What version of software you are running on your WLC ? 7.0.x 7.4.x or 7.6.x Recently Cisco published this document (Cisco DOC 40178) stating they are going to deffer (ie no longer support available or you cannot download those software versions anymore)
So all releases made prior to Dec 2013 going to be deffer. Here is the bug CSCul68057 details which cause this. WLC will go unexpected reloads due to this
Effectively now you have 3 choices. Even though 7.6.100.0 is listed in the above, due to some critical bugs of that version Cisco is working on releasing 7.6MR1 in coming weeks, so you should not run 7.6.100.0 code unless you want to experience those issues 😯 .
1. 7.0MR5 (7.0.250.0- available in CCO)
2. 7.4MR2 (7.4.121.0- available in CCO)
3. 7.6MR1 (7.6.101.x- Pre Release Available)
Also it is mentioned “for complete fix, upgrade to FUS (Field Upgrade Software) 1.9.0.0 as well“. It is very important to make sure you adhere to this. Here is the release notes for this.
Release Notes for WLC Field Upgrade Software(FUS) for Release 1.9.0.0
So What is the best option ? Depend on what version you are running today, you can determine where to go. My preferred choice would be 7.4MR2. But if you are already running 802.11ac (3700AP or 3600 with ac module) then 7.6MR1. If you are still with 4400/WiSM1/2106 then 7.0MR5.
Cisco also recommending 7.4MR2 as that code went through “AssureWave” program & tested thoroughly (see the blue star below). Also you can refer this report for what features tested by Cisco under AssureWave program for 7.4.121.0 code.
Be on a safe code version !!!!
Update @ 5th March 2014.
Noticed this vulnerability notice on Cisco WLCs published today. I think that is the main reason for the above software code deferrals. Here is the summary of it & as you can see it leads to the 3 software codes listed in the above
If you are using IOS-XE products (5760/3850/3650) then those are not impacted by this vulnerability 🙂
Update @10-Sep-2014
Cisco has released WLC 8.0 code which is going to be a major release which will last through few maintenance releases (MR).
Related Posts
1. What’s new in WLC 8.0 Release
mrn-cciew 
Many thanks for your post. Very useful.
No worries…;)
Always a moving target. New features/AP’s keep us on our toe’s. It’s 7.6 MR1 can’t come too soon for me.
Thanks for the post.
Yes, it is.
At least now customers have limited options & it is not too hard to pick the right one for them.
Hope 7.6MR1 gives you some relaxation….
Rasika
Excellent article, hopefully it saves at least a few beat testers (err…customers) from the trial and error routine!
Cheers!
Yes Alex.
But Cisco want customers to do beta testing for them as well 🙂 So they will release few new releases like 8.0.x etc in future…
Regards
Rasika
I am currently using 7.5.102 but experienced no reloads. Should I still make a change or wait for a more stable 7.6 version?
I just checked Cisco Software Download and I see 7.6.110 was released. Any thoughts?
Hi Florin,
Still I think you should move to a supported code. “Reload” may not the only issue, if you read those vulnerabilities, then you will realize moving to a supported version is a good idea.
If you are using new features of 7.5.x then move onto 7.6MR1 (7.6.110.0). If any other critical issues with 7.6MR1, Cisco will release MR2 in future.
Stay away from 7.5.102.0 as it had some other nasty bugs
HTH
Rasika
I am using a virtual Controller, could this be the reason of not having any issues?
System Up Time…………………………….. 20 days 19 hrs 44 mins 53 secs
I have version 7.6.110.0 installed on my controller, I didn’t know about any problem with this version until now. I must say that the controller is working fine (up time 90 days) and never restarted by itself, but I experience some issues with the controller not choosing the correct Modulation and Coding Scheme for some clients. I will do the upgrade to MR1 and hope it will solve this issue too.
If you are having 7.6.110.0 which is the same as 7.6MR1. Restarting issue is not specific to 7.6.100.0
If you running 7.6.100.0 then upgrade to MR1 as previous version had issues with connecting to broadcom clients (Apple devices)
HTH
Rasika
I will do an upgrade to 7.6.110.0 (now I’m running 7.6.100.0) as soon as possible. By the way, you have a very nice blog.
Thanks Adrian….I will keep blog running as lots of positive feedback… 😉
Rasika
Hello Rasika,
you have mentioned a problem with Apple devices on the release 7.6.100.0. We are facing connectivity problems with Apple devices using the vWLC. You must try number of times till the Apple device connect to the network.
Can you please share some information about the Apple connectivity problem?
Thank you.
Marek
This listed the bug I refer to. We upgraded the WLC software to overcome these
https://supportforums.cisco.com/discussion/12088031/after-upgrade-761000-user-cant-connect-wireless
HTH
Rasika
hi Rasika , i want to upgrade my WLCs to release code 7.4.121.0, now i am running 7.4.110.0 , i want implement HA AP SSO , but i read about unexpected reloads , could you please give an advice about implementing HA or staying in traditional primary secondary after upgrade to release 7.4.121.0 , OR upgrade to 7.6.110.0 for HA is better ? wifi is very critical in our enviroment, And i also want to thank you for the great blog!!!
