Question

Difficulty: EasyPatch Management and Software Maintenance

A network technician is preparing to update the operating system firmware on several enterprise switches. Which of the following actions should the technician take prior to applying the update in the production environment? (Select TWO.)

  1. Create a complete backup of device configuration files and existing firmware images.Answer
  2. Evaluate the firmware update within an isolated sandbox or staging environment.Answer
  3. C
    Restore the switches using an incremental backup set prior to starting the installation.
  4. D
    Apply the update immediately across all production core switches during peak business hours.

Answer

The technician should create a complete backup of switch configuration files and current firmware images, as well as evaluate the update inside an isolated sandbox or staging environment before live deployment.
Proper patch maintenance requires creating full backups of configuration files and existing software images to ensure rollback capability, while staging the update in an isolated environment prevents untested code from causing live network outages.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify fundamental risk-mitigation steps in the network patch lifecycle.
Recognize that establishing a known baseline backup and testing in a safe environment are mandatory pre-patch steps.
Backing up configurations guarantees a rollback path, while staging tests verify patch stability before affecting production traffic.

Key Concept

Pre-deployment patch management lifecycle and risk mitigation practices
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