Cisco Evolved Programmable Network Manager 1.1 User and Administrator Guide

Manage Device Software Images

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• Set Up Software Image Management
• Create an Image Baseline
• How Do I Found Out Which Images Are Used by Network Devices?
• How Do I Know My Device Has the Latest Image?
• View the Images That Are Saved in the Repository
• Find Out Which Devices Are Using an Image
• View Recommended and Available Software Images from Cisco.com
• Add (Import) Software Images to the Repository
• Change the Device Requirements for Upgrading a Software Image
• Verify That Devices Meet Image Requirements (Upgrade Analysis)
• Distribute a New Software Image to Devices
• Activate a New Software Image on Devices
• Activate, Deactivate, and Delete Cisco IOS XR Images from Devices
• Commit Cisco IOS XR Images Across Device Reloads
• Roll Back Cisco IOS XR Images
• Check the Network Audit for Software Image Operations
• Delete Software Image Files from the Repository

Set Up Software Image Management

• Make Sure Devices Are Configured Correctly
• Verify Cisco EPN Manager Server Settings
• Control Whether Images Are Saved to the Repository During Inventory Collection
• Adjust Criteria for Cisco.com Import Recommendations
• Adjust Image Transfer and Distribution Preferences
• Change Cisco.com Credentials for Image Imports

Adjust Image Transfer and Distribution Preferences

Use this procedure to specify the default protocols Cisco EPN Manager should use when transferring images between the server and devices. You can also configure Cisco EPN Manager to perform, by default, a variety of tasks associated with image distributions—for example, whether to back up the current image before an upgrade, reboot the device after the upgrade, continue to the next device if a serial upgrade fails, and so forth. Users with Administration privileges can change that setting using the following procedure.

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Note This procedure only sets the defaults. You can override these defaults when you perform the actual distribute operation.

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Step 1 Choose Administration > Settings > System Settings > Image Management.

Step 2 Specify the default protocol Cisco EPN Manager should use when transferring images in the Image Transfer Protocol Order. Arrange the protocols in order of preference. If the first protocol listed fails, Cisco EPN Manager will use the next protocol in the list.

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Note When distributing an image to a device, use the most secure protocols supported by the device (for example, SCP instead of TFTP). TFTP tends to time out when transferring very large files or when the server and client are geographically distant from each other.

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Step 3 Specify the default protocol Cisco EPN Manager should use when configuring images on devices in the Image Config Protocol Order area. Arrange the protocols in order of preference.

Step 4 Specify the tasks that Cisco EPN Manager should perform when distributing images:

Setting	Description	Default
Continue distribution on failure	If distributing images to multiple devices and distribution to a device fails, continues the distribution to other devices	Enabled
Reboot immediately	Activates images after successful image distribution (which may activate the image)	Disabled
Distribute parallely	If distributing images to multiple devices, perform the distribution in parallel rather than serially	Disabled
TFTP fallback	Inserts the TFTP fallback command into the running image so that it can be reloaded if image distribution fails	Disabled
Backup current image	Before image distribution, backs up the running image to the TFTP server	Disabled
Insert boot command	After image distribution, inserts the boot command into the running image	Disabled

Step 5 Click Save.

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Create an Image Baseline

Note When importing an image from a device, use the most secure protocols supported by the device (for example, SCP instead of TFTP). TFTP tends to time out when transferring very large files or when the server and client are geographically distant from each other.

Depending on your system settings, Cisco EPN Manager will create an image baseline when it performs an inventory collection for a new device (see Control Whether Images Are Saved to the Repository During Inventory Collection). If you need to perform this operation manually, use the following procedure, which imports software images directly from devices into the image repository.

Note If you are importing many images, perform this operation at a time that is least likely to impact production.

Before You Begin

Make sure that images are physically present on the devices (rather than remotely loaded).

Step 1 Choose Inventory > Device Management > Software Images and click Import.

Step 2 In the Import Images dialog box, complete the following:

a. In the Source area, select Device, and select all devices. (You can also create the baseline by selecting one device group at a time.)

b. In the Collection Options, specify whether to import the files immediately or run the job at a later time. Import jobs cannot be configured to be recurring.

Step 3 Click Submit.

Step 4 Choose Administration > Jobs to view the status about the image collection job.

How Do I Found Out Which Images Are Used by Network Devices?

To view a list of the images used by network devices, choose Reports > Reports Launch Pad > Device > Detailed Software. You can filter the report to list the images:

• List images by device type
• Retrieve the images that were being used on a specific day and time
• To run the report on a regular basis and e-mail it to you

To list the top ten images use by network devices (and how many devices are using those images), choose Inventory > Device Management > Software Images and click the Image Dashboard icon in the top-right corner of the GUI.