Hi Vugar,
I haven’t implement HA AP SSO & still with traditional primary,secondary for AP fail over.
Unless you want new features/hardware support (ac, 3700,etc) I would stay in 7.4.121.x (In my production I am still with 7.4.x).
HTH
Rasika
Hi Rasika, Thank you for the advice , i upgraded wlcs to 7.4.121.0. Now we want to move N+1 HA for backing up all our WLCs. i have installed 100 permanent AP count on each WLC. after contacting cisco licensing team they moved 50 AP count license from one WLC to another. Now i have 150 permanent AP count license on my primary box. how can I activate HA-SKU on my second WLC and use it as a backup(secondary for all other WLCs),. so when my other wlcs fails 2nd WLC can contain up to 500 APs in 90 day period. (Model No. AIR-CT5508-K9)
Thank you!
New 3700 Access point it’s support IOS Version 7.4.121.0.
No, 3700 required 7.6.x on your WLC
HTH
Rasika
Thank
How to configure SNMP on cisco WLC.
Refer below post for this
HTH
Rasika
Thank you
Dear Friends, I have 5508 WLC 7.4.100.0, MSE 7.4.100.0 3355 & NCS 1.3. Can I upgrade my WLC ios version from 7.4.100.0 to 7.4.121.0 it’s works or not. Or MSE & WLC ios version should be the same it’s required.
Hello I want to upgrade my wlc from 7.0.240 to 7.6.120, but am runngin wcs version 7.0.240 will wcs still work after update ?
@Rui
I already did it … but i’m facing a lot of problems …. WCS is so slow , my be it;s a reason of software incompatibility . i need to be sure about that so i start doing downgrading again .
Hi,
Question about FUS. I’m preparing upgrade of my WLC to AIR-CT5500-K9-7-6-110-0.aes.
But I have not found any recommendation (from Cisco) which say:
If you have this version of software in WLC you should use this FUS.
Or, first install 7.6.x software and then FUS (or vice versa).
Do you have any recommendation?
Thnx
If you have 7.4 or above you require to upgrade FUS & go for the latest ( 1.9 I think)
You can do the process either way, FUS first or WLC software first.Use CLI Method.
Hi mate,
I just updated a 5508 this weekend from 7.2 to 7.4 and Cisco documentation recommends to also update the FUS (although it doesn’t state it’s mandatory).
Can you shed some light about this FUS, why’s so important and some tips we all should know? Maybe on a dedicated article..
Thanks!
hi all!
Cisco announce 8.0 software Release:
The Wireless 8.0 team is pleased to announce immediate availability of Wireless Software Release 8.0 for Cisco Wireless Access Points, Wireless LAN Controllers and Mobility Services Engine.
The mobile workspace trend is helping employees and partners embrace mobile technologies, create new possibilities for untethered work styles, enable better customer engagement, and connect with people, information, and services. At the same time, we are experiencing the Internet of Things (IoT), where millions of new devices are regularly being connected to the Internet.
Cisco Wireless Release 8.0 delivers a holistic end-to-end IPv6 solution to mitigate the challenge associated with the diminishing number of unique IPv4 addresses available and allows consistent IPv6 addresses for communications throughout the network. This software release also enhances the Cisco High Density Experience (HDX) that alleviates the complexity of more clients, bandwidth hungry applications and high-density network strain, to provide an unparalleled user experience.
Key Features in Release 8.0
Cisco HD Experience with Optimized Roaming
o Optimized Roaming monitors the connection quality of all devices and proactively prompts poorly performing client devices to seek a better connection much sooner.
IPv6 infrastructure support allows IT administrators the ability to configure the entire WLAN infrastructure with IPv6 addresses and enable the communication between the Wireless Controller and AP, Prime Infrastructure, Radius Server and Mobility Services Engine using IPv6 throughout the network.
Granular per user and per device policies for Application Visibility and Control (AVC) to provide the right access to users and maintain operational costs by properly managing applications and their bandwidth use.
Policies for Multicast discovery protocols such as Bonjour and Chromecast
o Location specific and per user group Bonjour Policies enable customers to deploy Bonjour at scale by simplifying control of services access by user types without needing to segment users unto different SSIDs or VLANs. In addition this feature allows customer to view Bonjour location specific services available on wired and wireless networks.
o Chromecast policies allow deployments over large networks with multiple VLANs while restricting access to a specific group of users.
Service Provider features PMIPv6 MAG on AP and Q-in-Q tagging that provide deployment flexibility for interoperability of Wi-Fi and mobile packet core networks.
A better location (blue dot) experience with more frequent location updates for Wi-Fi clients using CMX FastLocate and CMX Presence Analytics that enables customers to gain insight about visitor patterns in their venues and use it to improve business decisions.
CMX for Facebook Wi-Fi integrated with Mobility Services Engine to enable customers to incent guests with a premium guest experience.
For a complete list of 8.0 Features and benefits, see the attached Wireless Software 8.0 Release bulletin.
Hello Rasika,
Our current 5508 WLC software version is 7.4.110.0 and management planned to upgrade it to v8. They also requested to upgrade the FUS of WLC to v1.9. Some of our 5508 controllers are currently having FUS v1.7 and some are having v1.3.
