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Upgrade Junos OS on Switches

You can either manually upgrade individual switches or a bulk of switches in a site, or schedule or automate switch upgrades across multiple sites in your organization.

Upgrade Switches in a Site Manually

Note: To schedule or automate switch upgrades across multiple sites in your organization, refer to the instructions provided in Schedule and Automate Switch Upgrades.

Users with Super User or Network Admin privileges for the site can manually upgrade Junos on one or more switches by selecting the switches from the list and clicking the Upgrade Firmware button that appears.

Figure 1: Upgrade Juons on Selected Switches Upgrade Juons on Selected Switches

The switch should be under warranty, have an active maintenance contract, and an active software subscription. In addition, please be sure the switch has the following:

  • The storage space required to accommodate the new image.

  • A stable SSH connection to the Mist cloud.

  • (Optional) A recovery snapshot stored on the OAM volume. See Switch Utilities for details about the snapshot.

Free Up Storage Space on Your Switch

When you initiate a switch upgrade process, Juniper Mist™ runs the request system storage cleanup command on the switch before copying the software image. This process mostly ensures the availability of storage space to accommodate the software image in the /var/tmp folder on the switch. However, in the case of some switches, such as EX2300 and EX3400, the request system storage cleanup command doesn't clear the required space. In this case, you will need to free up more space.

Note:

  • To perform the steps listed in this topic, you must have the root password configured in the site settings on the Organization > Site Configuration page of the Juniper Mist portal.

  • Perform the steps listed in this topic only if your switch doesn't have the required space for the upgrade.

To free up storage space on your switch:

  1. On the Juniper Mist portal, click Switches to go to the list of switches.
  2. Locate the switch on which you want to perform the storage cleanup operation.
  3. Select Utilities > Remote Shell.
  4. Begin a shell session by entering the start shell user root command, followed by the root password.
    This step starts a shell session on the primary FPC member by default.
  5. Check the storage usage, by running the df -h command.

    Generally, the /dev/gpt/junos file system takes up most of the space.

  6. Run the following command to free up the space on the switch:
  7. Check the available storage, using the df -h command. The output now shows lesser space as used under /dev/gpt/junos.
  8. Exit the shell session to return to the CLI operational mode, and then check the storage usage from there.

In the case of a Virtual Chassis upgrade, the preceding steps free up the space only on the primary member (member 0). You also need to initiate a session with each of the other FPC members (such as member 1 and member 2) and repeat the storage cleanup steps. See the following example:

Upgrade the Switch

Supported Devices

The Juniper Mist™ portal supports upgrading the Junos OS software on the following platforms: EX2300, EX3400, EX4100, EX4100-F, EX4300-P, EX4300-MP, EX4400, EX4600, EX4650, EX9200, QFX5110, QFX5120, and EX Series Virtual Chassis.

In the case of Virtual Chassis, you can only upgrade the mixed EX4300 Virtual Chassis, which combines EX4300 multigigabit model (EX4300-48MP) switches with any other EX4300 model switches. Juniper Mist does not support nonstop software upgrade (NSSU).

Available Versions

For both standard EOL and EEOL releases, you can upgrade to the next three subsequent releases or downgrade to the previous three releases.

For example, you can upgrade from 21.2 to the next three releases—21.3, 21.4 and 22.1—or downgrade to the previous three releases—21.1, 20.4 and 20.3.

For EEOL releases, you have an additional option—you can upgrade directly from one EEOL release to the next two subsequent EEOL releases, even if the target release is beyond the next three releases. Likewise, you can downgrade directly from one EEOL release to the previous two EEOL releases, even if the target release is beyond the previous three releases. For example, 21.2 is an EEOL release. Hence, you can upgrade from 21.2 to the next two EEOL releases —21.4 and 22.2—or downgrade to the previous two EEOL releases—20.4 and 20.2. Check Junos OS Dates and Milestones to see whether a release has reached EEOL.

Selecting a Release

For more information about releases, consult these topics:

Upgrading the Junos OS from Juniper Mist

To upgrade the Junos OS software on your switch:

  1. Click Switches on the left navigation pane in the Juniper Mist portal.
  2. From the Site menu, select the site where you want to perform the upgrade.
  3. Locate the switch to be upgraded, and ensure that it is connected (displays the Connected status).
    If the switch doesn't appear on Mist as connected, troubleshoot the issue as explained in Troubleshoot Your Switch Connectivity.
  4. From the List tab, select the switch that requires a software upgrade, and then click Upgrade Firmware. You can select one or more switches for upgrade.

    Alternatively, you can also upgrade the switch by using the Upgrade Firmware option on the Utilities drop-down list on the switch details page (see Switch Details).

  5. In the Upgrade Switch Firmware window, select the target software version from the Upgrade to Version drop-down list, and then click Start Upgrade. The drop-down list displays the suggested software version for the selected switch, along with all the applicable versions.

    If you don't see the software version you are looking for, write to support@mist.com. We will make the version available from 24 to 48 hours after receiving the request.

    Select the Reboot switch after image copy check box if you want the switch to reboot automatically after the image copy procedure is complete.