How Do I Know My Device Has the Latest Image?

To find out if a device has the latest image from Cisco.com:

Step 1 Choose Inventory > Device Management > Network Devices and click the device name hyperlink.

Step 2 Click the Image tab and scroll down to the Recommended Images area. Cisco EPN Manager lists all of the images from Cisco.com that are recommended for the device.

Note The recommendations list is purely informational. To use any of the recommended images, you must download them from Cisco.com. See View Available Images on Cisco.com from the Cisco EPN Manager Web GUI.

View the Images That Are Saved in the Repository

Use this procedure to list all of the software images saved in the image repository. The images are organized by image type and stored in the corresponding software image group folder. Use this procedure to check the files that are saved in the image repository.

Step 1 Choose Inventory > Device Management > Software Images. Cisco EPN Manager lists the images that are saved in the repository.

From here you can:

• Import new images into the repository from network devices; file systems on client machines, IPv4 or IPv6 servers (URLs); and FTP servers. You can use the web GUI to find out what images are available from Cisco.com, but images must manually downloaded and then imported using any of the import functions. See Add (Import) Software Images to the Repository.
• Adjust the requirements that a device must meet in order to upgrade to this image. See Change the Device Requirements for Upgrading a Software Image.
• Perform an upgrade analysis. See Verify That Devices Meet Image Requirements (Upgrade Analysis).
• Copy new software images to devices. See Distribute a New Software Image to Devices.
• Activate images, which makes a new image the device’s running image. See Activate a New Software Image on Devices.
• Commit Cisco IOS XR images, which persists the image across device reloads and creates a rollback point. See Commit Cisco IOS XR Images Across Device Reloads
• Delete images from the repository (images can only be deleted using the manual process). See Delete Software Image Files from the Repository.

Step 2 Click a software image hyperlink to open the Image Information page that lists the file and image name, family, version, file size, and so forth.

From here you can:

• See which devices are using this image by checking the Device Details area at the bottom of the page.
• Adjust the requirements that a device must meet in order to upgrade to this image. (See Change the Device Requirements for Upgrading a Software Image.):

Find Out Which Devices Are Using an Image

Step 1 Choose Inventory > Device Management > Software Images.

Step 2 Find the image in which you are interested by expanding the image categories in the navigation area or entering partial text in one of the Quick Filter fields. For example, entering 3.1 in the Version field would list Versions 3.12.02S, 3.13.01S, and so forth.

Step 3 Click the image hyperlink to open the Image Information page. Cisco EPN Manager lists all devices using that image in the Device Details area.

View Recommended and Available Software Images from Cisco.com

• View Recommended Images on Cisco.com
• View Available Images on Cisco.com from the Cisco EPN Manager Web GUI

Add (Import) Software Images to the Repository

Note Adding images directly from Cisco.com is not supported. Although the choice is available in the user interface, you can only use that choice to view which images are available on Cisco.com. See View Recommended and Available Software Images from Cisco.com.

• Add a Software Image That Is Running on a Managed Device
• Add a Software Image from an IPv4 or IPv6 Server (URL)
• Add a Software Image for an FTP Protocol Server (Protocol)
• Add a Software Image from a Client Machine File System

Note For Cisco NCS and Cisco ONS devices, you can only import software images using the procedure in Add a Software Image from a Client Machine File System.

Add a Software Image That Is Running on a Managed Device

This method retrieves a software image from a managed device and saves it in the image repository.

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Note When importing an image from a device, use the most secure protocols supported by the device (for example, SCP instead of TFTP). TFTP tends to time out when transferring very large files or when the server and client are geographically distant from each other.

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Step 1 Choose Inventory > Device Management > Software Images, then click Import.

Step 2 In the Import Images dialog:

a. Click Device and under Collection Options, choose one or more devices.

b. In the Schedule area, schedule the job to run immediately, at a later time, or on a regular basis.

c. Click Submit.

Step 3 To view the status of the job, click the job link in the pop-up message or choose Administration > Jobs.

Step 4 Verify that the image is listed on the Software Images page (Inv entory > Device Management > Software Images).

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Change the Device Requirements for Upgrading a Software Image

Use this procedure to change the RAM, flash, and boot ROM requirements that a device must meet for a software image to be distributed to the device. These values are checked when you perform an upgrade analysis (see Verify That Devices Meet Image Requirements (Upgrade Analysis)).

