Cisco Device Backup, IOS Upgrade, and Remote Access Preparation

Overview

As part of a larger project to redesign the network both physically and logically, I prepared the existing Cisco routers and switches for the new network configuration.

The work included backing up the existing IOS images and configurations, upgrading IOS where required, restoring configurations on selected devices, and preparing other devices with initial configurations and secure remote access.

The goal was to ensure that all devices were operational, recoverable, and ready for the next stage of the network redesign.

Objectives

The main objective was to prepare Cisco routers and switches for the new network design. Some devices required an IOS upgrade while keeping their existing configurations, while others needed to be reset and prepared for new configurations.

The main objectives were to:

• Back up the currently running IOS images before upgrading the devices.

• Back up the existing startup configurations for recovery and future reference.

• Upgrade devices with newer IOS images compatible with their hardware platforms and existing licensing.

• Restore existing configurations on devices that needed to retain their previous configuration.

• Secure console access with local authentication.

• Enable and configure SSH for secure remote management.

• Prepare devices that were being reset for further remote configuration.

Technologies Used

For the IOS upgrades, I used IOS images downloaded from the official Cisco Software Download portal. I selected newer IOS images compatible with the same hardware platforms so that the existing devices could be upgraded without replacing the hardware or moving to a different platform and its associated licensing requirements.

Some of the Cisco devices had USB ports that could be used to transfer files directly to and from their local storage. For devices where this was not available or practical, I used TFTPD64 on my laptop as a TFTP server.

TFTPD64 was used to transfer and back up IOS images and configuration files between my laptop and the Cisco devices.

For the initial console connection, I used PuTTY because it supports serial console connections. After configuring remote access, I mainly used Windows Terminal. Its tabbed interface made it easier to manage multiple devices simultaneously, and its terminal behavior made it easier to review long command outputs.

Configurations

In the following sections, I described the configurations and procedures I have done on the Cisco devices.

Backup IOS and Configurations

Before upgrading any device, I first backed up its existing IOS image. This provided a recovery option if the new IOS image was incompatible, unstable, or caused performance issues.

I also backed up the existing startup configuration so that the previous configuration could be restored if required.

I started TFTPD64 on my laptop and configured the directory containing the files to be transferred. I then selected the laptop's LAN interface from the available network interfaces.

For the initial file transfer, the Cisco device needed IP connectivity to the laptop. On switches, I temporarily configured a management IP address in the same subnet as the laptop's LAN interface. On routers, I used an appropriate interface based on the existing network configuration.

I then connected to the devices and used the following command to identify the files stored in the device's flash filesystem:

show flash:

On some devices, the filesystem was accessed using dir: or another filesystem identifier. Therefore, I first identified the available filesystem and the exact filenames before starting the transfer.

After identifying the required IOS image and configuration files, I transferred them to the TFTP server. For IOS image stored in flash I used this command:

copy flash: tftp:

The device then requested the source filename, which was the IOS file name on the device. Then I provided the IP address of the TFTP server, which was the IP address of my laptop.

I repeated the process for the required configuration files, making sure that the original IOS image and configuration were safely stored on the TFTP server before proceeding with the upgrade.

IOS Upgrade and Configuration Restoration

I used the same TFTP process to transfer the new IOS image from my laptop to the Cisco device, but with the source and destination reversed.

copy tftp: flash:

The device then requested file name and destination IP address, which was device’s IP address.

After transferring the image, I configured the device to boot from the new IOS image:

boot system flash:/2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE4.bin

I then verified the boot configuration and saved the changes:

show boot

write memory

reload

After the reboot, I verified that the new IOS image was running:

show boot

show version

After confirming that the new IOS was operating correctly, I removed the old IOS image from the device to free storage space. The old image remained available on the TFTP server as a recovery copy.

For devices that needed to retain their previous configuration, I restored the backed-up configuration and verified that it was applied correctly after the IOS upgrade.

For devices that were being prepared for the new network design, I removed the previous configuration and left them ready for their new configuration.

Console and SSH Configuration

For devices without an existing configuration, I first established a console connection using PuTTY.

The serial connection settings were:

Serial Line: COM4

Speed: 9600

Connection Type: Serial

After connecting to the devices, I configured local authentication for console access:

username admin privilege 15 secret 1234

line console 0

 login local

 exec-timeout 30

 logging synchronous

I then configured SSH for secure remote management.

For a switch, I configured a management IP address on the management VLAN:

interface vlan 1

 ip address 192.168.1.3 255.255.255.0

 no shutdown

hostname SW1-F1

ip domain-name xco.local

crypto key generate rsa modulus 2048

ip ssh version 2

enable secret 1324

username admin privilege 15 secret 1234

line vty 0 4

 login local

 transport input ssh

 exec-timeout 30

 logging synchronous

The management IP address and VLAN were selected according to the requirements of the network design. For routers, I assigned the SSH management address to an appropriate routed interface based on the network topology.

Problems and Troubleshooting

During the process, I found that the console baud rate on some devices had been changed by the previous administrator. The change was not documented along with the device credentials.

I requested additional documentations, and I found the baud rate in one of the documents. Hopefully, he had generally used the same baud rate across the other devices.

After completing the required file transfers, I returned the devices to the standard Cisco console speed of 9600 baud.

line console 0

 speed 9600

Testing and Verification

After completing the upgrades and configurations, I rebooted the devices and verified that they successfully booted using the new IOS images.

For devices where the previous configuration was restored, I verified that the configuration loaded correctly and that the devices continued to operate as expected under normal network load.

I also tested SSH access to the devices using the configured management addresses. All devices that were configured for remote management accepted SSH connections successfully.

I additionally verified the boot configuration and IOS version using:

show boot

show version

Results

The project was completed successfully. The Cisco routers and switches were backed up, upgraded where required, and prepared for the next phase of the network redesign.

Devices that needed to retain their previous configurations were successfully restored, while devices intended for the new network design were reset and prepared for new configurations.

The defined objectives were achieved:

• Existing IOS images were backed up to the TFTP server for recovery.

• Existing startup configurations were backed up for restoration and future reference.

• Devices were upgraded with compatible IOS images.

• Required configurations were restored after the upgrades.

• Console access was secured using local authentication.

• SSH was enabled and configured for secure remote management.

• Devices were tested after reboot and verified to operate correctly.

• Devices requiring further configuration were left ready for remote administration.