    • If you select this option, the switch boots up with the new image.

    • If you do not select this option, the switch remains in a state of pending reboot. In this case, do the following to complete the upgrade:

      1. Navigate to the switch details page (Switches > Switch Name).

      2. Reboot the switch from Utilities > Reboot Switch.

    Select Create a recovery snapshot post upgrade if you want the switch to have a recovery snapshot. A recovery snapshot stored in OAM (Operations, Administration, and Maintenance) volume holds a full backup that can be used in case something goes wrong with Junos volume.
    Select I accept End User Agreement.

Once the upgrade starts, the Status column in the switch list view shows the switch status as Upgrading. The column also shows the progress of the upgrade.

If you don't see the Status column in the switch list view, click the hamburger menu in the upper right of the page. Select the Status check box to display the column.

You can also view the switch status (as Upgrading) on the switch details page and the Switch Insights page.

You can view the upgrade events in the Switch Events section of a Switch Insights page. To access the Switch Insights page, open a switch details page and click the Switch Insights link on the Properties tile.

The above image shows a Switch Insights page, which lists switch upgrade events. The Upgraded by User event indicates that a user has initiated the upgrade. The Upgraded event indicates that the upgrade operation is complete. This means that the new software image was copied and the switch was rebooted.

An upgrade will fail if:

  • The switch doesn't have an SSH connection to the Juniper Mist cloud or if an uplink port is flapping.

  • The switch doesn't have enough storage. If the upgrade fails because of insufficient space, the upgrade failure event is displayed on the Switch Insights page as shown below:

    See also: Free Up Storage Space on Your Switch

  • You initiate an upgrade to the same software version that is already running on the switch. In this case, the Switch Events section of the Switch Insights page shows this failure reason:

    Upgrade not needed. Please check current or pending version.

  • The time on the switch is incorrect. In this case, the Switch Events section of the Switch Insights page shows this failure reason:

    OC FWUPDATE WRITEFAILED. See also: [EX/QFX] Certificate errors - Cannot validate Junos Image : Format error in certificate.

Schedule and Automate Switch Upgrades

Note:

To manually upgrade individual switches or a bunch of switches in a site, refer to the instructions provided in Upgrade Switches in a Site Manually.

Juniper Mist allows you to:

  • Create and manage upgrade schedules for the switches that are connected to the Mist cloud. This option is available at the organization and site level.

  • Configure settings to automatically upgrade new switches when they are onboarded. This setting is available only at the organization level.

Schedule Switch Upgrades

You can schedule firmware upgrades (Junos OS upgrades) on your switches for a future date and time. You can also execute the upgrades immediately. You can create upgrade schedules at the organization and site level for switch models that are already connected to cloud.

To schedule a switch upgrade:

  1. To schedule an upgrade at the organization level:
    1. Click Organization > Settings.
    2. Navigate to the Firmware Upgrade tile.

    Or, to schedule an upgrade at the site level:

    1. Click Organization > Site Configuration.

    2. Click a site configuration record to open it.

    3. Navigate to the Firmware Upgrade tile and then click the Switches tab.

  2. Click Add Upgrade.
  3. (Applicable to site-level upgrade task) Click the + button, select the sites for which you need to run the upgrade, and then click Add.
  4. Click Next.

    All the device models available in the inventory are listed.

  5. For each device model listed, select a target Junos version from the Upgrade to Version drop-down list.
  6. If you want to apply the upgrade only to certain specific switches belonging to a particular model, do the following:
    1. Enable the Only Applies to Name option.
    2. In the Switch Name field, which is displayed consequently, specify a name to be matched.
    3. Optionally, specify an offset value, which indicates the starting character within the switch name (0 being the first character).
    4. Click Apply.
    Note:

    A recovery snapshot is automatically created on the switch post upgrade. If you don’t want that, you must clear the Create a recovery snapshot post upgrade check box.
  7. Click Next to go to the tab where you can specify the schedule details.
  8. Specify the following information:
    Field Description
    Image Installation Schedule

    Select one of the following options:

    • Image Installation Now: Choose this option if you want to execute the upgrade immediately. This is the default option.

    • Image Installation Later: Choose this option to schedule the switch upgrade for a future date and time. You need to also specify a date and time using the date picker in the Image Installation Time field. You can only specify a date that falls within the next two months.
    Image Installation Strategy

    Select an image installation strategy. These strategies will be applied separately to each upgrade run (generated for each site-model-SKU combination). The following strategies are available:

    • Serial: Downloads and installs images on switches in a sequential, random order.

    • Phased: Downloads and installs images on switches in user-defined phases (specified in percentage). If you select this option, you need to also specify the phases in percentages. For example, to upgrade 100 devices in four phases, you can specify the values 5, 25, 50, 100 in the Image Installation Canary Phases field.

    • Simultaneous: Installs images on all switches at once without any specific priority. This is the default option.
    Image Installation Max Failure percentage

    Maximum percentage of devices allowed to fail upgrade in each upgrade run (generated for each site-model-SKU combination). If the number of failures exceeds the set percentage:

    • The upgrade process is cancelled for the remaining devices in the current run.

