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(Re)install an IOS operating system on a Cisco 2960 switch

Prereqs

  • a PC (BIOS/UEFI) running Linux Mint 21
  • a console cable
  • (a network cable)
  • a Cisco 2960 24TT-L or 24TC-L Plus switch

Situation

At the time of writing, the latest IOS for...

  • a "Cisco 2960 24TT-L switch" is "15.0(2)SE11"
  • a "Cisco 24TC-L Plus switch" is "15.2(7)E8"

Version "15.2(7)E8" does NOT run on a "Cisco 2960 24TT-L switch". Version 15.0(2)SE11 runs on both switches. I'll use that version for the examples.

IOS transfer over serial (xmodem)

From IOS

Verify that there is enough space left on the Flash filesystem to add an (additional) IOS. In this example, I will simulate a missing IOS by deleting it. Do not reload!

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Switch#dir flash:
Directory of flash:/

    3  drwx         128  May 29 2024 10:34:46 +00:00  pnp-tech
    4  drwx           0   Mar 1 1993 00:01:03 +00:00  pnp-info
    9  -rwx    11832946  May 29 2024 11:35:59 +00:00  c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE11.bin
10  -rwx        1048  May 29 2024 11:37:31 +00:00  multiple-fs

65544192 bytes total (53509632 bytes free)
Switch#
Switch#delete flash:/c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE11.bin
Delete filename [c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE11.bin]? 
Delete flash:/c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE11.bin? [confirm]
Switch#

Set the baud rate to 115200 to speed up the transfer. You will lose the connection after the last command. Some gibberish characters can emerge.

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Switch#configure terminal
Enter configuration commands, one per line.  End with CNTL/Z.
Switch(config)#line console 0
Switch(config-line)#speed 115200
C�

Adjust the settings in your terminal emulation program to match the new baud rate. For minicom, press Ctrl+A and then Z. Type O and choose "Serial port setup". Change setting E and Enter twice. Exit.

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Switch#conf t                                                                                                    
Enter configuration commands, one per line.  End with CNTL/Z.                                                    
Swit+-----------------+---------[Comm Parameters]----------+----------------+                                    
Swit| A -    Serial De|                                    |                |                                    
C�  | B - Lockfile Loc|     Current:  9600 8N1             |                |                                    
    | C -   Callin Pro| Speed            Parity      Data  |                |                                    
    | D -  Callout Pro| A: <next>        L: None     S: 5  |                |                                    
    | E -    Bps/Par/B| B: <prev>        M: Even     T: 6  |                |                                    
    | F - Hardware Flo| C:   9600        N: Odd      U: 7  |                |                                    
    | G - Software Flo| D:  38400        O: Mark     V: 8  |                |                                    
    | H -     RS485 En| E: 115200        P: Space          |                |                                    
    | I -   RS485 Rts |                                    |                |                                    
    | J -  RS485 Rts A| Stopbits                           |                |                                    
    | K -  RS485 Rx Du| W: 1             Q: 8-N-1          |                |                                    
    | L -  RS485 Termi| X: 2             R: 7-E-1          |                |                                    
    | M - RS485 Delay |                                    |                |                                    
    | N - RS485 Delay |                                    |                |                                    
    |                 | Choice, or <Enter> to exit?        |                |                                    
    |    Change which +------------------------------------+                |                                    
    +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

Press Enter The connection is back. Initiate an xMODEM transfer. Confirm the destination filename. The switch will then prompt you to start the transfer from your terminal emulator.

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    Switch(config-line)#end
    Switch#copy xmodem: flash:c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE11.bin
    Destination filename [c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE11.bin]?     <----- press ENTER
    Begin the Xmodem or Xmodem-1K transfer now...
    CCC

For minicom, press Ctrl+A and then Z. Type S (Send files) and select "xmodem". Navigate your way to the new IOS file (here /srv/tftp). Press Space to tag the file and enter "Okay" to send.

Grab a coffee. This can take a long time depending on the size of the IOS image. Wait for the transfer to complete and then press Enter to quit.

Make the switch boot from the newly transferred IOS image, verify and reboot.

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Switch(config)#boot system flash:/c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE11.bin
Switch(config)#end
Switch#show boot
BOOT path-list      : flash:/c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE11.bin
...
...

Switch#reload

System configuration has been modified. Save? [yes/no]: no  <----- if asked
Proceed with reload? [confirm]

You have to adjust the settings in your terminal emulation program again, to match the default baud of 9600. Verify that the correct IOS image is loaded. Enjoy your new IOS!

