• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Rowell Dionicio

Get Techie With It

  • Home
  • About
  • Newsletter
  • Resources
    • Archives
    • Book List
    • YouTube
  • Learn
    • Wi-Fi 6E
    • CCNP Enterprise Core
    • DevNet Associate
    • PCNSA Certified
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Show Search
Hide Search

Upgrading Firewall PAN-OS Version

December 27, 2021 By Rowell Leave a Comment

Upgrading the software of a Palo Alto Networks firewall (PAN-OS) can be daunting if it’s running in production. If you’ve been in IT long enough, you’ve come across some nightmare upgrades.

The PAN-OS software upgrade is fairly straight forward. There’s plenty of documentation around it.

Because I’m studying for the PCNSA certification, I need to upgrade my firewall to 10.0. In this blog post, I’m going to run through the general steps to upgrade.

My PA-820 lab firewall is currently running on 9.1.4. Reading through the Palo Alto Networks documentation, I need to upgrade to the latest preferred train, which at the time of this post is 9.1.12.

☝️Release Notes

When upgrading to a new feature release, read the release notes. Understand the fixes, new features, and open caveats.

Backup the Configuration

Always cover your butt. Just in case things go sideways, you wan’t to have a backup of your configuration.

Navigate to Device > Setup > Operations

Click on Save named configuration snapshot

Click the dropdown box and select running-config.xml

Click on Export named configuration snapshot and click OK

You’ll be prompted to save the configuration file to your computer.

Install Content Updates

When I first started learning how to upgrade PAN-OS, I found out you needed to have the latest content release versions. This is the Application and Threat Updates.

Head over to Device > Dynamic Updates

Click on Check Now

Download the latest content release under Applications and Threats (as it relates to upgrading to 10.0)

Upgrade PAN-OS

It is recommended to upgrade PAN-OS to the latest preferred version of your current software train. In my example, the latest preferred version is 9.1.2. Here is a useful resource on preferred versions.

Navigate to Device > Software and click on Check Now. You’ll then be presented with a list of software versions.

Download the latest PAN-OS preferred version on your software train.

Then click on Install

After the installation is complete, you’ll be prompted to Reboot the firewall. You should perform this step after business hours to minimize downtime to the end users.

Wait about 10-15 minutes and the firewall should come back up with the latest version you just installed.

You can then proceed to the next feature release version. In my case, I’m going to download 10.0.0 and install the software. This process repeats to your desired version.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Related

Filed Under: Certifications Tagged With: palo alto networks, pcnsa

About Rowell

Wi-Fi expert. Coffee addict ☕️. Tech nerd. Business owner.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • 6 GHz Frame Captures with EtherScope nXG
  • Manage Cisco Catalyst in the (Meraki) Cloud
  • Q1 2022 Income Report
  • First Look at Ekahau AI Pro – Network Simulator
  • PAN-OS Configuration Management – PCNSA

Categories

  • bschool
  • Certifications
  • Coding
  • DevNet Associate
  • Events
  • Lab
  • Networking
  • Personal
  • Podcasting
  • Professional
  • Reviews
  • Security
  • Short Stories
  • Uncategorized
  • Wireless

Archives

  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • April 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • August 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • November 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018

Copyright © 2022 · Written by Rowell Dionicio · You're awesome.

 

Loading Comments...