Wireless LAN Controller (WLC) Software

Upgrade
Contents
Introduction
Prerequisites
Requirements
Components Used
Platforms Supported
WLC Software Upgrade Procedure
GUI Upgrade Procedure
CLI Upgrade Procedure
Use the Cisco Prime Infrastructure (PI) to upgrade the WLC
Upgrading WLC in HA AP-SSO environment
Remove the Primary or Secondary Image on the Wireless LAN Controller
Verify
Debugging Options
Troubleshoot
Related Information

Introduction
This document covers general procedures and explains the procedure and requirements in order
to upgrade software on a Wireless LAN Controller (WLC).

See WLC Software Release Notes for an accurate upgrade path, download information, and
upgrade procedure information for each specific release.

For example, if you migrate to Release 8.8.111.0, see the "Upgrading Cisco Wireless Release"
section of Release Notes for Cisco Wireless Controllers and Lightweight Access Points for Cisco
Wireless Release 8.8.111.0.

Prerequisites
Requirements

In addition to basic networking knowledge and familiarity with the basic configuration and
installation of Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers, ensure that you read the Guidelines and
Recomendations present in the release notes. For example, for version 8.8.111.0 you have them
here.

Supported Upgrade Path to Cisco Wireless Release 8.8.x:

Current Software Release Upgrade Path to Release8.8.x

 You must upgrade to an 8.5.x release and then
8.2.x
upgrade to Release8.8.x.
You must upgrade to an 8.5.x release and then
8.3.x
upgrade to Release8.8.x.
You must upgrade to an 8.5.x release and then
8.4.x
upgrade to Release8.8.x.
8.5.x You can upgrade directly to Release8.8.x.
8.6.x You can upgrade directly to Release8.8.x.
8.7.x You can upgrade directly to Release8.8.x.

Do not power down the controller or any access point during this process; otherwise, you might
corrupt the software image. Upgrading a controller with a large number of access points can take
as long as 30 minutes, depending on the size of your network. However, with the increased
number of concurrent access point upgrades supported in the controller software release, the
upgrade time should be significantly reduced. The access points must remain powered, and the
controller must not be reset during this time.

You can reduce the network downtime using the following options:

1. You can predownload the AP image.This feature allows you to download the upgrade image
to the controller, and then download the image to the access points while the network is still
up. A new CLI allows you to specify the boot image for both devices and to reset the access
points when the controller resets.For information on how to configure the WLC and LAPs for
this feature read the section Predownloading an Image to an Access Point section of Cisco
Wireless LAN Controller Configuration Guide, Release 8.8.
2. For FlexConnect access points, use the FlexConnect Efficient AP upgrade feature to reduce
traffic between the controller and the AP (main site and the branch).For more information
about configuring FlexConnect AP upgrades, see the Configuring FlexConnect AP Upgrades
for FlexConnect APs chapter of Cisco Wireless LAN Controller Configuration Guide,
Release 8.8..

Components Used

The information in this document is based on these software and hardware versions:

● An FTP server with the upgrade files stored.

● A PC with HTTP/S access to the WLC for file transfer via HTTPs.
● A Cisco 3504 WLC that runs 8.5.131.0 which will be upgraded to software release 8.8.111.0.

Platforms Supported

This document is also applicable to these hardware platforms:

● Cisco 2504/5508 Series Wireless LAN Controllers

● Cisco 5520/8540 Series Wireless LAN Controllers
● Cisco 3504 Series Wireless LAN Controller
● Cisco Wireless Services Module 2 (WiSM-2)
● Cisco Flex 7500 Series Wireless LAN Controllers
● Cisco Virtual Wireless Controller (vWLC)
 Note: WLCs 2504/5508/WiSM-2 and 7500 do not support 8.8.x release but the upgrade
procedure is the same.

WLC Software Upgrade Procedure

You can use CLI or GUI to upgrade the Cisco WLC.

Note: It is highly recommended to back up the configuration on the Wireless LAN controller
before you perform the upgrade.

GUI Upgrade Procedure

In this section, you are presented with the information to upgrade the WLC with the use of the GUI
on the controller.

When you upgrade the WLC with use of the GUI, you lose Layer 3 (IP) connectivity within the
periods of time when the controller reboots. For this reason, it is recommended that you use a
console port connection in order to check the state of the controller during the upgrade process
and expedite any recovery procedures, if necessary.

