Managing Firmware Upgrades

This section describes managing firmware upgrade settings in IoT FND, and includes the following sections:

Use IoT FND to upgrade the firmware running on routers (CGR1000s, IR800s), AP800s and Cisco Resilient Mesh Endpoints (RMEs) such as meters and range extenders. IoT FND stores the firmware binaries in its database for later transfer to routers in a firmware group through an IoT FND and IoT-DM file transfer, and to RMEs using IoT FND.

Cisco provides the firmware bundles as a zip file. For Cisco IOS, software bundles include hypervisor, system image and IOx images (for example, Guest-OS, Host-OS).

Firmware system images are large (approximately 130 MB); kickstart images are approximately 30 MB. Every firmware bundle includes a manifest file with metadata about the images in the bundle. You can pause, stop, or resume the upload process.

Router Firmware Updates

IoT FND updates router firmware in two steps:

Procedure

Step 1

Uploads the firmware image from IoT FND to the router. Firmware images upload to the flash:/managed/images directory on the router.

Note

 
In some cases the router might be in a Firmware Group. Refer to Configuring Firmware Group Settings.

Because of their large size, firmware-image uploads to routers take approximately 30 minutes, depending on interface speeds

Note

 
If you set the property, collect-cellular-link-metrics, to ‘true’ in cgms.properties, then the following Cellular link quality metrics are collected for CGR1000, IR800 and IR1100, each time you initiate a firmware upload from IoT FND:

  • RSRP: Reference Signal Received Power which is the power of the reference signal

  • RSRQ: Reference Signal Received Quality or the quality of the reference signal which is the a ratio of RSSI to RSRP

  • SINR: Signal-to-Noise Ratio which compares the strength of the signal to the background noise.

  • RSSI: Received Signal Strength Indicator or the strength of the reference signal

Additionally, the following cgna profile is created on the CGR1240 and activated when the firmware upload is triggered.
cgna profile cg-nms-cellularlinkmetrics
add-command show cellular 3/1 all | format
flash:/managed/odm/cg-nms.odm
interval 5
url https://<FND IP address>:9121/cgna/ios/metrics
gzip
active

Note

 
On execution of the cgna profile above, the metrics data is persisted in the Metrics_History table in the database and can be collected by using the getMetricHistory NBAPI.

Step 2

Installs the firmware on the device and reloads it.

During the firmware install the boot parameters on the routers are updated according to the new image file and the router is reloaded after enabling the cg-nms-register cgna profile.

Note

 
You must initiate the firmware installation process. IoT FND does not automatically start the upload after the image upload.

When a router contacts IoT FND for the first time to register and request tunnel provisioning, IoT FND rolls the router back to the default factory configuration (ps-start-config) before uploading and installing the new firmware image.

Note

 
This rollback requires a second reload to update the boot parameters in ps-start-config and apply the latest configuration. This second reload adds an additional 10–15 minutes to the installation and reloading operation.

Upgrading Guest OS Images

Depending on CGR factory configuration, a Guest OS (GOS) may be present in the VM instance. You can install or upgrade Cisco IOS on the CONFIG > FIRMWARE UPDATE page (see Router Firmware Updates). The GOS, hypervisor, and Cisco IOS all upgrade when you perform a Cisco IOS image bundle installation or update.

After any Cisco IOS install or upgrade, when IoT FND discovers a GOS, it checks if the initial communications setup is complete before it performs the required setup. The CGR must have a DHCP pool and GigabitEthernet 0/1 interface configured to provide an IP address and act as the gateway for the GOS. The new GOS image overwrites existing configurations. IoT FND has an internal backup and restore mechanism that ports existing apps to the upgraded Guest OS. See Monitoring a Guest OS for more information.

See Cisco 1000 Series Connected Grid Routers Configuration Guides for information on configuring the CGR.

Note: If IoT FND detects a non-Cisco OS installed on the VM, the firmware bundle will not upload and the Cisco reference GOS will not install.

Upgrading WPAN Images

At the CONFIG > FIRMWARE UPDATE page, you can upload the independent WPAN images (IOS-WPAN-RF, IOS-WPAN-PLC, IOS-WPAN-OFDM, IOS-WPAN-IXM) to IoT FND using the Images sub-tab (left-hand side) and Upload Image button like other image upgrades. This process is known as a non-integrated WPAN firmware upgrade.

Note: The WPAN firmware image integrated with the IOS CGR image option is still supported.

Also, if only the WPAN firmware upgrade from the image bundled with IOS image is desired (for example, when the WPAN firmware upgrade option was not checked during IOS upgrade), the “Install from Router” option is also provided under respective WPAN image types (IOS-WPAN-RF or IOS-WPAN-PLC).

For detailed steps, go to Firmware images.

Changing Action Expiration Timer

You can use the cgnms_preferences.sh script to set or retrieve the action expiration timer value in the IoT FND database:


/opt/cgms
/bin/cgnms_preferences setCgrActionExpirationTimeout 50

Valid options are:

Procedure

Step 1

set <pkg>actionExpirationTimeoutMins<value>

where:

  • <pkg> is the preference package (required for set and get operations).

  • actionExpirationTimeoutMins is the preference key (required for set and get operations).

  • <value> is the preferred value, in minutes (required for set and setCgrActionExpirationTimeout operations).

