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Cisco Meraki Documentation

Managing Firmware Upgrades

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Overview

Firmware upgrades allow network administrators to utilize the latest features and security enhancements on their Meraki devices. The Cisco Meraki dashboard allows admins to easily schedule and reschedule firmware upgrades on their networks, opt in to beta firmware releases, view firmware change log notes, and set maintenance windows. This article outlines the functions of the firmware upgrades tool in the dashboard, as well as additional considerations for using and managing firmware.

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Managing Firmware as an Organization Admin

The firmware upgrades tool in the dashboard allows organization admins to quickly and easily manage firmware versions for all networks and device types. You can use the tool to schedule, reschedule, and cancel bulk upgrades of networks. You can also view firmware change log notes, view firmware version numbers, and roll back the firmware on a recently upgraded network. 

Scheduling Firmware Upgrades

Keeping firmware up-to-date allows administrators access to the latest features and security enhancements. Admins can upgrade to the latest stable or beta firmware version. Follow the steps below to schedule a firmware upgrade. 

  1. Navigate to Organization > Monitor > Firmware upgrades.
  2. Click the Schedule Upgrades tab in the upper-left.
  3. Select the devices or networks to be upgraded by clicking the checkboxes beside the network names. Admins can filter by networks and devices by using the Device type, Current version, or Status drop-down selectors.
  4. Click the Schedule upgrades button.
  5. Use the Target firmware version selector to choose the desired version.
  6. Select either Perform the upgrade now or Schedule the upgrade for (specify a date and time for the upgrade).
  7. Review the Change Summary and select Schedule change for network. 

Note: When downgrading from a beta firmware to a stable firmware, a feedback request page will be presented. You must select any options that reflect the downgrade reason before selecting Schedule change for network.

Staggered Upgrades

For larger networks that contain a number of devices that need to be upgraded, the upgrades are staggered. What this means is that upgrades are done in batches. This is primarily done to distribute the load on our backend infrastructure when a large number of devices are downloading the firmware images.

Upgrades in a batch are staggered when (# devices in upgrade * estimated image size) is greater than the max size we want to support per time slot. For respective upgrade types the batch sizes are:

  • 46 switches
  • 80 wireless
  • 40 wired
  • 40 cellular gateway
  • 10 cameras

For example in a network that has 92 switches, the upgrade will occur in two batches of 46 switches per batch.

Note: Even if the upgrade is staggered, all devices will be upgraded within the allotted one-hour time slot.

Cancel a Firmware Upgrade

Canceling a firmware upgrade can be performed after a firmware upgrade has been scheduled. Follow the steps below to cancel the firmware upgrade:

  1. Navigate to Organization > Monitor > Firmware upgrades.
  2. Go to the Scheduled Changes tab.
  3. For any given scheduled product upgrade, select the CANCEL button on the upgrade box. Follow the prompts and then cancel the upgrade.

Cancelling scheduled firmware upgrades does not exclude a given network from future scheduled upgrades.

Rescheduling a Firmware Upgrade

Reschedule an upgrade after it has been scheduled. You can do this on the Firmware upgrades Overview tab or the Scheduled changes tab. 

  1. Navigate to Organization > Monitor > Firmware upgrades.
  2. Go to the Scheduled changes tab (or find the Scheduled changes box on the Overview tab). 
  3. In either area, click the small calendar icon in the upgrade box to reschedule.
  4. Follow the prompts and then choose Schedule upgrade for, specifying a date and time for the upgrade to take place. 

On the Scheduled Changes tab, if there is a batch of networks to be upgraded, the time/date on the upgrade will reflect the next/earliest upgrade in that batch.

Firmware upgrades can be scheduled up to one month in advance and can only be deferred/rescheduled for one month at a time.

Reschedule a Firmware Upgrade for a Templated Network

  1. Navigate to Organization > Monitor > Firmware upgrades. 
  2. From the Overview tab, view the Scheduled changes column, click on the number of networks tied to the upgrade in blue. This will list all of the networks tied to the scheduled upgrade individually. 
  3. Click the option to Reschedule the individual network tied to the template.

reschedule_template.png

Rolling Back a Recent Firmware Upgrade

You can roll back a firmware upgrade to the previous version within 14 days of the upgrade. To do this:

  1. Navigate to Organization > Monitor > Firmware upgrades.
  2. From the Overview tab, view the Most recent upgrades section.
  3. Click on the applicable upgrade entry where it lists the number of networks and devices that were upgraded.
  4. Click the Rollback button.
  5. Select a reason for the rollback and enter a brief description.
  6. Select Perform the upgrade now or Schedule the upgrade for, specifying a date and time. 
  7. Click Submit to schedule the rollback. 