Note This operation is not supported on the Cisco NCS 2000 and Cisco ONS families of devices.

Step 1 Choose Inventory > Device Management > Software Images.

Step 2 Click the software image name hyperlink to open its image information.

Step 3 Adjust the device requirements:

• Minimum RAM (from 0-2048 MB)
• Minimum FLASH (from 0-2048 MB)
• Minimum Boot ROM Version

Step 4 Click Save.

Verify That Devices Meet Image Requirements (Upgrade Analysis)

An upgrade analysis verifies that the device contains sufficient RAM or FLASH storage (depending on the device type), the image is compatible with the device family, and the software version is compatible with the image version running on the device. After the analysis, Cisco EPN Manager displays a report that provides the results by device. The report data is gathered from:

• The software image repository, which contains information about minimum RAM, minimum Flash, and so on, in the image header.
• The Cisco EPN Manager inventory, which contains information about the active images on the device, as well as Flash memory, modules, and processor details.

Before You Begin

If you want to adjust the device requirements for an image, see Change the Device Requirements for Upgrading a Software Image.

Step 1 Choose Inventory > Device Management > Software Images.

Step 2 Click Upgrade Analysis. (Do not select an image from the Software Images page.)

Step 3 In the Upgrade Analysis dialog:

a. Choose the source for the software images (the local repository or Cisco.com).

b. Select the devices you want to analyze.

c. Select the software images you want to analyze the devices against.

d. Click Run Report.

The report groups devices by their IP address.

Distribute a New Software Image to Devices

The image distribution operation copies a new software image to a specified location on a device. You can distribute images for similar devices in a single deployment, adjusting your choices per device. When you create the job, you determine whether the job runs immediately or at a scheduled time.

When you select an image to be distributed, Cisco EPN Manager only displays devices that are suitable for the image. When you create the distribution job, you specify whether Cisco EPN Manager should:

• Activate the image in the same job or skip the activation. Delaying the activation lets you perform these tasks before activating the image:

– Find out if there is insufficient memory, clear the disk space for distributing the image or package

– Do an upgrade analysis to check the suitability of the device for the chosen image

• (Cisco IOS XR only) Commit the image in the same job or skip the commit

Cisco EPN Manager displays feedback and status as the operation proceeds. If you are distributing an image to many devices, you can stagger reboots so that service at a site is not completely down during the upgrade window.

Note When distributing an image to a device, use the most secure protocols supported by the device (for example, SCP instead of TFTP). TFTP tends to time out when transferring very large files or when the server and client are geographically distant from each other. See Adjust Image Transfer and Distribution Preferences.

Step 1 Choose Inventory > Device Management > Software Images.

Step 2 Select the software images that you want to distribute, then click Distribute. Cisco EPN Manager displays the devices that are appropriate for the images. You can configure the image for each device when you create the distribution job.

Step 3 Select the devices to which you want to copy the image.

Step 4 Choose the image and device location for the distribution. You can adjust these settings for each device.

a. Expand Distribute Image and Location Selection. Cisco EPN Manager displays one row per device and image.

Click Save.

b. For each device, check the location where the image will be copied. Cisco EPN Manager chooses the location based on its memory calculations.

Note Locations are not supplied for the Cisco NCS 2000 and Cisco ONS families of devices.

To change the location, double-click the location value in the Distribute Image field and choose another location from the drop-down list.

After you click Save, Cisco EPN Manager calculates whether that location has adequate space for the image. If there is enough space, Cisco EPN Manager displays a green check mark (after you click Save). Otherwise you must choose another location, or select the Erase Flash Before Distribution option in Step 5.

Step 5 Configure the distribution settings.

Note If you already distributed the images and only want to activate them, check Skip Distribution and proceed to Step 6.

In the Image Deployment Options area, configure the behavior for the distribution job—for example, in a bulk distribution job, whether to continue the distribution if it fails on a device. (The preferences are populated according to defaults set by the administrator. For more information, see Adjust Image Transfer and Distribution Preferences).

Step 6 Configure the image activation settings.

Step 7 (Cisco IOS XR devices) Configure the image commit settings. To commit the image in this job, check Commit. If you want to commit the image later, do not check Commit and then use the procedure in Commit Cisco IOS XR Images Across Device Reloads.

Step 8 In the Schedule Distribution area, schedule the job to run immediately, at a later time, or on a regular basis.

Step 9 Click Submit.

Step 10 Choose Administration > Jobs to view details about the image distribution job.

