Upgrade and Downgrade Procedure

Cisco ASR 9000 Series

Aggregation Services Router
Release 6.1.3
Upgrade and Downgrade Procedure

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Contents
1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 3
1. Purpose, Audience and Scope ................................................................................................................................................... 3
2. Summary of Upgrade Steps ........................................................................................................................................................ 3
3. Cisco Software Manager .............................................................................................................................................................. 4
4. Mandatory SMUs ............................................................................................................................................................................ 4
5. Selection of Packages for Upgrade .............................................................................................................................................. 4
2. Upgrade to IOS XR Release 6.1.3 ..................................................................................................................................................... 5
3. Turboboot Option for Upgrades ......................................................................................................................................................... 6
4. FPD Upgrade ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 6
5. Downgrade from IOS XR Release 6.1.3 ............................................................................................................................................ 7
6. ISSU SMU Upgrade in IOS XR Release 6.1.3 ................................................................................................................................. 7
7. Caveats .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 8
8. References on EOS/EOL: ................................................................................................................................................................... 9

Page 2 of 9
© 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public.
 1. Introduction

1. Purpose, Audience and Scope

The purpose of this document is to describe the upgrade and downgrade procedure for the Cisco ASR 9000
Series Aggregation Services Router, Release 6.1.3

Audience: This guide is for Cisco Systems Field Engineers and Network Operators. It’s split into four
sections.

1) Simple one command installs upgrade process & detailed IOS XR install upgrade process

2) Turboboot (Highly NOT recommended)

3) FPD upgrades

4) Caveats and CLI changes

2. Summary of Upgrade Steps

1. IOS-XR upgrade from pre-4.2.1 is not supported and has not been covered in testing, the
upgrade from pre 4.2.1 can be attempted through a standard Turbo boot method or install
upgrade, and caveats may apply. Please review the install cheat sheet for short cuts.
https://supportforums.cisco.com/document/12440491/ios-xr-install-upgrade-cheat-sheet

2. It’s highly recommended that CSM be used to come up with a list of optimized set of SMUs or
Service Packs that should be installed on the release that is going to be deployed. SMUs/SP +
Major release can be installed together in one install operation to save time and avoid multiple
reloads. For more information on Service packs, see the following link, when possible it’s always
preferred to deploy Service Packs http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/ios-nx-os-
software/ios-xr-software/117550-technote-product-00.pdf

4. (Optional) before an upgrade, Bridge SMU’s may need to be installed on the current release to
ensure that installation of new software succeeds. Check section “Mandatory SMUs” and
download the ASR9k-iosxr-px-6.1.3-bridge_smus.tar f i l e if required. Extract o n l y the packages
t h a t are applicable t o your currently running release. Install activates these prior to upgrading the
router to the new release. No Bridge SMUs are required to upgrade from any release after 4.3.x.

5. For upgrading from Pre - 5.3.1 images to 6.1.3 you must install a post-expiry SMU along with the new
root certificate. You can install additional SMUs or pie files after adding the post-expiry SMU.
Refer below link for details:
http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/routers/technotes/MOP-CSS-to-Abraxas.html

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 6. Release 6.1.3 introduces the following hardware’s: No new hardware
7. Please refer the ddts for the unsupported cards from release 6xx: CSCuz35344

3. Cisco Software Manager

Cisco Software Manager (CSM) can be used to manage SMUs, to create your own SMU tar ball, or find out
which SMUs are applicable to your network. More information on CSM:
Download CSM: CSM Download page
User Documentation: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/routers/asr9000/software/smu/csmuser.html

4. Mandatory SMUs
The following table outlines the SMUs that must be installed for upgrade and downgrade procedure.
Table 1. Needed Mandatory SMUs
Release Mandatory/Optional SMUs (px)
Upgrade SMUs Downgrade SMUs
R4.2.3 CSCud98419**
CSCud37351
CSCud54093
R5.1.0 No CSCui99165
R6.0.0 No No
R6.0.1 No No
R6.1.2 No No
R6.1.3 No No

** The SMU for CSCud98419 should be used if fpd auto-upgrade option is being used during the upgrade.
Please refer to Section 4 for more information. CSCud37351 a n d CSCud54093 a r e the pre-requisite S M U s
for CSCud98419.

