Upgrading the Software on the Cisco ASR 920 Series Routers

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Chapter 1: Feature History

Chapter 2: Software Packaging on the Router

• Software Package Modes, on page 3
• Understanding Software Packages, on page 4
• Provisioning Files, on page 5
• File Systems on the Cisco ASR 920 Series Router, on page 5
• System Requirements, on page 5
• Autogenerated Files and Directories, on page 6
• Additional References, on page 6

Software Package Modes

The router can be booted using any of the following:

• Consolidated: A single software image containing a full collection of software packages. This mode provides a simplified installation and can be stored in the bootflash, a TFTP server, or a network server.
• Sub-package: One or more sub-images that are extracted from the consolidated image. This mode provides optimized memory usage and requires that you store files in the bootflash directory.

Upgrade IOS Image in Sub-packages Mode

To upgrade IOS image in sub-packages mode for the Cisco ASR 920 routers:

request platform software package expand file source-URL [to destination-URL] [force] [verbose]
[wipe]
configure terminal
config-register 0x2
boot system flash (flash-fs:) [partition-number:] [filename]
exit
copy running-configuration startup-configuration
reload

Description of Commands

Configuration Example for Upgrading IOS Image in Sub-packages Mode

The following example shows the upgrade of IOS image in sub-packages mode:

Router#request platform software package expand file
bootflash:asr920igp-universalk9.17.03.01.SPA.bin
Verifying parameters
Expanding superpackage bootflash: asr920igp-universalk9.17.03.01.SPA.bin
Validating package type
*Jul 16 14:41:05.881 IST: %INSTALL-5-OPERATION_START_INFO: R0/0: packtool:Started expand
package bootflash:asr920igp-universalk9.17.03.01.SPA.bin
Copying package files
WARNING: packages.conf will replace the identical file that already exists in bootflash:
SUCCESS: Finished expanding all-in-one software package.
Router#
*Jul 16 14:45:30.606 IST: %INSTALL-5-OPERATION_COMPLETED_INFO: R0/0: packtool:Completed
expand package bootflash:asr920igp-universalk9.17.03.01.SPA.bin
Router#config t
Router (config)#config-reg 0x2
Router (config)#no boot sys
Router (config) #boot system bootflash:packages.conf
Router (config)#exit
Router#copy running-config startup-config
Destination filename [startup-config]?
Building configuration...
[OK]
Router#reload

Understanding Software Packages

Table 1: Individual Sub-Packages

Note: Each consolidated image has a unique RPIOS package.

Additional sub-packages include:

Provisioning Files

Provisioning files manage the boot process when the router is configured to boot in sub-packages. The provisioning file manages the bootup of each individual sub-package. Provisioning files are extracted automatically when individual sub-package files are extracted from a consolidated package. Provisioning files are not necessary for running the router using the complete consolidated package.

File Systems on the Cisco ASR 920 Series Router

The table below provides a list of file systems that can be seen on the Cisco ASR 920 Series Router.

Table 2: File Systems

If you see a file system not listed in the table above, enter the ? help option or see the copy command reference for additional information on that file system.

System Requirements

The following sections describe the system requirements for the Cisco ASR 920 Series Router software:

Memory Recommendations

These are the recommendation for the routers for the Cisco IOS XE images and packages:

Autogenerated Files and Directories

Caution: Any autogenerated file in the bootflash: directory should not be deleted, renamed, moved, or altered in any way unless directed by customer support; altering these files can have unpredictable consequences for system performance.

Table 3: Autogenerated Files

Additional References

Related Documents

Standards

MIBS

No new or modified MIBs are supported, and support for existing MIBs has not been modified.

RFCS

Technical Assistance

Chapter 3: Upgrading to Cisco IOS XE Release

• Upgrading from Cisco IOS XE Release 16.6 to Cisco IOS XE Release 17.x.x, on page 9
• Upgrading from Cisco IOS XE Release 3.x to Release 16.x, on page 10

Upgrading from Cisco IOS XE Release 16.6 to Cisco IOS XE Release 17.x.x

If the ROMMON version is 15.6(24r)S and the Cisco IOS XE release is 16.6.x, the router fails in the auto upgrade process during the migration to Cisco IOS XE release 17.x.x resulting in a continous boot loop. As a workaround, ensure that you upgrade the ROMMON version to 15.6(46r)S before migrating to Cisco IOS XE release 17.x.x.

