Cisco NCS5500

IOS-XR Release 7.3.2

IOS-XR System Upgrade

Procedure
Table of Contents
1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 3
1.1 Purpose, Scope and Audience ............................................................................................ 3
1.2 Upgrade/downgrade Matrix .............................................................................................. 3
1.3 Summary of Upgrade Steps ............................................................................................... 4
1.4 Cisco Software Manager.................................................................................................... 4
1.5 Mandatory SMUs ............................................................................................................. 5
1.6 Packages for Upgrade ....................................................................................................... 5
1.7 Required Package files ...................................................................................................... 6
2 Pre-Upgrade Task................................................................................................................. 7
2.1 Configuration Backup ....................................................................................................... 7
2.2 System Stability check ...................................................................................................... 7
2.3 Cost out IGP:.................................................................................................................... 8
2.4 Enable auto-fpd upgrade:.................................................................................................. 8
2.5 Disk Cleanup:................................................................................................................... 8
3 Software Upgrade ...............................................................................................................10
4 Post Upgrade Tasks .............................................................................................................18
5 Other Boot Options (GISO/IPXE/USB) ..................................................................................19
6 FPD Upgrade .......................................................................................................................20
7 Downgrade from 7.3.2 IOS XR Release ................................................................................21
7.1 Post Downgrade Tasks .....................................................................................................21
8 Caveats ...............................................................................................................................23
1 Introduction

1.1 Purpose, Scope and Audience

The purpose of this document is to describe the upgrade and downgrade procedure for the
Cisco NCS 5500 Series Network Convergence System Router, Release 7.3.2

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

1) Simple one command install upgrade process & detailed IOS XR install upgrade process
2) Other Boot Options
3) FPD upgrade
4) Caveats and CLI changes

1.2 Upgrade/downgrade Matrix

Single Step Upgrade/Downgrade is supported for following releases:
Platform Supported From To
NCS5500 Fixed + Modular 7.x.x (7.0.1,7.0.2, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 7.3.2
Chassis 7.2.1, 7.2.2,7.3.1)

For older releases, it is recommended to first upgrade to one of the supported releases and
then move to the target release. Following link can be used to download the upgrade document
for 7.0.2 release (File name: NCS5500-docs-7.0.2.tar):
https://software.cisco.com/download/home/286291132/type/280805694/release/7.0.2
1.3 Summary of Upgrade Steps
1. Any of the below methods can be used for upgrade.

Method A:
• Add the image to the router using install add source <source remote
location or local directory> <packages>
• Install prepare and install activate the software

Method B:
• Use single command upgrade: install source <source remote
location or local directory> <packages>

Method C:
• Use single command upgrade: install replace <source remote
location or local directory>/<giso> noprompt commit

This document covers Method A and Method B.

2. Release 7.3.2 introduces the following new PIDs:

a. NC57-36H6D-S
b. QDD-400G-ZRP-S
3. Following cards will not be supported from release 7.3.2:
a. N/A

1.4 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 Documentation
1.5 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

Upgrade SMUs Downgrade SMUs
R7.0.x CSCvv35484 N/A
R7.1.x CSCvv35484 N/A
R7.2.x CSCvv35484 N/A

**Note: install add using tar file may fail with 7.x.x release (except 7.2.2). Bridge SMU
for CSCvv35484 can be used to avoid this issue

1.6 Packages for Upgrade

Following files are available to download for various boot options:

Table 2: IOS-XR Software files available for download

# File Contents Comment

NCS5500-iosxr-
1 NCS 5500 IOS XR Software Contains all rpms except k9sec
7.3.2.tar

NCS5500-iosxr-k9-
2 NCS 5500 IOS XR Software 3DES Contains all rpms including k9sec
7.3.2.tar

ncs5500-usb_boot-
3 NCS 5500 IOS XR Software Contains USB Boot Package
7.3.2.zip

NCS5500-docs-
4 NCS5500 IOS XR Documentation Contains all documentation
7.3.2.tar
1.7 Required Package files
Mini ISO Package is mandatory to perform the System Upgrade and upgrade needs to be done
from XR VM. Additional XR packages listed below are needed depending on the router
configuration and required features:

Description Package Name

Boot Image ncs5500-mini-x-7.3.2.iso [Boot image]
mpls ncs5500-mpls-2.1.0.0-r732.x86_64.rpm
mpls-rsvp-te ncs5500-mpls-te-rsvp-3.1.0.0-r732.x86_64.rpm
multicast ncs5500-mcast-3.0.0.0-r732.x86_64.rpm
ospf ncs5500-ospf-3.0.0.0-r732.x86_64.rpm
isis ncs5500-isis-2.1.0.0-r732.x86_64.rpm
eigrp ncs5500-eigrp-1.0.0.0-r732.x86_64.rpm
li ncs5500-li-1.0.0.0-r732.x86_ 64.rpm
k9sec ncs5500-k9sec-3.2.0.0-r732.x86_64.rpm
mgbl ncs5500-mgbl-3.0.0.0-r732.x86_64.rpm
2 Pre-Upgrade Task
Note: Config backup, precheck, Image download, tar file copy to router and install
add are hitless operation and can be done outside of MW.

2.1 Configuration Backup

• Copy the running-configuration to a harddisk: on the router.
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:55XX# copy running-config harddisk:/running_config

• Copy the running-configuration to a remote scp server

RP/0/RP0/CPU0:55XX#scp harddisk:/<file name>
root@10.1.1.1:/auto/config/.

2.2 System Stability check

• The following commands should be executed to verify basic system stability before the
upgrade. At the XR prompt:
show platform verif y that all nodes are in "IOS XR RUN/OPERATIONAL" state
show platform vm verif y that all nodes are in "FINAL Band" state
show redundancy verif y that a Standby RP is available and the system is in "NSR-
ready" state
show ipv4 interface brief verif y that all necessary interfaces are "UP"
<or>
show ipv6 interface brief
<or>
show interface summary
show install active verif y that the proper set of packages are active
admin show install active verif y on sysadmin plane

show install committed verif y that the proper set of committed packages are same as active.
If not, execute ‘install commit’
cf s check/clear verif y/fix configuration file system
conf iguration
inconsistency
show hw-module fpd Ensure all the FPD versions status are CURRENT
Please ref er to “Field Programmable Versions Document” for FPD
version information.

show alarms Shows any outstanding alarms in system

admin show environment Shows temperature, Fan, Voltage, Power status
all
 admin show led Shows LED status
show media (both XR and Shows the disk usage in XR and admin state
Admin mode)
show inventory Shows chassis inventory information
show logging Capture show logging to check for any errors

2.3 Cost out IGP:

Cost-out IGP: To minimize traffic loss during the upgrade please follow below steps:
For OSPF use “max-metric” command.
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:55XX(config-ospf)# max-metric router-lsa

For ISIS use “spf-overload-bit” command.

RP/0/RP0/CPU0:55XX(config-isis)# set-overload-bit

2.4 Enable auto-fpd upgrade:

Enable auto FPD auto upgrade from XR and Sysadmin.
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:55XX(config)#fpd auto-upgrade enable
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:55XX(config)#commit

2.5 Disk Cleanup:

Check available space in install repository. At least 2GB of free space is required to perform
System upgrade. If copying the packages and SMU’s to the harddisk ensure 50% free space
on the harddisk. Check in Both XR and admin plane

XR:
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:55XX# show media location 0/RP0/CPU0
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:55XX# show media location 0/RP1/CPU0

Admin:
sysadmin-vm:0_RP0# show media location 0/RP0
sysadmin-vm:0_RP0# show media location 0/RP1

Check inactive packages and remove them before upgrading in XR and Admin plane.

XR:
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:55XX#install remove inactive all
Admin:
sysadmin-vm:0_RP0# install remove inactive

Check and delete core files and any other files which are not required in harddisk in XR and
admin plane

XR:
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:55XX#run
[xr-vm_node0_RP0_CPU0:~]$cd /misc/disk1
[xr-vm_node0_RP0_CPU0:/misc/disk1]$rm *core*

Admin:
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:55XX#admin
sysadmin-vm:0_RP0# run
[sysadmin-vm:0_RP0:~]$ cd /misc/disk1
[sysadmin-vm:0_RP0:~]$ rm *core*
3 Software Upgrade

All System Upgrade related install operations should be done in the XR VM plane. The optional
packages (mpls, mcast, mgbl etc.) that are being installed/upgraded must match the active
packages, else the install will fail. Two methods are explained below for software upgrade
procedure.

A] Install add/activate method:

• Download 7.3.2 image from CCO.

Copy tar file to scp server. Verify the contents of the tar file.

