Is Cisco.com connection mandatory for SWIM?
A. Cisco.com connection is not mandatory for basic SWIM functionality. Image distribution, library management, the track of software upgrade changes, and other functions can run without Cisco.com connectivity. Cisco.com connectivity provides additional benefits. You can obtain images and image attributes from Cisco.com. Also, you can view the status of outstanding bugs against the software images that run on the devices in the network. These features of SWIM require Cisco.com connectivity: • Addition of an image to the library from Cisco.com—SWIM can import images for Cisco IOS® Software, Cisco Catalyst, and Cisco 700 series devices. For Cisco IOS Software devices, SWIM imports only system software. SWIM does not support the import of bootloader images. • Distribution of images directly from Cisco.com to devices—This process also has the name Recommend Images from Cisco.com. Without a Cisco.com connection, the Image list on the Recommend Images screen does not show any images from Cisc