Follow these steps:

1. Upload your controller configuration files to a server to back up the configuration files.
2. Follow these steps to obtain controller software: Browse to the Software Download portal at:
https://software.cisco.com/download/home.Search for the controller model: Downloads
Home > Wireless > Wireless LAN Controller > Standalone Controllers.Click on the WLC
model you have and then on Wireless LAN Controller Software.The software releases are
labeled as described here to help you determine which release to download. Click a
controller software release number: Early Deployment (ED)—These software releases
provide new features and new hardware platform support as well as bug fixes.Maintenance
Deployment (MD)—These software releases provide bug fixes and ongoing software
maintenance.Deferred (DF)—These software releases have been deferred. We recommend
that you migrate to an upgraded release.Click the filename <filename.aes>.Click
Download.Read the Cisco End User Software License Agreement and click Agree.Save the
file to your hard drive.
3. Copy the controller software file <filename.aes> to the default directory on your TFTP, FTP,
or SFTP server.
4. (Optional) Disable the controller 802.11 networks. Note: For busy networks, controllers on
high utilization, and small controller platforms, we recommend that you disable the 802.11
networks as a precautionary measure.
5. Choose Commands > Download File to open the Download File to Controller page.
6. From the File Type drop-down list, choose Code.
7. From the Transfer Mode drop-down list, choose TFTP, FTP, SFTP or HTTP. If you choose
HTTP you will be prompted for the location of the file. You need to have the file available
from the PC you are using to access the GUI of the WLC. Proceed to step 13 if you choose
HTTP.
 8. If you choose TFTP, FTP, or SFTP server, enter the IP address of the TFTP, FTP, or SFTP
server.
9. If you are using a TFTP server, the default value of 10 retries for the Maximum Retries field,
and 6 seconds for the Timeout field should work correctly without any adjustment. However,
you can change these values, if required. To do so, enter the maximum number of times the
TFTP server attempts to download the software in the Maximum Retries field and the
amount of time (in seconds) for which the TFTP server attempts to download the software, in
the Timeout field.
10. In the File Path field, enter the directory path of the software.
11. In the File Name field, enter the name of the software file <filename.aes>.
12. If you are using an FTP server, perform these steps: In the Server Login Username field,
enter the username with which to log on to the FTP server.In the Server Login Password
field, enter the password with which to log on to the FTP server.In the Server Port Number
field, enter the port number on the FTP server through which the download occurs. The
default value is
21.

13. Click Download to download the software to the controller. A message indicating the status
of the download is displayed.
14. After the download is complete, click Reboot.
15. If you are prompted to save your changes, click Save and Reboot.
16. Click OK to confirm your decision to reboot the controller.
17. If you have disabled the 802.11 networks, reenable them.
18. (Optional) To verify that the controller software is installed on your controller, on the
controller GUI, click Monitor and view the Software Version field under Controller
Summary.

CLI Upgrade Procedure

In this section, you are presented with the information to upgrade the WLC with use of the CLI on
the controller accessing the files in an FTP server.
Complete these steps:

1. Make sure that the FTP server is reachable from the controller, and make sure the upgrade
file resides in a directory of the FTP server.
2. It is best to complete this procedure via the console port, but you can also SSH or Telnet (if
enabled) to the controller's management IP address in order to complete the procedure. The
use of SSH or Telnet results in the loss of connectivity with the controller during the reboot
process following the image download. Therefore, console access should be available in
order to expedite troubleshooting and recovery of the controller if the upgrade fails. Log in to
the controller and issue the show sysinfo command in order to verify the current software
that runs on the controller.This is sample output of the show sysinfo command, which
shows that the controller runs 8.5.131.0:
(Cisco Controller) >show sysinfo

Manufacturer's Name.............................. Cisco Systems Inc.

Product Name..................................... Cisco Controller
Product Version.................................. 8.5.131.0
RTOS Version..................................... 8.5.131.0
Bootloader Version............................... 8.5.103.0
Emergency Image Version.......................... 8.5.103.0
3. Complete these steps in order to define the download parameters:Issue the transfer
download mode ftp command in order to define the mode of file transfer.Issue the transfer
download username/password command in order to define the username and password to
access the FTP server.Issue the transfer download serverip FTP_server_IP_address
command in order to define the FTP server IP address.Issue the transfer download path
'FTP_server_path' command in order to define the path of the FTP default directory where
the controller OS software is located.Issue the transfer download filename filename
command in order to specify the name of the image.Here is an example:
(Cisco Controller) >transfer download datatype code
(Cisco Controller) >transfer download mode ftp
(Cisco Controller) >transfer download username admin
(Cisco Controller) >transfer download password ********
(Cisco Controller) >transfer download serverip 192.168.1.2
(Cisco Controller) >transfer download path /Shared/AIR-CT3504/
(Cisco Controller) >transfer download filename AIR-CT3504-K9-8-8-111-0.aes
4. Issue the transfer download start command in order to initiate the upgrade process.Here is
an example of the upgrade process:
(Cisco Controller) >show boot
Primary Boot Image............................... 8.8.111.0
Backup Boot Image................................ 8.5.131.0 (default)

