Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Control Components and Device Management Guide, Releases 26.x and Later

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Enforce a software version on devices

Updated: June 9, 2026

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Describes how to enforce and apply specific software versions across managed devices in the Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN environment.

If you are using the Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN hosted service, you can enforce a version of the Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN software to run on a router when it first joins the overlay network.

To ensure that templates are in sync after an upgrade that enforces a software version, make sure of these before you perform the upgrade:

  • The bootflash and flash on the router must have enough free space to support the upgrade

  • The version of the SD-WAN image that is on the device before the upgrade must be a lower version than the enforced SD-WAN version you specify in the procedure in this section

  • For ZTP enforcement feature to start, initial onboarding has to be done through PNP/ZTP workflow.

Before you begin

  • Ensure that the bootflash and flash on the router have enough free space to support the upgrade.

  • Ensure that the version of the SD-WAN image that is on the device before the upgrade is a lower version than the version of the software image you are enforcing with this procedure.

  • For ZTP enforcement feature to start, initial onboarding has to be done through the Plug-and-Play/ZTP workflow.

Follow these steps to enforce a specific software version to run a device when it first joins the fabric.

Procedure

1.

Ensure that the software image for the desired device software version is present in the Cisco SD-WAN Manager software image repository:

  1. From the Cisco SD-WAN Manager menu, choose Maintenance > Software Repository.

    The Software Repository page opens and displays a table of software images. If the desired software image is present in the repository, continue with Step 2.

  2. If you need to add a software image, click Add New Software.

  3. Select the location from which to download the software images, either Cisco SD-WAN Manager, Remote Server, or Remote Server - Cisco SD-WAN Manager.

  4. Select an x86-based or a MIPS-based software image.

  5. To place the image in the repository, click Add.
2.

From the Cisco SD-WAN Manager menu, choose Administration > Settings.
3.

Click Enforce Software Version (ZTP).

If you are using Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager Release 20.12.x or earlier, locate Enforce Software Version (ZTP) and click Edit.
4.

For a specific platform, enable enforcing the software version.
5.

Do one of these:

  • Use an image on a local server:

    1. In the Image Location field, choose Local Server.

    2. In the Version/Image Name field, choose an image.

  • Use an image on a remote server:

    1. In the Image Location field, choose Remote Server.

    2. In the Remote Server Name field, choose a server.

    3. In the Image Filename field, choose an image.
6.

Click Save.