• Copy the 7.3.2 tar file to the router harddisk and verify that file is copied successfully
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:55XX#scp root@10.1.1.1://auto/<image file> /misc/disk1/.

RP/0/RP0/CPU0:PE7#scp prpothul@172.16.1.1:/auto/tftp-
gud/sit/732/NCS5500-iosxr-k9-7.3.2.tar harddisk:/
Tue Oct 12 21:30:42.541 PDT
Connecting to 172.16.1.1...
Password:
Transferred 2037114880 Bytes
2037114880 bytes copied in 198 sec (10241595)bytes/sec

• Verify the md5 checksum of the tar/individual rpms with the original MD5 values on
CCO
[xr-vm_node0_RP0_CPU0:/harddisk:]$md5sum NCS5500-iosxr-k9-7.3.2.tar

[xr-vm_node0_RP0_CPU0:/harddisk:]$md5sum NCS5500-iosxr-k9-7.3.2.tar
676e2949d976b00d1e5b43ae319bfdd6 NCS5500-iosxr-k9-7.3.2.tar

• Perform ‘install add’ of NCS5500-iosxr-k9-7.3.2.tar file:

RP/0/RP0/CPU0:55XX#install add source harddisk:/ NCS5500-iosxr-k9-
7.3.2.tar

RP/0/RP0/CPU0:PE7#install add source harddisk:/ NCS5500-iosxr-k9-

7.3.2.tar
Tue Oct 12 21:50:42.541 PDT
Oct 12 21:50:42 Install operation 447 started by root:
install add source harddisk:/ NCS5500-iosxr-k9-7.3.2.tar
Oct 12 21:50:43 Install operation will continue in the background

• Take a note of the install operation id generated by the add operation in previous step
Install operation id# 447 finished successfully
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:PE7#Oct 12 21:54:42 Install operation 447 finished
successfully

• Add recommended SMUs for 7.3.2 if not already in initial tarball (optional)
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:55XX#install add source harddisk: <mandatory SMU tar
file>

N/A

• Take a note of the install operation id generated by the add operation in previous step
Install operation id# 448 finished successfully

• Prepare the packages added before

RP/0/RP0/CPU0:55XX#install prepare id 447

RP/0/RP0/CPU0:PE7#install prepare id 447

Tue Oct 12 21:56:47.541 PDT
Oct 12 21:56:47 Install operation 448 started by root:
install prepare id 447
2021-10-12 21:57:00:: Package list:
2021-10-12 21:57:00:: ncs5500-k9sec-3.2.0.0-r732.x86_64
2021-10-12 21:57:00:: ncs5500-isis-2.1.0.0-r732.x86_64
2021-10-12 21:57:00:: ncs5500-eigrp-1.0.0.0-r732.x86_64
2021-10-12 21:57:00:: ncs5500-mpls-2.1.0.0-r732.x86_64
2021-10-12 21:57:00:: ncs5500-li-1.0.0.0-r732.x86_64
2021-10-12 21:57:00:: ncs5500-mgbl-3.0.0.0-r732.x86_64
2021-10-12 21:57:00:: ncs5500-mcast-3.0.0.0-r732.x86_64
2021-10-12 21:57:00:: ncs5500-mpls-te-rsvp-3.1.0.0-
r732.x86_64
2021-10-12 21:57:00:: ncs5500-ospf-3.0.0.0-r732.x86_64
2021-10-12 21:57:00:: ncs5500-mini-x-7.3.2
2021-10-12 21:57:00:: Install operation will continue in the
background
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:PE7#

Or (if SMU was added)

RP/0/RP0/CPU0:55XX#install prepare id 447 448

• Activate all the packages

RP/0/RP0/CPU0:55XX#install activate

RP/0/RP0/CPU0:PE7#install activate
Tue Oct 12 22:02:48.667 PDT
Oct 12 22:02:48 Install operation 449 started by root:
install activate
 This install operation will reload the system, continue?
[yes/no]:[yes] yes
Oct 12 22:02:51 Install operation will continue in the background

RP/0/RP0/CPU0:PE7# Oct 12 22:09:04 Install operation 449 finished

successfully

• Router will reload at the end of activation to start using the new packages.

This operation may take up to 30 minutes to complete.