This issue on the router failure is specific to the following PIDs: ASR-920-12SZ-IM, ASR-920U-12SZ-IM, ASR-920-12SZ-IM-CC, ASR-920-24SZ-IM, ASR-920-24SZ-M, ASR-920-24TZ-M, and A900-RSP2A-128.

Follow these steps to upgrade from 15.6(24r)S to 15.6(46r)S:

1. Copy the ROMMON pkg file asr920_15_6_46r_s_rommon.pkg to the bootflash on the Cisco ASR 920 router.
2. Use the upgrade rom-monitor filename asr920_15_6_46r_s_rommon.pkg all command to upgrade the version.

Example:

Router#upgrade rom-monitor filename bootflash:asr920_15_6_46r_s_rommon.pkg all
Upgrade rom-monitor on Route-Processor 0
Target copying rom-monitor image file
ROMMON upgrade complete.
To make the new ROMMON permanent, you must restart the RP.
Router#reload <-- Reloads the active router processor and boot the IOS 17.x.x image

3. Reload the router, boot the router with any IOS version of 16.x.x.

Example:

System Bootstrap, Version 15.6(24r)S, RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc1)
Technical Support: http://www.cisco.com/techsupport
Copyright (c) 2018 by cisco Systems, Inc.

Upgrading from Cisco IOS XE Release 3.x to Release 16.x

Downloading an Image

Download the image to the same partition of the bootflash where the base image exists. For information on downloading images see, Loading and Managing System Images Configuration Guide, Cisco IOS XE Release 3.x.

Note: Ensure that you have chosen an upgrade image that is supported by your current software version.

Bootflash Space Requirements

The dual-rate functionality requires a minimum of 10 MB available space in bootflash memory on Cisco ASR 920 Series Router (ASR-920-12CZ-A, ASR-920-12CZ-D, ASR-920-4SZ-A, ASR-920-4SZ-D, ASR-920-10SZ-PD, ASR-920-8S4Z-PD, and ASR-920-12SZ-IM).

Note: Always use bootflash instead of flash on all the system operations.

Restrictions for Upgrading from Cisco IOS XE Release 3.x to Cisco IOS XE Release 16.x

• Upgrading from Cisco IOS Release 3.x to Cisco IOS Release 16.x is only supported with consolidated mode.
• Upgrading from Cisco IOS Release 3.x to to Cisco IOS Release 16.x using sub-package mode is not supported and vice-versa.
• Extracting the Cisco IOS XE Release 16.x image in Cisco IOS XE Release 3.x is not supported, and vice versa.

Upgrading from Cisco IOS XE Release 3.x to Cisco IOS XE 16.x

Note: A full upgrade procedure may require reloading the system repeatedly (around two times). Use the show version command, after each reload to verify the image version and license level.

Before you begin

• Download the Cisco IOS XE 16.x image from Cisco.com.

Note: Cisco IOS XE Release 16.5.1 and onwards is supported.

• Download the ROMMON release from Cisco.com.

Note: The sytem automatically reboot twice, on a FGPA upgrade.

Step 1 Backup the running configuration.

Example:

Router# copy running-config bootflash: demo.cfg
Destination filename (demo.cfg]?
1834 bytes copied in 0.112 secs (16375 bytes/sec)

Step 2 Upgrade the ROMMON image.

Example:

Router# upgrade rom-monitor filename bootflash:<rommon-file-name>.pkg all
Upgrade rom-monitor on Router-Processor 0
Target copying rom-monitor image file
ROMMON upgrade complete
To make the new ROMMON permanent, you must restart the linecard
Router# reload <-- Reloads the active router processor and boot the IOS 3.x image
Router# show platform
Slot CPLD Version Firmware Version
RO 16040627 15.6(14r) S --- Rommon version depends on the type of system
R1 16112128 15.6(14r)S
FO 16040627 15.6(14r)S
F1 16112128 15.6(14r)S

Step 3 Install the IOS XE 16.x universal image, save the configuration, and reload the device.

