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Upgrading Software on an EX3300, EX4200, EX4300, EX4500 and EX4550 Virtual Chassis, and Mixed Virtual Chassis Using Nonstop Software Upgrade (CLI Procedure)

You can use nonstop software upgrade (NSSU) to upgrade the software running on all member switches in most EX Series Virtual Chassis with minimal traffic disruption during the upgrade.

NSSU is supported on the following Virtual Chassis platforms:

  • EX3300 Virtual Chassis
  • EX4200 Virtual Chassis
  • EX4300 Virtual Chassis
  • EX4500 Virtual Chassis
  • EX4550 Virtual Chassis
  • All mixed Virtual Chassis composed of EX4200, EX4500, and EX4550 switches
  • EX8200 Virtual Chassis

This topic covers:

Preparing the Switch for Software Installation

Before you begin software installation using NSSU:

  • Ensure that the Virtual Chassis is configured correctly to support NSSU. Verify that:
    • The Virtual Chassis members are connected in a ring topology. A ring topology prevents the Virtual Chassis from splitting during an NSSU.
    • The Virtual Chassis master and backup are adjacent to each other in the ring topology. Adjacency permits the master and backup to always be in sync, even when the switches in linecard roles are rebooting.
    • The Virtual Chassis is preprovisioned so that the linecard role has been explicitly assigned to member switches acting in the linecard role. During an NSSU, the Virtual Chassis members must maintain their roles—the master and backup must maintain their master and backup roles (although mastership will change), and the other member switches must maintain their linecard roles.
    • A two-member Virtual Chassis has no-split-detection configured so that the Virtual Chassis does not split when an NSSU upgrades a member.
  • Verify that the members are running the same version of the software:
    user@switch> show version

    If the Virtual Chassis members are not running the same version of the software, use the request system software add command to upgrade the software on the inconsistent members.

  • Ensure that nonstop active routing (NSR) and graceful Routing Engine switchover (GRES) are enabled. To verify that they are enabled, you need to check only the state of nonstop active routing—if nonstop active routing is enabled, then graceful Routing Engine switchover is enabled.

    To verify that nonstop active routing is enabled:

    user@switch> show task replication
            Stateful Replication: Enabled
            RE mode: Master
    
        Protocol                Synchronization Status
        OSPF                    Complete
        BGP                     Complete
        PIM                     Complete

    If nonstop active routing is not enabled (Stateful Replication is Disabled), see Configuring Nonstop Active Routing on Switches for information on how to enable it.

  • For the EX4300 Virtual Chassis, you should enable the vcp-no-hold-time statement at the [edit virtual-chassis] hierarchy level before performing a software upgrade using NSSU. If you do not enable the vcp-no-hold-time statement, the Virtual Chassis may split during the upgrade. A split Virtual Chassis can cause disruptions to your network, and you may have to manually reconfigure your Virtual Chassis after the NSSU if the split and merge feature was disabled. For more information about a split Virtual Chassis, see Understanding Split and Merge in a Virtual Chassis
  • (Optional) Enable nonstop bridging (NSB). Enabling NSB ensures that all NSB-supported Layer 2 protocols operate seamlessly during the Routing Engine switchover that is part of the NSSU.
  • (Optional) Back up the system software—Junos OS, the active configuration, and log files—on each member to an external storage device with the request system snapshot command.

Upgrading the Software Using NSSU

This procedure describes how to upgrade the software running on all Virtual Chassis members using NSSU. When the upgrade completes, all members are running the new version of the software. Because a graceful Routing Engine switchover occurs during the upgrade, the original Virtual Chassis backup is the new master.

To upgrade all members using NSSU:

  1. Download the software package by following the procedure in Downloading Software Packages from Juniper Networks. If you are upgrading the software running on a mixed Virtual Chassis, download the software packages for both switch types.
  2. Copy the software package or packages to the Virtual Chassis. We recommend that you copy the file to the /var/tmp directory on the master.
  3. Log in to the Virtual Chassis using the console connection or the virtual management Ethernet (VME) interface. Using a console connection allows you to monitor the progress of the master switch reboot.
  4. Start the NSSU:
    • On an EX3300 Virtual Chassis, EX4200 Virtual Chassis, EX4300 Virtual Chassis, EX4500 Virtual Chassis, or EX4550 Virtual Chassis, enter:
      user@switch> request system software nonstop-upgrade  /var/tmp/package-name.tgz

      where package-name.tgz is, for example, jinstall-ex4200-12.1R2.5-domestic-signed.tgz.

    • On a mixed Virtual Chassis, enter:
      user@switch> request system software nonstop-upgrade set [/var/tmp/package-name.tgz /var/tmp/package-name.tgz] 

      where [/var/tmp/package-name.tgz /var/tmp/package-name.tgz] specifies the EX4200 and EX4500 software packages.

    The switch displays status messages similar to the following messages as the upgrade executes:

    Chassis ISSU Check Done
    ISSU: Validating Image
    ISSU: Preparing Backup RE
    Installing image on other FPC's along with the backup
    
    Checking pending install on fpc1
    Pushing bundle to fpc1
    WARNING: A reboot is required to install the software
    WARNING:     Use the 'request system reboot' command immediately
    Completed install on fpc1
    
    Checking pending install on fpc2
    Pushing bundle to fpc2
    WARNING: A reboot is required to install the software
    WARNING:     Use the 'request system reboot' command immediately
    Completed install on fpc2
    
    Rebooting fpc1
    ISSU: Backup RE Prepare Done
    Waiting for Backup RE reboot
    GRES operational
    Initiating Chassis In-Service-Upgrade
    Chassis ISSU Started
    ISSU: Preparing Daemons
    ISSU: Daemons Ready for ISSU
    ISSU: Starting Upgrade for FRUs
    ISSU: Preparing for Switchover
    ISSU: Ready for Switchover
    Checking In-Service-Upgrade status
      Item           Status                  Reason
      FPC 0          Online
      FPC 1          Online
      FPC 2          Online (ISSU)
    Going to install image on master
    WARNING: A reboot is required to install the software
    WARNING:     Use the 'request system reboot' command immediately
    relinquish mastership
    ISSU: IDLE
    
    *** FINAL System shutdown message from user@switch ***
    
    System going down IMMEDIATELY
    
    
    Shutdown NOW!
    [pid 9336]
    
  5. Log in after the reboot of the original master switch completes. To verify that the software on all Routing Engines in the Virtual Chassis members has been upgraded, enter the following command:
    user@switch> show version
  6. To ensure that the resilient dual-root partitions feature operates correctly, copy the new Junos OS image into the alternate root partitions of all members:
    user@switch> request system snapshot slice alternate all-members

    Resilient dual-root partitions allow the switch to boot transparently from the alternate root partition if the system fails to boot from the primary root partition.

Published: 2014-04-25