Viewing Firmware Change Log Notes

Change log notes are maintained on a per-firmware version basis and include information about new features, bug fixes, and known issues that are associated with a particular firmware version. To view them: 

  1. Navigate to Organization > Monitor > Firmware upgrades. 
  2. From the Overview tab, refer to where it lists Latest firmware versions. 
  3. Select Release notes. This will display the current stable firmware change log notes.
  4. To view older or newer change log notes, select Previous version or Next version from the change log notes window. 

Note: The firmware change log can also be viewed from the Schedule Upgrades tab; by clicking firmware version links listed in the "Current firmware version" column.

Managing Firmware as a Network Admin

You can schedule firmware upgrades per device type for each network. Follow the steps below to manage a network's firmware upgrades:

  1. Navigate to Network-wide > Configure > General. 
  2. Scroll down to where it lists Firmware upgrades. 
  3. If there is a new firmware available, select the desired option below:
    • (Re)schedule the firmware upgrade or Perform the upgrade now: These options will be active if there is a newer upgrade available, whether it is currently scheduled or not.
    • Upgrade as scheduled: This option will be selected if an upgrade has been scheduled either by an admin, Support, or the bulk upgrade tool.
    • Ignore: This option will appear as selected if there is a newer firmware version available but nothing is currently scheduled. If an upgrade is later scheduled but was subsequently canceled (either from the Organization > Monitor > Firmware upgrades page or by Support), the Ignore option will be selected again. Selecting this option will not prevent future upgrades from being scheduled by Meraki.
  4. Navigate to the bottom of the page and select Save. 

To elect to run beta firmware, select Try beta firmware and select Yes. 

There may be some rare instances where networks might not get an automatic firmware upgrade scheduled for various reasons. We strongly recommend manually checking all dashboard networks for available firmware upgrades and manually update them to the latest firmware version as necessary.

Viewing Firmware Change Log Notes as a Network Admin

Follow the steps below to view the firmware change log notes:

  1. Navigate to Network-wide > Configure > General. 
  2. Scroll down to where it lists Firmware upgrades. 
  3. If there is a new firmware available, select the What's new button beside the corresponding firmware. This page lists the firmware change log notes. 

Firmware Upgrade Barriers

Firmware upgrade barriers is a built-in feature to prevent certain upgrade paths on devices running older firmware versions trying to upgrade to a build that would otherwise cause compatibility issues. Having devices use intermediary builds defined by Meraki will ensure a safe transition when upgrading your devices.

When scheduling a network to upgrade to a specific patched firmware version, you will have to first schedule an upgrade to the major firmware version itself. 

For example, as of the time of this writing, if you want to upgrade a security appliance from MX 17.10.2 → MX 18.107.8 ( the latest batch on major firmware version MX 18 ), you will have to schedule it like this:

  1. MX 17.10.2 → MX 18.107.2 ( the latest stable version on major firmware version MX 18 ) 
  2. MX 18.107.2 → MX 18.107.8  ( the latest batch on major firmware version MX 18 )

Please note these versions are examples relevant at the time of writing. The latest stable version and latest batch may be different at this time.

An example of when firmware upgrade barriers will come into effect:

There is a switch in the network that is running MS 9.27 and we want to update to the latest stable version, which at the time of this writing, is 11.30. Attempting to upgrade from 9.27 to 11.30 will not be a selectable option in the dashboard and administrators will have to upgrade to 10.35 first.

Diagram illustrating Cisco Meraki MS switch firmware upgrade paths, showing a current version of 9.27 progressing to an intermediate version of 10.35, then to a target version of 11.30, with one path marked incorrect (red X) and the other correct (green checkmark).

In order to complete the upgrade from the current version to the target version, two manual upgrades will be required. The first from your current to the intermediary version, and another from the intermediary to your target version.

 

  1. Select Organization > Monitor > Firmware upgrades > Schedule Upgrades. From here you can select an individual or many networks within your organization

    Cisco Meraki Firmware Upgrades interface under "Schedule upgrades," showing a wireless device with firmware MR 29.4.1, marked as "Good" availability, with no upgrade scheduled.
     
