Cisco IOS-XE In-Service Software Upgrade Process

Cisco cBR-8 Routers support the In-Service Software Upgrades (ISSU) for redundant platforms.

Your software release may not support all the features that are documented in this module. For the latest feature information and caveats, see the release notes for your platform and software release. The Feature Information Table at the end of this document provides information about the documented features and lists the releases in which each feature is supported.

Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and Cisco software image support. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to http://tools.cisco.com/ITDIT/CFN/. An account on http://www.cisco.com/ is not required.

Contents

Hardware Compatibility Matrix for the Cisco cBR Series Routers


Note
The hardware components that are introduced in a given Cisco IOS-XE Release are supported in all subsequent releases unless otherwise specified.
Table 1. Hardware Compatibility Matrix for the Cisco cBR Series Routers

Cisco CMTS Platform

Processor Engine

Interface Cards

Cisco cBR-8 Converged Broadband Router

Cisco IOS-XE Release 16.5.1 and Later Releases

Cisco cBR-8 Supervisor:

  • PID—CBR-SUP-250G

  • PID—CBR-CCAP-SUP-160G

Cisco IOS-XE Release 16.5.1 and Later Releases

Cisco cBR-8 CCAP Line Cards:

  • PID—CBR-LC-8D30-16U30

  • PID—CBR-LC-8D31-16U30

  • PID—CBR-RF-PIC

  • PID—CBR-RF-PROT-PIC

  • PID—CBR-CCAP-LC-40G

  • PID—CBR-CCAP-LC-40G-R

  • PID—CBR-CCAP-LC-G2-R

  • PID—CBR-SUP-8X10G-PIC

  • PID—CBR-2X100G-PIC

Digital PICs:

  • PID—CBR-DPIC-8X10G

  • PID—CBR-DPIC-2X100G

Cisco cBR-8 Downstream PHY Module:

  • PID—CBR-D31-DS-MOD

Cisco cBR-8 Upstream PHY Modules:

  • PID—CBR-D31-US-MOD

Note

Do not use DPICs (8X10G and 2x100G) to forward IP traffic, as it may cause buffer exhaustion, leading to line card reload.

The only allowed traffic on a DPIC interface is DEPI, UEPI, and GCP traffic from the Cisco cBR-8 router to Remote PHY devices. Other traffic such as DHCP, SSH, and UTSC should flow via another router, since DPICs cannot be used for normal routing.

Information about In-Service Software Upgrade

Cisco cBR-8 Routers support the In-Service Software Upgrades (ISSU) for redundant platforms. The ISSU process allows software to be updated or otherwise modified while packet forwarding continues with the benefit of LCHA.

For the Cisco cBR Series Routers, ISSU-compatibility depends on the software subpackage being upgraded and the hardware configuration.

The specific procedures in this document represent supported and tested installation sequences. The Cisco IOS-XE system software allows other installation sequences for special purposes under the guidance of Cisco customer support representatives, but the steps in this document should be followed otherwise. These steps should be followed completely, as the Cisco cBR Series Routers are designed to run one version of Cisco IOS-XE on an SUP, and running subpackages from different versions of Cisco IOS-XE can cause unexpected router behavior.

How to Configure In-Service Software Upgrade

This section describes the configuration of the ISSU feature:

Configuring Subpackage Upgrade

Subpackages Upgrade

Subpackage upgrade allows a subset of the running software to be upgraded. It is intended for patching small and targeted fix instead of full image upgrade. Subpackage upgrade supports both single and dual SUP setup.

Single SUP Subpackages Upgrade
Before you begin

Be sure to complete the following prerequisites before running the ISSU process:

  • Config register autoboot enabled.
  • Target patch copied to active SUP in the same directory of the packages.conf file system is booted up with.
  • If needed copy patch info file to SUP.
  • Enough bootflash disk space on SUP.
Procedure
  Command or Action Purpose

Step 1

enable

Example:

Router> enable

Enables privileged EXEC mode.

  • Enter your password if prompted.

Step 2

request platform software package install rp rp-slot file bootflash:

Example:

Router# request platform software package install rp 1 file bootflash:cbrsup-universalk9.03.17.00.S.156-1.S-std.SPA.bin

Upgrades the cBR-8 router with one SUP using subpackages ISSU procedure.

