Field Notice: FN74419 - Some Cisco Network Convergence System 540 Series Routers Fail to Boot After SSD Firmware Backported from Firmware 1616 to 1402 on Software Releases Earlier than 26.2.x - Software Upgrade Recommended
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Notice
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Products Affected
| Affected Product Name | Description | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| N540-24Z8Q2C-M | NCS 540 Series 24x1/10GE, 8x10/25GE, 2x100GE Fixed Chassis | |
| N540-ACC-SYS | NCS540 24x1/10G SFP+, 8x1/10/25G SFP+/SFP28, 2x100G QSFP28 |
Defect Information
| Defect ID | Headline |
| CSCwt66819 | [NCS540] FW1616 integration in XR |
Problem Description
Cisco Network Convergence System (NCS) 540 Series Routers that are running software releases earlier than Release 26.2.x (excluding 26.1.2) experience a critical failure when Solid State Drive (SSD) firmware is backported from Firmware Release 1616 to 1402. This firmware downgrade triggers an immediate kernel panic that forces the device to reload. During the subsequent boot process, the router fails to initialize and becomes unrecoverable in the field.
Background
This issue occurs when SSDs that are shipped with Firmware Release 1616 are backported to firmware release 1402. The backporting of firmware is triggered by using the upgrade force CLI command while running releases earlier than Cisco IOS XR Software Release 26.2.x.
Problem Symptom
Following the SSD firmware backporting, the device may trigger a reload and subsequently fail to power on, rendering the unit non-operational.
The following failure logs can be seen on the console:
[ 5.618905] ata2.00: exception Emask 0x0 SAct 0x4000 SErr 0x0 action 0x0
[ 5.626411] ata2.00: irq_stat 0x40000008
[ 5.630800] ata2.00: failed command: READ FPDMA QUEUED
[ 5.636546] ata2.00: cmd 60/08:70:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/40 tag 14 ncq dma 4096 in
[ 5.636546] res 51/04:08:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/40 Emask 0x401 (device error) <F>
[ 5.654437] ata2.00: status: { DRDY ERR }
[ 5.658921] ata2.00: error: { ABRT }
Workaround/Solution
Cisco recommends upgrading to Cisco IOS XR Software Release 26.2.x or later, which contains the permanent fix for this issue. Customers who are currently running earlier releases can contact Cisco support to request a Software Maintenance Upgrade (SMU). Devices that fail to power after the SSD firmware has been backported are non-recoverable and must be returned to Cisco by using the Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) process.
How to Identify Affected Products
To identify affected products, follow these steps:
- Run the command show hw-module fpd or show fpd package on the router.
- Look for the SSD device named SATA-SMART-AC1C.
- Check the firmware version running on this device.
- If the firmware version shows as 1616, the router is currently running the newer firmware.
- If it has been downgraded to 1402, the router is at risk of this boot failure issue.
In the following example, the show hw-module fpd command reflects that the Field Programmable Device (FPD) Package device named SATA-SMART-AC1C has a Running firmware status of 1616:
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios#show hw-module fpd
Fri May 15 10:36:51.726 UTC Auto-upgrade:Disabled
FPD Versions
==============
Location Card type HWver FPD device ATR Status Running Programd
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
0/RP0 N540-24Z8Q2C-M 1.1 MB-MIFPGA NEED UPGD 0.05 0.05
0/RP0 N540-24Z8Q2C-M 1.1 Bootloader CURRENT 1.22 1.22
0/RP0 N540-24Z8Q2C-M 1.1 CPU-IOFPGA NEED UPGD 0.03 0.03
0/RP0 N540-24Z8Q2C-M 1.1 MB-IOFPGA NEED UPGD 0.22 0.22
0/RP0 N540-24Z8Q2C-M 1.1 SATA-SMART-AC1C CURRENT 1616.00 1616.00
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios#
In the following example, the SSD once-backported FPD device named SATA-SMART-AC1C shows a Running firmware status of 1402:
sysadmin-vm:0_RP0# show fpd package
Wed Jul 13 17:10:57.318 UTC+00:00 =============================== ====================================================
Field Programmable Device Package
====================================================
Req SW Min Req Min Req
Card Type FPD Description Reload Ver SW Ver Board Ver
=================== ========================== ====== ======= ========== =========
N540-24Z8Q2C-M Bootloader YES 1.18 1.18 0.0
CPU-IOFPGA YES 0.10 0.10 0.0
MB-IOFPGA YES 0.28 0.28 0.0
SATA-INTEL_240G NO 1132.00 1132.00 0.0
SATA-INTEL_480G NO 1132.00 1132.00 0.0
SATA-M1100 NO 50.00 50.00 0.0
SATA-M500IT-MC NO 3.00 3.00 0.0
SATA-M500IT-MU-A NO 5.00 5.00 0.0
SATA-M500IT-MU-B NO 4.00 4.00 0.0
SATA-M5100 NO 75.00 75.00 0.0
SATA-M600-MCT NO 5.00 5.00 0.0
SATA-M600-MU NO 6.00 6.00 0.0
SATA-Micron NO 1.00 1.00 0.0
SATA-SMART-128G NO 1427.00 1427.00 0.0
SATA-SMART-AC1C-128G NO 1402.00 1402.00 0.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: If the FPD description does not list SATA-SMART-AC1C in the output, the device is not affected by this issue.
Revision History
| Version | Description | Section | Date |
| 1.0 | Initial Release | — | 2026-AUG-20 |
For More Information
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