Cisco Nexus 7000 Series FPGA/EPLD Upgrade Release Notes, Release 8.x

Cisco Nexus 7000 Series FPGA/EPLD Upgrade Release Notes, Release 8.x

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First Published: December 22, 2016

Last Modified: May 30, 2024
Current Release: 8.2(1)

 

Table 1 shows the revision history changes for this document.

This document includes the following sections:

• Introduction
• Deciding When to Upgrade EPLDs
• Switch Requirements
• EPLDs Available for Releases 8.x
• Determining Whether to Upgrade EPLD Images
• Downloading the EPLD Images
• Installation/Upgrade Guidelines
• Preparing the EPLD Images for Installation
• Manual Upgrading of EPLD Images
• Automatic Upgrading of EPLD Images
• Verifying the EPLD Upgrades and Downgrades
• Displaying the Available EPLD Versions
• Displaying the Status of EPLD Upgrades
• Limitations
• Related Documentation
• Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request

Introduction

The Cisco Nexus 7000 Series switches, which include the Cisco Nexus 70 xx and 77 xx 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.

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Note EPLD image upgrades for an I/O module 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. To determine if there are any updated images, see Table 3. These EPLD image updates are not mandatory unless otherwise specified. The EPLD image upgrades are independent from the Cisco NX-OS 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 http://www.cisco.com.

The documentation set for this product strives to use bias-free language. For the purposes of this documentation set, bias-free is defined as language that does not imply discrimination based on age, disability, gender, racial identity, ethnic identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and intersectionality. Exceptions may be present in the documentation due to language that is hardcoded in the user interfaces of the product software, language used based on RFP documentation, or language that is used by a referenced third-party product.

Deciding When to Upgrade EPLDs

You do not always need to upgrade EPLD images but the following circumstances do require that you upgrade these images:

• If you are enabling software features that require EPLDs.
• If you are using M2 Series 100-Gbps Ethernet I/O modules that remain powered down after booting up the switch.

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.

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Note The EPLD upgrade operation is a disruptive operation. You should execute this operation only at a programmed maintenance time. The system/kickstart ISSU upgrade is a non disruptive upgrade.

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

Table 2 provides high-level guidelines to help network administrators determine whether an EPLD upgrade is necessary when upgrading the Cisco NX-OS Release 5.0(1) or later releases. If you are upgrading an earlier release, see one of the following earlier versions of the FPGA/EPLD release notes:

• Cisco Nexus 7000 Series FPGA/EPLD Upgrade Release Notes, Release 4.0
• Cisco Nexus 7000 Series FPGA/EPLD Upgrade Release Notes, Release 4.1

1.We recommend (not mandatory) that you upgrade the EPLD images for the supervisor, I/O, and fabric modules.

Switch Requirements

The Cisco Nexus 7000 Series switch must be running the Cisco NX-OS operating system and include the following hardware:

• Supervisor modules—one or two, each with at least 140 MB of available bootflash or slot0 memory
• I/O modules—at least one
• Fabric modules—at least three (Cisco Nexus 7009, 7010, 7018, 7706, 7710, and 7718 only)
• Fan trays

– For the Cisco Nexus 7004, one fan tray

– For the Cisco Nexus 7009 chassis, one fan tray

– For the Cisco Nexus 7010 chassis, two system fan trays and two fabric fan trays

– For the Cisco Nexus 7018 chassis, two fan trays

– For the Cisco Nexus 7702 chassis, one fan tray

– For the Cisco Nexus 7706, 7710, and 7718 chassis, three fan trays

You must be able to access the switch through a console, SSH, or Telnet.

You must have administrator privileges to work with the Cisco Nexus 7000 Series switch.

EPLDs Available for Releases 8.x

Each EPLD image that you can download from https://www.cisco.com is a bundle of EPLD upgrades. To see the updated EPLD versions for each release, see Table 3 .

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Note Table 3 shows EPLD image numbers in X.00y format but the show commands might display these numbers in an older X.y format (without leading zeros) for earlier EPLD images.

Cisco NX-OS Release 8.3(1) includes the following EPLD images:

• n7700-s2-epld.8.3.1.img
• n7700-s3-epld.8.3.1.img

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Note - There are no updates in Nexus 7000 Sup2 EPLD images. Hence n7000-s2-epld.8.3.1.img is not posted to https://www.cisco.com.

- If you decide to upgrade EPLD anyway, or it is determined necessary in your environment, then the following guidelines should be followed.