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Switch#show version
Cisco IOS Software, C2960 Software (C2960-LANBASEK9-M), Version 15.0(2)SE11, RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc3)
...
...
System returned to ROM by power-on
System image file is "flash:/c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE11.bin"
...
...

Switch Ports Model              SW Version            SW Image                 
------ ----- -----              ----------            ----------               
*    1 26    WS-C2960+24TC-L    15.0(2)SE11           C2960-LANBASEK9-M        


Configuration register is 0xF

Switch#

From ROMMON

First, start the switch in ROMMON-mode.

Verify that there is enough space left on the Flash filesystem to add an (additional) IOS. In this example, I will simulate a missing IOS by deleting it.

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switch: dir flash:
Directory of flash:/

    2  -rwx  11832960  <date>               c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE11.bin
    3  drwx  128       <date>               pnp-tech
    4  drwx  0         <date>               pnp-info
    10  -rwx  1048      <date>               multiple-fs

53509632 bytes available (12034560 bytes used)

switch: delete flash:c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE11.bin
Are you sure you want to delete "flash:c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE11.bin" (y/n)?y
File "flash:c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE11.bin" deleted

switch:

Set the baud rate to 115200 to speed up the transfer. You will lose the connection after the last command. Some gibberish characters can emerge.

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switch: set BAUD 115200
                   �

Adjust the settings in your terminal emulation program to match the new baud rate. For minicom, press Ctrl+A and then Z. Type O and choose "Serial port setup". Change setting E to "115200" and Enter twice. Exit the configuration menu.

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swit+-----------------+---------[Comm Parameters]----------+----------------+                                    
swit| A -    Serial De|                                    |                |                                    
C�  | B - Lockfile Loc|     Current:  9600 8N1             |                |                                    
    | C -   Callin Pro| Speed            Parity      Data  |                |                                    
    | D -  Callout Pro| A: <next>        L: None     S: 5  |                |                                    
    | E -    Bps/Par/B| B: <prev>        M: Even     T: 6  |                |                                    
    | F - Hardware Flo| C:   9600        N: Odd      U: 7  |                |                                    
    | G - Software Flo| D:  38400        O: Mark     V: 8  |                |                                    
    | H -     RS485 En| E: 115200        P: Space          |                |                                    
    | I -   RS485 Rts |                                    |                |                                    
    | J -  RS485 Rts A| Stopbits                           |                |                                    
    | K -  RS485 Rx Du| W: 1             Q: 8-N-1          |                |                                    
    | L -  RS485 Termi| X: 2             R: 7-E-1          |                |                                    
    | M - RS485 Delay |                                    |                |                                    
    | N - RS485 Delay |                                    |                |                                    
    |                 | Choice, or <Enter> to exit?        |                |                                    
    |    Change which +------------------------------------+                |                                    
    +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

Press Enter The connection is back. Initiate an xMODEM transfer. The switch will then prompt you to start the transfer from your terminal emulator.

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switch: copy xmodem: flash:c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE11.bin                                                            
Begin the Xmodem or Xmodem-1K transfer now...                                                                         
CCC

For minicom, press Ctrl+A and then Z. Type S (Send files) and select "xmodem". Navigate your way to the new IOS file (here /home/guru/Downloads). Press Space to tag the file and press "Okay" to send.

Grab a coffee. This can take a long time depending on the size of the IOS image. Wait for the transfer to complete and then press Enter to quit.

Update the BOOT parameter to match the new IOS.

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switch: copy xmodem: flash:c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE11.bin                                                            
Begin the Xmodem or Xmodem-1K transfer now...                                                                         
C...........................................................................................................................................................
File "xmodem:" successfully copied to "flash:c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE11.bin"                                         

switch: set BOOT flash:c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE11.bin                                                                

switch:

Set the BAUD rate back to the default (9600 bps). You have to adjust the settings in your terminal emulation program again. Press Enter The connection is back.

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switch: unset BAUD                                                                                                                                            
                }                                                                                                                                           

switch:

Finally, boot the switch manually.

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switch: boot                                                                                                                                                  
Loading "flash:c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE11.bin"...@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Verify that the correct IOS image is loaded. Enjoy your new IOS!

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Switch#show version
Cisco IOS Software, C2960 Software (C2960-LANBASEK9-M), Version 15.0(2)SE11, RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc3)
...
...
System returned to ROM by power-on
System image file is "flash:/c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE11.bin"
...
...

