How do I upgrade rommon using Prime Infrastructure 3.1

[Tod Larson]

We have Prime Infrastructure 3.1.  

How do I push new rommon to the routers using Prime?  I've uploaded the rommon pkg to the image repository but Prime says it's unknown.  We know how to do the upgrades my ssh'ing individually to each box and running the upgrade rommon command, but we'd like to use Prime.

Thank you.

[Leo Laohoo]

I DO NOT recommend using PI to upgrade ROMmon (if there is even a method of doing it). Anything can go wrong. If Prime gets it wrong (and it will) it may/can brick the appliance.
ROMmon upgrade and an IOS upgrade can be done in one reboot. If using PI, this will take two reboots.

[Tod Larson]

When uploading images to prime infrastructure the text says to upload the bootstrap image at the same time.  As if Prime wants to do something with the pkg file. But, then it doesn't seem to let me do anything with the pkg file.  Even if I could use Prime to only SCP the proper pkg file to 300 devices that would make life better.

Regarding failures, we are at about a 50% failure rate when trying to upgrade the rommon and IOS-XE the "manual way." Whether it be a power supply failure, RAM failure or random unknown failure we are hoping that letting the robot do it might improve things.

[Leo Laohoo]

Wow. That's a bad success rate.
All using CLI, I have lost count how many ROMmon upgrades I've done to routers but I haven't failed any yet. And I'm talking about ISR G1s to G2s and the new ASR & ISR4000s.
I've also done ROMmon upgrades to Sup7s too. No failure.

[Tod Larson · Accepted solution]

Ultimately I consulted with Cisco TAC.  Prime 3.1 doesn't support doesn't support doing the rommon upgrade.  I did use Prime to copy the files to all our routers.  But then I ran the rommon upgrade command manually on each box.

[tporembski]

How did you use prime to push rommon code?  it recognises the BIN file but not the rommon file.

[Leo Laohoo]

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@tporembski wrote:

How did you use prime to push rommon code?  it recognises the BIN file but not the rommon file.

PI doesn't push ROMmon upgrade (thankful!).  

I found a way to upgrade the IOS and upgrade the ROMmon in one reboot.  Here's how: 

1.  Copy the IOS file to the router; 

2.  Compare the MD5 hash of the IOS file (found in the bootflash: against the MD5 hash value found in the Cisco website);

3.  Change the boot variable string: 

• Boot the new IOS (Syntax:  boot system flash bootflash:NEW_IOS.bin);
• Boot the OLD IOS (see above)

NOTE:  This is to ensure that if the NEW IOS fails to load then the router will "fall back" and load the old IOS; 

4.  Make sure the boot variable string is correct:  0x2102

5.  Copy the ROMmon file into the router; 

6.  Save the config of the router (and optionally export the config somewhere); and

7.  Upgrade the ROMmon:  upgrade rom-monitor file bootflash:ROMMON.ext all