DNAC PnP: Converting IOS-XE Software from Install to Bundle Mode

[Johannes_Grimm]

Hello everybody,

we try to provision our switches via plug and play. After the installation and update process of a new switch is complete, the switch is in install mode. 

Problem: Since I can not tag an image in Install Mode as a Golden Image, my switch is always shown as Outdated, even though it is actually on the desired OS release.

If I want to do another OS update afterwards, this is not possible because the DNA Center is currently unable to update from Install (to Bundle) Mode.

Further Details:

Cisco DNA Center Version 1.2.8 / 1.2.10
Switch: C9500-40x, Update / Change from 16.6.5 (Install Mode)

Process of the claiming process:
1) Select site
2) Select golden Image / Onboarding Template
3) Select Switch and define template variables
4) Start Claiming
5) After that the device is updated to the golden Image OS version and the switch is configured with the template. In the inventory device list in the menu point Provision the switch is shown as outdated. This is because the switch is installed in install mode.
6) So that the switch is displayed with the correct OS status, I try another OS update to come from the install in the bundle mode. The DNA Center distributes the image to the switch but then aborts. Also if I change the boot variable to the .bin file the DNA Center overrides this line with the boot variable to packages.conf.

Am I making a mistake in my approach? Does anyone have similar experiences?

I very much look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,
Johannes Grimm

[Johannes_Grimm]

After some tests it seems to be a special problem with software version 16.6.5. 

I tested the following steps next.

1) Downgrade of a C9300 to the new golden image (16.6.3) -> Image is displayed in the inventory list as a golden image (same with the 16.9.1 image).
2) Image 16.6.5 was deleted from the DNA Center and re-imported
3) 16.6.5 is marked as a golden image
4) C9300 is being updated to the golden image 16.6.5.
5) The image is displayed as outdated again.

Can anyone reproduce or confirm this behavior? I would like to rule out that this is a special issue on my device.

Best regards,

Johannes

[dhshukla]

Johannes ,

You said image is showing outdated . Is it in Critical state .Meaning shows up as " outdated " in Red or displays in Green "outdated " .

Can you share screenshot ?

Thanks

[Johannes_Grimm]

Hi, 

as you can see in the attached screenshot it displays green outdated.

In the second screenshot, you can see that Image 16.6.5 is listed twice in the Image Repository. Once as an image in bundle mode (golden image) and once the image in install mode (image on the switch).

The reason is that every device in its image header contains both 3 and 5 octet versions. Typically, all device images display 5 octet version string in "show install summary" output. If only 3 octet version string is provided (16.6.5 case) the DNA Center can't compare the versions and marks it as a different one. New logic in DNA Center 1.3 will fallback to 3 octet version comparison to handle such case.

Best regards,

Johannes

[Johannes_Grimm · Accepted solution]

Hello everyone,

this behavoir belongs to a new bug in Cisco DNA Center and should be fixed in DNAC 1.3 (that's the statement of TAC, even if it is presented differently in the bug).

https://bst.cloudapps.cisco.com/bugsearch/bug/CSCvo74465

Cisco has also noticed that it can be a useful feature to change the Install Mode in IOS Update. Maybe this feature will be implemented in future releases.

https://bst.cloudapps.cisco.com/bugsearch/bug/CSCvn78583

Best regards,

Johannes