(Cisco Controller) >show boot

(Cisco Controller) >transfer download start

Mode............................................. FTP
Data Type........................................ Code
FTP Server IP.................................... 192.168.1.2
FTP Server Port.................................. 21
FTP Path......................................... /Shared/AIR-CT3504/
FTP Filename..................................... AIR-CT3504-K9-8-8-111-0.aes
FTP Username..................................... admin
FTP Password..................................... *********

This may take some time.

Are you sure you want to start? (y/N)
 FTP Code transfer starting. FTP receive complete... extracting components. Checking Version
Built.

Image version check passed.

Writing new RTOS to flash disk.

Executing install_rtos script.

Writing new AP Image Bundle to flash disk.

Writing AVC Files to flash disk.

Executing fini script.

Reboot the controller for update to complete.

Optionally, pre-download the image to APs before rebooting to reduce network downtime.

File transfer is successful.

Reboot the controller for update to complete.
Optionally, pre-download the image to APs before rebooting to reduce network downtime.
(Cisco Controller) >show boot
Primary Boot Image............................... 8.8.111.0
Backup Boot Image................................ 8.8.111.0 (default)

(Cisco Controller) >show boot

5. Reboot the controller after the upgrade process is complete in order for the new code to take
effect.
6. Issue the reset system command, and enter y or yes in response to the question "Would
you like to save them now?".
(Cisco Controller) >reset system

The system has unsaved changes.

Would you like to save them now? (y/N) y

Read from Flash Completed ...

Updating HBL license statistics file

Done.

Configuration Saved!
System will now restart!
Updating license storage ... Done.

Exiting SL process !
There was change in the boot image, System will go for a reboot
Cannot Cancel the WDT. Not petting the WDT.
Collect the core using oct utility
Rebooting the system..
[74411.034881] reboot: Restarting system

Cisco bootloader . . .

Cisco BootLoader Version : 8.5.103.0 (Cisco build) (Build time: Jul 25 2017 - 07:47:10)

Octeon unique ID: 03c000610221f31e0057

OCTEON CN7240-AAP pass 1.3, Core clock: 1500 MHz, IO clock: 800 MHz, DDR clock: 1067 MHz
 (2134 Mhz DDR)
DRAM: 8 GiB
Clearing DRAM...... done
CPLD Revision : a5
Reset Reason : Soft reset due to RST_SOFT_RST write
SF: Detected S25FL064A with page size 256 Bytes, erase size 64 KiB, total 8 MiB
MMC: Octeon MMC/SD0: 0 (Type: MMC, Version: MMC v5.1, Manufacturer ID: 0x15, Vendor: Man
150100 Snr 0707a546, Product: BJNB4R, Revision: 0.7)
Net: octmgmt0, octmgmt1, octeth0, octeth1, octeth2, octeth3, octeth4, octeth5, octeth6
SF: Detected S25FL064A with page size 256 Bytes, erase size 64 KiB, total 8 MiB

Press <ESC> now to access the Boot Menu...

Loading backup image (8.8.111.0)

94767283 bytes read in 2229 ms (40.5 MiB/s)
Launching...
Verifying images... OK
Launching images...

[...]

XML config selected

Validating XML configuration
octeon_device_init: found 1 DPs
Cisco is a trademark of Cisco Systems, Inc.
Software Copyright Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cisco AireOS Version 8.8.111.0

Initializing OS Services: ok
Initializing Serial Services: ok
Initializing Network Services: ok
[...]
The configuration is not kept when you downgrade versions of controller code. Controllers can be
upgraded from one release to another. Should you require a downgrade from one release to
another, you possibly cannot use the higher release configuration. The workaround is to reload the
previous controller configuration files that were saved on the backup server or reconfigure the
controller.

Use the Cisco Prime Infrastructure (PI) to upgrade the WLC

Manually upgrading your devices to the latest software version can be error prone and time
consuming. Cisco Prime Infrastructure simplifies the version management and routine deployment
of software updates to your devices by helping you plan, schedule, download, and monitor
software image updates. You can also view software image details, view recommended software
images, and delete software images. The software image management page provides a
consolidated view of the various aspects of image management such as software image
management lifecycle widget, software image summary, and job details.

