Cisco IOS XR Software Upgrade

Overview

The Cisco IOS XR Upgrade pre-built consists of several workflows and command templates meant to serve as a template for performing a software upgrade on Cisco routers running IOS XR software.

This pre-built was designed and tested using the upgrade guidelines for the Cisco XRv 9000. The upgrade steps are similar to the process for the NCS 5500 series, NCS 6000 series, ASR 9000 series and CRS routers. Consequently, this pre-built should upgrade those devices with little to no modifications. As a best practice, we recommend that you use a Command Template for your specific device and software version, as well as review the documentation for this pre-built, to determine if modifications are necessary.

Of note, since this pre-built is a template for performing an IOS XR upgrade, it is not comprehensive. The included pre and post checks should be customized to suit the needs of the target device. Additionally, the implementation of routing network traffic is the responsibility of the user to provide. The pre-built provides an indication of where a failover and restore should take place, but assumes no responsibility for these tasks.

Main Workflow

Pictured below is the main workflow for this pre-built, followed by a numbered breakdown of each activity in the automation.

1. Get device details to confirm device is running IOS XR and confirm that PIE is available to the device.
2. Check to make sure that any provided SMUs are available to the device. If running in verbose mode, the user will be given a soft warning for any SMUs not found and the upgrade process will continue.
3. Pre and post upgrade checks are run. If running in verbose mode, command template results will be shown. Refer to the Command Templates section in order to customize these checks for your needs.
4. Failover and restore are provided as a stub task. Refer to the Stubbed Tasks section for more information on implementing custom logic for network failover and restore.
5. The upgrade procedure is divided into separate workflows, which consist of running a series of asynchronous installation commands via Command Templates. This process must be performed separately for PIEs and SMUs. Refer to the Perform Upgrade and Commit Install sections for more information.