Switch Ports Model              SW Version            SW Image                 
------ ----- -----              ----------            ----------               
*    1 26    WS-C2960+24TC-L    15.0(2)SE11           C2960-LANBASEK9-M        


Configuration register is 0xF

Switch#

IOS transfer over network protocol

Transfer using a network protocol is only possible from IOS, not from ROMMON-mode.

tFTP

Verify that there is enough space left on the Flash filesystem to add an (additional) IOS. In this example, I will simulate a missing IOS by deleting it.

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Switch#dir flash:
Directory of flash:/

    2  -rwx    11832946   Mar 1 1993 00:12:06 +00:00  c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE11.bin
    3  -rwx        1048   Mar 1 1993 00:01:03 +00:00  multiple-fs

32514048 bytes total (20678144 bytes free)


Switch# delete flash:c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE11.bin
Are you sure you want to delete "flash:c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE11.bin" (y/n)?y
File "flash:c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE11.bin" deleted

Switch#

You need a tFTP service on the LAB-PC. Copy a valid Cisco IOS image file to the tFTP directory where files are served from. Adjust permissions.

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<TODO COPY AND PERMISSIONS>
guru@lab:~$ ls -lh /srv/tftp/
total 852M
...
-rw-r--r-- 1 guru guru  12M sep  2  2021 c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE11.bin
...
guru@lab:~$
  • Show the name of the network interface on the LAB-PC (in this case: enp0s25)
  • Configure an temporary IP address and subnet mask.
  • Verify.
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guru@lab:~$ sudo ip link show
[sudo] password for guru:     
1: lo: <LOOPBACK,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 65536 qdisc noqueue state UNKNOWN mode DEFAULT group default qlen 1000
    link/loopback 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd 00:00:00:00:00:00
2: enp0s25: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc fq_codel state UP mode DEFAULT group default qlen 1000
    link/ether 90:1b:0e:18:b9:8e brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff

guru@lab:~$ sudo ip address add 192.168.1.101/24 dev enp0s25

guru@lab:~$ ip a
...
2: enp0s25: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc fq_codel state UP group default qlen 1000
    link/ether 90:1b:0e:18:b9:8e brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
    inet 192.168.1.101/24 scope global enp0s25
    valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever

Configure an IP address and subnet mask on the switch. Verify.

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Switch#conf t
Enter configuration commands, one per line.  End with CNTL/Z.
Switch(config)#int vlan 1
Switch(config-if)#ip add 192.168.1.84 255.255.255.0
Switch(config-if)#no shut
Switch(config-if)#do show ip int br
Interface              IP-Address      OK? Method Status                Protocol
Vlan1                  192.168.1.84    YES manual up                    up      
...

Optional (in this case): ensure that the TFTP session is sourced from the correct interface (here: VLAN 1).

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Switch(config-if)#exit
Switch(config)#ip tftp source-interface vlan 1
Switch(config)#end
Switch#

Verify connectivity between the LAB-PC and the switch.

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Switch#ping 192.168.1.101
Type escape sequence to abort.
Sending 5, 100-byte ICMP Echos to 192.168.1.101, timeout is 2 seconds:
!!!!!
Success rate is 100 percent (5/5), round-trip min/avg/max = 1/205/1015 ms
Switch#

Copy the IOS image from the TFTP server to the switch's flash memory.

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Switch#copy tftp://192.168.1.101/c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE11.bin flash:
Destination filename [c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE11.bin]? 
Accessing tftp://192.168.1.101/c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE11.bin...
Loading c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE11.bin from 192.168.1.101 (via Vlan1): !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[OK - 11832946 bytes]

11832946 bytes copied in 144.938 secs (81641 bytes/sec)
Switch#

Make the switch boot from the newly transferred IOS image, verify and reboot.

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Switch#configure terminal
Switch(config)#boot system flash:/c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE11.bin
Switch(config)#end
Switch#

Switch#show boot
BOOT path-list      : flash:/c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE11.bin
...
...
Switch#reload

System configuration has been modified. Save? [yes/no]: no
Proceed with reload? [confirm]
...

Verify that the correct IOS image is loaded. Enjoy your new IOS!

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Switch#show version
Cisco IOS Software, C2960 Software (C2960-LANBASEK9-M), Version 15.0(2)SE11, RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc3)
...
...
System returned to ROM by power-on
System image file is "flash:/c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE11.bin"
...
...

Switch Ports Model              SW Version            SW Image                 
------ ----- -----              ----------            ----------               
*    1 26    WS-C2960+24TC-L    15.0(2)SE11           C2960-LANBASEK9-M        


Configuration register is 0xF

Switch#

SSH (sFTP)

todo

HTTP

todo