Activate a New Software Image on Devices

Note To activate Cisco IOS XR images, you can use this procedure or the procedure in Activate, Deactivate, and Delete Cisco IOS XR Images from Devices (which performs the deactivate operation on single devices).

When a new image is activated on a device, it becomes the running image on the disk. Deactivated images are not removed when a new image is activated; you must manually delete the image from the device.

If you want to distribute and activate an image in the same job, see Distribute a New Software Image to Devices.

To activate an image without distributing a new image to a device — for example, when the device has the image you want to activate—use the following procedure. The activation uses the distribution operation but does not distribute a new image.

Step 1 Choose Inventory > Device Management > Software Images.

Step 2 Select the software image you want to activate, then click Distribute. (The activate operation is launched from the Distribute workflow.)

Step 3 Select the devices with the image you want to activate.

Step 4 In the Image Deployment Options area, check Skip Distribution.

Step 5 In the Schedule Distribution area, schedule the activation job to run immediately, at a later time, or on a regular basis.

Step 6 Click Submit.

Step 7 Choose Administration > Jobs to view details about the image activation job.

Activate, Deactivate, and Delete Cisco IOS XR Images from Devices

You can perform activate, deactivate, and delete operations on specific devices from the device details view. That view lists all it becomes the running image on the disk.

Step 1 Open the device details view and click the Image tab.

Step 2 Expand the Applied Images area to display all of the images that are installed on the device. Use the Show drop-down list to view active, inactive, and available images:

• Active—Images that devices are actively using.
• Inactive—Images that are added to the boot device but are not activated.
• Available—Images that are physically present on the device but have not been added to the boot device.

Step 3 Identify the image you want to manage, and double-click its Status field. The field changes to an editable row.

Step 4 Choose the operation you want to perform from the Status drop-down list and click Save.

Step 5 Click Apply above the images table.

Step 6 Choose Administration > Jobs to view details about the image activation job.

Commit Cisco IOS XR Images Across Device Reloads

Note For Cisco IOS XR devices, we recommend that you do not commit the package change until the device runs with its configuration for a period of time, until you are sure the change is appropriate.

When you commit a Cisco IOS XR package to a device, it persists the package configuration across device reloads. The commit operation also creates a rollback point on the device which can be used for roll back operations.

If you want to distribute, activate, and commit an image in the same job, use the procedure described in Distribute a New Software Image to Devices.

To commit an activated image, use the following procedure.

Note If you are only working on a single device, perform the commit operation from the device details view (click the Image tab, choose the image, and click Commit).

Step 1 Choose Inventory > Device Management > Software Images.

Step 2 Select the software image you want to activate, then click Commit.

Step 3 Select the devices with the image you want to commit. (Images can only be committed if they have been activated.)

Step 4 In the Schedule Distribution area, schedule the commit job to run immediately, at a later time, or on a regular basis.

Step 5 Click Submit.

Step 6 Choose Administration > Jobs to view details about the image activation job.

Roll Back Cisco IOS XR Images

Rolling back a Cisco IOS XR image reverts the device image to a previous installation state—specifically, to an installation rollback point. If an image has been removed from a device, all rollback points associated with the package are also removed and it is no longer possible to roll back to that point.

A rollback job can only be performed on one device at a time. You cannot perform a rollback for multiple devices in the same job.

Step 1 Choose Inventory > Device Management > Network Devices and click the device name hyperlink for the device with the image you want to roll back.

Step 2 Click the Image tab and expand the Rollback Info area.

Step 3 Select the software image Commit ID you want to roll back to, and click Rollback. The Rollback Scheduler opens.

Step 4 If you want to commit the image after the rollback operation completes, check Commit After Rollback.

Step 5 In the Schedule Rollback area, schedule the rollback job to run immediately or at a later time, and click Submit.

Check the Network Audit for Software Image Operations

To get historical information about device software image changes, check the Network Audit.

Step 1 Choose Inventory > Network Audit. To filter the results to show only image management operations, enter software image in the Audit Component field.

Figure 5-1 Network Audit Event—Software Image Distribution

Step 2 Expand an event drawer to get details about a device change. For example, if you expand the drawer highlighted in Figure 5-1, you can see that the image listed in the job was successfully distributed to the device.

For more information on the Network Audit feature, see Audit Configuration Archive and Software Management Changes (Network Audit).

Delete Software Image Files from the Repository

Software image can only be manually deleted from the repository; Cisco EPN Manager does perform any image purging functions. If you have sufficient privileges, you can use the following procedure to delete a software image file from the repository.

Step 1 Inventory > Device Management > Software Images.

Step 2 Select the software images that you want to delete, then click Delete.