Prime Infrastructure stores all of the software images for the devices in your network. The images
are stored according to the image type and version.

Please visit the Manage Device Software Images chapter of the Cisco PI User Guide for detailed
information and guidelines.

Upgrading WLC in HA AP-SSO environment

The following is a list of some software upgrade scenarios:

● A software upgrade on the active controller ensures the upgrade of the standby-hot controller.
● An in-service upgrade is not supported. Therefore, you should plan your network downtime
before you upgrade the controllers in an HA environment.
● Rebooting the active controller after a software upgrade also reboots the standby-hot
controller.
● We recommend that both active and standby-hot controllers have the same software image in
the backup before running theconfig boot backupcommand. If both active and standby-hot
controllers have different software images in the backup, and if you run theconfig boot
backupcommand in the active controller, both the controllers reboot with their respective
backup images breaking the HA pair due to a software mismatch.
● A schedule reset applies to both the controllers in an HA environment. The peer controller
reboots a minute before the scheduled time expires on the active controller.
● You can reboot the standby-hot controller from the active controller by entering thereset peer-
systemcommand if the scheduled reset is not planned. If you reset only the standby-hot
controller with this command, any unsaved configurations on the standby-hot controller is lost.
Therefore, ensure that you save the configurations on the active controller before you reset
the standby-hot controller.
● A preimage download is reinitiated if an SSO is triggered at the time of the image transfer.
● Onlydebugandshowcommands are allowed on the standby-hot controller.
● After a switchover, if a peer controller has a controller software release that is prior to Release
7.5, all the mobility clients are deauthenticated.
For detailed instruction to upgrade the WLC in HA AP-SSO setup, please follow the steps in the
High Availability (SSO) Deployment Guide document.

Remove the Primary or Secondary Image on the Wireless LAN Controller

The WLC, by default, maintains two images. These images are the primary image and the backup
image. The primary image is the active image used by the WLC while the backup image is used
as a backup for the active image.

When you upgrade the WLC with a new image, the WLC automatically copies the new image over
the backup image.

In order to see the active image that your controller currently runs (the primary image), click
Monitor from the WLC GUI and look at the Software Version field under Controller Summary on
the WLC GUI. From the CLI, you can use the command show boot in order to view the primary
and backup image present on the WLC. Here is an example.

(Cisco Controller) >show boot

Primary Boot Image............................... 8.8.111.0
Backup Boot Image................................ 8.5.131.0 (default)
In order to remove or overwrite an image on the WLC, boot up the WLC with the image that you
want to keep and perform an upgrade. This way, the new image replaces the backup image.

You can also change the active booting image of the WLC manually with the command config
boot <primary/backup>.
(Cisco Controller) >config boot ?

primary Sets the primary image as active.

backup Sets the backup image as active.
The config boot image can also be configured with the WLC GUI. Refer to How to Use the
Backup Image on Wireless LAN Controllers (WLCs) for more information on the detailed
procedure.

Note: You need to save and reboot the WLC configuration so that the WLC uses the new
active image.

Verify
In order to verify the version of WLC software that is running, log in to the controller after the
system reboots.

From the GUI:

After upgrade, from CLI:

(Cisco Controller) >show sysinfo

Manufacturer's Name.............................. Cisco Systems Inc.

Product Name..................................... Cisco Controller
Product Version.................................. 8.8.111.0
RTOS Version..................................... 8.8.111.0
Bootloader Version............................... 8.5.103.0
Emergency Image Version.......................... 8.5.103.0

Debugging Options
You can use the debug transfer all enable command in order to view the events that occur
during the controller software upgrade process. Here is an example, which shows the debug
command output used and the for a successful software upgrade:

(Cisco Controller) >debug transfer all enable

(Cisco Controller) >transfer download start

Mode............................................. FTP
Data Type........................................ Code
FTP Server IP.................................... 192.168.1.2
FTP Server Port.................................. 21
FTP Path......................................... /Shared/AIR-CT3504/
FTP Filename..................................... AIR-CT3504-K9-8-8-111-0.aes
FTP Username..................................... admin
FTP Password..................................... *********

This may take some time.

Are you sure you want to start? (y/N) y
*TransferTask: Mar 06 14:56:49.928: Memory overcommit policy changed from 0 to 1

*TransferTask: Mar 06 14:56:49.928: Delete ramdisk for ap bundle

*TransferTask: Mar 06 14:56:49.939: RESULT_STRING: FTP Code transfer starting.

*TransferTask: Mar 06 14:56:49.939: RESULT_CODE:1

FTP Code transfer starting.