  2. Select the Target firmware version you are trying to upgrade to from the drop-down menu. In this case, because we are upgrading from MS 9.27 we must upgrade to MS 10.35 first. Note that the latest stable is not a selectable option and will not be until the device(s) are upgraded to the required intermediary firmware version. 

    Cisco Meraki bulk edit firmware versions interface for a switch network, showing the current firmware version MS 9.27 and the target version MS 10.35, with a "Next" button visible.
     
  3. Select a scheduled time you want to perform the upgrade. Note: You can cancel the upgrade from the Firmware upgrades page and select Reschedule.

    Cisco Meraki schedule firmware change interface, offering options to perform the upgrade now or schedule it for January 27, 2020, at 14:00 network local time, with "Back" and "Next" buttons visible

    Cisco Meraki firmware upgrade confirmation screen, showing an upgrade to MS 10.35 scheduled for January 27, 2020, at 11:24 AM PST for one switch network, with an alert about a potential issue for MS22/42/220/320 series switches
     
  4. After the first upgrade has completed, repeat steps 1-3 to perform the second half of the upgrade from your intermediary version to your target version.

Firmware Features

For additional information on firmware feature releases, visit the dedicated firmware features homepage.

Firmware Version Status

Cisco Meraki is committed to delivering powerful yet easy-to-manage firmware updates for all Meraki products via the firmware upgrades tool in the dashboard. In order to further simplify and streamline the firmware update process, we are introducing 'Firmware Status' for Meraki firmware. It’s recommended to run the latest stable version for each respective product in order to ensure the best performance, stability, and protection from security vulnerabilities. 

Each firmware version now has an additional Status column as follows:

  1. Good (Green) status indicates that the network's firmware version does not yet have an End of Firmware Maintenance (EFM) date set or it is greater than 6 months away. Minor updates may be available, but no immediate action is required. 

  2. Warning (Yellow) status means that the network's firmware has an EFM date set and is within 6 months. When a firmware enters this state the date will appear within the warning text. We recommend you upgrade to the latest stable or beta version.

  3. Critical (Red) status indicates that the firmware's EFM date for your network is past and may have security vulnerabilities and/or experience suboptimal performance. We highly recommend that you upgrade to the latest stable and latest beta firmware release.

Note: Firmware version status is purely for informational purposes only. To learn more about the End of Firmware Maintenance and Product End of Life policies, refer to this Documentation.

Screenshot of a Cisco Meraki network firmware status table, listing multiple networks with device types (wireless and switch), current firmware versions (e.g., MR 26.6.1, MS 10.43), and availability statuses marked as "Good" or "Up to date," with no upgrades scheduled.

 

The number of Networks with firmware matching "Warning" and "Critical" status will appear on the overview tab of the firmware upgrades page.

 

Cisco Meraki Firmware Upgrades overview tab, showing no recent or scheduled changes and a firmware status indicating 0 networks with warnings and 2 networks with critical issues.

 

FAQ

Q: What does the date beside "Warning" and "Critical" mean?

• This date shows the End of Firmware Maintenance (EFM) for that firmware version.

• Six months before this date, the firmware status changes to "Warning".

• After the date passes, the status changes to "Critical".

• It's best to update your firmware before it reaches "Critical" to avoid problems.

 

Q: What are the implications of running firmware marked with "Warning" and "Critical" status?

• Running firmware in these statuses may cause:

• Slower performance

• Stability problems

• Security risks that are fixed in newer firmware versions

• Updating to the latest firmware helps keep your devices secure and running well.

 

Q: Why does the Firmware upgrades page show networks that do not have corresponding device types?

• This happens because of combined networks that include multiple network types by default, even if some don't have Meraki devices.

• For example, a combined network might include Cellular Gateway, Security & SD-WAN, Switching, Wireless, Cameras, and Sensors networks, but not all device types are actually used.

• These extra networks might be hidden but still exist with their settings saved.

• To remove them, you need to split the combined network and delete the unwanted parts individually, then recombine the networks if needed. Please refer to the  Combined Dashboard Networks as needed.

Q: How would I bring my MXs and/or Zs online that have been sitting on the shelf for several years?

• Follow Cisco's recommended steps for bringing stored MX and Z devices online.

• You can find detailed guidance in the official Cisco Meraki documentation on how to do this safely and correctly; our recommendation on how to bring this gear online.

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