Cisco Nexus 9000 Series FPGA/EPLD Upgrade Release Notes, Release 9.2(4)

 

This document lists the current and past versions of EPLD images and describes how to update them for use with the Cisco Nexus 9000 Series switches.

The following table lists the changes to this document.

 

Table of Contents

Introduction   3

Deciding When to Upgrade EPLDs  3

Switch Requirements  3

EPLD Upgrades Available for NX-OS Mode Releases 9.2(1) through 9.2(4)  5

Cisco Secure Boot Hardware Tampering Vulnerability - Remediation Steps  6

Determining Whether to Upgrade EPLD Images  15

Downloading the EPLD Images  16

Installation Guidelines  17

Upgrading the EPLD Images  18

Verifying the EPLD Upgrades  18

Displaying the Status of EPLD Upgrades  18

Limitations  18

Related Documentation   18

Release Notes   19

Documentation Feedback  19

Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request  19

 

 

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.

NOTE: For N9K-C9348GC-FXP, EPLD should be upgraded to minimum 9.2(3) version for 9.2(x) release. Please refer to CSCvm94301 for further details.  

NOTE: N9300-EX/N9300-FX/N9200 switches running 703I7(2-5), 9.2(1), or 9.2(2) version of the code, may experience constant high PTP correction (~125/250ms) with no change from the grand master clock. Please refer to CSCvn94487 for further details.  

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 image 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 the EPLD images from https://software.cisco.com/download/navigator.html.

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, then consider postponing the upgrade until a better time.

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

NOTE: EPLD version is backward compatible.

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

Switch Requirements

The Cisco Nexus 9000 Series switch must be running the Cisco NX-OS operating system and include the following hardware:

■        Supervisor modules (2)—each with at least 800 MB of available boot flash memory (Cisco Nexus 9504, 9508, and 9516 switches)

■        System controller modules (2) (Cisco Nexus 9504, 9508, and 9516 switches)

■        Line cards (Cisco Nexus 9504, 9508, and 9516 switches)

—      Cisco Nexus 9504 switch (1 to 4 line cards)

—      Cisco Nexus 9508 switch (1 to 8 line cards)

—      Cisco Nexus 9516 switch (1 to 16 line cards)

■        Fabric modules (Cisco Nexus 9504, 9508, and 9516 switches)

—      Fabric modules for 40-Gigabit line cards on a Cisco Nexus 9504, 9508, or 9516 switch (3-6 modules)

—      Fabric modules for 100-Gigabit –E line cards on a Cisco Nexus 9504, 9508, or 9516 switch (4 modules)

—      Fabric modules for 100-Gigabit –S line cards on a Cisco Nexus 9504 or 9508 switch (4 modules)

■        Fan modules

—      Cisco Nexus 92304QC, 9272Q, and 93120TX switches (2 modules)

—      Cisco Nexus 9336C-FX2, 9364C, 9396PX, 9396TX, and 93128TX switches (3 modules)

—      Cisco Nexus 9236C, 92160YC-X, 92300YC, 9332PQ, 9372PX, 9372PX-E, 9372TX, 9372TX-E, 93108TC-EX, and 93180LC-EX switches (4 modules)

—      Cisco Nexus 9332C, and 93240YC-FX2 switch (5 modules)

—      Cisco Nexus 9504, 9508, and 9516 switches (3 fan trays)

■        Power supplies

—      500-W AC, 930-W DC, or 1200-W HVAC/HVDC power supplies (2 for the Cisco Nexus 93180LC-EX switches)

—      650-W AC, 930-W DC, or 1200-W HVAC/HVDC power supplies (2 for the Cisco Nexus 92160YC-X, 92304QC, 9236C, 93108TC-EX, 93180YC-EX, 9332PQ, 9372PX, 9372PX-E, 9372TX, 9372TX-E, 9396PX, and 9396TX switches

—      650-W AC or 1200-W HVAC/HVDC power supplies (2 for Cisco Nexus 92300YC switches)