Example:

Router# configure terminal
Router(config)# no boot system bootflash:previous_image.bin <-- Removes the previous boot statement
Router(config)# boot system bootflash: 16.x-universal-image.bin <-- Adds the new boot statement
Router (config)# end
Router# write
Building configuration....
[OK]
Router# reload <-- Reload the active router processor and boot the IOS XE 16.x Universal image

Step 4 Restore the backup configuration to the running configuration.

Example:

Router# copy bootflash:demo.cfg running-config
Destination filename (running-config]?
Router# config terminal
Router(config)# no boot system bootflash:previous_image.bin <-- Removes the previous boot statement
Router (config)# end
Router# write
Building configuration....
[OK]

Secure SD Card Configuration

Table 4: Feature History

Effective with Cisco IOS XE Bengaluru Release 17.4.1, use the platform secure-cfg command to provide enhanced security to the routers. When you enable the command, the router does not boot if the SD card is replaced, swapped, or modified externally. Thus, you cannot format the SD card externally and this prevents the misuse of the router.

This feature is applicable on the Cisco ASR-920-24SZ-IM, Cisco ASR-920-24SZ-M, Cisco ASR-920-24TZ-M, Cisco ASR 920-10SZ-PD (OD), Cisco ASR-920-12CZ-A/ASR-920-12CZ-D, and Cisco ASR-920-4SZ-A/ASR-920-4SZ-D routers.

To enable the platform secure-cfg command:

Router#enable
Router#configure terminal
Router (conf) #platform secure-cfg
Router(conf)#end
Router# write memory

Use the following command to verify that the platform secure-cfg command is enabled.

Router#show running-config | i secure-cfg
platform secure-cfg

Chapter 4: Upgrading the ROMMON

Table 5: Feature History

Starting with Cisco IOS XE Bengaluru release 17.5.1, after primary ROMMON version is auto upgraded, secondary ROMMON version auto upgrade process takes place. The secondary ROMMON upgrade is only completed during the next planned manual reload of the router.

Note: If the secondary ROMMON version is lesser than that of the primary ROMMON version, the secondary ROMMON gets auto upgraded.

The router has two ROMMON regions (ROM0 and ROM1). We recommend that the upgrade is performed on both the regions.

Caution: To avoid actions that might make your system unable to boot, read this entire section before starting the upgrade.

1. Check the booted ROMMON region (ROM0 or ROM1). The example, shows an ASR920 device booting up from ROMO region.

Example:

System Bootstrap, Version 15.6(32r)S, RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc1)
Technical Support: http://www.cisco.com/techsupport
Copyright (c) 2018 by cisco Systems, Inc.
Compiled Thu 30-Aug-18 06:23 by pallavik
*Upgrade in progress* Boot ROM1
Last reset cause: RSP-Board
Rommon upgrade requested
Flash upgrade reset 1 in progress
link status 0

2. Copy the ROMMON pkg file asr920_15_6_43r_s_rommon.pkg to the bootflash on the Cisco ASR 920 router.

3. Use the upgrade rom-monitor filename asr920_15_6_43r_s_rommon.pkg all command to upgrade the version.

4. Reload the router and ensure device is booted from upgrade region ROM0.

Example:

System Bootstrap, Version 15.6(32r)S, RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc1)
Technical Support: http://www.cisco.com/techsupport
Copyright (c) 2018 by cisco Systems, Inc.
Compiled Thu 30-Aug-18 06:23 by pallavik
Boot ROM1
Last reset cause: RSP-Board
Rommon upgrade requested
Flash upgrade reset 1 in progress
System Bootstrap, Version 15.6(43r)S, RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc1)
Technical Support: http://www.cisco.com/techsupport
Copyright (c) 2020 by cisco Systems, Inc.
Compiled Tue 19-May-20 22:55 by pallavik
*Upgrade in progress* Boot ROMO
Last reset cause: BootRomUpgrade
link status 0
link status 0
UEA platform with 3670016 Kbytes of main memory
We're coming up from a flash upgrade reset cookie
rommon 1 >

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 to update the other region on the Cisco ASR920 router (ROM1) region in this procedure.

Note: We recommend you to upgrade that both ROM0 and ROM1 regions.

Starting with Cisco IOS XE Amsterdam 17.3.1 and higher, secondary partition upgrade is performed only after loading version 17.3.1 or higher.