*TransferTask: Mar 06 14:58:52.024: ftp operation returns error code:0 error:Transfer Successful

*TransferTask: Mar 06 14:58:52.034: tftp = 6, file_name=/Shared/AIR-CT3504/AIR-CT3504-K9-8-8-

111-0.aes, ip_address=192.168.1.2, msg=Transfer Successful

*TransferTask: Mar 06 14:58:52.034: upd_get_code = 6 (target=268435457 msg=Transfer Successful)

*TransferTask: Mar 06 14:58:52.034: RESULT_STRING: FTP receive complete... extracting

components.

*TransferTask: Mar 06 14:58:52.034: RESULT_CODE:6

FTP receive complete... extracting components.

*TransferTask: Mar 06 14:59:07.442: RESULT_STRING: Checking Version Built.

Checking Version Built.

*TransferTask: Mar 06 14:59:09.442: RESULT_STRING: Image version check passed.

Image version check passed.

*TransferTask: Mar 06 14:59:12.443: RESULT_STRING: Executing Product Check TLV.

*TransferTask: Mar 06 14:59:12.444: RESULT_STRING: Executing Version Built TLV.

*TransferTask: Mar 06 14:59:12.444: RESULT_STRING: Executing init script.

*TransferTask: Mar 06 14:59:12.457: RESULT_STRING: Executing backup script.

*TransferTask: Mar 06 14:59:13.508: RESULT_STRING: Writing new RTOS to flash disk.

Writing new RTOS to flash disk.

*TransferTask: Mar 06 14:59:20.810: RESULT_STRING: Executing install_rtos script.

Executing install_rtos script.

*TransferTask: Mar 06 14:59:24.878: RESULT_STRING: Writing new Kernel-args to flash disk.

*TransferTask: Mar 06 14:59:24.892: RESULT_STRING: Writing new FP to flash disk.

*TransferTask: Mar 06 14:59:25.451: RESULT_STRING: Writing new AP Image Bundle to flash disk.

Writing new AP Image Bundle to flash disk.

*TransferTask: Mar 06 14:59:44.044: RESULT_STRING: Writing AVC Files to flash disk.

Writing AVC Files to flash disk.

*TransferTask: Mar 06 14:59:44.703: RESULT_STRING: Executing fini script.

Executing fini script.

*TransferTask: Mar 06 14:59:52.860: RESULT_STRING: Reading AP IMAGE version info.

*TransferTask: Mar 06 14:59:52.865: RESULT_CODE:11

*TransferTask: Mar 06 14:59:52.865: RESULT_STRING: File transfer is successful.

Reboot the controller for update to complete.
Optionally, pre-download the image to APs before rebooting to reduce network downtime.

File transfer is successful.

Reboot the controller for update to complete.
Optionally, pre-download the image to APs before rebooting to reduce network downtime.
*TransferTask: Mar 06 14:59:58.871: Create ramdisk for ap bundle

*TransferTask: Mar 06 14:59:58.884: Memory overcommit policy restored from 1 to 0

(Cisco Controller) >

Troubleshoot
Use this section to troubleshoot your software upgrade.

During the upgrade process, you might encounter errors. This section explains several common
errors, along with typical causes and corrective actions you can take to complete the WLC
software upgrade:

● "% Error: Code file transfer failed - Couldn't connect to the server" - You get this error
message if the server is not reachable. Check WLC to Server ip connectivity and make sure
the that the TFTP/FTP/SCP traffic is not blocked by any firewall in the network. Also
determine if the TFTP/FTP/SCP service is enabled/running on the server. In some cases the
machine that runs the server application might have the firewall turned on. This could be one
reason why the WLC upgrade does not happen as expected.
● "% Error: Code file transfer failed - Failure with receiving network data" - You get this
error if there was an error during file transfer like packets lost or out of order. You may want to
troubleshoot using packet captures along the network path to find the hop where the packet
are getting lost or out of order.
● "% Error: Code file transfer failed - Server returns login failure" - You get this error if the
ftp/scp username/password do not match the user credentials in the server. You may want to
 verify if the username and password configured match the ones configured in the server side.
● "% Error: Code file transfer failed - The URL does not exist, wrong path or filename" -
You get this error message if the software upgrade file is not present in the default directory of
the server or if you have entered the incorrect file name in the 'File Name' field of the
controller upgrade page. In order to eliminate this error, copy the image file to the default
directory on the server and verify that the name and file extension are exactly the same on the
server and the 'File Name' field of the Controller Upgrade page.

Related Information
● Cisco Wireless Controller Configuration Guide, Release 8.8
● High Availability (SSO) Deployment Guide