5. Selection of Packages for Upgrade

As software features grow, so do file sizes. So in order to ease the downloading experience and TFTP size
issues, Cisco is changing its package delivery system by providing multiple files of smaller sizes as shown
below:

Table 1- New IOS-XR Packaging Format

# File Contents Comment
1 ASR9k-iosxr-px-6.1.3- Contains all bridge SMUs + other Important – If applicable, Bridge SMUs are
bridge_smus.tar miscellaneous SMUs loaded onto your existing XR version before
upgrading to R6.1.3. Refer to Section 4 for a
list of mandatory.
2 ASR9K-iosxr-px-6.1.3- Contains mini-vm file Once installed, you will need to load the
turboboot.tar optional packages in Row 3 or Row 4 to
complete the installation
3 ASR9K-iosxr-px-6.1.3- The mini.pie + optional packages The mini.pie constitute the base package.
pies.tar (e.g., mcast, mpls, etc.). No mini- Optional packages add features as needed.
vm file. No Mini.vm and no k9-sec pie.
4 ASR9k-iosxr-px-6.1.3- Same as Row 3 + k9-sec pie Contains Line item-3 + K9sec pie.
k9-pies.tar
5 Asr9k-ncs500x-nV- Only ncs500x pie Just the ncs500x pie.
px.tar

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 2. Upgrade to IOS XR Release 6.1.3

All install operations must be performed in “admin” mode. The optional packages (mpls, mcast,
mgbl etc.) that are being installed/upgraded must match the active packages, else the install will fail.

Cisco recommends that you do a backup of the ASCII configuration to the harddisk: or off box
location. Before upgrading to XR6.1.3 release make sure to disable “fpd auto-upgrade”. After upgrade
to XR6.1.3 manually upgrade the FPD. Reload is required for the manual FPD upgrade in order for the
new FPD to take effect

Two install options are covered; the first is a single command install upgrade. The second is two-
command install upgrade.

1. Single command upgrade: “admin install add <pkgs+smus or SP> activate”

IOS X R i n s t a l l u p g r a d e s c a n b e p e r f o r m e d w i t h a s i n g l e c o m m a n d , i n t h e f o r m a t o f “admin
install add <pkgs+smus or SP or TAR> activate” and “admin install commit” after the operation is
completed. Examples of popular single command install:

Example 1) Standard install

A9K-PE1(admin)#install add source tftp://10.10.10.1/ asr9k-px-6.1.3.CSCcd54321.pie asr9k-px-
6.1.3.CSCab12345.pie asr9k-px-6.1.3.CSCef12345.pie activate

Example 2)This is an example of a create your own TAR install:

A9K-PE1(admin)#install add tar tftp://10.10.10.1/ Rel6.1.3.tar activate

Example 3) If the file server is reachable through a vrf, in the example here the vrf name is “management”:
A9K-PE1 (admin)#install add source ftp://root:root@1.1.1.1;management/ asr9k-px-6.1.3.CSCcd54321.pie
asr9k-px-6.1.3.CSCab12345.pie asr9k-px-6.1.3.CSCef12345.pie activate

Example 4) If the file server has sftp capabilities, then use (test is username: test123 is password)
A9K-PE1(admin)#install add tar sftp://test:test123@1.1.1.1:/tftpboot/613.tar activate

2. Two command upgrade:

The above can be broken down into two operations if needed. Perform “admin install add <pkgs+smu’s
or SP>” to copy the software from TFTP/SFTP/SCP/FTP server to the router. This is a hitless operation and
can be formed outside a maintenance window. Example:

A9K-PE1(admin)#install add source tftp://10.10.10.1/ asr9k-mini-px.pie-6.1.3 asr9k-mpls-px.pie-6.1.3

asr9k-mcast-px.pie-6.1.3 asr9k-px-6.1.3.CSCab12345-0.0.0.pie synchronous

Or a TAR

A9K-PE1(admin)#install add tar tftp://10.10.10.1/613.tar synchronous

1. After the add is successful perform “admin install activate <pkgs+smus or SP>” on packages,
SMU’s or SP to activated, at this point the router will reboot. After the router has reloaded and
sufficient checks have been done, then perform the following steps. “admin install commit” this will
make the software (packages and smu’s) persistent across reloads.