Step 2

setCgrActionExpirationTimeout <value>

Step 3

get <pkg>actionExpirationTimeoutMins

Step 4

getCgrActionExpirationTimeout

Example

In the following example, the action timer value is retrieved, set, the current value retrieved again, the value removed, and a null value retrieved: 

[root@userID-lnx2 cgms]#./dist/cgms-1.x/bin/cgnms_preferences.sh 
getCgrActionExpirationTimeout
2013-08-12 22:38:42,004:INFO:main:CgmsConnectionProvider: registered
the database url for CG-NMS: [jdbc:oracle:thin:@localhost:1522:cgms]
5
[root@userID-lnx2 cgms]#./dist/cgms-1.x/bin/cgnms_preferences.sh
setCgrActionExpirationTimeout 50
2013-08-12 22:38:51,907:INFO:main:CgmsConnectionProvider: registered
the database url for CG-NMS: [jdbc:oracle:thin:@localhost:1522:cgms]
Successfully set the preferences.
[root@userID-lnx2 cgms]#./dist/cgms-1.x/bin/cgnms_preferences.sh
getCgrActionExpirationTimeout
2013-08-12 22:38:58,591:INFO:main:CgmsConnectionProvider: registered
the database url for CG-NMS: [jdbc:oracle:thin:@localhost:1522:cgms]
50
[root@userID-lnx2 cgms]#./dist/cgms-1.x/bin/cgnms_preferences.sh
get com.cisco.cgms.elements.ciscocgr actionExpirationTimeoutMins
2013-08-12 22:39:12,921:INFO:main:CgmsConnectionProvider: registered
the database url for CG-NMS: [jdbc:oracle:thin:@localhost:1522:cgms]
50
[root@userID-lnx2 cgms]#./dist/cgms-1.x/bin/cgnms_preferences.sh
set com.cisco.cgms.elements.ciscocgr actionExpirationTimeoutMins 15 
2013-08-12 22:39:23,594:INFO:main:CgmsConnectionProvider: registered
the database url for CG-NMS: [jdbc:oracle:thin:@localhost:1522:cgms]
Successfully set the preferences.
[root@userID-lnx2 cgms]#./dist/cgms-1.x/bin/cgnms_preferences.sh
get com.cisco.cgms.elements.ciscocgr actionExpirationTimeoutMins
2013-08-12 22:39:29,231:INFO:main:CgmsConnectionProvider: registered
the database url for CG-NMS: [jdbc:oracle:thin:@localhost:1522:cgms]
15

Manage Router Firmware Upgrades

Manage Router Firmware Upgrades

Table 1. Feature History

Feature Name

Release

Description

Manage Router Firmware Upgrades

Cisco IoT FND Release 5.0

Manage router firmware upgrade and install counts using Cisco IoT FND, eliminating the need to manually edit .jboss property files.

Information About Manage Router Firmware Upgrades

Manage router firmware upgrade and install counts directly using Cisco IoT FND. You no longer have to manually edit .jboss property files, simplifying the firmware management process. The router firmware management is now intuitive and accessible. Define the Maximum Router Firmware Upload Count, Maximum Router Firmware Install Count, and Router Firmware Upload Retry Count values globally on Cisco IoT FND. Apply the maximum parallel or concurrent firmware upgrade values to all the group of routers on Cisco IoT FND.

Restrictions For Manage Router Firmware Upgrades

Here are the default counts for the respective fields:

  • Router Firmware Upload Count: 48

  • Router Fimware Install Count: 48

  • Router Firmware Upload Retry Count: 5

Here are some of the maximum counts for the respective fields:

  • Router Firmware Upload Count: 48

  • Router Fimware Install Count: 48

  • Router Firmware Upload Retry Count: 100

Use Cases For Manage Router Firmware Upgrades

  • Manage firmware upgrades and installations for a large fleet of routers across multiple locations, ensuring all devices are up to date.

  • Minimize configuration errors that might occur with manual property file edits, ensuring smoother and more reliable firmware management.

Configure Router Firmware Upgrades Using Cisco IoT FND

Here are the instructions to configure the router firmware upgrades using Cisco IoT FND:

  1. From the Cisco IoT FND Menubar, choose ADMIN > Server Settings > Property Settings.

  2. Enter the number of routers in the Router Firmware Upload Count field on which a firmware file is uploaded to the device repository. For example, 48

  3. Enter the number of routers in the Router Firmware Install Count field on which you want to apply the uploaded firmware to the routers for upgrading them. For example, 45

  4. Enter the number of attempts that you want Cisco IoT FND to try when there's a failure of firmware uploads in the Router Firmware Upload Retry Count field. For example, 5

Manage Firmware Upgrade Properties For A Router Group

Manage Firmware Upgrade Properties For A Router Group

Feature Name

Release

Description

Manage Firmware Upgrade Properties For A Router Group

Cisco IoT FND Release 5.0

Cisco IoT FND includes a Router Firmware Upload Retry Count in the Firmware Update page. Customize the retry count at the router group level, allowing for tailored firmware update strategies for specific groups of routers.

Information About Manage Firmware Upgrade Properties For A Router Group

Cisco IoT FND introduces a Router Firmware Upload Retry Count field in the Firmware Update page. You can customize the retry count at the router group level, allowing you to implement tailored firmware upgrade strategies for specific groups of routers. The firmware upload retry count is not defined by default at the group level. In case you don't define the upload retry count, the global value in the Property Settings page is applied to the groups as well.

Benefits Of Manage Firmware Upgrade Properties For A Router Group

  • You can customize the retry count for firmware uploads at both global and router group levels, providing greater control over the update process.

  • You can enhance the reliability of firmware updates, reducing the likelihood of failed uploads due to network issues or other disruptions.

  • Different groups of routers can have tailored firmware update strategies, allowing for more efficient management based on specific network conditions or requirements.

Restrictions For Manage Firmware Upgrade Properties For A Router Group

The default value of Router Firmware Upload Retry Count is 5 and the maximum value is 100.

Configure Firmware Upgrade Properties For A Router Group

Here are the steps to configure firmware upload retry count using Cisco IoT FND:

  1. From the Cisco IoT FND menubar, choose CONFIG > Firmware Update.

  2. Select a router group from the Firmware Groups list.

  3. Click Group Properties.

  4. Enter a value between 0 to 100 in the Router Firmware Upload Retry Count.

Working with Resilient Mesh Endpoint Firmware Images

This section describes how to add Resilient Mesh Endpoint (RME) firmware images to IoT FND, and how to upload and install the images on routers.

Overview

When you instruct IoT FND to upload a firmware image to the members of an RME firmware group or subnet, IoT FND pushes the image to the group members in the background and tracks the upload progress to ensure that the devices receive the image.