• Verify that all the packages are installed correctly in XR and SysAdmin
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:55xx#show install active summary
Label : 7.3.2

Active Packages: 10
ncs5500-xr-7.3.2 version=7.3.2 [Boot image]
ncs5500-mpls-2.1.0.0-r732
ncs5500-mpls-te-rsvp-3.1.0.0-r732
ncs5500-isis-2.1.0.0-r732
ncs5500-li-1.0.0.0-r732
ncs5500-ospf-3.0.0.0-r732
ncs5500-eigrp-1.0.0.0-r732
ncs5500-mcast-3.0.0.0-r732
ncs5500-mgbl-3.0.0.0-r732
ncs5500-k9sec-3.2.0.0-r732

sysadmin-vm:0_RP0# show install active summary

Wed Oct 13 19:20:18.401 UTC+00:00
Active Packages: 1
ncs5500-sysadmin-7.3.2 version=7.3.2 [Boot image]

sysadmin-vm:0_RP0#
• Verify system stability through commands described under Check System Stability
section (2.2) after router comes up with new software

• Verify show version to check router is upgraded.

RP/0/RP0/CPU0:55xx#show version
Tue Oct 12 22:40:49.918 PDT
Cisco IOS XR Software, Version 7.3.2
Copyright (c) 2013-2021 by Cisco Systems, Inc.

Build Information:
Built By : ingunawa
Built On : Sun Oct 10 05:03:53 PDT 2021
Built Host : iox-ucs-023
Workspace : /auto/iox-ucs-023-san2/prod/7.3.2/ncs5500/ws
 Version : 7.3.2
Location : /opt/cisco/XR/packages/
Label : 7.3.2

cisco NCS-5500 () processor

System uptime is 30 minutes

• Check to see if there were any failed startup configurations.

RP/0/RP0/CPU0:PE7#show configuration failed startup

Mon Feb 26 14:03:54.914 PDT
!!18:43:54 UTC Fri Feb 26 2021

• Execute ‘install commit’ to commit the newly active software (install commit is required
after any install activate operation else after router reload, nodes will go back to
previously committed software)
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:55XX#install commit

B] Single command upgrade method:

More information on this method can be found at below link :

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/iosxr/ncs5500/system-setup/73x/b-system-setup-cg-
ncs5500-73x/manage-automatic-dependency.html

• Download 7.3.2 image from CCO.

Copy tar file to scp server. Verify the contents of the tar file.

• Verify the md5 checksum of the tar/individual rpms with the original MD5 values on
CCO.

• Untar the downloaded NCS5500-iosxr-k9-7.3.2.tar file on remote server. Create

image folder in router /harddisk:/. Copy iso and rpms from server to router.

[xr-vm_node0_RP0_CPU0:/harddisk:/image]$ls -ltr
ncs5500-mini-x-7.3.2.iso
ncs5500-eigrp-1.0.0.0-r732.x86_64.rpm
ncs5500-isis-2.1.0.0-r732.x86_64.rpm
ncs5500-k9sec-3.2.0.0-r732.x86_64.rpm
ncs5500-li-1.0.0.0-r732.x86_64.rpm
ncs5500-mcast-3.0.0.0-r732.x86_64.rpm
 ncs5500-mgbl-3.0.0.0-r732.x86_64.rpm
ncs5500-mpls-2.1.0.0-r732.x86_64.rpm
ncs5500-mpls-te-rsvp-3.1.0.0-r732.x86_64.rpm
ncs5500-ospf-3.0.0.0-r732.x86_64.rpm
[xr-vm_node0_RP0_CPU0:/harddisk:/image]$

