problem with missing SMU patch files

[noc_uka_c]

Hi community,

We have a Catalyst 9300 running IOS-XE 16.6.8. Long before that it was at some point running IOS-XE 16.6.3 with two SMU patches. Updates of the software were always done with the install add file ... command.

When the switch boots it tries to load those two old SMU files which are of course no longer on the flash. It displays an error message like : %BOOT-3-BOOTTIME_SMU_MISSING_DETECTED : SMU file [chars] missing and system impact will be unknown. 

It boots without problems after that.

Today we tried to add a second switch to form a stack but this fails because of those missing SMU files. The active switch tries to copy the SMU files to the second switch which of course fails because they are not available. The second switch is then marked as incompatible and the state is "V-Mismatch".

Is there a way to remove any references to those old, unnecessary SMU files so that the active switch does not try to load them at boot and I can form the stack successfully?

Any tips much appreciated!

[pieterh]

try this command:  

show install summary	 // Shows the installed SMU package as inactive package in the command output

and this section Rolling Back, Deactivating, or Removing an SMU

Use the following commands to roll back, deactivate, and remove an SMU:

• install rollback: Returns the device to the previous installation state. This rollback requires a reload.

• install deactivate: Deactivates an active package, updates the package status, and triggers a process restart or a reload.

• install remove: Removes all or specified inactive SMU packages from the file system.

[noc_uka_c]

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately according to show install summary the switch has no softwarte installed at all:

show install summary
Load for five secs: 2%/0%; one minute: 2%; five minutes: 2%
Time source is NTP, 12:46:59.821 MEST Fri Jul 3 2020
[ Switch ] Installed Package(s) Information:
State (St): I - Inactive, U - Activated & Uncommitted,
C - Activated & Committed, D - Deactivated & Uncommitted
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type St Filename/Version
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Switch 1 ] Installed Package(s) Information:
State (St): I - Inactive, U - Activated & Uncommitted,
C - Activated & Committed, D - Deactivated & Uncommitted
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type St Filename/Version
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

But the switch is running 16.6.8 (from show version):

Switch Ports Model SW Version SW Image Mode
------ ----- ----- ---------- ---------- ----
* 1 62 C9300-48U 16.6.8 CAT9K_IOSXE INSTALL

And I cannot deactivate or remove the SMU packages because they are not on the switch anymore. I just do not know where the switch references the missing SMU files. They are not listed in the packages.conf file.

[Georg Pauwen]

Hello,

not sure if the command below is available in your XE version, but check if you can clean up:

Switch# request platform software package clean switch all

[noc_uka_c]

Thanks for your reply.

I tried the command but it did not do anything:

request platform software package clean switch all
This operation may take several minutes...
Running command on switch 1
Cleaning up unnecessary package files
No path specified, will use booted path flash:packages.conf
Cleaning flash:
Scanning boot directory for packages ... done.
Preparing packages list to delete ...
cat9k-cc_srdriver.16.06.08.SPA.pkg
File is in use, will not delete.
cat9k-espbase.16.06.08.SPA.pkg
File is in use, will not delete.
cat9k-guestshell.16.06.08.SPA.pkg
File is in use, will not delete.
cat9k-rpbase.16.06.08.SPA.pkg
File is in use, will not delete.
cat9k-rpboot.16.06.08.SPA.pkg
File is in use, will not delete.
cat9k-sipbase.16.06.08.SPA.pkg
File is in use, will not delete.
cat9k-sipspa.16.06.08.SPA.pkg
File is in use, will not delete.
cat9k-srdriver.16.06.08.SPA.pkg
File is in use, will not delete.
cat9k-webui.16.06.08.SPA.pkg
File is in use, will not delete.
cat9k-wlc.16.06.08.SPA.pkg
File is in use, will not delete.
packages.conf
File is in use, will not delete.
done.

SUCCESS: No extra package or provisioning files found on media. Nothing to clean.

[jasonm002 · Accepted solution]

Did you try rebooting the stack and then seeing if show install summary shows the missing SMU? You should be able to remove it once it does.  If it doesn't even after a reboot, I can confirm that upgrading to 16.9.5 fixed that issue for me and I was able to remove the missing/zombie SMU with the install remove file flash:... command after upgrading the stack to 16.9.5. You can always then go back to 16.6.x if you want I suppose but 16.9.5 (or above, whenever 16.9.6 comes out) should be fine -- it can throw some weird syslog as a one time event after reboots but I haven't had an actual impact on service because of it and TAC has told me it's cosmetic (basically a debug msg that got left there). Smart license might say you're out of compliance in 16.9.x or above but there should be no effect on service if you're just running the equivalent of ipbase, even if the eval license expires on the switch (I tested this on 9300), your perpetual license component should continue to be valid.  More info at https://www.cisco.com/c/dam/global/da_dk/assets/training/seminaria-materials/Licenses-Networking-for-everybody-with-DNA.pdf 

[noc_uka_c]

Thank you so much for your tip. Updating to 16.9.5 worked just like you wrote.

(Sorry for the late response but I did not get a notification for your post.)