A Resilient Mesh Endpoint (RME) stores three firmware images:

  • Uploaded image: Image most recently uploaded.

  • Running image: Image that is currently operational.

  • Backup image: It serves as a golden (fallback) image for the RME if there is an issue with the running image.


Note

You can initiate up to 3 firmware downloads simultaneously.

Note

IR500s and other RME devices can coexist on a network; however, for firmware management they cannot belong to the same group.

Note

RME devices can report BL/Boot Loader image types to IoT FND, but IoT FND cannot upload boot loader images to devices.

Actions Supported and Information Displayed at the Firmware Management Pane

At the Firmware Management pane, you can filter the display by Subnet, PanID or Group when you are in the Devices tab.

For every image in the list, IoT FND displays the information as noted in the table:

Table 2. Image Information Displayed by IoT FND
Item Description

Image

Image name.

Uploaded

Specifies the number of devices that uploaded the image. Click the number to display a list of these devices.

Running

Specifies the number of devices running this image. Click the number to display a list of these devices.

Backup

Specifies the number of devices using this image as a backup. Click the number to display a list of these devices.

Boot Loader

Specifies the boot loader image version.

LMAC

Specifies the LMAC image version.

BBU

Specifies the BBU image version.

Status

Specifies the status of the upload process.

Scheduled Reload

Specifies the scheduled reload time.

Actions

Provides two actions:

  • Schedule Install and Reload —Schedule the installation date and time of the loaded image and the reboot of the endpoint by selecting the Calendar icon.

  • Set as Backup —Set the firmware backup image by selecting the clock icon with reverse arrow.

See Setting the Installation Schedule for complete steps.

Set a Firmware Backup Image

To set an image as a firmware image backup:

Procedure

Step 1

Click the Set as Backup button. (See the icon in the Actions summary in Table 1).

Step 2

Click Yes to confirm backup.

Setting the Installation Schedule

To set the installation schedule for an image:

Procedure

Step 1

Click the Schedule Install and Reload button (Calendar icon). For more information, see Table 1.

The following message appears if you try to schedule a reload operation for the node that is scheduled for stack switch operation.

Step 2

In the page that appears, specify the date and time for the installation of the image and rebooting of device.

Figure 1. Schedule and Install and Reload Page

Step 3

Click the Set Reboot Time button.

Firmware Update Transmission Settings

You can configure the Transmission Speed for pacing mesh firmware downloads at the Transmission Settings tab (See CONFIG > FIRMWARE UPDATE page).

Procedure

Step 1

Select the Transmission Speed. Options are Slow (default), Medium, Fast or Custom.

The Slow setting is recommended as the initial setting. You can increase the Slow setting to Medium (or even Fast) if the following conditions exist:

  • The slow setting does not cause any issues in the database and it is able to handle the workload presented without raising any alarms.

  • There is a need to improve on the time taken to do the firmware download.

Step 2

Configure the minimum number of nodes necessary to enable the Multicast firmware upload.

Note

 
For Custom Transmission Speed, you will have to specify Multicast Threshold, Unicast Delay and Minimum Multicast Delay values. Refer to the table below for the definitions of the terms on the CONFIG > FIRMWARE UPDATE > Transmissions Settings page.
Figure 2. CONFIG > FIRMWARE UPDATE
Table 3. Definitions of variables seen on CONFIG > FIRMWARE UPDATE Transmissions Settings page
Item Description

Minimum Multicast Delay (seconds)

Time between subsequent blocks when sending multi-cast messages/blocks/packets to a node.

Multicast Threshold (nodes)

Minimum number of nodes needed to ensure that a multicast transmission can happen in a subnet, if the number of elements requiring a specific image block is greater than or equal to the multicast-threshold value.

Transmission Speed

Options are Slow (default), Medium, Fast or Custom.

Unicast Delay (seconds)

Time between subsequent blocks when sending unicast messages, blocks or packets to a node.

Uploading a Firmware Image to a Resilient Mesh Endpoint (RME) Group

To upload a firmware image to mesh endpoint group members:

Procedure

Step 1

Choose CONFIG > FIRMWARE UPDATE.

Step 2

Click the Groups tab (left-pane).

Step 3

Select the Endpoint firmware group to update.

Step 4

In the right panel, select Firmware Management and then click the Upload Image button. In the entry panel that appears, do the following:

  1. From the Select Type drop-down menu, choose the firmware type for your device.

  2. From the Select an Image drop-down menu, choose the firmware bundle to upload.

  3. Click Upload Image.

  4. (Optional) Check the Install patch box, if you choose to install only the patch of the new image (For more information, see Check Install Patch Item to ONLY Install the Patch Rather than the Full Image).

    Figure 3. Check Install Patch Item to ONLY Install the Patch Rather than the Full Image

  5. Click OK.

    IoT FND adds the image to the list of images in the Firmware Management pane and starts the upload process in the background. A bar chart displays the upload progress (percentage complete). See Firmware Update - Percentage Complete (top-portion of screen) and Firmware Update - Upload Summary (bottom-portion of screen).

    Note

     
    Click the Sync Membership button to ensure that FND and the member endpoint firmware group information are the same.
    Figure 4. Firmware Update - Percentage Complete (top-portion of screen)
    Figure 5. Firmware Update - Upload Summary (bottom-portion of screen)

Uploading a Firmware Image to FND

To upload a firmware image to mesh endpoint group members:

Procedure

Step 1

Choose CONFIG > FIRMWARE UPDATE.

Step 2

Select the Images tab (left-pane).

Step 3

Select the Endpoint Image type (such as BBU, IOx-IR500 LMAC) to be uploaded.

Step 4

Click on + (plus icon) next to the FIRMWARE IMAGES heading to browse the firmware from your local system.

Step 5

Browse and click on Add file.

IoT FND can upload the following image types to ENDPOINT devices as shown in the table below:

Table 4. Firmware Images for Endpoints
Image Type Description

RF

For endpoints with RF radio only.

PLC

For endpoints with Power line communication (PLC) radio only.

