Deciding to Freshly Install
Use this table to identify scenarios where you need to freshly install (also called reimaging). Note that for Firepower devices, in all of these scenarios—including switching device management between local and remote—you will lose device configurations.
Note |
Address licensing concerns before you reimage or switch management. If you are using Cisco Smart Licensing, you may need to unregister from the Cisco Smart Software Manager (CSSM) to avoid accruing orphan entitlements. These can prevent you from reregistering. |
Scenario | Solution | Cisco Smart Licensing |
---|---|---|
Upgrade FMC-managed devices from a much older Firepower version. |
The upgrade path from older versions can include intermediate versions. Especially in larger deployments where you must alternate FMC and device upgrade, this multi-step process can be time consuming. To save time, you can reimage older devices instead of upgrading:
|
Removing devices from the FMC unregisters them. Reassign licenses after you re-add the devices. |
Change FTD management from FDM to FMC (local to remote). |
Use the configure manager CLI command; see Cisco Firepower Threat Defense Command Reference. |
Unregister the device before you switch management. Reassign its license after you add it to the FMC. |
Change FTD management from FMC to FDM (remote to local). |
Use the configure manager CLI command; see Cisco Firepower Threat Defense Command Reference. Exception: The device is running or was upgraded from Version 6.0.1. In this case, reimage. |
Remove the device from the FMC to unregister it. Reregister using FDM. |
Change ASA FirePOWER management between ASDM and FMC. |
Start using the other management method. |
Contact Sales for new Classic licenses. ASA FirePOWER licenses are associated with a specific manager. |
Replace ASA FirePOWERwith FTD on the same physical device. |
Reimage. |
Convert Classic to Smart licenses; see the Firepower Management Center Configuration Guide. |
Replace NGIPSv with FTDv. |
Reimage. |
Contact Sales for new Smart licenses. |
Uninstall an FTD patch with FDM. |
Reimage. You cannot uninstall patches in FDM deployments. |
Unregister the device before you reimage. Reregister after. |
Return to a previous major release. |
Reimage. You cannot uninstall major upgrades. If possible, restore from backup. |
Do not unregister before you reimage, and do not remove devices from the FMC. If you do, you must unregister again after you restore, then re-register. Instead, revert any licensing changes made since you took the backup. After the restore completes, reconfigure licensing. If you notice licensing conflicts or orphan entitlements, contact Cisco TAC. |
Restore a failed FMCfrom backup. |
In an RMA scenario, the replacement will arrive configured with factory defaults. However, if the replacement is already configured, we recommend you reimage before you restore. |
Do not unregister before you reimage, and do not remove devices from the FMC. If you do, you must unregister again after you restore, then re-register. Instead, revert any licensing changes made since you took the backup. After the restore completes, reconfigure licensing. If you notice licensing conflicts or orphan entitlements, contact Cisco TAC. |