—      930-W DC power supplies (2 for all Cisco Nexus 9200 and 9300 platform switches (except 92300YC and 9348GC-FXP switches)

—      11000W AC power supplies (2) for the Cisco Nexus 9332C, 9336C and 93240YC switches

—      11000W DC power supplies (2) for the Cisco Nexus 9332C, 9336C and 93240YC switches

—      11000W HVAC/HVDC power supplies (2) for the Cisco Nexus 9336C and 93240YC switches

—      1200-W AC power supplies (2) or 930-W DC power supplies (2) for the Cisco Nexus 9272Q, 93120TX, 93128TX, and 9364C switches

—      1200-W HVAC/HVDC power supplies (2) for all Cisco Nexus 9200 and 9300 platform switches (except the 9348GC-FXP switch)

—      3000-W AC power supplies or 3000-W Universal AC/DC or 3000-W DC power supplies for Cisco Nexus 9500 switches

—      3.15-kW dual input universal AC/DC power for the Cisco Nexus 9500 switches

- Cisco Nexus 9504 switch (up to 4)

- Cisco Nexus 9508 switch (up to 8)

- Cisco Nexus 9516 switch (up to 10)

■        Uplink module (Cisco Nexus 93128TX, 9396PX, and 9396TX switches only)

—      M4PC-CFP2

—      M6PQ

—      M6PQ-E

—      M12PQ

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).

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

EPLD Upgrades Available for NX-OS Mode Releases 9.2(1) through 9.2(4)

Each EPLD image that you can download from https://software.cisco.com/download/navigator.html is a bundle of EPLD upgrades. To see the recent updated EPLD versions for the Cisco Nexus 9200, 9300, 9300-EX, 9300-FX, and 9500 platforms, see the following tables.

NOTE: All updates to an image are shown in boldface. If more than one release is shown for a column, the boldface applies to the first release listed for the column.

 

NOTE: The 9.2(4) release of EPLD, addresses the Secure Boot Hardware Tampering vulnerability for the Nexus 3K and Nexus 9000 Series switches. Please refer to Security Advisory at https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20190513-secureboot.

 

Please review the advisory for affected HW-PIDs (see below table) for more details on how to apply the patch. The 9.2(4) release epld requires a specific sequence of upgrade.

Table 1. Vulnerable Products addressed in Security Advisory (cisco-sa-20190513-secureboot)

Nexus 9000 Series Switches

 

NOTE: N3K-C36180YC-R and N3K-C3636C-R, CPU FPGA will have the fix, so look for CPU FPGA instead of IO.

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

Nexus 9000 Modular chassis:

 

IMPORTANT NOTE:
It is required to update both Golden and Primary regions of FPGA to address this particular vulnerability. It is by design, that we don't allow updating both primary and golden at the same time (to avoid programming errors, that may cause switch to not boot, hence only one region is allowed to be programmed per reload).

 

Please do not attempt to upgrade Golden region of FPGA once it is on a fixed version.

 

1.Copy the EPLD image to bootflash (e.g. used n9000-epld.9.2.4.img).

 

2.Assuming the active supervisor is in Slot27. Update the Primary FPGA region.

 

install epld bootflash:n9000-epld.9.2.4.img module all

 

Expected result: Switch will update  primary EPLD of the supervisor and will reload the switch automatically. Please don't interrupt, power cycle or reload when EPLD update is happening. Once the supervisor is booted, the 'show version module 27 epld' will continue to show old version.

Since we are using the module all command for the upgrade, SCs, FMs, LCs may get upgraded if applicable.