• Execute single command to upgrade

RP/0/RP0/CPU0:55xx#install source /harddisk:/image/ ncs5500-mini-x-
7.3.2.iso noprompt
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++
2021-10-11 17:46:37 Install operation 175 started by root:
2021-10-11 17:46:37 install source /harddisk:/image/ ncs5500-mini-x-
7.3.2.iso noprompt
2021-10-11 17:46:37 No install operation in progress at this moment
2021-10-11 17:46:37 Checking system is ready for install operation
2021-10-11 17:46:39 'install source' in progress
2021-10-11 17:46:39 ISO ncs5500-mini-x-7.3.2.iso in input package list.
Going to upgrade the system to version 7.3.2.
2021-10-11 17:46:40 Scheme : localdisk
2021-10-11 17:46:40 Hostname : localhost
2021-10-11 17:46:40 Username : None
2021-10-11 17:46:40 SourceDir : /harddisk:/image/
2021-10-11 17:46:40 Collecting software state..
2021-10-11 17:46:40 Getting platform
2021-10-11 17:46:40 Getting supported architecture
2021-10-11 17:46:40 Getting active packages from XR
2021-10-11 17:46:40 Getting inactive packages from XR
2021-10-11 17:46:43 Getting list of RPMs in local repo
2021-10-11 17:46:45 Getting list of provides of all active packages
2021-10-11 17:46:45 Getting provides of each rpm in repo
2021-10-11 17:46:45 Getting requires of each rpm in repo
2021-10-11 17:46:45 Fetching .... ncs5500-mgbl-3.0.0.0-r732.x86_64.rpm
2021-10-11 17:46:45 Fetching .... ncs5500-li-1.0.0.0-r732.x86_64.rpm
2021-10-11 17:46:45 Fetching .... ncs5500-eigrp-1.0.0.0-r732.x86_64.rpm

2021-10-11 17:46:45 Fetching .... ncs5500-isis-2.1.0.0-r732.x86_64.rpm

2021-10-11 17:46:45 Fetching .... ncs5500-k9sec-3.2.0.0-r732.x86_64.rpm
2021-10-11 17:46:45 Fetching .... ncs5500-mpls-2.1.0.0-r732.x86_64.rpm
2021-10-11 17:46:45 Fetching .... ncs5500-mini-x-7.3.2.iso
2021-10-11 17:47:01 Fetching .... ncs5500-mcast-3.0.0.0-r732.x86_64.rpm
2021-10-11 17:47:01 Fetching .... ncs5500-ospf-3.0.0.0-r732.x86_64.rpm
2021-10-11 17:47:01 Fetching .... ncs5500-mpls-te-rsvp-3.1.0.0-
r732.x86_64.rpm
2021-10-11 17:47:02 Adding packages
ncs5500-mpls-te-rsvp-3.1.0.0-r732.x86_64.rpm
ncs5500-isis-2.1.0.0-r732.x86_64.rpm
 ncs5500-k9sec-3.2.0.0-r732.x86_64.rpm
ncs5500-mgbl-3.0.0.0-r732.x86_64.rpm
ncs5500-mcast-3.0.0.0-r732.x86_64.rpm
ncs5500-mini-x-7.3.2.iso
ncs5500-mpls-2.1.0.0-r732.x86_64.rpm
ncs5500-eigrp-1.0.0.0-r732.x86_64.rpm
ncs5500-ospf-3.0.0.0-r732.x86_64.rpm
ncs5500-li-1.0.0.0-r732.x86_64.rpm
2021-10-11 17:47:02 Allocated operation ID 176 for install add
2021-10-11 17:47:44 Activating ncs5500-li-1.0.0.0-r732 ncs5500-ospf-
3.0.0.0-r732 ncs5500-mpls-te-rsvp-3.1.0.0-r732 ncs5500-mpls-2.1.0.0-
r732 ncs5500-isis-2.1.0.0-r732 ncs5500-mgbl-3.0.0.0-r732 ncs5500-k9sec-
3.2.0.0-r732 ncs5500-mcast-3.0.0.0-r732 ncs5500-mini-x-7.3.2
2021-10-11 17:47:45 Optimized list to prepare after sanitizing input
list for superseded packages:
ncs5500-li-1.0.0.0-r732
ncs5500-ospf-3.0.0.0-r732
ncs5500-mpls-te-rsvp-3.1.0.0-r732
ncs5500-mpls-2.1.0.0-r732
ncs5500-isis-2.1.0.0-r732
ncs5500-mgbl-3.0.0.0-r732
ncs5500-eigrp-1.0.0.0-r732
ncs5500-k9sec-3.2.0.0-r732
ncs5500-mcast-3.0.0.0-r732
ncs5500-mini-x-7.3.2
2021-10-11 17:47:45 Package list:
2021-10-11 17:47:45 ncs5500-li-1.0.0.0-r732
2021-10-11 17:47:45 ncs5500-eigrp-1.0.0.0-r732
2021-10-11 17:47:45 ncs5500-ospf-3.0.0.0-r732
2021-10-11 17:47:45 ncs5500-mpls-te-rsvp-3.1.0.0-r732
2021-10-11 17:47:45 ncs5500-mpls-2.1.0.0-r732
2021-10-11 17:47:45 ncs5500-isis-2.1.0.0-r732
2021-10-11 17:47:45 ncs5500-mgbl-3.0.0.0-r732
2021-10-11 17:47:45 ncs5500-k9sec-3.2.0.0-r732
2021-10-11 17:47:45 ncs5500-mcast-3.0.0.0-r732
2021-10-11 17:47:45 ncs5500-mini-x-7.3.2
2021-10-11 17:47:45 Action 1: install prepare action started
2021-10-11 17:47:45 Triggering prepare operation.
This may take a while...
2021-10-11 17:53:03 Action 1: install prepare action completed
successfully
2021-10-11 17:53:17 Prepare operation completed. Trigger activate.
This may take a while...
2021-10-11 17:53:17 Prepare completed. Operation ID 175 will be taken
up for activate operation
2021-10-11 17:53:17 Activate operation ID is: 175 for 'install source'
ID:175
2021-10-11 17:53:19 Install operation 175 started by root:
install activate noprompt synchronous
 2021-10-11 17:53:20 Action 1: install activate action started
2021-10-11 17:53:20 The software will be activated with reload upgrade
2021-10-11 17:53:22 Following nodes are available for System Upgrade
activate:
2021-10-11 17:53:22 0/0 0/1 0/2 0/3 0/FC1 0/FC3 0/FC5 0/RP0 0/RP1
0/SC0 0/SC1
2021-10-11 17:55:42 Action 1: install activate action completed
successfully
2021-10-11 17:55:51 Install operation 175 finished successfully
2021-10-11 17:55:51 Ending operation 175
Connection to 1.74.18.22 closed by remote host.
Connection to 1.74.18.22 closed.
-bash-4.2$