• Example: Verifying ROMMON Upgrade on the ASR-920-12SZ-IM, on page 16
• Example: Verifying ROMMON Upgrade on the ASR-920-12CZ-A, on page 17
• Auto Upgrade, on page 18

Example: Verifying ROMMON Upgrade on the ASR-920-12SZ-IM

Use the show platform command to verify the ROMMON upgrade.

Router# show platform
Chassis type: ASR-920-12SZ-IM
Slot Type State Insert time (ago)
0/0 12xGE-4x10GE-FIXED ok 00:06:26
RO ASR-920-12SZ-IM ok, active 00:10:31
FO ok, active 00:10:31
PO ASR920-PSUO N/A never
P1 ASR920-PSU1 ok 00:06:50
P2 ASR920-FAN ok 00:06:29
Slot CPLD Version Firmware Version
RO 16112910 15.6(16r)S
FO 16112910 15.6(16r)S

Example: Verifying ROMMON Upgrade on the ASR-920-12CZ-A

Use the show platform command to verify the ROMMON upgrade.

Router# show platform
Chassis type: ASR-920-12CZ-A
Slot Type State Insert time (ago)
0/0 12xGE-2x10GE-FIXED ok 00:33:22
RO ASR-920-12CZ-A ok, active 00:39:10
FO ok, active 00:39:10
PO ASR920-PSUO ok never
P1 ASR920-PSU1 ps, fail never
P2 ASR920-FAN ok never
Slot CPLD Version Firmware Version
RO 161123EE 15.6(17r) S
FO 161123EE 15.6(17r) S

Chapter 5: Upgrading Firmware of the Power Supply Monitoring Device

Table 7: Feature History

Starting with Cisco IOS XE Bengaluru 17.6.1, you can manually upgrade the firmware of the power supply monitoring device in a router. The firmware upgrade reduces unplanned hardware-related downtime caused by input voltage transients during a power outage.

• Supported Platforms, on page 21
• Restrictions for Upgrading the Firmware, on page 22
• Upgrading the Firmware Manually, on page 22

Supported Platforms

Table 8: Feature History

Starting with Cisco IOS XE Cupertino Release 17.9.1, firmware upgrade is supported on the following routers:

• ASR 920-10SZ-PD
• ASR-920-24SZ-IM
• ASR-920-24SZ-M
• ASR-920-24TZ-M

The firmware upgrade reduces unplanned hardware-related downtime caused by input voltage transients during a power outage.

• ASR-920-12CZ-D
• ASR-920-4SZ-D
• ASR-920-12SZ-IM and ASR-920-12SZ-IM-CC using ASR-920-PWR-D power supply

Restrictions for Upgrading the Firmware

• Automatic firmware upgrade is not supported, you must upgrade it manually.
• For the upgrade to take effect, the router reboots automatically, which results in a service interruption for a few minutes.

Caution: Ensure that there's a stable power supply during the firmware upgrade. This mitigates any unplanned hardware-related downtime in a router.

Upgrading the Firmware Manually

To upgrade the firmware, you should perform the following steps:

Step 1 Execute the show upgrade hw-programmable command to display the current firmware version.

Example:

Router#show upgrade hw-programmable adm 0 firmware-version
Hw-programmable ADM Firmware Versions
version [0]
0
version [1]
1
version [2]
0

Step 2 Execute the upgrade hw-programmable command to upgrade the firmware.

Example:

Router#upgrade hw-programmable adm 0
*Jan 27 06:47:45.760: %IOSXE-3-PLATFORM: F0: cmand: ADM1066 f/w upgrade,
*Jan 27 06:47:45.764: %IOSXE-3-PLATFORM: FO: cmand: ADM1066 CONF EEPROM erase,
*Jan 27 06:47:46.312: %IOSXE-3-PLATFORM: F0: cmand: ADM1066 CONF EEPROM program,
*Jan 27 06:47:47.089: %IOSXE-3-PLATFORM: F0: cmand: ADM1066 CONF EEPROM verify,
Jan 27 06:47:47.546: %IOSXE-3-PLATFORM: F0: cmand: ADM1066 CONF EEPROM verify done,

Step 3 Execute the show upgrade hw-programmable command to verify the upgrade.