BBU

For Battery back up (BBU) units.

LMAC

For Local MAC connected devices.

IOx-IR500

For IR500 devices running Cisco IOx software.
Figure 6. Using IoT FND to Upload Images to an Endpoint

Modifying Display of Firmware Management Page

You can filter the Firmware Management page display by Subnet, PanId or Group in the Devices tab.

To modify the display of firmware management page:

Procedure

Step 1

Choose CONFIG > FIRMWARE UPDATE.

Step 2

Click the Sync Membership button to ensure that the information for FND and the member endpoint firmware group is the same.

Figure 7. CONFIG > FIRMWARE UPDATE

Viewing Mesh Device Firmware Image Upload Logs

To view the mesh device firmware image upload logs:

Procedure

Step 1

Click the Sync Membership button to sync the group members in the same firmware group.

Step 2

Click the Devices tab to view member's devices.

Step 3

Click the Logs tab to view log files for the group.

For more information, refer to Firmware Update - Percentage Complete (top-portion of screen) .

AP800 Firmware Upgrade During Zero Touch Deployment

During the PnP bootstrapping, whenever an access point (AP) or router sends the firmware request, FND will need to make the choice as to whether Unified Firmware or Autonomous Firmware is updated on the AP to make it accessible to the Cisco Wireless LAN Controller (WLC) after a firmware upgrade.


Note
Once you set up the DHCP server on a Cisco IOS router, WLC generally handles the software updates for the AP.

Allows you to set the desired firmware that will update an IR829 router during ZTD.

There are two possible firmware options:

  • Option 1: Set the ‘unified’ version (k9w8: the factory-shipped version) as the desired firmware.

  • Option 2 : Set the autonomous firmware as the desired firmware version.

During the ZTD process, the firmware upgrade of an access point (AP) or embedded AP on an IR829 router will upgrade using the firmware version you define as the autonomous firmware.

To define the Autonomous Firmware for an IR829 router:

Procedure

Step 1

Choose CONFIG > DEVICE CONFIGURATION.

Step 2

Select the desired router: Default-ir800 (left-pane).

Step 3

Check the installed firmware version, BEFORE upload. if equal to the latest version, skip firmware upgrade.

Step 4

Before you upload the software to the router, check the image and version:

  • If the router image version is equal to the latest version, skip upgrade.

  • If router image has the latest

Step 5

Select Edit AP Configuration Template tab (right-pane).

Step 6

Enter the following text in the right-pane:

ip dhcp pool embedded-ap-pool
network <router_ip> 255.255.255.0
dns-server <dns_ip>
default-router <router_ip>
option 43 hex f104.0a0a.0a0f (Note: Enter a single WLC IP
address(10.10.10.15) in hex format)
ip address <router_ip> 255.255.255.0
! {Note the symbol in this line is an exclamation point}
service-module wlan-ap 0 bootimage unified

Step 7

Click disk icon (bottom of page) to save the commands in the configuration template.

Image Diff Files for IR809 and IR829

To reduce the file size that transfers across network for IR809 and IR829, you can send a partial image:

  • At the Upload Image page, select type: IOS-IR800.

  • Check box for option: “install patch for IOS and hypervisor from this bundle.”

Gateway Firmware Updates

IC3000 Firmware Updates:

  • At the CONFIG > FIRMWARE UPDATE page, you can add or delete the IC3000 firmware image.


    Note

    Firmware image upload depends on interface speeds. You can set the timeout duration (in minutes) for firmware upload in cgms.properties file using "igma-idle-timeout" key. If you don’t set this duration, then default timeout duration will be 15 minutes.

  • At the Images tab page, expand the Gateway icon and click on IC3000 to see a list of available IC3000 images.

Avoid Firmware Upgrade Overlap with Certificate Auto Renewal

Problem

As part of the reload process, the cellular modem is powered off during firmware upgrade. If there is an Embedded Event Manager (EEM) script which is in the running configuration, which executes the write memory operation after getting a renewed certificate, then it saves the startup configuration with the cellular modem turned off. This results in an outage after router reload. Once the router reloads and comes up again, due to cellular modem which is in the powered off state, the router cannot register with Cisco IoT FND.

Solution

There are two steps for upgrade:

  • Firmware upload.

  • Firmware installation.

In case of an overlapping duration between certificate auto renewal and firmware installation, ensure that the firmware installation is initiated only after the certificates are successfully auto renewed for routers. Also, select only those routers which have already completed the certificate auto renewal for the firmware upgrade group.


Note

This is applicable only for firmware installation as firmware upload has no such restriction.

Identifying and Avoiding Routers for Firmware Upgrade

To identify and avoid selecting the routers which have certificate expiration, follow the given step:

  1. From the Cisco IoT FND menu bar, click OPERATIONS > Issues.


    Note

    Avoid selecting any router which appears in the Issues table with certification expiry message.

Configuring Firmware Group Settings

This section describes how to add, delete, and configure firmware groups, and includes the following topics:


Note
Upload operations only begin when you click the Resume button.

When you add routers or RMEs to IoT FND, the application sorts the devices into the corresponding default firmware group: default-<router> or default-cgmesh. Use these groups to upload and install firmware images on member devices. Add firmware groups to manage custom sets of devices. You can assign devices to firmware groups manually or in bulk. Before deleting a firmware group, you must move all devices in the group to another group. You cannot delete non-empty groups.

When creating firmware groups note the guidelines:

  • CGRs, IR800s can coexist on a network; however, for firmware management, they cannot belong to the same firmware group.

  • IR500s and other RMEs devices can coexist on a network; however, for firmware management, they cannot belong to the same group.

The Groups tab on the CONFIG > FIRMWARE UPDATE page displays various device metrics.

Figure 8. CONFIG > FIRMWARE UPDATE

Tip
At the Firmware Update page, click the Error/Devices link (not shown) in the Firmware Update page to apply a filter.

Click Clear Filter to revert to an unfiltered view of the selected device group.

