Release Notes for StarOS™ Software Version, Release 2026.01.g0

 

StarOS™ Software, Release 2026.01.g0. 3

New software features. 4

Changes in behavior 4

Resolved issues. 5

Open issues. 6

Known issues. 6

Compatibility. 7

Supported software packages. 8

Related resources. 12

Legal information. 12

 

StarOS™ Software, Release 2026.01.g0

This Release Notes identifies changes and issues that are related to the Classic Gateway, Control, and User Plane Separation (CUPS) software release.

The key highlights of this release include:

·     Granular APN tracking and reporting: Supports TLVs containing APN and Virtual APN in pilot packets, enabling more granular tracking, context-specific policy application, and APN-level reporting based on pilot packet data.

 

For more information about the StarOS product documentation, see the Related resources section.

Qualified products and platforms

Table 1.                 Products and platforms qualified in this release

 

 

Release lifecycle milestones

The following table provides EoL milestones for Cisco StarOS software:

Table 2.                 EoL milestone information for StarOS™ Software, Release 2026.01.g0

 

These milestones and the intervals between them are defined in the Cisco ASR 5500 and Ultra Packet Core software release lifecycle product bulletin available on cisco.com.

New software features

This section provides a brief description of the new software features introduced in this release.

Table 3.                 New software features for StarOS™ Software, Release 2026.01.g0

Changes in behavior

This section provides a brief description of the behavior changes introduced in this release.

Table 4.                 Behavior changes for StarOS™ Software, Release 2026.01.g0

Resolved issues

This table lists the resolved issues in this specific software release.

Note: This software release may contain bug fixes first introduced in other releases. To see additional information, click the bug ID to access the Cisco Bug Search Tool. To search for a documented Cisco product issue, type in the browser: <bug number> site:cisco.com.

Table 5.           Resolved issues for StarOS™ Software, Release 2026.01.g0

Open issues

This table lists the open issues in this specific software release.

Note: This software release may contain open bugs first introduced in other releases. To see additional information, click the bug ID to access the Cisco Bug Search Tool. To search for a documented Cisco product issue, type in the browser: <bug number> site:cisco.com.

Table 6.           Open issues for StarOS™ Software, Release 2026.01.g0

Known issues

This section describes the known issue that may occur during the upgrade of the StarOS image.

Install and Upgrade Notes

This Release Note does not contain general installation and upgrade instructions. Refer to the existing installation documentation for specific installation and upgrade considerations.

When upgrading the StarOS image from a previous version to the latest version, issues may arise if there is a problem with the Cisco SSH/SSL upgrade. To avoid such issues, ensure that the boot file for Service Function (SF) cards is properly synchronized.

To synchronize the boot file for all the Service Function (SF) VPC-DI non-management cards, use the following CLI command:

[local] host_name# system synchronize boot

This ensures that the changes in boot file are identically maintained across the SF cards.

Note: Ensure that you execute the system synchronize boot command before reloading for a version upgrade from any version less than 21.28.m23 to 21.28.m23, or versions higher than 21.28.m23.

Upgrade the confd version

This section explains upgrading third-party software. Upgrade the confd software to ensure system compatibility and performance.

Note: During the July 2025.03.0 release, confd is upgraded to 8.1.16.2 version.

Prerequisites:

·     Ensure you have appropriate permissions to perform this upgrade.

·     Back up all necessary data and configurations to avoid permanent loss during file deletion.

Perform these steps to upgrade the confd version on the system.

1.    Enter the debug shell using debug shell command.

2.    Navigate to the confd directory.

3.    Run the command: cd /mnt/hd-raid/meta/confd/ to access the directory.

4.    Remove existing files with the command; rm -rf *

All files and subdirectories are deleted, preparing the system for a fresh installation. To preserve data across the Method of Procedure, users with ConfD configured must contact their Cisco representative.