 

Switch#show version module 27 epld

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Name                     InstanceNum           Version        Date

-------------------------------------------------------------------

IO FPGA                          0              0x27       20160111

BIOS version                     v08.35(08/31/2018) 

Alternate BIOS version           v08.32(10/18/2016)

 

 

This is expected, as the switch would have booted from Golden FPGA which is still not updated. You can verify this from syslog which would say:

 

%CARDCLIENT-5-MOD_BOOT_GOLDEN: Module 27 IOFPGA booted from Golden

 

3. Update the Golden (also called backup) FPGA region.

 

install epld bootflash:n9000-epld.9.2.4.img module all golden

 

Module 27 : IO FPGA [Programming      ] : 100.00% (     64 of      64 total sectors)

Module 27 EPLD upgrade is successful.

Module        Type  Upgrade-Result

------  ------------------  --------------

    27         SUP         Success

 

 

Expected result: Switch will update  the golden EPLD of the supervisor and will reload the switch module automatically. Please don't interrupt, power cycle or reload when EPLD update is happening. Since we are using the module all command for the upgrade, SCs, FMs, LCs may get upgraded if applicable.

 

Once this is done, wait for switch to boot up and for modules to come online. When you check ‘show version module 27 epld' you will see FPGA version that is >= to the fixed version for the supervisor. Your supervisor has the vulnerability fixed version of FPGA.

 

SWITCH# show version module 27 epld

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Name                     InstanceNum           Version        Date

-------------------------------------------------------------------

IO FPGA                          0              0x30       20190625

BIOS version                     v08.35(08/31/2018) 

Alternate BIOS version           v08.32(10/18/2016) 

 

At the end of the upgrades, switch should boot with primary IOFPGA for the SUP, log below

 

switch# show logging log | grep -i fpga | grep -i 27

2019 Jul 10 07:55:04 switch %CARDCLIENT-5-MOD_BOOT_PRIMARY: Module 27 IOFPGA booted from Primary

 

Note : If you have dual supervisor, the above procedure will also upgrade standby supervisor.

Assuming standby supervisor is slot 28, you can check show version module 28 epld'

 

 

Nexus 9000 and Nexus 3000 TOR:

 

IMPORTANT NOTE:
It is required to update both Golden and Primary regions of FPGA to address this particular vulnerability. It is by design, that we don't allow updating both primary and golden at the same time (to avoid programming errors, that may cause switch to not boot, hence only one region is allowed to be programmed per reload).

 

Please do not attempt to upgrade Golden region of FPGA once it is on a fixed version.

 

1. Copy the EPLD image to bootflash (e.g. used n9000-epld.9.2.4.img).

2. Update the Primary FPGA region.

 

    install epld bootflash:n9000-epld.9.2.4.img module 1

 

Expected result: Switch will update EPLD and will reload automatically. Please don't interrupt, power cycle or reload when EPLD update is happening. Switch would boot up with golden FPGA, ‘show version module 1 epld’ would show the old Fpga version for IO, due to this. This is expected.

 

show version module 1 epld

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Name                     InstanceNum           Version        Date

-------------------------------------------------------------------

IO FPGA                          0              0x07      20190607

MI FPGA                          0              0x01       20170609

BIOS version                     v01.14(06/15/2019) 

Alternate BIOS version           v01.12(07/25/2018) 

 

You can verify this from syslog which would say:

 

%CARDCLIENT-5-MOD_BOOT_GOLDEN: Module 1 IOFPGA booted from Golden

%CARDCLIENT-2-FPGA_BOOT_GOLDEN: IOFPGA booted from Golden

 

3. Update the Golden (also called backup) FPGA region.

 

    install epld bootflash:n9000-epld.9.2.4.img module 1 golden

 

Note: The word ‘golden’ is a hidden word that you will need to type into the command line to execute.

 

Expected result: Switch will update EPLD and will reload automatically. Please don't interrupt, power cycle or reload when EPLD update is happening.

 

Once this is done, when you check 'show version module 1 epld' you will see FPGA version that is >= to the fixed version. 