• Router will reload at the end of activation to start using the new packages.

This operation may take up to 30 minutes to complete.

• Verify that all the packages are installed correctly in XR and SysAdmin
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:55xx#show install active summary
Label : 7.3.2

Active Packages: 10
ncs5500-xr-7.3.2 version=7.3.2 [Boot image]
ncs5500-mpls-2.1.0.0-r732
ncs5500-mpls-te-rsvp-3.1.0.0-r732
ncs5500-isis-2.1.0.0-r732
ncs5500-li-1.0.0.0-r732
ncs5500-ospf-3.0.0.0-r732
ncs5500-eigrp-1.0.0.0-r732
ncs5500-mcast-3.0.0.0-r732
ncs5500-mgbl-3.0.0.0-r732
ncs5500-k9sec-3.2.0.0-r732

sysadmin-vm:0_RP0# show install active summary

Wed Oct 13 19:20:18.401 UTC+00:00
Active Packages: 1
ncs5500-sysadmin-7.3.2 version=7.3.2 [Boot image]

sysadmin-vm:0_RP0#
• Verify system stability through commands described under Check System Stability
section (2.2) after router comes up with new software

• Verify show version to check router is upgraded.

RP/0/RP0/CPU0:55xx#show version
Tue Oct 12 22:40:49.918 PDT
Cisco IOS XR Software, Version 7.3.2
 Copyright (c) 2013-2021 by Cisco Systems, Inc.

Build Information:
Built By : ingunawa
Built On : Sun Oct 10 05:03:53 PDT 2021
Built Host : iox-ucs-023
Workspace : /auto/iox-ucs-023-san2/prod/7.3.2/ncs5500/ws
Version : 7.3.2
Location : /opt/cisco/XR/packages/
Label : 7.3.2

cisco NCS-5500 () processor

System uptime is 30 minutes

• Check to see if there were any failed startup configurations.

RP/0/RP0/CPU0:55xx#show configuration failed startup

Wed Oct 13 19:20:18.914 PDT

• Execute ‘install commit’ to commit the newly active software (install commit is required
after any install activate operation else after router reload, nodes will go back to
previously committed software)
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:55XX#install commit
4 Post Upgrade Tasks

• Disk cleanup: Once software upgrade has been completed, disk space can be recovered by
removing any inactive packages that are no longer needed (if the packages are required at a
later time, they can be re-added):

RP/0/RP0/CPU0:55XX#install remove inactive all

• Verify/fix configuration file system (mandatory):

RP/0/RP0/CPU0:55XX#cfs check

• Verify fpd versions running are current:

RP/0/RP0/CPU0:55XX#show hw-module fpd

• Restore IGP metric if changed before the upgrade (this is done from xr vm)