Example:

Router#show upgrade hw-programmable adm 0 firmware-version
Hw-programmable ADM Firmware Versions
version[0]
0
version [1]
1
version [2]
1
Note:
• For Cisco ASR-920-12SZ-IM and ASR-920-12SZ-IM-CC, the current firmware version is 0.1.0 and the upgraded version is 0.1.1.
• For Cisco ASR-920-12CZ-D and ASR-920-4SZ-D, the current firmware version is 0.0.7 and the upgraded version is 0.1.0.

Auto Upgrade

Table 6: Feature History

The ROMMON image upgrade from Cisco IOS XE Release 3.x to Cisco IOS XE Everest Release 16.5.1 is not mandatory. We recommend a ROMMON upgrade for effective utilization of the new features delivered in Cisco IOS XE Everest 16.5.1 and later releases.

We recommend you to reload the router two times for successful ROMMON and software image upgrade.

You cannot expand the Cisco IOS XE Release 16.x image into the Cisco IOS XE Release 3.x images. The bin. file may be used to reload the image.

Before installing the Cisco IOS XE Amsterdam Release 17.3.1, you must upgrade the ROMMON to version 15_6_43r_s or higher to avoid bootup failure. This is applicable to Cisco ASR-920-12SZ-IM, Cisco ASR-920U-12SZ-IM, and Cisco ASR-920U-12SZ-IM-CC. For Cisco ASR-920-12SZ-A and Cisco ASR-920-12SZ-D, Cisco IOS XE Amsterdam Release 17.3.1 has to be installed in sub packages mode. Booting in sub package mode takes care of auto upgrade to ROMMON version 15_6_43r_s on bootup. This workaround is not applicable to devices installed with ROMMON version 15.6(9r)S.

For Cisco IOS XE Amsterdam Release 17.3.x, a minimum diskspace of 2 MB is required in the boot flash memory file system for a successful ROMMON auto upgrade process. For a diskspace lesser than 2 MB, ROMMON auto upgrade fails and the router reboots.

For Cisco IOS XE Amsterdam Release 17.3.x, Cisco IOS XE Bengaluru Release 17.4.x, and earlier, the secondary ROMMON partition is not auto upgraded. You must manually upgrade it using the upgrade rom-mon filename command.

Secure ROMMON is supported from Cisco IOS XE Amsterdam Release 17.3.1 onwards. However, it is compatible with all the releases.

Any future secure ROMMON upgrade or downgrade is only possible from Cisco IOS XE Amsterdam Release 17.3.1 onwards.

Starting with Cisco IOS XE Bengaluru Release 17.4.1, Cisco ASR-920-24SZ-IM, Cisco ASR-920-24SZ-M, Cisco ASR-920-24TZ-M, Cisco ASR 920-10SZ-PD, Cisco ASR-920-12CZ-A/ASR-920-12CZ-D, Cisco ASR-920-4SZ-A/ASR-920-4SZ-D, and Cisco ASR-920-20SZ-M routers are auto upgraded to ROMMON version 15_6_44r_s.

Starting with ROMMON release version 15.6(43r)S, ROMMON version is secure. Once the ROMMON version is upgraded, it cannot be downgraded to a non-secure ROMMON version.

Starting with Cisco IOS XE Bengaluru Release 17.5.1, secondary ROMMON partition is also auto upgraded after a successful primary ROMMON partition upgrade is complete. You can reload the router at the next planned reload to complete the secondary ROMMON upgrade.

Note: If the secondary ROMMON version is lesser than that of the primary ROMMON version, the secondary ROMMON gets auto upgraded.

Any non-secure FPGA bundled releases moving to Cisco IOS XE Bengaluru Release 17.3.x or future releases can result in an FPGA upgrade and a ROMMON upgrade. If FPGA upgrade happens parallely with the ROMMON upgrade, you can only expect a single reload. If FPGA upgrade gets delayed and happens post ROMMON upgrade, two reloads are expected to complete both the upgrade processes. This is followed by a successful bootup of the target release image.

However, starting with Cisco IOS XE Bengaluru Release 17.5.1, Cisco ASR-920-12SZ-IM, Cisco ASR-920U-12SZ-IM, Cisco ASR-920U-12SZ-IM-CC, Cisco ASR-920-12SZ-A and Cisco ASR-920-12SZ-D, ROMMON and FPGA upgrade are synchronized to happen in a single reload.