Field Notice: FN - 63736 - ASR 901 Routers - DO NOT MANUALLY DOWNGRADE ROMMON Version on Your Cisco IOS Software Version - Software Upgrade Recommended

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Updated:February 4, 2019
Document ID:FN63736

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Notice

THIS FIELD NOTICE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS AND DOES NOT IMPLY ANY KIND OF GUARANTEE OR WARRANTY, INCLUDING THE WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY. YOUR USE OF THE INFORMATION ON THE FIELD NOTICE OR MATERIALS LINKED FROM THE FIELD NOTICE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. CISCO RESERVES THE RIGHT TO CHANGE OR UPDATE THIS FIELD NOTICE AT ANY TIME.

Revision History

Revision Publish Date Comments
1.0
10-Sep-14
Initial Release
10.0
12-Oct-17
Migration to new field notice system
10.1
04-Feb-19
Fixed Broken Image Links

Products Affected

Affected Product ID Comments
A901-12C-F-D
A901-12C-FT-D
A901-4C-F-D
A901-4C-FT-D
A901-6CZ-F-A
A901-6CZ-F-D
A901-6CZ-FT-A
A901-6CZ-FT-D

Defect Information

Defect ID Headline
CSCvf34445 There were no defects filed with this field notice at the time of publication.

Problem Description

Customers who have Cisco Aggregation Services Router (ASR) 901 Routers SHOULD NOT MANUALLY DOWNGRADE the ROM Monitor Mode (ROMMON) Versions.

Manual downgrade of ROMMON Versions might cause the ASR 901 Routers to NOT boot up.

Background

Cisco is migrating to a new revision of hardware used in the memory chip component of ASR 901 Routers. This necessitates a new ROMMON Version: 15.4(1r)S2 (or later versions).

These new ROMMON Versions are downward/backward compatible with the Cisco IOS Software Versions that run on the ASR 901 Routers provided customers DO NOT MANUALLY DOWNGRADE the ROMMON Versions.

Problem Symptom

Manual downgrade of ROMMON Versions on ASR 901 Routers might result in the router not booting up.

Workaround/Solution

Customers who have ASR 901 Routers SHOULD NOT MANUALLY UPDATE/DOWNGRADE the ROMMON Versions on the Cisco IOS Software Versions in order to avoid this issue.

Note that upgrade/downgrade of the Cisco IOS Versions DOES NOT have an impact on the operation of ASR 901 Routers.

Refer to the "How to Identify Affected Products" section in order to check the Cisco IOS and ROMMON Versions on your ASR 901 Router.

Cisco recommends that you not MANUALLY DOWNGRADE the ROMMON Version on your ASR 901 Router.

How To Identify Affected Products

Use the show diag command in order to see whether the type of Die used in DDR3 chip of ASR 901 Router.

Once you execute the above command, following will be the output. Please see the PCB part number (highlighted) and verify whether it has the D-Die or K-Die in Workaround/Solution section of this Field Notice.

Additional Information

Q.When did the new ASR 901 Routers with the new memory chip component start shipping?
Shipment of the new ASR 901 Routers with the new memory chip component began in September 2014.

Q. I currently have an ASR 901 Router. Will I run into this issue?
No. Customers who have ASR 901 Routers shipped before September 1, 2014 will not run into this issue unless they manually downgrade the ROMMON Version.

Q. I currently have an ASR 901 Router deployed in the field. I plan to upgrade to the latest Cisco IOS Version 15.4(2)S or later releases. Does an upgrade of the Cisco IOS Version cause this issue?
No. Upgrade/downgrade of the Cisco IOS Version on your ASR 901 Router DOES NOT cause this issue.

Q. I plan to buy a new ASR 901 Router with an older Cisco IOS Version 15.4(1)S or earlier version. Will I run into this issue?
No. New ASR 901 Routers with the new memory chip component will have the latest ROMMON Versions. These latest ROMMON Versions are compatible with all the current Cisco IOS Software Versions. So, unless you MANUALLY UPDATE/DOWNGRADE the ROMMON Versions, ASR 901 Routers WILL NOT have this issue.

Q. What happens if I order a replacement (Return Material Authorization - RMA) for an ASR 901 Router I currently have? Do I have to do anything?
If customers order a RMA for an ASR 901 Router they currently have, Cisco will ship them a replacement ASR 901 Router with the new ROMMON Version. This router will work correctly with the current Cisco IOS Versions. Customers DO NOT HAVE to take any action.

For More Information

If you require further assistance, or if you have any further questions regarding this field notice, please contact the Cisco Systems Technical Assistance Center (TAC) by one of the following methods:

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