Dual SUPs Subpackages Upgrade
Before you begin

Be sure to complete the following prerequisites before running the ISSU process:

  • Standby SUP must be in hot standby.
  • Config register autoboot enabled.
  • Both SUP in sub-package mode, running same base image and patches from same path.
  • Target patch copied to active SUP in the same directory of the packages.conf file system is booted up with.
  • If needed copy patch info file to both SUPs.
  • Enough bootflash disk space on both SUPs.
Procedure
  Command or Action Purpose

Step 1

enable

Example:

Router> enable

Enables privileged EXEC mode.

  • Enter your password if prompted.

Step 2

request platform software package install node file bootflash:

Example:

Router# request platform software package install node file bootflash:cbrsup-universalk9.03.17.00.S.156-1.S-std.SPA.bin

Upgrades the cBR-8 router with dual SUPs using subpackages ISSU procedure.

Line Card Only In-Service Software Upgrade

If the upgrade fails or you cancel manually at line card upgrade stage, you can initiate a line card only upgrade.

Use the request platform software package install node linecard-only command to upgrade only the line card to the same version as the one in the current active SUP, the customer can choose to upgrade one line card or all the line cards in the chassis.

Use this command together with the request platform software package install node file file-path noreload linecard command to upgrade SUP first, and then upgrade the line card.

Procedure

  Command or Action Purpose

Step 1

enable

Example:


Router> enable

Enables privileged EXEC mode.

Enter your password if prompted.

Step 2

request platform software package install node linecard-only

Example:


Router# request platform software package install node linecard-only all

Upgrade all line cards to the same version as the one in the current active SUP.

ISSU Upgrade Across Major Releases

Starting from Cisco IOS XE Fuji 16.7.1 release, ISSU can upgrade cbr-8 between major releases.

Procedure

Step 1

Copy the base image to active and standby SUPs. Copy the ISSU target image to active SUP.


copy <location>/<base_image> <location_active_sup> 
copy <location>/<base_image> <location_standby_sup> 
copy <location>/<target_image> <location_active_sup>

Step 2

Expand base image to both SUPs at the same folder.


request platform software package expand file <location_active_sup>/<base_image> 
request platform software package expand file <location_standby_sup>/<base_image>

Step 3

Config register for auto boot (eg) config-reg 0x2102.


config-register 0x2102 
boot system <location_active_sup>/packages.conf

Step 4

Save then reload router via subpackage mode.


reload

Step 5

After boot up, verify base image loaded using show version running and check more.

Step 6

Copy the target image to active SUP in the same location as before.


copy <location>/<target_image> <location_active_sup>

Step 7

Using Request command to do ISSU.

request platform software package install node file <location_active_sup>/<target_image>

ISSU Enhancements

Table 2. Feature History

Feature Name

Release Information

Feature Description

In-Service Software Upgrade (ISSU) Enhancements

Cisco IOS XE Dublin 17.15.1w

In-Service Software Upgrade (ISSU) is a process that upgrades an image to another image on a device while the network continues to forward packets.

With this release, the ISSU process is simplified and can be executed with a single command for ISSU upgrades. This is applicable for ISSU upgrades from Cisco IOS XE Dublin 17.15.1w to future Cisco IOS XE releases.

Note

 

An ISSU upgrade from previous Cisco IOS XE releases to Cisco IOS XE Dublin 17.15.1w is not supported.
In releases before Cisco IOS XE Dublin 17.15.1w, ISSU only supported the packages mode and the command is:
Router# request platform software package install node file <location>/<target_image.bin>
ISSU Upgrade Across Major Releases
Starting with Cisco IOS XE Dublin 17.15.1w, the command is upgraded to:
Router# install add file <location>/<target-image.bin> activate [issu] commit

This table shows the supported single or multiple step installations:

Table 3. Supported Installations

Multiple Step

Single Step

Install Non-ISSU

Bundle Boot Image

No

Yes

Package Boot Image

Yes

Yes

Install ISSU

Bundle Boot Image

No

Yes

Package Boot Image

Yes

Yes

Install ISSU patch

Bundle Boot Image

No

No

Package Boot Image

No

Yes

Install Non-ISSU

The install command can also support non-ISSU upgrade by reloading chassis.

