An error message '%Cannot communicate boot variable to slave' appears when issuing the write memory command on a Cisco 7500 series router due to a communication issue with the slave RSP

[TCC_2]

Core Issue

This issue occurs on a Cisco 7500 series router with two Route Switch Processors (RSPs). This may be due to the slave RSP being in a halted state, a communication issue between the master and slave RSP on the Inter-Process Communication (IPC) bus, or a hardware issue.

Resolution

If the error message appears after issuing the write memory or copy running-config startup-config commands, perform these steps:

1. Check if the slave RSP is halted by issuing the show versioncommand. Look toward the end of the output for the line regarding the slave, as shown in this example:

   Router#show version
    Cisco Internetwork Operating System Software
    IOS (tm) RSP Software (RSP-JSV-M), Version 12.2(13)T,  RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc1)
    TAC Support: http://www.cisco.com/tac
    Copyright (c) 1986-2002 by cisco Systems, Inc.
    Compiled Sat 16-Nov-02 02:29 by ccai
    Image text-base: 0x60010948, data-base: 0x61F00000
    ROM: System Bootstrap, Version 12.0(20011126:200409)
    [mssunil-RSP16_BENGAL_120S 251], DEVELOPMENT  SOFTWARE
    BOOTLDR: RSP Software (RSP-BOOT-M), Experimental Version 12.1(20020118:012025)
    [mssunil-RSP16_IOS_121E 205]
   
    Router uptime is 7 hours, 22 minutes
    System returned to ROM by reload at 11:26:00 UTC Fri Feb 21 2003
    System image file is "disk0:rsp-jsv-mz.122-13.t.bin"
   
    cisco RSP16 (R7000A) processor with 131072K/8216K bytes of memory.
    R7000 CPU at 400Mhz, Implementation 39, Rev 3.3, 256KB L2, 2048KB L3 Cache
    Last reset from power-on
    G.703/E1 software, Version 1.0.
    G.703/JT2 software, Version 1.0.
    X.25 software, Version 3.0.0.
    SuperLAT software (copyright 1990 by Meridian Technology Corp).
    Bridging software.
    TN3270 Emulation software.
    Chassis Interface.
    5 VIP2 R5K controllers (7 FastEthernet)(8 Ethernet)(32 Serial).
    8 Ethernet/IEEE 802.3 interface(s)
    7 FastEthernet/IEEE 802.3 interface(s)
    32 Serial network interface(s)
    2043K bytes of non-volatile configuration memory.
    47040K bytes of ATA PCMCIA card at slot 0 (Sector size 512 bytes).
    16384K bytes of Flash internal SIMM (Sector size 256K).
    Slave in slot 2 is halted.
    Configuration register is 0x2102

     2. If the slave is halted, issue the slave reload global configuration command, as shown in this example:

     router(config)#slave reload

     3. After the slave reload is complete, issue the write memory or copy running-config startup-config command to check if the error message reoccurs.

Note: Even if the slave does not appear to be halted, issuing the slave reloadcommand may resolve the problem. This is because the issue might not be a halted slave, but a communication problem across the bus between the master and slave RSPs.

• If after issuing the slave reload command, the error message still appears, physically remove and reinstall the slave RSP.
• If after reseating the slave RSP, the error continues, the slave RSP may be defective and needs to be replaced.