Cisco Firepower: Upgrade FXOS with the CLI

Upgrade FXOS with the CLI
Firepower 9300 or Firepower 4100

What is Firepower eXtensible Operating System (FXOS) ?
The Firepower eXtensible Operating System (FXOS) is a platform operating system used by Cisco's Firepower Threat Defense (FTD).

It is a modular, Linux-based operating system that serves as the foundation for the FTD platform. For the FTD platform, FXOS provides fundamental operations such as network communication, device management, and security services.

It is scalable, adaptable, and secure, and it is used to run the FTD software, which delivers next-generation firewall, intrusion prevention, and sophisticated threat protection. The FXOS CLI grants administrators administrative access to the underlying operating system, letting them to setup and administer the FTD device.

What is Cisco Firepower ?
Cisco Firepower is a security technology that provides enterprises with next-generation firewall (NGFW) and enhanced threat prevention capabilities. 

It encompasses a number of products and technologies, such as the Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) appliance, the Firepower Management Center (FMC), and the Firepower Services Modules (FSM).

Fig 1.1-Cisco Firepowers

What is Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) ?
The Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) appliance is a unified software image that combines numerous security tasks into a single device, including a firewall, intrusion prevention, advanced threat protection, and URL filtering. 

The Firepower eXtensible Operating System (FXOS) is used by the FTD device, which provides a single administration interface for administrators to setup and administer all security features.

Upgrade irepower eXtensible Operating System (FXOS)
To upgrade the Firepower eXtensible Operating System (FXOS) using the Command Line Interface (CLI), follow these steps:

Step 1: Download the necessary software image from the Cisco website

Step 2: Copy the image to the device using either FTP or SCP. As shown below copying image using SCP

Connect to the FXOS CLI. Download the new platform bundle image to the Firepower 4100/9300 chassis

Enter firmware mode:
Securedna_firepower # scope firmware
Securedna_firepower-a /firmware # download image scp://thesecuredna@10.10.10.1/images/fxos-k9.2.3.1.58.SPA
Securedna_firepower-a /firmware # scope download-task fxos-k9.2.3.1.58.SPA
Securedna_firepower-a /firmware/download-task # show detail

If necessary, return to firmware mode and enter auto install mode

Securedna_firepower-a /firmware/download-task # up
Securedna_firepower-a /firmware # scope auto-install
Securedna_firepower-a /firmware/auto-install # install platform platform-vers  2.3(1.58)

The system will first verify the software package that you want to install. It will inform you of any incompatibility between currently installed applications and the specifiedFXOS platform software package. 

It will also warn you that any existing sessions will be terminated and that the system will need to be rebooted as part of the upgrade

Enter yes to confirm that you want to proceed with verification.Enter yes to confirm that you want to proceed with installation, or enter no to cancel the installation

To monitor the upgrade process:

• Enter scope system.
• Enter show firmware monitor.
• Wait for all components (FPRM, Fabric Interconnect, and Chassis) to show Upgrade-Status: Ready.