Cisco 7600 Series Routers

November 13, 2006

NOTICE:

THIS FIELD NOTICE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS AND DOES NOT IMPLY ANY KIND OF GUARANTEE OR WARRANTY, INCLUDING THE WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY. YOUR USE OF THE INFORMATION ON THE FIELD NOTICE OR MATERIALS LINKED FROM THE FIELD NOTICE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. CISCO RESERVES THE RIGHT TO CHANGE OR UPDATE THIS FIELD NOTICE AT ANY TIME.

Products Affected

Problem Description

Cisco identified that the 7600-SIP-400 linecard may drop packets due to parity errors resulting from certain bit patterns. These parity errors are reported in the Bonham parity error counter which can be monitored thru the Command Line Interface (CLI). Cisco has released a special Field Programmable Device (FPD) image upgrade for those customers exhibiting this problem. The image is available for download off www.cisco.com. See the Workaround/Solution section. For those customers who are not presently seeing this problem, Cisco will bundle the upgrade as part of the FPD package for IOS releases 12.2(33)SRA2 and 12.2(18)SXF7.

Background

Cisco discovered that some 7600-SIP-400 linecards may report Bonham parity errors on a small number of packets containing certain bit patterns in the egress data path. When this problem occurs, the Bonham parity error counter is incremented and the packet is dropped by the egress network processor. If the dropped packet is resent due to a protocol layer retransmission request, it will likely be dropped again

Problem Symptoms

Packets containing certain bit streams will be dropped, so a wide range of symptoms could be reported. For example, FTP file transfers may fail or BGP problems may occur with routers holding a large number of BGP routes.

If this problem is suspected, the Bonham parity error counter should be examined. Execute the show platform hardware bonham counters | inc parity command multiple times to see the counter go up at the time of traffic problem.

Step 1. Connect to the 7600-SIP-400= using the command 'attach [slot#]' 


CISCO7609>en 
CISCO7609# 
CISCO7609#attach 3 
Entering CONSOLE for slot 3 
Type "^C^C^C" to end this session 
SIP-400-3> 
SIP-400-3> enable 
SIP-400-3# 





Step 2. Issue the command show platform hardware bonham counters | inc Parity 


SIP-400-3#show platform hardware bonham counters | inc Parity 
Parity Errors    (offset 0x0500)    47 

Workaround/Solution

Cisco engineering has provided an updated Bonham Switch Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) image bundled into a special FPD package. The updated Switch FPGA will appear as version 0.39.

The FPD package is available from a special www.cisco.com location: Cisco 7600 Router Special FPD Packages (registered customers only) .

Note: You must have a valid www.cisco.com userid to obtain these files.

If you have IOS release 12.2(18)SXE and require the fix, Cisco engineering advises to use the FPD package c7600-fpd-pkg.122-18.SXF6-B.pkg. The FPD package will be integrated into one of the main cisco.com FPD bundles 12.2(18)SXF7 and 12.2(33)SRA2. If you are not seeing this problem then you can wait for the official www.cisco.com released bundle.

DDTS

To follow the bug ID link below and see detailed bug information, you must be a registered user and you must be logged in.

Upgrade Instructions

The FPGA can be upgraded remotely using the FPD upgrade process described below. This FPGA version is compatible with all 12.2(18)SXF and 12.2(33) IOS releases. No IOS upgrade is required.

Cisco recommends that customers carry out the FPD upgrade in a Network Maintenance Window, as the upgrade will cause the 7600-SIP-400 to reload.

Step 1. Copy the FPD package file to the router.

Step 2. Use the upgrade CLI command upgrade hw-module slot file disk0: force from the Route Processor (RP) console to upgrade the Bonham Switch FPGA version.

Note: Using the force option has the potential to override the existing Bonham Switch FPGA version. Verify the FPD version before continuing. See the How to Identify Hardware Levels section.

Note: The 7600-SIP-400 card during this upgrade will reload, then upgrade and reload again. After the second reload, the card should be running the new Bonham Switch FPGA version 0.39.

Step 3. Verify the Bonham switch FPGA version using the following show command:

show hw-module slot <slot> fpd

The values are displayed in decimal so the current version of the Switch FPGA (Bonham) should be 0.39 after the upgrade:

CISCO7609> show hw-module slot 3 fpd
==== ====================== ====== =============================================
                             H/W   Field Programmable   Current   Min. Required
Slot Card Type               Ver.  Device: "ID-Name"    Version      Version
==== ====================== ====== ================== =========== ==============
   3 7600-SIP-400            2.1   1-ROMMON               1.3         1.3      
                                   2-I/O FPGA             0.82        0.82     
                                   3-SWITCH FPGA          0.39        0.29     
---- ---------------------- ------ ------------------ ----------- --------------

The upgrade should take about 3 minutes per card.

If you would like some further information on ugprading FPD images, please refer to the Upgrading Field-Programmable Devices section in the Cisco 7600 Series Router SIP, SSC, and SPA Software Configuration Guide.

How To Identify Hardware Levels

Check the Bonham FPGA version using the CLI command show hw-module slot fpd .

CISCO7609> show hw-module slot 3 fpd
==== ====================== ====== =============================================
                             H/W   Field Programmable   Current   Min. Required
Slot Card Type               Ver.  Device: "ID-Name"    Version      Version
==== ====================== ====== ================== =========== ==============
   3 7600-SIP-400            2.1   1-ROMMON               1.3         1.3      
                                   2-I/O FPGA             0.82        0.82     
                                   3-SWITCH FPGA          0.39        0.29     
---- ---------------------- ------ ------------------ ----------- --------------

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What will happen if I apply the updated FPGA version to a 7600-SIP-400 that is not currently seeing parity errors?

A. Cisco recommends that those customers that are experiencing traffic problem due to packet drops in 7600-SIP-400 update FPGA version using the FPD package. If the customer is not experiencing any traffic problem but chooses to update the FPGA version, it will not have any negative affect on the card.

Q2. I don't see a specific image for 12.2(18)SXE. Is it safe for me to apply any of the other FPD packages to my 7600-SIP-400?

A. If you are currently seeing the parity errors then Cisco engineering recommends that you apply the c7600-fpd-pkg.122-18.SXF6-B.pkg FPD image.

Q3. After I have upgraded the FPGA version, do I need to maintain the FPD package in my flash or do I revert back to the FPD package corresponding the IOS image I am currently running?

A. The package file is only required when IOS detects that an installed card requires an upgrade. We recommend that the new FPD package which includes Bonham version 39 be left on the system in case a new 7600-SIP-400 card is installed. If a new card is installed, the upgrade command must be run manually unless IOS has been upgraded to 12.2(18)SXF7 or 12.2(33)SRA2 or later.

When IOS is upgraded to 12.2(18)SXF7 or 12.2(33)SRA2 or later, the FPD file matching the new version should be put on the system.

Revision History

For More Information

If you require further assistance, or if you have any further questions regarding this field notice, please contact the Cisco Systems Technical Assistance Center (TAC) by one of the following methods:

• Open a service request on Cisco.com
• By email
• By telephone

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