I read some articles in the Cisco to gain knowledge for upgrading FUS. But most of them are mentioning FUS upgrade is a quite risky task than the normal software upgrade.
My concern is I am in Singapore and we have WLCs across the region. So I will need to do this FUS upgrade remotely.
Hopefully you have done some FUS upgrades remotely before and I am glad if you can share some valuable information this regard.
Thanks,
Isuru
Hi Isuru,
I would get a remote laptop connected to WLC console & do this task via console.
Only thing is you need to be patient & allow ~30 min to do this process. Log the console session as a good practice.
Also make sure you do not power cycle while this upgrade process happening.
HTH
Rasika
Hi Rasika,
You should know about this but there is an identified bug affecting 5508 upgraded to 8.0.110.0 or 8.0.115.0. Next the cisco forum about that:
https://supportforums.cisco.com/comment/10391446#comment-10391446
regards
Thanks Abraham for the link. This should be useful to many others
Rasika
I think you blog is useful for many of us so it is important to add any valuable information.
BTW, I would like to share with you that AIRPLAY does not work on IPAD 2 running version 8.1.x or 8.2.x. When I deployed Apple TV using mDNS, the IPAD were running OS 7 and everything worked fine but once the IPAD 2 were upgraded to any of the previous version I mentioned above, AIRPLAY Icon was not displayed anymore.
Now I have a big issue with this because the WLC version 8.0.110 (or 115).X for WLC 5508 fix the problem but this code has a bug that resets/reloads the WLC unexpectedly.
regards
hi, i have a question in relation to bootloader (FUS). I have upgraded my WLC to 8.0.121.0..but my Bootloader version is showing 7.4.100.0.. Do i need to upgrade this? and if so, too what version? thanks
No, as part of FUS upgrade , boot loader will get firmware updates. I think FUS 1.9.0 is the latest. See the release notes of these FUS & it will listdown what boot loader version that comes.
Hello Rasika,
maybe if you find little time, can you explain me what is FUS and how it is related to the WLC? I have in my lab enviroment this (ova image)
Product Name………………………………. Cisco Controller
Product Version……………………………. 8.0.121.0
RTOS Version………………………………. 8.0.121.0
Bootloader Version…………………………. 8.0.121.0
Emergency Image Version…………………….. 8.0.121.0
Iam also preparing to take CCNA wireless exam and iam bit confused from this qestion – which is probably because exam qestion have old WLC or FUS?
During an upgrade, the wireless infrastructure has seen a few access points join and then drop off the network. After further investigation, it appears the access points may have an IOS code version that is causing issues. Where in the controller is this information found?
A. GUI > Wireless > Access Point > General
B. CLI > show ap image all
C. GUI > Monitor > Software Version
D. CLI > show sysinfo
Correct answer suppose to be A but I cant find such a path in my GUI.
Hi Michal,
If you with 8.0.121.0 code, if you click “Wireless” menu, it will show all the APs register or trying to register to your WLC.
In the given question, if you have incompatible (due to upgraded software version) APs which was previously registered, still appearing as “Downloading” in operation status.
FUS is Field Upgrade Software is typically required for address certain issues in hardware level of a WLC. Normal upgrade refer to software update to provide some feature improvement, bug fixes in WLC software.
HTH
Rasika
Can you upgrade a 2504 WLC controller from 7.4.121.0 directly to 8.0.121.0?
Yes, you can.
Keep this URL bookmark for any WLC software release notes.
http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/wireless/wireless-lan-controller-software/products-release-notes-list.html
HTH
Rasika
Hi Rasika,
i am khalid from germany, please i want xour help, how kann i use wlc 8540 as MC ?
note the MA is a cisco switch 3850
Thanks
Hi Khalid,
Unfortunately it is not supported in 8540. Cisco killed that converged access technology in IOS-XE since 16.3.x onward. So my suggestion is to stay away from it, unless really necessary.
Rasika
Hi Rasika,
Could you help me?
I need update my wlc to fus 1.9 or 2.0, but i have old ap : 1130 and 1140, if I update the fus, is there the any problem with this ap?
No FUS upgrade will not impact AP model. However check below compatibility prior to upgrade nomal AireOS firmware as that determin which AP it supports or not
https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/wireless/compatibility/matrix/compatibility-matrix.html#56735
HTH
Rasika
I have 7.4.121, should i upgrade Aireos either?
What is the WLC model.
1131 last supported on AireOS 8.0.x
1142 last supported on AireOS 8.3.x
Based on that, if your WLC support upgrade it to 8.0.152.0 code version until you replace 1131
HTH
Rasika
Hi Rasika
I have one more question
Can I upgrade fus directly to 2.0 from 1.7,
Cisco wlc 2504:
Manufacturer’s Name………………………… Cisco Systems Inc.
Product Name………………………………. Cisco Controller
Product Version……………………………. 7.4.121.0
Bootloader Version…………………………. 1.0.16
Field Recovery Image Version………………… 1.0.0
Firmware Version…………………………… PIC 16.0
2504