Schedule Firmware Upgrade for Network by Tag

[JoystickDripp]

Currently trying to set up this automation tool for our organization so we can upgrade access points seamlessly across all of our branches. Has anyone successfully set up this new automation tool? How did you figure it out? I haven't been able to find any documentation or tutorials of people setting this up. If you did set it up successfully, did it work as intended or are there drawbacks to using this tool? Maybe I'm overthinking this and I do not need to use this tool, but we want our upgrades to be automatic when new stable versions are released. Any feedback would be much appreciated! 

[alemabrahao]

Are you sure it's possible to update via tags?

I've never seen or read anything about it.

[JoystickDripp]

[alemabrahao]

Workflow Details

This comprehensive three-workflow solution enables Cisco Meraki administrators to efficiently discover, plan, and schedule firmware upgrades across multiple networks using tag-based filtering.

Key Features:

• Flexible Execution: Each workflow operates independently or as part of integrated solution
• Multi-Organization Support: Automatically discovers and processes networks across all accessible organizations
• Tag-Based Network Discovery: Uses flexible tag filtering to identify target networks for upgrade scheduling
• Multi-Device Type Support: Schedules upgrades for MX (Security Appliances), MS (Switches), and MR (Wireless Access Points)
• Intelligent Version Comparison: Only schedules upgrades when current firmware differs from target firmware
• Flexible Scheduling: Supports immediate upgrades (5 minutes) or scheduled upgrades up to 30 days in advance
• Comprehensive Validation: Validates input parameters including date formats, version IDs, and tag requirements

1. Check Available Firmware for Network

Purpose: Firmware Discovery and Assessment

• What it does: Queries a specific network to discover all available firmware versions for each device type (MX, MS, MR)
• When to use: Before planning upgrades to identify compatible firmware versions and their Version IDs
• Key output: List of available firmware versions with their unique Version IDs (e.g., 4727, 4531, 4532)

2. Schedule Firmware Upgrade for Network

Purpose: Individual Network Upgrade Execution

• What it does: Schedules firmware upgrades for a single network across all device types with specified Version IDs
• When to use: For targeted upgrades of individual networks or as a sub-component of bulk operations
• Key output: Confirmation of scheduled upgrades with timing and version details for each device type

3. Schedule Firmware Upgrade for Networks by Tag

Purpose: Bulk Network Upgrade Orchestration

• What it does: Discovers networks across multiple organizations using tag filters and schedules firmware upgrades for all matching networks
• When to use: For large-scale firmware deployments across tagged network groups in multi-organization environments
• Key output: Summary report showing successful/failed upgrades organized by organization and network

Limitations:

• Maximum 500 networks per organization query (bulk operations)
• All networks upgraded at the same scheduled time (bulk operations)
• Case-sensitive tag matching
• Requires pre-existing firmware version IDs (use Check Available Firmware workflow for discovery)
• 30-day maximum advance scheduling

[JoystickDripp]

I know it's a fairly new tool and yeah that's the biggest issue ive been running into, no information anywhere out there on it.

[alemabrahao]

It's so simple and intuitive that it doesn't even require documentation.

Just create a rule and apply it; I believe you can test it without any problems.

https://documentation.meraki.com/Platform_Management/Workflows/Automation_Rules

[Mloraditch]

Here is the main documentation page for Workflows: https://documentation.meraki.com/Platform_Management/Workflows

It's basically a set of tools that put common api actions into a more user friendly and/or prebuilt format.

This specific automation would be a way you could tag your networks in your own way (say release rings or geography) and then schedule the updates.

To do what you want (upgrade everything once a new stable is released), you'd need to add a bit more logic to read the stable firmware versions and then when it changes push the update. I'm not actually aware of an API Endpoint that has this info, although I could be missing something.

[JoystickDripp]

thank you!