Method of Procedure (MOP): Upgrade/Downgrade Between Non-Hermes and Hermes Builds

CSCwr80301: HD-RAID Not Ready During Upgrade from Non-Hermes to Hermes

Issue: When upgrading from a non-Hermes (202x.0x.gx) to a Hermes (202x.0x.ghx) build on both Virtualized Packet Core—Distributed Instance (VPC-DI) and Virtualized Packet Core—Single Instance (VPC-SI) platforms, the HD-RAID may not come up as expected.

Workaround: To avoid this hd-raid failure, follow the steps below during the upgrade and downgrade (for example, from 2025.03.g0 to 2025.04.gh0):

1.    Pre-requisite: Back up all files stored in /hd-raid before upgrading from the .mx to .mhx build.

     Note: All data in /hd-raid will be lost during recovery.

2.    Before the upgrade: On the .mx build, run the hd raid clear command.

3.    Reboot and upgrade: Reboot the node to upgrade to the .mhx build.

4.    Perform the CF card migration in case of VPC-DI or Reload the chassis on VPC-SI. Wait for the HD-RAID to recover.

Note: It is recommended to use this Method of Procedure (MOP) for both upgrading and downgrading between Hermes and Non-Hermes StarOS builds.

    

Compatibility

This section provides compatibility information about the StarOS package version, and the hardware and software requirements for the Legacy Gateway and CUPS software release.

Compatible StarOS package version

Table 7.                 Release package version information

 

Compatible software and hardware components

This table lists only the verified basic software and hardware versions. For more information on the verified software versions for the products qualified in this release contact the Cisco account representative.  

Table 8.                 Compatibility software and hardware information, Release 2026.01.g0

Note: CVIM and ESC versions are qualified as part of 2025.04.0 release.

Supported software packages

This section provides information about the release packages associated with StarOS Classic Gateway, Control, and User Plane Separation (CUPS) software.

Table 9.                 Software packages for Release 2026.01.g0

 

StarOS product version numbering system

The output of the show version command displays detailed information about the version of StarOS currently running on the ASR 5500 or Cisco Virtualized Packet Core platform.

Starting 2024.01.0 release (January 2024), Cisco is transitioning to a new release versioning scheme. The release version is based on the current year and product. Refer to the figure for more details.

Note: During the transition phase, some file names will reflect the new versioning whereas others will refer to the 21.28.x- based naming convention. With the next release, StarOS-related packages will be completely migrated to the new versioning scheme.

 

Note:       For any clarification, contact your Cisco account representative.

Software integrity verification

To verify the integrity of the software image you have from Cisco, you can validate the SHA512 checksum information against the checksum identified by Cisco for the software. Image checksum information is available through Cisco.com Software Download details. Click Linux and then choose the Software Image Release Version.

To find the checksum, hover the mouse pointer over the software image you have downloaded. At the bottom you find the SHA512 checksum, if you do not see the whole checksum, you can expand it by pressing the "..." at the end.

To validate the information, calculate a SHA512 checksum using the information in the table and verify that it matches the one provided on the software download page. To calculate a SHA512 checksum on your local desktop see the table.

Table 10.             Checksum calculations per operating system

 

If the SHA512 checksum matches, you can be sure that no one has tampered with the software image or the image has not been corrupted during download.

If the SHA512 checksum does not match, we advise you to not attempt upgrading any systems with the corrupted software image. Download the software again and verify the SHA512 checksum again. If there is a constant mismatch, please open a case with the Cisco Technical Assistance Center.

Certificate validation

In 2024.01 and later releases, software images for StarOS, VPC-DI, and VPC-SI, and the companion software packages for StarOS and VPC are signed via x509 certificates. USP ISO images are signed with a GPG key. For more information and instructions on how to validate the certificates, refer to the README file available with the respective software packages.

Related resources

This table provides key resources and links to the support information and essential documentation for StarOS and CUPS products.

Table 11.             Related resources and additional information

Legal information

Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. To view a list of Cisco trademarks, go to this URL: www.cisco.com/go/trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. (1110R)

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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