Nexus 3548 upgrade firmware failed

[vTaroko]

Hello,

When trying to upgrade firmware of N3K-C3548P-10GX, I bump into a problem as follows.

Would you please tell me how to solve this problem, thanks !!!

Setting boot variables.

[########### ] 50% -- FAIL.

Return code -1.

Install has failed. Return code 0x4093000C (Setting boot variables failed).

Please identify the cause of the failure, and try 'install all' again.

N3548# install all nxos bootflash:nxos.9.3.6.bin

Installer will perform compatibility check first. Please wait.
Installer is forced disruptive

Verifying image bootflash:/nxos.9.3.6.bin for boot variable "nxos".
[####################] 100% -- SUCCESS

Verifying image type.
[####################] 100% -- SUCCESS

Preparing "nxos" version info using image bootflash:/nxos.9.3.6.bin.
[####################] 100% -- SUCCESS

Preparing "bios" version info using image bootflash:/nxos.9.3.6.bin.
[####################] 100% -- SUCCESS

Collecting "running" plugin(s) information.
[####################] 100% -- SUCCESS

Collecting plugin(s) information from "new" image.
[####################] 100% -- SUCCESS
[####################] 100% -- SUCCESS

Performing module support checks.
[####################] 100% -- SUCCESS

Notifying services about system upgrade.
[####################] 100% -- SUCCESS


Compatibility check is done:
Module bootable Impact Install-type Reason
------ -------- -------------- ------------ ------
1 yes disruptive reset default upgrade is not hitless


Images will be upgraded according to following table:
Module Image Running-Version(pri:alt) New-Version Upg-Required
------ ---------- ---------------------------------------- -------------------- 
1 nxos 9.2(2) 9.3(6) yes
1 bios v5.4.1(03/30/2020) v5.4.1(03/30/2020) no


Switch will be reloaded for disruptive upgrade.
Do you want to continue with the installation (y/n)? [n] y


Install is in progress, please wait.

Performing runtime checks.
[####################] 100% -- SUCCESS

Setting boot variables.
[########### ] 50% -- FAIL.
Return code -1.

Install has failed. Return code 0x4093000C (Setting boot variables failed).
Please identify the cause of the failure, and try 'install all' again.

[Christopher Hart]

Hello!

First and foremost, it looks like you're attempting to upgrade directly from NX-OS 9.2(2) to NX-OS 9.3(6) on a Nexus 3548. This upgrade path is not supported - an intermediary upgrade to NX-OS 9.2(4) is needed before you can upgrade to NX-OS 9.3(6). This is documented in the Cisco Nexus 3000 Series NX-OS Release Notes, Release 9.3(6) document:

"The following disruptive upgrade paths are supported for the non-XL platforms:

Release 6.0(2)A8(2) or later -> Release 6.0(2)A8(7b) or later -> Release 9.2(4) or later -> 9.3(6)"

However, I am not convinced that the root cause of this upgrade failure is the lack of this upgrade path. Can you confirm whether you are attempting to upgrade this switch using a compact image? This is described in detail in the "Compact Image for Cisco Nexus 3000, 3100, and 3500" section of the Cisco Nexus 3000 Series NX-OS Software Upgrade and Downgrade Guide, Release 9.2(x) document.

Thank you!

-Christopher

[yueyue.miao]

.

[vTaroko]

Hello Christopher,

Thanks for your kindly help.

First of all, I'm not using compact image to upgrade or downgrade N3K-C3548P-10GX

Refer to your instructions, I've tried to upgrade Nexus 3548 from NX-OS 9.2(2) to NX-OS 9.2(4) and downgrade from NX-OS 9.2(2) to NX-OS 9.2(1). The problem is the same. Would you please give me more suggestions to solve this problem, thanks !!!

Whether upgrade from NX-OS 9.2(2) to NX-OS 9.2(4) or downgrade from NX-OS 9.2(2) to NX-OS 9.2(1), the same error code as follows.

Setting boot variables.
[########### ] 50% -- FAIL.
Return code -1.

Install has failed. Return code 0x4093000C (Setting boot variables failed).
Please identify the cause of the failure, and try 'install all' again.

[Christopher Hart · Accepted solution]

Hello!

You must use a compact NX-OS image in order to upgrade a Nexus 3548 switch that does not have a model number ending in -XL. This is documented in the NX-OS 9.2(4) software release notes:

"Cisco Nexus 3548 and 3548-X platform switches must run a “compact” NX-OS software image due to limited bootflash space. This “compact” image can be created using the NX-OS Compact Image procedure; alternatively, a compact NX-OS software image can be downloaded directly from Cisco's Software Download website. This requirement does not apply to the Cisco Nexus 3548-XL switch."

A variant of NX-OS 9.2(4) that is pre-compacted for the Nexus 3548 platform can be found here. The filename you should download is n3500-compact.9.2.4.bin. A similar variant of NX-OS 9.3(6) that is pre-compacted for the Nexus 3548 platform can be found here (filename n3500-compact.9.3.6.bin).

Remember - you must upgrade to a compact image of NX-OS 9.2(4) before you upgrade to a compact image of NX-OS 9.3(6)!

I hope this helps - thank you!

-Christopher

[vTaroko]

Hello Christopher,

At the first, thank you so much that my problem had been solved under your support.

According to NX-OS error message word for word, how can you come up with the correct solution about software image upgrade path and wrong image ?

After enter the “install” command, all check is 100% success.

Installer will perform compatible check first.
.....
.....
Compatible check is done.

Besides, ”Setting boot variables failed” it seems nothing to do with NX-OS image.

Setting boot variables.
[########### ] 50% -- FAIL.
Return code -1.

Install has failed. Return code 0x4093000C (Setting boot variables failed).
Please identify the cause of the failure, and try 'install all' again.

[Christopher Hart]

Hello!

Excellent question! First and foremost, as a TAC engineer, I've personally observed this issue in a number of customer environments, and the "Setting boot variables failed" error message on a Nexus 3524 or 3548 switch is a key symptom of this particular issue.

Aside from that, if you manually set the boot variable of the Nexus switch (which is not a valid way to upgrade the software of Nexus switches, but is one of many crucial steps performed by the install all command, which is a valid way to upgrade the software of Nexus switches), the switch will return an error message that describes the issue. An example from my lab is shown here:

switch# configure terminal
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.
switch(config)# boot nxos bootflash:nxos.9.2.4.bin
ERROR: Image size too big. Use only the compact image on low memory N3k switches.
Failed to set the boot variable: Image size too big for low memory switch. Use compact image (0x40450038)

With that being said, you bring up a good point - you shouldn't have to be a TAC engineer to get meaningful feedback from the install all command regarding the fact that a compact image is required to upgrade the switch. I filed enhancement CSCvx18193 to improve the output of this command, which will hopefully prevent confusion in the future.

I hope this helps - thank you!

-Christopher