System Setup and Software Installation Guide for Cisco NCS 1004

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System Setup and Software Installation Guide for Cisco NCS 1004

System upgrade

Updated: July 17, 2026

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This section explains the concept of system upgrades for NCS 1004, including their key functions and considerations.

A system upgrade is a maintenance procedure that

  • replaces the Cisco IOS XR operating system image with a newer version,

  • upgrades both the XR and the System Admin operating systems simultaneously, and

  • initiates the process from XR mode using install commands.

System upgrade installs the base package, which includes the Cisco IOS XR Core Bundle and Manageability Package. Install the ISO image using install commands.

Additional reference information

For more information on upgrading the system and the RPMs, see Cisco IOS XR Flexible Packaging Configuration Guide for Cisco NCS 1000 Series.

Note

  • Software downgrade from Release 7.2.1 to Release 7.1.1 affects traffic.

  • Before you upgrade from Release 7.3.1 and later, or downgrade to Release 7.3.1 and earlier, configure minimum and maximum values for chromatic dispersion (CD) on the trunk optical controller of the OTN-XP card to maintain traffic flow. Use the controller optics R/S/I/P [cd-max cd-max | cd-min cd-min] command to configure minimum and maximum chromatic dispersion values. See Command Reference for Cisco NCS 1004 for the range of CD values.

Note

From Release 25.4.1, to run the install replace command for a software upgrade, if a public IP address is connected to management port 1, you must configure linux networking for management port 1.

This is a sample Linux networking configuration on management port 1.


linux networking
 vrf default
  address-family ipv4
   default-route software-forwarding
   source-hint management-route interface MgmtEth0/RP0/CPU0/1
   source-hint default-route interface MgmtEth0/RP0/CPU0/1
 !

View supported software upgrade or downgrade versions

Determine which release versions NCS 1004 supports for upgrade or downgrade from the currently running release, validate a specific source-to-target release path before attempting the upgrade, and configure health checks to automatically verify system readiness before and after installation.

Table 1. Feature History Table

Feature Name

Release Information

Description

Supported Software Upgrade or Downgrade IOS XR Versions

 Cisco IOS XR Release 7.5.1

You can determine whether a software version can be upgraded or downgraded to another version using this functionality. Before an actual upgrade or downgrade process, you can also view the hardware or software limitations that could cause the upgrade or downgrade to fail. This feature helps you plan successful software upgrades or downgrades.

This feature introduces the show install upgrade-matrix command.
Table 2. Feature History

Feature Name

Release Information

Feature Description

Pre and Post-Upgrade Install Health Checks using Profile

Cisco IOS XR Release 7.8.1

This feature allows you to create profiles that define the actions performed during pre and post-upgrade installation checks. You can configure the default actions for:

  • Pre-upgrade check failure

  • Upgrade failure

  • Revert after post-installation check failure

Use the show install upgrade-matrix command to list all releases from which the currently running release can be reached by a direct upgrade or downgrade.

Use the show install upgrade-matrix from release-version command to validate whether a specific release-to-release path is supported. The command output shows YES if the path is supported and NO if it is not.

Note

The show install upgrade-matrix command is available from Release 7.9.1. The from keyword option is available from Release 7.10.1.

Procedure

1.

Use the show install upgrade-matrix command to list all supported upgrade and downgrade paths from the currently running release.

Example:

RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios#show install upgrade-matrix
Fri Aug 18 11:25:15.571 UTC
Upgrade Matrix for ncs1004-mini-x-7.10.1 image:
    From Release    Upgrade    Downgrade
    7.9.1             YES       NO
    7.10.1            YES       YES
    24.1.1            NO        YES
2.

Use the show install upgrade-matrix from release-version command to validate whether a specific release-to-release upgrade or downgrade path is supported.

Example:

RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios#show install upgrade-matrix from 7.9.1
Fri Aug 18 11:27:50.215 UTC
From Release 7.9.1:
    To 7.10.1:  Upgrade supported: YES
                Downgrade supported: NO

The command output shows YES if the path is supported and NO if it is not.

You have verified the supported upgrade and downgrade paths for NCS 1004.

List all supported paths

This example shows the supported upgrade and downgrade paths for the currently running release.

RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios#show install upgrade-matrix
Fri Aug 18 11:25:15.571 UTC
Upgrade Matrix for ncs1004-mini-x-7.10.1 image:
    From Release    Upgrade    Downgrade
    7.9.1             YES       NO
    7.10.1            YES       YES
    24.1.1            NO        YES

Validate a specific path

This example validates whether an upgrade from Release 7.9.1 to the current running release is supported.

RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios#show install upgrade-matrix from 7.9.1
Fri Aug 18 11:27:50.215 UTC
From Release 7.9.1:
    To 7.10.1:  Upgrade supported: YES
                Downgrade supported: NO

show install upgrade-matrix from (unsupported path)

This example shows the output when the specified upgrade path is not supported.

RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios#show install upgrade-matrix from 7.6.1
Fri Aug 18 11:30:22.415 UTC
From Release 7.6.1:
    To 7.10.1:  Upgrade supported: NO
                Downgrade supported: NO
Info: Direct upgrade or downgrade between 7.6.1 and 7.10.1 is not supported.
      Please upgrade via intermediate release.

show install upgrade-matrix for Release 24.x.x

RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios#show install upgrade-matrix
Fri Aug 18 11:25:15.571 UTC
Upgrade Matrix for ncs1004-mini-x-24.1.1 image:
    From Release    Upgrade    Downgrade
    7.10.1            YES       NO
    24.1.1            YES       YES
    24.2.1            NO        YES