topic What is the Controller Boot Software for?? in Wireless

What is the Controller Boot Software for??

simonwynn — Sun, 04 Jul 2021 03:59:50 GMT

Quick question - I'm about tio upgrade our WLC 2106 to 7.0.220 - there are two files, one for the controller software and one for

Cisco Unified Wireless Network Controller Boot Software - what is the boot software for? Is this an emrgeny image?

I assume I just unstall both.

thanks,

Simon

What is the Controller Boot Software for??

Ven Taylor — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 18:31:43 GMT

Yes. It's an "emergency backup" image.

Do the regular software first, then reboot.

Once it comes up, upgrade the boot image.

Ven

What is the Controller Boot Software for??

George Stefanick — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 18:39:18 GMT

Ive been told by tac the emergency backup image is not needed.. Anyone from TAC here want to discuss or confirm this ?

What is the Controller Boot Software for??

Ven Taylor — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 18:40:49 GMT

I'm a big fan of the saying, "better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it".

Ven

What is the Controller Boot Software for??

Stephen Rodriguez — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 18:59:07 GMT

Not in TAC anymore, but....yes, you do need the ER image. This has bootloader fixes that enable the WLC to boot correctly. While not every release has a ER image for it, if there is one available for the train you are on, you should load it.

HTH,

Steve

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please remember to rate helpful posts or to mark the question as answered so that it can be found later.

What is the Controller Boot Software for??

George Stefanick — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 19:31:55 GMT

All my WLCs have it as well. But had more than 1 TAC engineer mention that, "egh no biggy if you dont have it" .. LOL

What is the Controller Boot Software for??

Stephen Rodriguez — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 21:30:55 GMT

well, not all ER have an actual bootloader update.

Before I left TAC I was trying to convince WNBU to bundle the latest bootloader with each ER image, and then run a check at installation to see if they needed to upgrade the bootloader or not.

This would save on loading multiple ER's to be on the latest BL. Not sure if anyone picked up my torch on that or not.

What is the Controller Boot Software for??

Leo Laohoo — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 21:39:09 GMT

I always upgrade the bootloader (ER).

What is the Controller Boot Software for??

Salil Prabhu — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 20:25:41 GMT

Hi,

Hope this helps :

ER.aes = contains your Bootloader, emergency kernel and emergency recovery image to run the Bootmenu which is when you press ESC key while the device is booting.

If you consider your PC, it is similar to what you have as BIOS.

.aes = contains main image code and AP images.

The reason we have two seperate files is a result of this old bug :

CSCsh32333 Crashes while saving bootloader to flash will disable the unit

If both images were bundled to single file then if we saw any issues during code upgrade hang/or crashes during bootup or post crash we pretty much have to RMA the device.

So by splitting the boot parameters the chances are reduced dramatically as BOOTLOADER is not updated regularly. Only WLC code gets updated. and any issues with code upgrade or WLC crashes, we can still recover without doing an RMA.

It is recommended to run latest ER.aes image for your device as the WLC code is based of that bootcode ..

Thanks..Salil

What is the Controller Boot Software for??

mchiaravalle_2 — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 19:24:45 GMT

HI,

So I'm planning to upgrade a standalone 5508 from 7.0.98 to 7.0.220, which I've already downloaded from cisco.com. The current Field Recovery Image or ER.aes? is 6.0.182. I didn't see any ER.aes images to download. The release notes for 7.0.220 mentions the following:

..."You cannot install the Cisco Unified Wireless Network Controller Boot Software 7.0.116.0ER.aes file on the Cisco 5500 Controller platform."

What ER should I install and where to get it?

Thanks for your time.

Michael

Re: What is the Controller Boot Software for??

Scott Fella — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 19:28:49 GMT

It’s for the boot loader the menu you see when you boot up the WLC. The boot software is included in the image if it requires one.

If you look at the other platforms like the 4404, 4402, etc. you will see an ER image for thoses ex. AIR-WLC4400-K9-7-0-220-0-ER.aes

What is the Controller Boot Software for??

Leo Laohoo — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 21:26:30 GMT

The 5508 doesn't have a bootstrap yet.

What is the Controller Boot Software for??

mchiaravalle_2 — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 22:32:35 GMT

Thanks leolaohoo and Scott! Do I need to be concerned at all with updating the Field Recovery Image?

Thanks again.

Re: What is the Controller Boot Software for??

Scott Fella — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 22:36:49 GMT

No... You will be fine. I'm running that code on a some of my newer installs.

Sent from my iPhone

What is the Controller Boot Software for??

Leo Laohoo — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 23:14:09 GMT

Hey Scott,

Cisco Aironet 3600 Series Access Point

Re: What is the Controller Boot Software for??

Scott Fella — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 23:17:24 GMT

Did it just come out today?

Sent from Cisco Technical Support iPhone App

Re: What is the Controller Boot Software for??

Leo Laohoo — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 23:20:01 GMT

Did it just come out today?

I don't know when it came out (unfortunately). I was looking for the bootstrap for the 5508 when I noticed a new code, 7.1.98.0, and "AP 3600" is mentioned. SO I went WTF and checked the wireless section and I saw this.

By the way, the 7.1.98.0 and 7.0.220.0 are the same. The only difference is the 7.1.98.0 supports the new AP3600.

Re: What is the Controller Boot Software for??

Scott Fella — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 23:21:49 GMT

I thought the 7.1.x is for the 3600's?

Sent from my iPhone

Re: What is the Controller Boot Software for??

Leo Laohoo — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 23:24:10 GMT

I thought the 7.1.x is for the 3600's?

Yes it is. I edited my last post because it sounds funny.

Re: What is the Controller Boot Software for??

Scott Fella — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 23:25:49 GMT

Haha... I need to get a hold of one of those bad boys.

Sent from my iPhone