Adding Firmware Groups

To add a firmware group:

Procedure

Step 1

Choose CONFIG > FIRMWARE UPDATE.

Step 2

Click the Groups tab.

Step 3

In the Groups pane, select one of the following:

  • Default-cgr1000

  • Default-ir500

  • Default-ir800

  • Default-cgmesh

Step 4

Click + next to Firmware Groups heading in the Groups pane to Add Group.

Step 5

In the Add Group dialog box, enter the name of the firmware group. Device Category options depend on the device type you select in Step 3.

Step 6

Click Add.

The new group label appears under the corresponding device type in the Firmware Groups pane.

Note

 
To assign devices to the new group, see Assigning Devices to a Firmware Group.

Assigning Devices to a Firmware Group

This section explains moving devices to another firmware group in bulk or manually.

Moving Devices to Another Group In Bulk

To move devices from one group to another in bulk:

Procedure

Step 1

Create a CSV or XML file listing devices that you want to move using the format shown in the following examples:

DeviceType/EID for CGRs:


eid
CGR1120/k9+JS1
CGR1120/k9+JS2
CGR1120/k9+JS3

EID only for mesh endpoints:


eid
00078108003c1e07
00078108003C210b

EID only for IR800s


eid
ir800

EID only for ISR 800s:


eid
C819HGW-S-A-K9+FTX174685V0
C819HGW-S-A-K9+FTX174686V0
C819HGW-S-A-K9+FTX174687V0

EID only for IR500s:


eid
da1
da2

da3

EID only for IC3000


eidIC3000+FOC2219Y47Z

Note

 
Each file can only list one device type.

Step 2

Choose CONFIG > FIRMWARE UPDATE.

Step 3

Click the Groups tab.

Step 4

Click the Assign devices to Firmware Group button (found above the Groups tab).

Step 5

In the window that appears, click Browse and locate the device list CSV or XML file.

Step 6

From the Group drop-down menu, choose the destination group.

Step 7

Click Assign to Group.

Note

 
IoT FND moves the devices listed in the file from their current group to the destination group.

Step 8

Click Close.

Moving Devices to Another Group Manually

To manually move devices to a group:

Procedure

Step 1

Choose CONFIG > FIRMWARE UPDATE.

Step 2

Click the Groups tab.

Step 3

In the Firmware Groups pane, select the desired firmware group based on device type.

Note

 

If this is an ENDPOINT firmware group, click the Devices tab above the main pane.

Step 4

Check the check boxes of the devices that you want to move.

Step 5

Click Change Firmware Group to open a pop up window.

Step 6

From the Firmware Group drop-down menu, choose the firmware group to which you want to move the devices or enter a new group name.

Step 7

Click Change Firmware Group.

Step 8

Click Close.

Renaming a Firmware Group

In the Firmware Update page, there are two firmware groups available, namely user-created groups and default groups of router, endpoint, or gateway. IoT FND allows you to rename the user-created firmware groups only. You cannot rename the default firmware groups.

To rename a firmware group:

Procedure

Step 1

Choose CONFIG > FIRMWARE UPDATE.

Step 2

Click the Groups tab.

Step 3

In the Firmware Groups pane, select the firmware group to rename.

Step 4

Move the cursor over the firmware group and click the Edit Group Name pencil icon.

Note

 

Starting with IoT FND, you can only rename the user-created firmware groups and you cannot rename the default firmware groups. The pencil icon does not appear for the default firmware groups.

Step 5

In the Rename Group window, enter the new name and then click OK.

Note

 
When you enter an invalid character entry (such as, @, #, !, or +) within the Rename Group field, IoT FND displays a red alert icon, highlights the field in red, and disables the OK button.

Deleting Firmware Groups


Note

Before deleting a firmware group, you must move all devices in the group to another group. You cannot delete non-empty groups.

To delete a firmware group:

Procedure

Step 1

Choose CONFIG > FIRMWARE UPDATE.

Step 2

Click the Groups tab.

Step 3

In the Firmware Groups pane, select a firmware group to display a list of all possible firmware images for that group in the right pane.

Step 4

Check the box next to the firmware group that you want to delete.

Step 5

Click Clear Selection that appears above the entry (yellow bar).

Step 6

To confirm deletion, click Yes.

Step 7

Click OK.

Firmware images

Firmware images in Cisco IoT FND are software files that you use to update and enhance the firmware of managed Cisco IoT devices.

A router group in Cisco IoT FND is a collection of routers that you can organize together to simplify managing, monitoring, and configuring tasks across multiple routers simultaneously.

Table 6. Feature history

Feature name

Release information

Description

Bootflash Space Cleanup

Cisco IoT FND Release 5.0

Check the Remove unused firmware images from bootflash check box to remove unused firmware bin files from the bootflash when Cisco IoT FND uploads the image to the router. The check box is enabled for the following devices running Cisco IOS-XE:

  • Cisco Catalyst IR1100

  • Cisco Catalyst IR8100

  • Cisco Catalyst IR1800

Add firmware images

Import the firmware file into the Cisco IoT FND database so it can be managed and later deployed to Cisco IoT routers.

Here are the steps to add firmware images to Cisco IoT FND:

Procedure

Step 1

In the Cisco IoT FND menubar, choose CONFIG > Firmware Update.

Step 2

Click the Images tab.

Step 3

Select ROUTER or ENDPOINT or GATEWAY and then select a device group. For example, IOS-XE-IR1100.

Step 4

Click the + icon adjacent to FIRMWARE IMAGES.

Step 5

Click Browse to locate the firmware image. Select the image, then click Add File.

The image appears in the Firmware Images list.

What to do next

Upload firmware images

Upload firmware images

This task guides you to upload firmware images to a router group, Cisco IoT FND pushes the image to the router group in the background and tracks the upload progress to ensure that the devices receive the firmware image.

Here are the steps to upgrade firmware on a router group:

Before you begin

  • Firmware image upload and installation require at least 200 MB of free disk space on IOS devices and 700 MB on IOS-XE devices.

