Connect. Secure. Manage.
Catalyst Center Platform Upgrade
Upgrade an existing Catalyst Center deployment through compatibility checks, backups and staged validation of integrations, inventory and automation workflows.
Devices supported
across the UK
Client locations
supported
Traffic handled
at peak time
Average
response time
Average response is not a resolution time or a contractual guarantee. Support scope and response commitments are agreed for each engagement.
A Catalyst Center platform upgrade changes the management system itself. It does not upgrade all the switches and routers it manages. We check the supported upgrade route, linked systems and recovery plan first. After the change, we test the tasks your team relies on, including device discovery, changes and network health checks.
Cisco-focused engineering
Design around the platform, traffic and failure behaviour you actually operate.
Change with evidence
Use pre-checks, acceptance criteria and a documented route back.
Operational handover
Keep the configuration, diagrams and responsibilities understandable after delivery.
Establish the exact starting point
We record the installed software and app versions, rollout form, platform resources and current health. Physical appliances and supported virtual rollouts can have different prerequisites and recovery procedures. We also identify the devices, sites and workflows that depend on the system, including any SD-Access fabric, assurance services and external automation.
An upgrade assessment should distinguish a current fault from a problem introduced by the change. Failed discovery jobs, incomplete backups or unhealthy services need investigation before the maintenance window. Taking that baseline gives engineers something meaningful to compare with the post-upgrade state and prevents old issues from being misdiagnosed as new defects.
Standards & partnerships
Confidence in the team behind your network.
Cisco Partner
Cisco Meraki
Cyber Essentials
Cyber Essentials PlusMCI Network Services is operated by Proxar Ltd. Certifications apply to the certified legal entity and the scope of its certificates. View accreditation information
Check the supported route to the target release
Not every installed release can move directly to every later release. We check Cisco’s guidance for the actual starting and target versions, including intermediate steps, app compatibility and deployment-specific restrictions. A newer release is not automatically the right choice if essential devices or integrations are outside its supported scope.
We review the reasons for upgrading: support lifecycle, security fixes, a required capability or correction of a known issue. Those reasons should justify the change and inform its acceptance criteria. Features unrelated to the business need do not need to be activated during the same window merely because the target version makes them available.
A useful starting point
Not sure where to start?
Bring the requirement. We will help you define the engineering work.
Review integrations and access dependencies
Catalyst Center may rely on identity services, DNS, time synchronisation, certificates, external repositories and network devices that enforce management access. API clients, monitoring platforms and reporting tools may also depend on its interfaces. We inventory those relationships and identify which owners must participate in testing.
Certificate changes and expired credentials deserve particular attention. A platform can appear healthy while discovery, provisioning or identity integration fails because a trust relationship no longer works. We check the documented needs and retain a tested admin access method that does not rely solely on the integration being changed.
Different environments. The same care.
Built around the work
your network supports.
Finance, banking and the wider private sector. We start with the systems and people that depend on your connections.
Finance & banking
Market-data paths, routing and provider coordination on clients’ behalf.
Financial-market services ↗Offices & multi-site teams
Reliable access between people, workplaces and business applications.
Office network design ↗Data centres & cloud
Network boundaries, workload connections and operational ownership.
Data centre networks ↗Prepare a recovery method that matches the platform
We review backup completion, protected storage, supported restore compatibility and the resources needed to recover. A successful backup job is useful, but recovery also needs appropriate software, access to the backup location and people who understand the procedure. The plan records what is included and any data that would need separate treatment.
A virtual-machine snapshot should not be assumed to replace Cisco’s supported backup and recovery method. Similarly, a downgrade is not automatically a safe rollback after the platform has changed its internal data. We document the supported recovery route and the point at which restoring service may take longer than the original upgrade window.
Sequence the maintenance window
The plan sets out checks before the upgrade, the order of work and tests after each stage. It states when management services may be unavailable. We pause other provisioning, discovery changes and automation where needed. Engineers are told when they may lose the management view even though user traffic still passes.
We do not promise that every managed service is unaffected by a controller upgrade. Actual dependencies, particularly in automated or fabric setups, need assessment. The window should include communication arrangements, an escalation contact and clear conditions for stopping the work rather than continuing through a series of unexplained warnings.
Verify the workflows people actually use
After the upgrade, we check admin access, device lists, discovery, health data and the chosen integrations. We also run an agreed provisioning task or a read-only workflow suited to the site. A working login page and green status icons do not prove that the team can resume normal work.
For fabric-managed networks, validation extends to the relevant control-plane and operational relationships without making unnecessary changes to production forwarding. We compare observed behaviour with the baseline and record remaining exceptions. The Catalyst Center Assurance service can help distinguish missing telemetry from an actual network fault during that review.
Close the upgrade with an operating record
The handover records the final versions, completed checks, backup arrangements, outstanding issues and any changed support procedures. We identify integrations that require follow-up and remove temporary maintenance access when it is no longer needed. The next upgrade is easier when this evidence is retained rather than reconstructed from job logs months later.
MCI can assess your current Catalyst Center rollout and prepare the upgrade as a defined engineering engagement. Send the installed release, rollout type and critical workflows, and we can establish the prerequisites, maintenance approach and evidence needed before the change is approved.
Talk to a specialist
What does your network need next?
Tell us what you are planning, changing or trying to improve. We will help define a practical next step and the engineering scope.
+44 203 196 6566Choose option 1
sales@proxar.co.ukUK-wide service.
Most of our engineers are based in Kent, with a focus on London, Sussex, Essex and Berkshire.
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