See Installing Cisco APIC Software Using Virtual Media for those procedures. Or, if your Cisco APIC cluster is running the Cisco APIC 6.0(2) release or newer, the new Cisco APIC is automatically upgraded or downgraded to the same version of the existing cluster using Auto Firmware Update on APIC discovery.

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.

Before you begin

Ensure that you check and follow these guidelines:

Upgrade or downgrade Cisco ACI fabrics
Pre-Upgrade/Downgrade Checklists
Guidelines and limitations for upgrading or downgrading
If you are upgrading from a Cisco APIC release earlier than 5.0 to a 5.0 or later release and you have an IPv4 host route (/32) or IPv6 host route (/128) that is learned using MP-BGP, if those host routes overlap with a local attached non-pervasive subnet, such as an L3Out SVI subnet, the forwarding information base (FIB) process skips the hardware programming for those host routes. This behavior is intentional. You can avoid this situation by using one of the following workarounds:
- Do not advertise in the /32 or /128 host route that overlaps with an L3Out interface subnet.
- Advertise using any subnet other than /32 or /128.
- Peer directly from the border leaf switches to the same peers as the original nodes where there is peering.

Follow these steps to upgrade or downgrade the Cisco APIC software:

Procedure

	1.	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).
	2.	In the left navigation window, click Controllers. The Controllers window appears, which provides firmware information for the controllers.
	3.	Click the Setup Update button. The Version Selection step of the Setup Controller Firmware Upgrade window appears, showing all of the software images that you have downloaded onto your system. Note If you see the following error message instead: `No firmware images available. Please check the Images tab.` Then you do not have a image available to use for the upgrade. Add an image to use for the upgrade using the procedures provided in Download APIC and switch images on APICs.
	4.	Select an image that you want to use for the firmware update, then click Next. The Upgrade/Downgrade Confirmation page appears.
	5.	In the browser URL field, enter the URL for the Cisco APIC that has already been upgraded, and sign in to the Cisco APIC as prompted.
	6.	Wait for all the Cisco APICs to complete the upgrade or downgrade and become Fully Fit.