  • If a router group does not have enough free space, Cisco IoT FND automatically initiates a disk cleanup process. It removes unused files from the .../managed/images directory that are not currently running or referenced in the before-tunnel-config, before-registration-config, express-setup-config, or factory-config files for IOS CGRs. This process continues sequentially until there is sufficient space to upload the new image.

    If there is still not enough space, you must manually delete unused files on the router.

  • If any devices in the router group encounter errors during firmware upload, Cisco IoT FND prevents firmware installation and you can see an error message indicating the presence of errored devices. For errored or cancelled devices, move them to a separate install group and repeat the upload and installation process.

  • If you cancel the firmware upload for some devices, firmware installation proceeds only on devices that successfully completed the upload. For errored or cancelled devices, move them to a separate install group and repeat the upload and installation process.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Cisco IoT FND menubar, choose CONFIG > Firmware Update.

Step 2

Click the Groups tab.

Step 3

Select the router group that you want to upgrade.

Step 4

Click Upload Image.

Step 5

The Select Type: drop-down list is auto-selected based on the selected router group.

Step 6

Select an image from the Select an Image drop-down list.

Note

 

In Cisco IoT FND Release 5.0, you can use the Remove unused firmware images from bootflash checkbox when uploading Cisco IOS-XE images. If there isn’t enough space for the new image, checking the checkbox deletes all unused .bin files from bootflash, keeping only those required for boot parameters and active images. This ensures enough disk space for the upload.

Step 7

Click Upload Image Now to initiate the firmware upgrade process instantly.

Note

 

Use the Cancel or Pause buttons to either cancel or pause the firmware image upload.

What to do next

Install firmware images.

Install firmware images

Use this task to install a firmware image to a router group after you upload a firmware image to Cisco IoT FND.

Before you begin

If you cancelled the firmware upload for some devices, firmware installation proceeds only on devices that successfully completed the upload. For errored or cancelled devices, move them to a separate install group and repeat the upload and installation process.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Cisco IoT FND menubar, choose CONFIG > Firmware Update.

Step 2

Click the Groups tab.

Step 3

In the Groups tab, select the router group for which you want to install the firmware.

Step 4

Click Install Image.

Step 5

In the Install Image to: dialog box, select Install Image Now to install the image instantly.

Step 6

Use the Cancel or Pause buttons to cancel or pause the firmware installation.

Note

 

  • If you restart Cisco IoT FND during the image installation process, it automatically resumes any firmware installations that were in progress before going offline.

  • The firmware installation operation can time out on some routers. During installation, a job scheduler runs every two hours to terminate any firmware install jobs that are stuck at 35% progress. You can adjust the scheduler’s default interval by setting the "firmware-install-timeout-schedule-cron-hour" key in the cgms.properties file to any value greater than 0 and less than 24. This scheduler applies only to jobs stalled at the 35% mark.

  • When a firmware install or image upload operation for routers takes too long, it can cause other jobs in the queue to wait longer. You can set the timeout duration for stuck firmware jobs using the router-firmware-upload-timeout-minutes and router-firmware-install-timeout-minutes keys in the cgms.properties file; the default is 8 hours (480 minutes).

What to do next

View the firmware images

View firmware images

Use the following instructions to view the firmware images on Cisco IoT FND:

Procedure

Step 1

From the Cisco IoT FND menubar, choose CONFIG > FIRMWARE UPDATE.

Step 2

Click the Images tab.

Step 3

Select a ROUTER or an ENDPOINT to display all firmware images for those devices in the Cisco IoT FND database.

You can view a list of firware images associated with the particular device type. You can view details such as name, version, hardware ID, vendor hardware ID, size, active download etc.

Step 4

Click Delete to delete a particular firmware image.

Search Firmware Updates

Push StackMode

Starting from Cisco IoT FND Release 4.8.1, Cisco IoT FND supports multiple mesh networking modes for IoT deployments. You must be an admin or you should have firmware upgrade permission to perform the switch from CR-Mesh to Wi-SUN stack mode. Switching from CR-Mesh to Wi-Sun mode changes the underlying radio protocol used by devices in the network. CG-Mesh is Cisco mesh technology, while Wi-Sun leverages the IEEE 802.15.4g standard with Wi-SUN profiles for interoperability within a broader ecosystem. During the switching process, a single or multiple PAN nodes are grouped and scheduled for switching devices from CG-Mesh to Wi-SUN stack. Wi-SUN stack supports both unicast and multicast transmissions. For more information see, Mesh protocol modes.

Supported Platforms

Cisco IoT FND supports the following platforms for switching devices from CG-Mesh to Wi-SUN stack:

  • ITRON30

  • CR-Mesh

  • Cisco 500 Series WPAN Industrial Routers

Table 8. Feature History
Feature Name Release Information Description

Support For Wi-SUN Stack Switch

Cisco IoT FND Release 4.8.1

Switch devices from CR-Mesh to Wi-SUN StackMode.

Prerequisites

Here are the prequisites for switching to Wi-SUN mode from CR-Mesh mode using Cisco IoT FND:

  • Ensure that the firmware version is 6.2 MR and later versions.

  • Cisco CGR must run Cisco IOS Release 15.9(3)M1 and later releases.

  • Once you are done with switching of the devices from CR-Mesh to Wi-SUN stack mode, ensure to update the WPAN OFDM/FSK stack mode to Wi-SUN stack. If the WPAN OFDM/FSK is not updated, the node can't join back the network and will move to Down state in Cisco IoT FND.

Switching from CR-Mesh to Wi-SUN StackMode

You can either push your devices to Wi-SUN mode from CR-Mesh mode instantly or you could schedule the task at your convenience.

Push devices to Wi-SUN StackMode

Here are the instructions to push devices to Wi-SUN stack mode:

Procedure

Step 1

From the Cisco IoT FND menubar, choose CONFIG > Firmware Update.

Step 2

Click the Groups tab in the left pane.

Step 3

Select the default or user-defined firmware group from the ENDPOINT.

Step 4

Check the PAN ID check box in the Stack Mode Switch table.

