How ISSU Works When Upgrading Stack Units

The checks and upgrade sequence for a typical 8-unit stack is shown in Stack Units to Be Upgraded. For a step-by-step procedure on performing an ISSU, refer to Upgrading a Stack with ISSU.

Stack Units to Be Upgraded

After you have downloaded release software, as described in Initial steps and The upgrade process, you can check the sequence in which stack units will be upgraded using the show issu sequence command. The following example displays the ISSU upgrade sequence for the stack shown in Stack Units to Be Upgraded.

ICX7850-48F# show issu sequence 
Stack units will be upgraded in the following order
ID     Type            Role   
4      ICX7850-48F     standby
3      ICX7850-48F     member 
2      ICX7850-48F     member
5      ICX7850-48F     member
6      ICX7850-48F     member
7      ICX7850-48F     member 
8      ICX7850-48F     member
1      ICX7850-48F     active 

All stack ISSU processes follow the same pattern. As reflected in the sample output, the stack in the example responds to the show issu sequence command in the following ways:

  • Unit 4, the standby controller, is reloaded with the new image.
  • Once the standby controller joins the stack, all member units from the standby controller to the active controller units (3 and 2) reload the new image.
  • All members from the standby controller to the active controller in the other direction (units 5, 6, 7, and 8) reload the new image.
  • Once all member units and the standby controller are reloaded with the new image, the active controller unit triggers a switchover, in which the old standby controller (unit 4) becomes the new active controller unit, and the old active controller (unit 1) becomes the new standby controller.
  • The new active controller (unit 4) reloads the old active controller (unit 1) with the new image.
  • Once the old active controller (unit 1) comes up as a member unit and rejoins the stack, standby controller election occurs, and the stack becomes fully functional with the upgraded image.

Note: If the stack unit configurations have priority settings, a final switchover is done to ensure that the unit with the highest priority becomes the active controller unit.