ASR1001 IOS-XE Upgrade

[Scott Leport]

Hi Folks,

I am sure this is an easy one for someone in the know, but couldn't find a definitive answer on here, hence the question.

I am looking to upgrade the IOS-XE of a pair of ASR1001-X routers (two standalone routers, not in HA) from 16.9.5 to the current gold standard release of 17.3.3. The IOS has been copied up to bootflash, but have just noticed that the current 16.9.5 has the "no_li" image installed (asr1001x-universalk9_noli.16.09.95.SPA.bin) and the image I've copied up to bootflash is the standard universal image (asr1001x-universalk9.17.03.03.SPA.bin).

Am I safe enough to proceed with the upgrade as-is or do I need to clean the unused files (which at this stage would clear out the 17.X image) copy the 17.x no-li image and upgrade using this instead? There is no reason why the "without lawful intercept" image is installed, but just wondered if there was any implications anyone was aware of in upgrading the ASR1001 routers using a standard universal image when its currently using a without lawful intercept (no-li) image.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[balaji.bandi]

Not sure is your organisation come under category , Look at the below guidance :

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/routers/10000/10008/feature/guides/lawful_intercept/10LIovr.html

if that is case you need to download _noli image and upgrade is safe.

Read the release notes and ROMMON requirement :

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/routers/asr1000/release/notes/xe-17-3/asr1000-rel-notes-xe-17-3.html

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/routers/asr1000/rommon/asr1000-rommon-upg-guide.html

[Scott Leport]

Thanks for your response. No the organization doesn't come under this category. Looks like the router was shipped with it.

I've read those links, as well as the link Leo provided below.

[balaji.bandi]

i do not see any reason here you can change the IOS from OLD to new (a s you target version) - if you do not need to follow the organisation requirement.

here is my steps :

Do this in maintenance window :

1. take the backup config out of the box

2. read the release notes.

3. upgrade ROMMON

4. upgrade to target version

5. make sure all the configuration sysntax supported no errors while loading the config.

if all good  write and monitor

[Scott Leport]

Hi @balaji.bandi 

It's done. It was completed yesterday during a maintenance window and the IOS-XE and ROMMON got upgraded to the target versions.

I did IOS-XE first and ROMMON second, but still achieved the same result.

But thanks for sharing your steps above, I'll take note of it for future reference.

[balaji.bandi]

Good to know all working as expected, thank you for the feedback. we mark as resolution.

[Leo Laohoo]

"noli" stands for "no lawful intercept".  

Cisco ISR & ASR 1k Routers: IOS-XE/Firmware Upgrade (Install Mode)

[Scott Leport]

Thanks for the handy link Leo. I followed steps 1 & 2, in that exact order and it worked a treat.

I've shared the link with my colleagues and bookmarked it for future reference.

[Leo Laohoo]

Thanks, @Scott Leport. 
I have submitted drafts of Install Mode upgrade to 3850, 9300 and 9500 to the moderators and waiting for their approval.  Let me know if you are interested.  

[Scott Leport]

Hi Leo,

Definitely interested and would be of great benefit to the community for sure.

I've done a lot of IOS-XE upgrades on 3850 and 9300's and always refer to the release notes (as one should), but a more digestible version without losing the target audience is always good.

[Scott Leport]

To answer the original question of can you upgrade from a no-lawful intercept image to a standard universal image, the answer is yes you can.

In case it helps anyone else, I did the step 1 & step 2 in Leo's document as separate tasks. I understand from the ROMMON Upgrade Guide (link below) you can do the IOS-XE and ROMMON at the same time, but I took the pragmatic approach and did the IOS-XE upgrade first and the ROMMON second. All upgrades completed successfully.

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/routers/asr1000/rommon/asr1000-rommon-upg-guide.html