Step 5

Click Push StackMode.

Based on the status of the push stack mode process, the following states are displayed for the selected PAN ID in the Stack Mode Switch table.

Table 9. PAN ID Status

Field

Description
Stack Operation Type

Displays the following states for the Push StackMode operation:

  • StackMode Push Initiated : Displays initiation of the stack mode operation.

  • StackMode Push Completed: Displays the completion of the stack mode operation.

Stack Operation Status

Displays the overall success and failure status of the devices for the selected PAN during the StackMode operation.

Schedule Push StackMode


Note

You can schedule devices for the Wi-SUN stack switching process only after the successful completion of pushing devices to StackMode.

Here are steps to schedule Push StackMode:

Procedure

Step 1

From Cisco IoT FND menubar, choose CONFIG > Firmware Update.

Step 2

From the StackMode Switch table, check the PAN ID check box.

Note

 

You can select only the PAN ID that has successfully completed the push StackMode configuration.

Step 3

Click Push StackMode Time.

A Confirm dialog box appears to schedule the switching initiation process for moving CR-Mesh devices to Wi-SUN stack.

Based on the status of the StackMode time process, the following states are displayed for the selected PAN ID in the StackMode Switch table.

Table 10. PAN ID Status

Field

Description
Stack Operation Type

Displays the following states for the Push StackMode operation:

  • StackMode Push Initiated : Displays initiation of the stack mode operation.

  • StackMode Push Completed: Displays the completion of the stack mode operation.

Stack Operation Status

Displays the overall success and failure status of the devices for the selected PAN during the StackMode operation.

Step 4

Click Yes to confirm the stack switching operation.

On confirming the stack switching process, the stack operation type gets updated to Stack Switch Time Push Initiated state for the selected PAN ID.

Step 5

In the Schedule Switch Wi-SUN Stack dialog box, select the time and click Schedule.

Note

 

Ensure that the scheduled time is not more than 49 days from the current date.

Note

 
If the scheduled time is in the past, an error message appears.

Step 6

Click OK in the Success dialog box.

On successful completion of the stack switch process, the stack operation type column in the table gets updated to Stack Switch Time Push Completed state for the selected PAN ID.

Note

 

We recommend that you wait until all the devices in the selected PAN get switched to Wi-SUN stack, as there is a possibility of some devices failing to switch in the scheduled time. However, the failed devices automatically switch to Wi-SUN StackMode after a one-day time period.

Note

 

If you want to reschedule the stack time for some reason, then you have to cancel the current stack switch operation, push the StackMode again, and reinitiate the scheduling stack switch process.

Cancel Wi-SUN Stack Switch Operation

You can cancel the Wi-SUN stack switch operation only on successful completion of the previously configured or scheduled StackMode operation.

Here are the steps to cancel Wi-SUN stack switch operation:

Procedure

Step 1

From the Cisco IoT FND menubar, Choose CONFIG > Firmware Update.

Step 2

In the Firmware Management page, check the PAN ID check box for which you have completed either configuration or scheduling operation.

Step 3

Click Cancel StackMode.

Based on the status of the StackMode cancellation process, the following states are displayed for the selected PAN ID in the StackMode Switch table.

Table 11. PAN ID Status

Field

Description
Stack Operation Type

Displays the following states for the Push StackMode operation:

  • StackMode Push Initiated : Displays initiation of the stack mode operation.

  • StackMode Push Completed: Displays the completion of the stack mode operation.

Stack Operation Status

Displays the overall success and failure status of the devices for the selected PAN during the StackMode operation.

Step 4

Click Yes to cancel the stack switch operation.

A Success dialog box appears to indicate the successful cancellation of the Wi-SUN stack switch operation.

Validate Push StackMode

In the StackMode Push Initiated state, the devices in the selected PAN ID are validated based on the following parameters:

  • Firmware version

  • StackMode configuration

Table 12. Push StackMode Validation

Scenarios

System Validation

User Action

Firmware version 6.2 MR.

Checks if the devices in the selected PAN ID are running firmware version 6.2 MR.

  • If the firmware version is lower than 6.2 MR, then an error message appears.

    Note

     

    for more information on the devices that are running a lower version go to the Devices tab.

  • You must upgrade the devices to firmware version 6.2 MR or later versions.

  • After upgrading the devices, you must again push new StackMode for the selected PAN ID.

  • If the firmware version is greater than 6.2 MR, then the devices are already in Wi-SUN stack.

StackMode configuration.

Checks if all devices in the selected PAN ID received the StackMode configuration.

  • Some devices in the selected PAN ID fail to receive the configuration.

  • Push StackMode again for the selected PAN ID.

    or

  • Remove the devices that are in Down state from FND and again push StackMode for the remaining devices in the PAN ID.

  • If all the devices in the selected PAN ID received the StackMode configuration, then you can schedule the devices for stack switch operation initiation.

You can schedule the devices for Wi-SUN stack switch only on successful completion of pushing StackMode configuration to all devices in the selected PAN.


Note

On successful completion of the validation, the stack operation state for the selected PAN ID changes to Stack Mode Push Completed.

View StackMode information

From the Devices tab, you can view the StackMode status and StackMode time of each device for the following processes:

  • Pushing Devices to Wi-SUN StackMode

  • Scheduling Devices for Wi-SUN Stack Switch

  • Canceling Wi-SUN Stack Switch Operation

Procedure

Step 1

From the Cisco IoT FND menubar, choose CONFIG > FIRMWARE UPDATE > Groups tab.

Step 2

Select the default or user-defined firmware group from the ENDPOINT.

Step 3

Select the PAN ID from the StackMode Switch table.

Step 4

Click the Devices tab.

The Stack Change Status column displays the following states:

Table 13. Device State

Device State

Description

Not Started

Indicates the supported devices that are not initiated for Wi-SUN stack switch.

Not Applicable

Indicates the devices that are not supported for Wi-SUN stack switch.

Configuring StackMode

Indicates the devices that are pushed for StackMode operation.