    • Reboot is not triggered for any of the devices included in the current upgrade run.
    Reboot Devices

    Select one of the following options:

    • Reboot Now: Reboots the device immediately after the image installation process is completed on all the devices scheduled for upgrade.

    • Reboot Later: Select this option to schedule reboot to a future time. You need to specify a date and time using the date picker in the Reboot Time field. You can only specify a date that is within the next two months, but not earlier than the image installation date and time.
    Reboot Strategy

    Select a reboot strategy. These strategies will be applied separately to each upgrade run (generated for each site-model-SKU combination). The following strategies are available:

    • Serial: Reboots the switches in a sequential, random order.

    • Phased: Reboots the switches in user-defined phases. If you select this option, you need to specify the phases in percentages. For example, to reboot 100 devices in four phases, you can specify the values 5, 25, 50, 100 in the Reboot Canary Phases field.

    • Simultaneous: Reboots all devices at once without any specific priority.
    Reboot Max Failure percentage Maximum percentage of devices allowed to fail reboot in each upgrade run (generated for each site-model-SKU combination). If the number of failures exceeds the set percentage, the reboot process is cancelled for the remaining devices in the current run.
  9. Select the I accept the End User License Agreement check box.
  10. Click Save and Start Upgrade.

If you configure multiple upgrade schedules for the same device, the most recently configured schedule will be applied.

View Switch Upgrade Status

You can view the scheduled switch upgrades and their statuses on the Firmware Upgrade tile on the organization settings (for organization-level upgrades) and site configuration (for site-level upgrades) pages.

Note that the upgrade statuses will be available only if your inventory has switches that meet the upgrade schedule parameters defined. For example, if you specify a switch name in the upgrade schedule but your inventory does not have a switch with that name, you will not see a status record for that upgrade schedule.

To view the details of all the future and past switch upgrades:

  1. To view the details of the upgrades configured at the organization level:
    1. Click Organization > Settings.

      If the organization has any upgrades scheduled for any sites, you can see a message indicating the same on the upper side of the organization settings page.

    2. Navigate to the Firmware Upgrade tile.

      All the scheduled upgrades for the organization along with their statuses are listed on this tile.

    Or, to view the details of the upgrades configured at the site level:

    1. Click Organization > Site Configuration.

    2. Click a site configuration record to open it.

    3. Navigate to the Firmware Upgrade tile and then click the Switches tab. All the scheduled upgrades for the selected site along with their statuses are listed on this tile.

  2. Click Upgrade Status.

    The Scheduled Upgrades tab is displayed.

  3. Expand the upgrade schedule that you want to view.
  4. On the Scheduled Upgrades tab, you can do the following:

    • View the upgrade details.

    • Click the hyperlink in the Model column to view the switches included in the selected upgrade schedule.

    • Click Edit or Cancel Upgrade to modify or cancel the upgrade schedules.

    • Click Add Upgrade to create a new upgrade schedule.

To view all the upgrades that were completed within the last 30 days, click the Past Upgrades tab. You cannot edit these records.

Modify or Cancel Upgrade Schedules

To modify or cancel any switch upgrade schedules:

  1. To modify or cancel an upgrade schedule at the organization level:
    1. Click Organization > Settings.
    2. Navigate to the Firmware Upgrade tile.

    Or, to modify or cancel an upgrade schedule at the site level:

    1. Click Organization > Site Configuration.

    2. Click a site configuration record to open it.

    3. Navigate to the Firmware Upgrade tile and then click the Switches tab.

  2. Click Upgrade Status.

    The Scheduled Upgrades tab is displayed.

  3. Expand the upgrade schedule that you want to update or cancel, and use the following options as required:

    • To edit the schedule, click Edit, make the changes, and then click Save Changes. You can edit only those upgrades that have not yet started. You cannot edit in-progress upgrades. Only the following information can be edited: scheduled upgrade time, reboot time, and the upgrade to version.

    • To cancel the upgrade schedule, click Cancel Upgrade. You can cancel the upgrades that are either in-progress or yet to start.

Configure Automatic Upgrade Settings for Switches

If you want the new switches that are onboarded to an organization to be upgraded to a specific Junos version automatically, you can map switch models to Junos upgrade versions. The automatic upgrade settings can be configured only at the organization level.

Note:

We recommend enabling Auto Upgrade as a best practice to ensure that all the onboarded switches are on the suggested version right from the beginning.

To configure automatic upgrade settings:

  1. Click Organization > Settings.
  2. Navigate to the Firmware Upgrade tile.
  3. Select the Enable Auto Upgrade check box, and then click Auto Upgrade Settings.

    The Switch Auto Upgrade Page appears.

  4. Select the I accept the End User License Agreement check box.
    Note:

    A recovery snapshot is automatically created on the switch post upgrade. If you don’t want that, you must clear the Create a recovery snapshot post upgrade check box.
  5. Click Save.

When you claim a new switch, the claim window displays the automatic upgrade version of Junos that is configured for each switch model. If you want to update this configuration, click Organization Settings.