A manufacturer schedules a Catalyst 9800 software upgrade and wants the new access-point image already on the access points, so the cutover does not download that image to every access point at the moment of the reload. Which maintenance action does that?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation
You would not hand every truck a new map in the middle of the highway merge. Predownload puts the next access-point image on the devices while the current controller code is still in charge. Clearing tags or the country code just makes the window longer.
Full Explanation
Access-point image predownload copies the new access-point software to joined access points before the controller activates the new image. When the controller reloads onto that image, the access points already hold the matching code and can reboot into it without a thundering herd of simultaneous downloads over the WAN or the campus core. That is the maintenance step that matches the requirement. Sniffer mode stops client service and starts a capture. It does not stage software, and leaving every access point there across a reload would take the plant off the air for no upgrade benefit. Removing the country code disables transmission. It is not a quiet period for upgrades, and the radios would stay down after the upgrade until the country was configured again. Deleting site tags forces access points to drop their site configuration and rejoin with defaults. That adds discovery and re-tagging work during the window and does not pre-position the image. Exam caveat: predownload still needs a reachable path between controller and access point, and the image that was predownloaded has to be the one you actually activate. Operational check: confirm the access points report the backup image present before you start the controller reload, then watch that they rejoin without a long download stall.