Configured Stackmode

Indicates the devices that are successfully configured with StackMode.

Scheduling Stackmode time

Indicates the devices that are scheduled for StackMode switch.

Success

Indicates the devices that are successfully switched from CG-Mesh to Wi-SUN stack.

Canceling stackmode switch

Indicates the devices that are scheduled for canceling StackMode switch.

Cancelled stackmode switch

Indicates the devices that are successfully cancelled from switching to Wi-SUN stack.

Filtering Options

  1. Click Show Filter. The page displays three drop-down lists.

  2. Select the search option from the first drop-down list. For example, if you select Status from the first drop-down list, the available list of states appears in the third drop-down list.

  3. Select the required option in the third drop-down list and click +.

    Your selection is displayed in the text box above the drop-down lists.

  4. Click the search icon.

    The table displays information based on the search criteria set by you.

View logs for Wi-SUN stack switch

To view logs for Wi-SUN stack switch:

Procedure

Step 1

From the Cisco IoT FND menubar, choose CONFIG > Firmware Update.

Step 2

Select the firmware group from the ENDPOINT in the left pane.

Step 3

In the Firmware Management page, select the PAN ID for which you want to see the logs.

Step 4

Click the Logs tab.

In the Logs page, you can view the events that are recorded for the selected PAN ID.

View Audit Trail for Wi-SUN stack switch

To view audit trail for Wi-SUN stack switch :

Procedure

Step 1

From the Cisco IoT FND menubar, choose ADMIN > System Management > Audit Trail.

Step 2

In the Audit Trail page, click the Date/Time drop-down arrow to filter the audit trail based on the date and time.

You can view the audit trail of the stack operations that were performed on the selected PAN ID.

Upgrading Firmware Image during Bootstrapping

During bootstrapping, you can enter a different image if the installed image at manufacturing is inappropriate. This is supported for IR1800 and IR8100 devices from the versions 17.13.01 and above. Plug and Play (PnP) must be supported on these devices.


Note

Ensure that IR8100 device has the network-essentials license to register the device to IoT FND.

PnP Device Information service retrieves current firmware version on the device and the PnP ImageInstall service performs the image installation. The CGNA ‘image-retrieve' service transfers the image file from IoT FND to router.

Procedure

Step 1

Set the firmware-update-bootstrap property in cgms.properties to ‘true’.

Step 2

On the Tunnel Provisioning Page, navigate to CONFIG > TUNNEL PROVISIONING > ROUTER BOOTSTRAP CONFIGURATION.

Step 3

Select the device group in the left pane, choose the Target Firmware Version from the drop down that lists the images in IoT FND, and click Save.

The PnP workflow configures the device to load the new image upon the next reload by executing the boot system command. The configuration changes are saved on the device. The PnP reload happens and sends a message to the PnP server after which an event is generated denoting image installation.

Note

 

The PnP workflow supports device upgrade only if the target image version is higher than the running (current) image version.

If the target image runs the same or lower version, then the device upgrade is skipped during the PnP workflow.
During PNP, you also have the option to skip the firmware upgrade and proceed with PNP if the source operating system on these devices is found to be unreliable. Enter the image versions as comma separated values in pnp-skip-update-ios-xe-fw-versions property in cgms.properties file. This property is applicable for all IR1100, IR1800, and IR8100 devices. For more information, see Skipping Firmware Upgrades during PNP.

Skipping Firmware Upgrades during PNP

During Zero Touch Deployment (ZTD), certain scenarios may arise where Plug-and-Play (PNP) devices come bundled with software that exhibits instability or issues. If the source operating system (OS) on these devices is found to be unreliable, it can potentially disrupt the entire registration process. In such instances, during the PNP process, you can skip the firmware upgrade step while allowing PNP to proceed seamlessly. However, you can upgrade the firmware once the PNP process is complete.

To perform a PNP with firmware upgrade skip:

Procedure

Step 1

Set the image versions in pnp-skip-update-ir1100-fw-versions property in cgms.properties file.

Note

 

The pnp-skip-update-ir1100-fw-versions property is applicable for IOS-XE routers only.

Step 2

Set the image versions in pnp-skip-update-ios-xe-fw-versions property in cgms.properties file.

Note

 

The pnp-skip-update-ios-xe-fw-versions property is applicable for IOS-XE routers only.

Step 3

Choose CONFIG > Tunnel Provisioning. Select the router group for which you intend to execute the PNP process.

Step 4

Click Router Bootstrap Configuration tab.

Step 5

Under Target Firmware Version, specify the image version you want to skip and click Save.

The template is saved. However upon performing PNP, during router bootstrap configuration, a warning popup appears if any invalid entry is found. In that case, modify the field and restart server.

If firmware install is skipped during PnP process, the log details are stored in server.log file. The sample INFO log is shown below: 

Aug 03 2023 19:24:26.854 +0000: %IOTFND-6-UNSPECIFIED:
 %[ch=WorkResponseHandler][eid=IR1101-K9+FCW23500HJ3][ip=1.1.1.121]
[sev=INFO][tid=tunnelProvJetty-67]: Retrieved device image version 
[17.9.3] is present in PnP firmware image skip list. Firmware image update
 during PnP process will be skipped.

Note

 

In order to upgrade the device with the latest firmware version, skip entering the current image version in cgms.properties and proceed with PNP.

Step 6

Navigate to the Bootstrapping tab where the Error Message field is updated though the PNP progresses as is.

The Bootstrapping tab shows the status of the PNP under the Bootstrap State field.

Update Target Firmware Versions For All Users

In the Cisco IoT FND Release 4.12.x and earlier releases, when you change the target firmware versions in the Router Bootstrap Configuration tab as a root user. The target firmware changes don't reflect in Cisco IoT FND when you're logged in as a different user with specific roles assigned to you by the root user. For more information on managing roles and permissions see, Managing Roles and Permissions.

Starting from Cisco IoT FND Release 5.0, when the root user changes the target firmware version, the changes reflects for all the other associated Cisco IoT FND users.