OSPF
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:55XX# (config-ospf)# no max-metric router-lsa

ISIS
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:55XX# (config-isis)# no set-overload-bit
5 Other Boot Options (GISO/IPXE/USB)

Please refer to https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/iosxr/ncs5500/system-setup/73x/b-

system-setup-cg-ncs5500-73x.html for various boot options:

Router Bring up:

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/iosxr/ncs5500/system-setup/73x/b-system-setup-cg-
ncs5500-73x/bring-up-the-router.html

GISO:

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/iosxr/ncs5500/system-setup/73x/b-system-setup-cg-
ncs5500-73x/customize-installation-using-giso.html

IPXE and USB Boot option:

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/iosxr/ncs5500/system-setup/73x/b-system-setup-cg-
ncs5500-73x/perform-disaster-recovery.html
6 FPD Upgrade

Fpd auto-upgrade feature if configured on router should take care of fpd upgrade. Manual fpd
upgrade can be performed after 7.3.2 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/RP0/CPU0:router#upgrade hw-module location all fpd all

Auto-FPD requirements:

N/A
7 Downgrade from 7.3.2 IOS XR Release

Downgrade can be performed by following options.

1) Disable fpd auto-upgrade

Option 1: If install commit was not done post upgrade, a router reload will bring it back to
previous install committed image

Option 2: If downgrade image is part of inactive packages (the mini ISO is broken down into
individual ISOs (XR, sysadmin and host) ex – ncs5500-mini-x-7.3.2, ncs5500-xr-7.3.2

install remove ncs5500-mini-x-7.3.2 ( This will remove the mini as well as

individual ISOs ) and then install add *mini.iso” .

Install prepare, activate the packages along with iso.

Option 3: install add downgrade image iso +rpm, prepare and activate

Example:

install add source harddisk: <tar file>

install prepare id 10

install activate id 11 noprompt

Note: Please do refer the caveats for known anomalies.

7.1 Post Downgrade Tasks

• Disk cleanup: Once software upgrade has been completed, disk space can be recovered by
removing any inactive packages that are no longer needed (if the packages are required at a
later time, they can be re-added):

RP/0/RP0/CPU0:55XX#install remove inactive all

• Verify/fix configuration file system (mandatory):

RP/0/RP0/CPU0:55XX#cfs check
• Verify fpd versions running are current:

RP/0/RP0/CPU0:55XX#show hw-module fpd

• Restore IGP metric if changed before the upgrade (this is done from xr vm)

OSPF
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:55XX(config-ospf)# no max-metric router-lsa

ISIS
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:55XX(config-isis)# no set-overload-bit
8 Caveats

Software Upgrade from IOS-XR 6.6.x and older release to IOS-XR 7.3.2 release
Upgrade from IOS-XR 6.6.3 and older release to IOS-XR 7.3.2 release for NCS5501 and NCS5502
platforms may fail because of low free space in the install partition.

The recommendation is to first move to 7.x.x release and then upgrade to 7.3.2 release (if
upgrade is done using install add and activate).

Alternatively, GISO/iPXE upgrade can be used for upgrade.

Software Upgrade from IOS-XR 7.x.x to IOS-XR 7.3.2 release

Upgrade from IOS-XR 7.x.x release to IOS-XR 7.3.2 release for NCS5501 and NCS5502 platforms
may fail when using wildcard during activate, because of low free space in the install partition.

Optimized upgrade feature, to avoid the issue because of low free space in install partition,
helps to avoid NCS5501/NCS5502 upgrade issues from IOS-XR 7.x.x to IOS-XR 7.3.2 release. This
feature however is not available when install activate is done using wildcard (install activate pkg
*7.3.2* *732*).

install id or full package names can be used to avoid this issue.

Software Upgrade to IOS-XR 7.3.2 using tar file with "install add source <> <img.tar>"
"install add source <> img.tar" of IOS-XR 7.3.2 image fail for NCS5501 and
NCS5502 when using tar file to perform “install add”. This applies to IOS-XR 7.x.x except
IOS-XR 7.2.2

This issue can be avoided if “install add” is done with packages listed inline during “install
add”.
Alternatively, a Bridge SMU (DDTS id: CSCvv35484, planned for IOS-XR 7.0.2 and IOS-XR 7.1.2
release) can be used to perform install add when using tar files.