Table 4. Install Non-ISSU

Releases Before Cisco IOS XE Dublin 17.15.1w

Cisco IOS XE Dublin 17.15.1w and Later

Configure these steps to upgrade the chassis with SubPackage mode without ISSU:

  1. Copy the base image to the location.

  2. Execute the following command:

    Router# request platform software package <location>/<target_image.bin>

  3. Modify the config-register and boot system configuration that points to the new package.conf.

  4. Reload the chassis.

Multiple-step and single step configuration is supported.

Multiple Step Configuration:

  1. # install add file <bin>
  2. # install activate

    A prompt to reload the system is displayed. Ensure that a response is provided before the 2 minute timeout.

  3. # install commit

Single-Step Configuration:

  1. install add file <harddisk:image.bin> activate commit

Install an ISSU Image

Install an ISSU Image using these steps:

Table 5. Install an ISSU Image

Releases Before Cisco IOS XE Dublin 17.15.1w

Cisco IOS XE Dublin 17.15.1w and Later

Configure this step to install ISSU:

request platform software package install node file <location>/<target_image.bin>

Multiple-step and single-step configuration is supported.

  1. # install add file <bin>
  2. # install activate issu
  3. # install commit

    Execute this command after SUPSO and all the linecard upgrades successfully.

  4. # install add file <harddisk: image.bin> activate issu

Single-Step Configuration:

  1. install add file <harddisk:image.bin> activate issu commit

Install an ISSU Patch File

Install an ISSU patch file using these steps:

Table 6. Install an ISSU Patch File

Releases Before Cisco IOS XE Dublin 17.15.1w

Cisco IOS XE Dublin 17.15.1w and Later

Configure this step to install ISSU:

request platform software package install node file <location>/<target_image.tar>

Only single-step configuration is supported.

  1. install add file  <patch.tar> activate issu commit

Install ISSU Abort

The abort timer can only be supported under multiple ISSU steps: After install activate command and before install commit.

The default abort timer is about 2 hours. If the install activate command is not issued, the abort timer expires and reverts the system back to the original state by reloading the chassis. You can execute the install abort-timer stop command to stop the abort timer in case you wants to stop the abort timer without committing it. This is a sample configuration: 

install activate issu auto-abort-timer time-in-seconds

Use the show install summary command to view a summary of the installed package information: including the auto abort timer: 

Router# show install summary
[ R0 R1 ] Installed Package(s) Information:
State (St): I - Inactive, U - Activated & Uncommitted,
            C - Activated & Committed, D - Deactivated & Uncommitted
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type  St   Filename/Version
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IMG   C    17.15.01.0.191540

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Auto abort timer: active , time before rollback - 00:07:16
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Install ISSU Rollback

After each ISSU, you get an ID for the upgrade: 

Router# show install rollback
Load for five secs: 4%/0%; one minute: 5%; five minutes: 5%
Time source is NTP, 15:39:10.484 CST Thu Dec 28 2023
ID      Label                            Description
-------------------------------------------------------
2       No Label                         No Description
1       No Label                         No Description

You can rollback to previous installation using the install rollback to id id-number command. It reloads the chassis to the image that specified: 

Router# install rollback to id 2
install_rollback: START Thu Dec 28 15:45:23 CST 2023
install_rollback: Rolling back to id 2

Additional References

The following sections provide references related to the ISSU feature.

Technical Assistance

Description

Link

The Cisco Support and Documentation website provides online resources to download documentation, software, and tools. Use these resources to install and configure the software and to troubleshoot and resolve technical issues with Cisco products and technologies. Access to most tools on the Cisco Support and Documentation website requires a Cisco.com user ID and password.

http://www.cisco.com/cisco/web/support/index.html

Feature Information for In-Service Software Upgrade

Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about the platform support and software image support. Cisco Feature Navigator enables you to determine which software images support a specific software release, feature set, or platform. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to the https://cfnng.cisco.com/ link. An account on the Cisco.com page is not required.


Note

The following table lists the software release in which a given feature is introduced. Unless noted otherwise, subsequent releases of that software release train also support that feature.

Table 7. Feature Information for ISSU

Feature Name

Releases

Feature Information

ISSU

Cisco IOS XE Fuji 16.7.1

This feature was integrated on the cisco cBR Series Converged Broadband Routers.