Cisco Nexus 3600 Platform FPGA/EPLD Upgrade Release Notes, Release 9.3(5)

Cisco Nexus 3600 Platform FPGA/EPLD Upgrade Release Notes, Release 9.3(5)

This document lists the current and past versions of EPLD images and describes how to update them for use with the Cisco Nexus 3636C-R, and 36180YC-R switches.

The following table lists the changes to this document.

 

Contents

■      Introduction

■      Deciding When to Upgrade EPLDs

■      Switch Requirements

■      EPLD Upgrades Available for NX-OS Mode Release 9.3(5)

■      Determining Whether to Upgrade EPLD Images

■      Downloading the EPLD Images

■      Installation Guidelines

■      Upgrading the EPLD Images

■      Verifying the EPLD Upgrades

■      Displaying the Status of EPLD Upgrades

■      Limitations

■      Related Documentation

■      Legal Information

 

Introduction

The Cisco Nexus 9000 Series NX-OS mode switches contain several programmable logical devices (PLDs) that provide hardware functionalities in all modules. Cisco provides electronic programmable logic device (EPLD) image upgrades to enhance hardware functionality or to resolve known issues. PLDs include electronic programmable logic devices (EPLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), but they do not include ASICs. In this document, the term EPLD is used for FPGA and CPLDs.

The advantage of having EPLDs for some module functions is that when you need to upgrade those functions, you just upgrade their software images instead of replacing their hardware.

NOTE: EPLD image upgrades for a line card disrupt the traffic going through the module because the module must power down briefly during the upgrade. The system performs EPLD upgrades on one module at a time, so at any one time the upgrade disrupts only the traffic going through one module.

Cisco provides the latest EPLD images with each release. Typically, these images are the same as provided in earlier releases but occasionally some of these images are updated. These EPLD image updates are not mandatory unless otherwise specified. The EPLD image upgrades are independent from the Cisco In Service Software Upgrade (ISSU) process, which upgrades the system and kickstart images with no impact on the network environment.

When Cisco makes an EPLD image upgrade available, these release notes announce their availability, and you can download them from Software Download page.

Deciding When to Upgrade EPLDs

When new EPLD images are available, the upgrades are always recommended if your network environment allows for a maintenance period in which some level of traffic disruption is acceptable. If such a disruption is not acceptable at this time, then you might consider postponing the upgrade until a better time.

NOTE: The EPLD upgrade operation is a disruptive operation. You should execute this operation only at a programmed maintenance time. The system ISSU upgrade is a nondisruptive upgrade.

NOTE: Do not perform an EPLD upgrade during an ISSU system/kickstart upgrade.

NOTE: The EPLD upgrade will cause the 3600 ToR switch to reload.

Cisco Secure Boot Hardware Tampering Vulnerability - Remediation Steps

·         The following section details updating your EPLD version for affected switches listed in: https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20190513-secureboot

Switch Requirements

The Cisco Nexus 3600-R switches must be running the Cisco NX-OS operating system.

You must be able to access the switch through a console, SSH, or Telnet (required for setting up a switch running in NX-OS mode but not required for a switch running in ACI-mode).

You must have administrator privileges to work with the Cisco Nexus 9000 Series switch.

EPLD Upgrades Available for NX-OS Mode Release 9.3(5)

Each EPLD image that you can download from Software Download page, is a bundle of EPLD upgrades. To see the updated EPLD versions for the Cisco Nexus 3600 platform switches, see the following table.

NOTE: All updates to an image are shown in boldface

Available EPLD Images for the Cisco Nexus 3600 Platform Switches

 

Determining Whether to Upgrade EPLD Images

 

To determine which devices need upgraded EPLDs, use the show install impact epld bootflash: command for a device and indicate the latest EPLD image file (n9000-epld.9.3.5.img). The output for this command indicates the current EPLD images, new EPLD images, and whether the upgrades would be disruptive to switch operations. If the currently installed EPLD version number is greater than the new EPLD image number, you can skip the upgrade.

■        To determine the EPLD upgrades needed for a Cisco Nexus 9500 platform modular switch, use the show install impact epld bootflash: command on that switch and indicate the n9000-epld.9.3.5 image. In the following example, the MIFPGA and IOFPGA EPLD images can be upgraded for the line cards in slots 2 through 7 and all of the fabric modules. These upgrades are disruptive.

Downloading the EPLD Images

Before you can prepare the EPLD images for installation, you must download them to the FTP or management server.

Procedure

Installation Guidelines

You can upgrade EPLDs using CLI commands on the Cisco Nexus 9500 platform switch. Follow these guidelines when you upgrade EPLDs:

■        Before you upgrade any EPLD images, be sure that you have updated the Cisco NX-OS operating system to the level required for the images and be sure that you have an EPLD image file.

■        You can execute an upgrade from the active supervisor module only. This upgrade is for one or all of the modules as follows:

■        You can upgrade a module individually.

—      You can upgrade all modules sequentially.

—      You can update e the images for online modules only.

■        If you interrupt an upgrade, you must upgrade the module that is being upgraded again.

■        The upgrade process disrupts traffic on the targeted module.

■        Do not insert or remove any modules while an EPLD upgrade is in progress.

Upgrading the EPLD Images

If you have a Cisco Nexus 3600 platform switch that is running Cisco NX-OS Release 7.0(3)3(3) build or later build, follow the special upgrade steps presented here.

Procedure

 

Verifying the EPLD Upgrades

To verify the EPLD upgrades for a switch or its modules, use the show version module slot_number epld command as follows:

■        To verify updates for a module, indicate the chassis slot number for slot_number.
switch# show version module 1 epld

Displaying the Status of EPLD Upgrades

To display the status of EPLD upgrades on the switch, use the show install epld status command.

Limitations

When EPLDs are upgraded, the following guidelines and observations apply:

■        If a module is not online, you cannot upgrade its EPLD images.

■        If there are two supervisors installed in the switch, you can either upgrade only the standby supervisor from the active supervisor or upgrade all modules (including both supervisor modules) by using the following commands:

—      install epld bootflash: image module standby_supervisor_slot_number (upgrades only the standby supervisor module)

NOTE: After you use this command, you can switchover the active and standby supervisor modules and then upgrade the other supervisor.

—      install epld bootflash: image module all (upgrades all of the modules)

■        If there is only one supervisor installed in the switch, your upgrading or downgrading of EPLD images is disruptive.

Related Documentation

The entire Cisco NX-OS 3000 Series documentation set.

Documentation Feedback

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Legal Information

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Any Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and phone numbers used in this document are not intended to be actual addresses and phone numbers. Any examples, command display output, network topology diagrams, and other figures included in the document are shown for illustrative purposes only. Any use of actual IP addresses or phone numbers in illustrative content is unintentional and coincidental.

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