So I went onto the website I mentioned earlier in this post and downloaded the following images: My device wa running version 9.5.0 which is behind the latest release of 9.5.2. Kickstart compile time: 9:00:00 system image file is: bootflash:/n5000-uk9.5.0.3.N2.2a.bin Kickstart image file is: bootflash:/n5000-uk9-kickstart.5.0.3.N2.2a.bin Kickstart: version 5.0 (3 )N2 (2a ) system: version 5.0 (3 )N2 (2a ) power-seq: Module 1: version v1.2 It should output something similar to below:Ĭisco Nexus Operating System (NX-OS ) Software You can find the version of NX-OS running on your device by running the command “show version”.
The Update Processįirst we’ll need a suitable NX-OS image to update to. We’re now ready to upload a firmware image to our Nexus device and start the upgrade. Don’t forget to apply changes once you’re done. You can do this by clicking ‘new user’ and then populating the username and password field. Now browse to the ‘users’ page and create a new account for our device.
In my case this has been set to C:\SFTP_Root We’ll need to specify a root directory that the SCP server will use. Along the top settings bar there is a File menu, open this up and then click on Configure.
Install the SCP server using all of the default options and then open up the app. I’d recommend using Solarwinds SCP server on Windows. To transfer the files we’ll need an SCP server. We’ll now need to transfer both of these files to the internal storage on our device and then instruct NX-OS to use these image files on the next system boot. If you know of somewhere to source the firmware please let me know in the comments. Jan 2021 Update: Unfortunately the link above to no longer works. After some searching I managed to find the following website which seems to keep a stockpile of Cisco firmware images: In my case I did contact Cisco but they were unable to help as the Nexus 5010 is now end-of-life. On some occasions, Cisco will provide out-of-contract firmware updates free of charge if you can show there’s a known security issue with your device. Simply login to the Cisco website and download a firmware image for your device.įor everyone else, you’ll either need to source a suitable firmware image by searching online or contacting Cisco directly. The other is the main NX-OS software.įor those with Cisco SmartNet contracts this is the easy part. One is a ‘kickstart’ file which contains the kernel. In this post I’ll be showing how I sourced the firmware for my device and the steps required to update it to the latest NX-OS version as of September 2018.
As such the upgrade process is a little different for this operating system. Nexus devices run NX-OS, not Cisco iOS, as is typically seen on other Cisco products such as the Catalyst switch range. Whilst it’s been working absolutely fine, it occurred to me the version of NX-OS (Cisco’s operating system for Nexus devices) installed was from 2009 and could probably do with an update. My HomeLab network was recently treated to a networking upgrade in the form of a Cisco Nexus 5010 switch.