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 A9K-PE1(admin)# install activate disk0:asr9k-mini-px-6.1.3 disk0:asr9k-mpls-px-6.1.3 disk0:asr9k-mcast-px-
6.1.3 asr9k-px-6.1.3.CSCab12345-0.0.0 synchronous

Another shortcut is to activate the install add operation id

A9K-PE1(admin)# install activate id <install add operation id>

Another shortcut is to activate with a wildcard:

A9K-PE1(admin)# install activate disk0:*6.1.3*

Note: use ignore-pkg-presence-check keyword if an upgrade is attempted without installing all the
optional pies. This can be useful when offloading some unused pies. “admin#install activate ignore-
pkg-presence- check <operation id or package list> “

2. It’s recommended that “auto fpd” firmware upgrade is disabled prior to the upgrade. Refer to the FPD
section for more details.
3. When the upgrade is completed a n d “install commit” is performed a n “install remove inactive”
can be used to clear old images from the disk. This is a hitless operation.

4. If the install operation fails collect the relevant show tech install output

3. Turboboot Option for Upgrades

Turboboot should not be necessary for an upgrade to XR6.1.3 if the instructions are followed that are documented.
Any upgrade that is not part of the matrix may require a turboboot or has other possible requisitions. Turboboot
Instructions are well documented in this location:

https://supportforums.cisco.com/document/123576/asr9000xr-understanding-turboboot-and-initial-system-
bring

4. FPD Upgrade
Fpd auto-upgrade feature ( supported from R4.2.3 onwards) is not recommended for XR602, “fpd auto-
upgrade” should be disabled when upgrading to any release (including 6.0.1/6.1.3) from 5.3.x
Release.

The feature could be disabled from the admin-config mode as follows:

RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:router1(admin-config)# no fpd auto-upgrade

Manual fpd upgrade can be performed after R6.1.3 upgrade is install committed. Run the “show hw-
module fpd location all” command to check which firmware files need to be upgraded, by inspecting the
Upg/Dng column. If there is any ‘Yes’ marked, manual upgrade is required. After Manual upgrade a reload is
required for the fpd to take effect. Issue the following command to upgrade FPD:

RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:router(admin)#upgrade hw-module fpd all location

all
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 Note: Except CBC update, router reload is required after running the “upgrade hw-module fpd all
location all” command, to make the changes in effect. No reload is required after running the upgrade hw-
module fpd cbc location all command. The new CBC firmware will be active. The software
automatically resets the local CAN Bus. FPD pie is mandatory for the above steps.

Auto-FPD requirements:

1. CSCuj69940: Auto-FPD upgrade will not work if the source release does not have FPD
Package installed and the user has configured auto-fpd prior to upgrade.
2. CSCul00317: Auto-FPD upgrade will not work if FPD being upgraded is 2 releases old or if no
new FPD changes are available. Workaround is to perform a manual FPD upgrade.
3. CSCut97560 : FPD upgrade (both auto and manual) fails if there is not enough space on
harddisk: Workaround is to clear some unwanted files in the harddisk before doing the fpd

upgrade

5. Downgrade from IOS XR Release 6.1.3

To Downgrade from 6.1.3 to 5 . 3 . x / 5.2.x/4.3.x (4.3.0, 4.3.1, 4.3.2, 4.3.4), if user has not performed “install
commit” on Release 6.1.3, the router can be reverted back to its prior committed state by performing “reload
location all” from admin mode. If the user has performed “install commit”, then “install rollback to <>” procedure
needs to be initiated. However due to a new linecard VSM introduction in 5.1.1, this “install rollback” would
fail if the system has x86 based RP and a software fix is available in 5.1.2 and 5.2.0. Please do not use “install
rollback..” command but as a workaround, use “install activate ..” to go back to the previous image needed.

To Downgrade from 6.1.3 to pre-430 images, Turboboot is the only option. Due to CSCud37497, downgrade
from R6.1.3 requires the turboboot with the format option (e.g., ROMMON Variable set as
“TURBOBOOT=on, disk0, format”). This is because R6.1.3 image is a combo image unlike pre-430 images,
which has –p and –px versions.

Image Signing SMU is not mandatory for downgrade from XR613 - XR5xx releases.

