Cisco Catalyst 9000 Switches Upgrade [Step by step]

The upgrade process of the Catalyst 9000 is valid for the following hardware models:

Catalyst 9200
Catalyst 9300
Catalyst 9400
Catalyst 9500
Catalyst 9600

There are two methods to upgrade Catalyst 9000 series switches:

I- Bundle Mode (Traditional way)

In Bundle mode, the switch boot a .bin file that contains everything you need to run the IOS. As per traditional IOS, you have a boot statement that points to the .bin file you want to load and that gets loaded at the time of boot.

Below are the steps to upgrade Catalyst 9000 switches in Bundle Mode (traditional way):

Cisco Catalyst 9000 Switch Upgrade [Bundle Mode]

II- Install Mode (newer & recommended mode)

This breaks the .bin file up into smaller .pkg files that must be loaded into memory independently of each other and allows you to boot faster and utilize memory better:

The .bin file that you download from software.cisco.com has all the .pkg files you need inside.

Below are the steps to upgrade Catalyst 9000 switches in Install Mode:

Cisco Catalyst 9000 Switch Upgrade [Install Mode]

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/switches/catalyst-9300-series-switches/216231-upgrade-guide-for-cisco-catalyst-9000-sw.html#anc3

Bilel Ameur

Enthusiastic Network Engineer specializing in Cisco ACI, passionate about solving challenges. A lifelong learner who loves gaining and sharing knowledge. Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bilel-ameur-71116b2b5