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Upgrading Devices in a Chassis Cluster Using ICU

The chassis cluster ICU method allows both devices in a cluster to be upgraded from supported Junos OS versions using a single command. For more information, see the following topics:

Note:

For SRX300, SRX320, SRX340, SRX345, and SRX380 Firewalls, if you are upgrading to Junos OS Release 24.4R1, you cannot use the ICU method. You must use either the procedures outlined in KB 85650 or the minimal downtime procedure documented in KB17947 (Minimal_Downtime_Upgrade_Branch_Mid PDF file). Once you have upgraded to Junos OS Release 24.4R1, you can use the ICU method to upgrade to any later releases or downgrade from one of those later releases to either Junos OS Release 23.4R2-S3 or to Release 24.2R2.

Upgrading Both Devices in a Chassis Cluster Using ICU

Before you begin, note the following:

SRX Series Firewalls in a chassis cluster can be upgraded with a minimal service disruption using In-Band Cluster Upgrade (ICU). The chassis cluster ICU feature allows both devices in a cluster to be upgraded from supported Junos OS versions using a single command. You can enable this feature by executing the request system software in-service-upgrade image_name command on the primary node. This command upgrades the Junos OS and reboots both the secondary node and the primary node in turn. During the ICU process, traffic outage is minimal; however, cold synchronization is not provided between the two nodes.

For SRX300, SRX320, SRX340, SRX345, and SRX380 devices, the devices in a chassis cluster can be upgraded with a minimal service disruption of approximately 30 seconds using ICU with the no-sync option. The chassis cluster ICU feature allows both devices in a cluster to be upgraded from supported Junos OS versions.

You must use the in-band cluster upgrade (ICU) commands on SRX1500 device to upgrade following Junos OS Releases:

  • Junos OS Release 15.1X49-D50 to Junos OS Release 15.1X49-D100

  • Junos OS Release 15.1X49-D60 to Junos OS Release 15.1X49-D110

  • Junos OS Release 15.1X49-D50 to Junos OS Release 15.1X49-D120

You must use the in-band cluster upgrade (ICU) commands on SRX1600 device to upgrade from Junos OS Release 23.3R1 to later release.

You can use the in-band cluster upgrade (ICU) commands on SRX2300,SRX4100 and SRX4200 devices to upgrade following Junos OS Releases:

  • Junos OS Release 15.1X49-D65 to Junos OS Release 15.1X49-D70

  • Junos OS Release 15.1X49-D70 to Junos OS Release 15.1X49-D80.

For SRX300, SRX320, SRX340, SRX345 and SRX380 devices, the impact on traffic is as follows:

  • Drop in traffic (30 seconds approximately)

  • Loss of security flow sessions

The upgrade is initiated with the Junos OS build locally available on the primary node of the device or on an FTP server.

  • The primary node, RG0, changes to the secondary node after an ICU upgrade.

  • During ICU, the chassis cluster redundancy groups are failed over to the primary node to change the cluster to active/passive mode.

  • ICU states can be checked from the syslog or with the console/terminal logs.

  • ICU requires that both nodes be running a dual-root partitioning scheme with one exception being the SRX1500 and SRX1600. ICU will not continue if it fails to detect dual-root partitioning on either of the nodes. Requirement of the dual-root partitioning is applicable only for SRX300, SRX320, SRX340, SRX345, and SRX380 devices.

    Dual-root partitioning is not supported on SRX1500 and SRX1600 devices. SRX1500 and SRX1600 use solid-state drive (SSD) as secondary storage.

Upgrading ICU Using a Build Available Locally on a Primary Node in a Chassis Cluster

Ensure that sufficient disk space is available for the Junos OS package in the /var/tmp location in the secondary node of the cluster.

To upgrade ICU using a build locally available on the primary node of a cluster:

  1. Copy the Junos OS package build to the primary node at any location, or mount a network file server folder containing the Junos OS build.
  2. Start ICU by entering the following command:

    user@host> request system software in-service-upgrade image_name no-sync (for SRX300, SRX320, SRX340, SRX345, and SRX380 devices)

    user@host> request system software in-service-upgrade image_name (for SRX1500 devices prior to Junos OS Release 15.1X49-D70)

    user@host> request vmhost software in-service-upgrade image_name (for SRX1600 and SRX2300 devices)

Upgrading ICU Using a Build Available on an FTP Server

Ensure that sufficient disk space is available for the Junos OS package in the /var/tmp location in both the primary and the secondary nodes of the cluster.

To upgrade ICU using a build available on an FTP server:

  1. Place the Junos OS build on an FTP server.
  2. (SRX300, SRX320, SRX340, SRX345 and SRX380 only) Start ICU by entering the following command:

    user@root> request system software in-service-upgrade <ftp url for junos image> no-sync

    Sample Command

    This command upgrades the Junos OS and reboots both nodes in turn.

  3. (SRX1500 only prior to Junos OS Release 15.1X49-D70) Start ICU by entering the following command:

    user@root> request system software in-service-upgrade <ftp url for junos image>

    Sample Command

    This command upgrades the Junos OS and reboots both nodes in turn.

    For SRX1600 and SRX2300 devices, start ICU by entering the following command:

The upgrade process displays the following warning message to reboot the system:

WARNING: A reboot is required to load this software correctly. Use the request system reboot command when software installation is complete.

This warning message can be ignored because the ICU process automatically reboots both the nodes.

Terminating an Upgrade in a Chassis Cluster During an ICU

You can terminate an ICU at any time by issuing the following command on the primary node:

request system software abort in-service-upgrade

Issuing an abort command during or after the secondary node reboots puts the cluster in an inconsistent state. The secondary node boots up running the new Junos OS build, while the primary continues to run the older Junos OS build.

To recover from the chassis cluster inconsistent state, perform the following actions sequentially on the secondary node:

  1. Issue an abort command:

    request system software abort in-service-upgrade

  2. Roll back the Junos OS build by entering the following command:

    request system software rollback node < node-id >

  3. Reboot the secondary node immediately by using the following command:

    request system reboot

You must execute the above steps sequentially to complete the recovery process and avoid cluster instability.

Table 1 lists the options and their descriptions for the request system software in-service-upgrade command.

Table 1: request system software in-service-upgrade Output Fields

Options

Description

no-sync

Disables the flow state from syncing up when the old secondary node has booted with a new Junos OS image.

This option is not available on SRX1500 and SRX1600 devices.

no-tcp-syn-check

Creates a window wherein the TCP SYN check for the incoming packets will be disabled. The default value for the window is 7200 seconds (2 hours).

This option is not available on SRX1500 and SRX1600 devices.

no-validate

Disables the validation of the configuration at the time of the installation. The system behavior is similar to software add.

unlink

Removes the package from the local media after installation.

  • During ICU, if a termination command is executed, ICU will terminate only after the current operation finishes. This is required to avoid any inconsistency with the devices.

    For example, if formatting and upgrade of a node is in progress, ICU terminates after this operation finishes.

  • After a termination, ICU will try to roll back the build on the nodes if the upgrading nodes step was completed.

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