While downgrading from IOS XR 6.1.3, CSCuy53266 can be installed as part of the target version tar or in the
same “install” command line. It’s an optional SMU if you have NTP configured.
For example:
ASR9K (admin)# install add tar tftp://10.10.10.1/Rel5_3_2.tar asr9k-px-5.3.2.CSCuy53266-1.0.0.pie activate

6. ISSU SMU Upgrade in IOS XR Release 6.1.3

ISSU SMU Upgrade is deprecated since XR

5.2.2

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 7. Caveats

The caveats listed below are summaries only. Please view each release note enclosure (RNE) for complete
details (Including known workarounds and/or actions to take).

1. CSCun82453: Firmware upgrade for Delta V2 power module may fails.

2. CSCud63564: On downgrading to 4.2.3 and below with newer cards like VSM and A9K-40GE-SE/TR
a n d to 4.3.0 with SIP-700(8G), shelfmgr process crashes followed by periodic router reloads are
encountered.
3. CSCum75609: Image downgrades using “install rollback” will not work due to
software changes introduced to accommodate a new line card type in R5.1.x/R5.2.x.
Users are advised to use the “admin install activate” command instead.

4. CSCug38404: ROMMON downgrading isn’t allowed on certain line cards with a 2.00 ROMMON
Version. The downgrade operation will fail.

5. CSCtx28180: Due to the CLI change from "label-allocation-mode" to "label mode” introduced,
when performing a software downgrade from R6.1.3 to R4.3.0 (or earlier), "label mode" configuration
will be lost if any. It is recommended to remove “ label m o d e " config and re-apply the
Configuration as “label- allocation-mode” after the downgrade.

6. CSCur59629: Unable to install SMU/SP if downgraded from 5.1.x and above to 4.3.4. This
issue is confined to RP with ppc architecture o n downgrading t o 4.3.x from 5.1.x and above and
then trying to install a SMU/SP on top of 4.3.x. A rollback or “reload” without committing the software
to 4.3.x should still work fine.
7. After upgrading to R6.1.3, OSPF area format error would be seen if the user has “area 0.0.0.0”
configured in pre-4.3.1 releases. Change the OSPF area format from “area 0.0.0.0” to “area 0”
before upgrading to R6.1.3

8. In release 4.3.1 (& later), PIM mofrr command format has changed from “mofrr ACL” to “mofrr flow
ACL”. After upgrading to R4.3.1 (6.1.3), user has to update the PIM mofrr configuration f r o m “mofrr
ACL” to “mofrr flow ACL”
9. In release 4.3.1 (& later), PIM “mofrr non-revertive” format has changed to “mofrr non-revertive
<word>”. After upgrading to R4.3.1 ( & later), user has to update the “mofrr non-revertive” configuration
in the PIM address-family configuration mode to “mofrr non-revertive <non-revertive MoFRR word>”
10. CSCul35062: During downgrade from version 5.1.0 or later to versions prior to 5.1.0, some
dynamic subscriber template configuration fails to be re-applied after the reboot. Remove
a n y < b>monitor- session</b> configuration in dynamic subscriber templates before attempting the
downgrade.

11. Release 5.1.1 introduces a new Services Line Card named ‘VSM’[A9K-VSM-500], which requires
‘services-infra’ package. Refer to VSM install instructions for more details. Please refer to CGv6
Configuration Guide.

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 12. CSCun84883: ipmitool crash during VSM-500 bootup while downgrading to 513/52x. This SMU has
to be installed in order to avoid the crash.

13. CSCuz35344: Discontinue the support for 40GLC, RSP-4G/8G and ISM from 6xx releases

8. References on EOS/EOL:
1. RSP-4G/8G
http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/routers/asr-9000-series-aggregation-services-routers/eos-eol-
notice-c51-734029.html

2. 40G Linecard
http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/routers/asr-9000-series-aggregation-services-routers/eos-eol-
notice-c51-733321.html

3. 80G & 160G Linecards

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/routers/asr-9000-series-aggregation-services-routers/eos-eol-notice-c51-
731288.html

4. ISM Linecard
http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/routers/asr-9000-series-aggregation-services-routers/eos-eol-
notice-c51-734174.html

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