Replacing EOL switches with new

[befthimi]

I have several MS42P switches being replaced with MS125-48LP. The switch configs will remain the same/identical. What are the options to perform this task in the most efficient manner? I'm aware of the cloning option but the documentation states:

"With the exception of cloning MS210 configurations to MS225 or MS250 switches, cloning requires the source and destination switches to be the same model."

Given the switch replacement are a different model I assume cloning is not an option. I can't find any documentation about any way to migrate a switch config from one model to another. That means manually configuring each switch which is fine, unless there is a better way...

Is anybody able to clarify what the options may be in this type of scenario?

Many Thanks in advance.

Bill

[Bruce]

It depends how many switches you have and the variety between port configurations. If there is a small number of switches or the switchports are all configured pretty much the same, then it’s pretty straightforward to configure through the Dashboard - select multiple ports and configure all the ports in one hit. Obviously there may be Layer 3 interfaces and the like to configure too, but the bulk of the configuration is normally the ports.

If there is a bit more variety between the switch port configurations then I’d look to the API. You can write a script to extract the current configuration from a port and write it to the new switch. It may take a bit of effort, but will be way less mundane and hone your scripting skills. There’s probably something to do this (or very close to this) already on GitHub.

[PhilipDAth · Accepted solution]

If there are only 1 or 2 switches - I'd do it by hand.

If there are lots of switches - I'd write a script to use the API.  If the Meraki github there are a lot of example automation scripts.

https://github.com/meraki/automation-scripts 

This one which can copy switch configs looks interesting.  Worst case, you could use this as a base and modify it.

https://github.com/meraki/automation-scripts/blob/master/copyswitchcfg.py 

[befthimi]

Thanks for the replies. This is very useful. I have 23 switches to swap out.

[GIdenJoe]

This is why I extensively use the "virtual stacking" feature.
In every org I always apply tags to ports with identical configuration (except name ofcourse) and always use the tag to filter the correct ports so I always have consistent configuration across the board.

Ports to end users have the access tag and a descriptive tag for the VLAN used.
Ports between switches always have the trunk and isl tag.
Ports between switch and ap always have the trunk and ap tag, and so forth.

Also make sure you make some good filters before tagging is applied to the new switches.
Learning to use the stack:part of name port:1-12 always helps to quickly select correct ports.