 

show version module 1 epld

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Name                     InstanceNum           Version        Date

-------------------------------------------------------------------

IO FPGA                          0              0x07      20180920

MI FPGA                          0              0x01       20170609

BIOS version                     v01.14(06/15/2019) 

Alternate BIOS version           v01.12(07/25/2018)

 

After uprade is complete, switch should boot up with primary, shown logs below

 

show logging log | grep -i fpga

2019 Jul  9 19:46:11 switch %CARDCLIENT-2-FPGA_BOOT_PRIMARY: IOFPGA booted from Primary

2019 Jul  9 19:46:11 switch %CARDCLIENT-2-FPGA_BOOT_PRIMARY: MIFPGA booted from Primary

2019 Jul  9 19:46:11 switch %CARDCLIENT-5-MOD_BOOT_PRIMARY: Module 1 IOFPGA booted from Primary

2019 Jul  9 19:46:11 switch %CARDCLIENT-5-MOD_BOOT_PRIMARY: Module 1 MIFPGA booted from Primary

 

NOTE: For N3K-C36180YC-R and N3K-C3636C-R, CPU FPGA will have the fix, so look for CPU FPGA instead of IO.

 

 

Available EPLD Images for the Cisco Nexus 9200, 9300, 9300-EX, and 9300-FX Platform Switches

¹ Not available in this release.

 

Available EPLD Images for the Cisco Nexus 9500 Platform Switches

² Not available in this release.

Available EPLD Images for the Cisco Nexus 9500 Platform Switches with R Line Cards

³ Not available in this release.

Determining Whether to Upgrade EPLD Images

EPLD image number, you can skip the upgrade.

■        To determine the EPLD upgrades needed for a Cisco Nexus 3000 Series switch, use the show install impact epld bootflash: command on that switch and indicate the n9000-epld.9.2.4 image. In the following example, the MIFPGA, and IOFPGA EPLD images do not need to be upgraded.

 

Downloading the EPLD Images

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

 

Installation Guidelines

To upgrade the EPLD images using CLI commands, follow these guidelines:

■        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. Also be sure that you have an EPLD image file.

CAUTION: When you are trying to upgrade EPLD, it is recommended to use the same version of EPLD as that of installed software. However, if the installed version of EPLD is already later than the software you are installing, it is not required to downgrade the EPLD.

■        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 the images for online modules only.

■        On a Cisco Nexus 9500 platform switch that has two supervisor modules, upgrade the EPLDs for the standby supervisor and then switch the active supervisor to the standby mode to upgrade its EPLDs. The supervisor switchover is not disruptive to traffic on Cisco Nexus 9500 platform switches. On a switch that has only one supervisor module, you can upgrade the active supervisor, but this will disrupt its operations during the upgrade.

■        If you interrupt an upgrade, you must reapply the upgrade to the module that was being upgraded during the interruption.

■        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

CAUTION: When you are trying to upgrade EPLD, it is recommended to use the same version of EPLD as that of installed software. However, if the installed version of EPLD is already later than the software you are installing, it is not required to downgrade the EPLD.

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 on a modular switch (Cisco Nexus 9500 platform switches), indicate the chassis slot number for slot-number.
switch# show version module 22 epld

■        To verify updates for a top-of-rack switch (Cisco Nexus 9200, 9300, and 9300-EX platforms), use 1 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 that are installed in the switch (Cisco Nexus 9504, 9508, and 9516 switches only), you can either upgrade only the standby 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 that are installed in the switch, your upgrading or downgrading of EPLD images is disruptive.

Related Documentation

The entire Cisco NX-OS 9000 Series documentation set is available at the following URL: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/switches/nexus-9000-series-switches/tsd-products-support-series-home.html

Release Notes

The release notes are available at the following URL:
https://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps13386/prod_release_notes_list.html

Documentation Feedback

To provide technical feedback on this document, or to report an error or omission, please send your comments to nexus9k-docfeedback@cisco.com. We appreciate your feedback.

Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request

For information on obtaining documentation, using the Cisco Bug Search Tool (BST), submitting a service request, and gathering additional information, see What's New in Cisco Product Documentation, at: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/general/whatsnew/whatsnew.html.

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