- For Cisco NX-OS Release 6.2(10) and later releases it is recommended to perform EPLD upgrade with the current image before upgrading to Cisco NX-OS Release 8.3(1).

- For releases prior to Cisco NX-OS Release 6.2(10), you need to first upgrade to Cisco NX-OS Release 6.2(10) or later releases and perform EPLD upgrade with the current image before upgrading to Cisco NX-OS Release 8.3(1).

- The above guidelines and limitations do not apply to the Nexus 7700 series switches, and their EPLD can be upgraded through the standard process if needed.

Please see CSCvk35999 for more details.

Cisco NX-OS Release 8.2(1) includes the following EPLD images:

• n7000-s2-epld.8.2.1.img
• n7700-s2-epld.8.2.1.img

Cisco NX-OS Release 8.1(1) includes the following EPLD images:

• n7000-s2-epld.8.1.1.img
• n7700-s2-epld.8.1.1.img

Cisco NX-OS Release 8.0(1) includes the following EPLD images:

• n7000-s2-epld.8.0.1.img
• n7700-s2-epld.8.0.1.img

The following table shows the modules that are supported in Cisco NX-OS Release 8.3(1):

Table 3 Supported Modules with the FPGA in Cisco NX-OS Releases 8.3(1)

The following modules are supported in Cisco NX-OS Release 8.0(1), Cisco NX-OS Release 8.1(1) and in Cisco NX-OS Release 8.2(1):

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Note To list the EPLDs running on your switch, use the show version module module_number epld command. If any of the versions that you list are older than what is listed in Table 3, we recommend that you update the EPLDs.

Determining Whether to Upgrade EPLD Images

As shown in Table 5 , you can use various show commands to determine whether the EPLDs can be upgraded for all the modules or for specific modules on a switch. These commands indicate the current EPLD images, new EPLD images, and whether the upgrades would be disruptive to switch operations.

If there are different EPLD images to use depending on the version ID (VID) of a hardware module then you must determine the version number of the module by using the show sprom module number command as shown in Example 1.

Example 1 Determining the Version Number of a Supervisor or I/O Module

Downloading the EPLD Images

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

To download the EPLD images, follow these steps:

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Step 1 From a browser, go to the following URL and log in with your account:

https://www.cisco.com

The browser will display the Cisco website.

Step 2 If you are an existing user; click Log In to log into your account. If you are a new user, click Register and provide the required information before returning to the home page and log in with your new user name.

The home page opens.

Step 3 From the Products & Services tab, choose Switches.

The Switches page opens.

Step 4 Under the Data Center Switches option, click the Nexus 7000 menu.

The Cisco Nexus 7000 Series Switches page opens.

Step 5 In the Support area, click Download Software for this Product.

The Downloads page opens and lists the Data Center switches.

Step 6 Choose a Cisco Nexus 7000 Series switch from the list under Cisco Nexus 7000 Series Switches.

The Select a Software Type page opens.

Step 7 Click NX-OS EPLD Updates.

The Downloads page lists software releases that you can download.

Step 8 Choose Latest Releases > 8.0(1)(ED).

The Downloads page displays image information, including a link to the downloadable Tar file, to the right of the releases.

Step 9 Click the link for the Tar file.

The Downloads page displays a Download button and lists information for the Tar file.

Step 10 Click Download.

The Supporting Documents page opens to display the rules for downloading the software.

Step 11 Read the rules and click Agree.

A File Download dialog box opens to ask if you want to open or save the images file.

Step 12 Click Save.

The Save As dialog box appears.

Step 13 Indicate where to save the Tar file and click Save.

The Tar file saves to the location that you specified.

 

You are ready to prepare the EPLD images for Installation (see the Preparing the EPLD Images for Installation section).

Installation/Upgrade Guidelines

You can upgrade EPLDs using CLI commands on the Cisco Nexus 7000 Series switch. By default, EPLD images are not downgraded when you downgrade the NX-OS software release because each EPLD image works with older releases of the software.

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Note By default, you cannot downgrade EPLD images when you downgrade the NX-OS software release because the EPLD images work with down level versions of the software. For this reason, we do not recommend downgrading EPLD images.

The allow-downgrade option is not supported and it is not available as a command in Cisco NX-OS Release 8.0(1).

Follow these guidelines when you upgrade or downgrade 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 one of the following EPLD image files:

Cisco NX-OS Release 8.3(1):

– n7700-s2-epld.8.3.1.img

– n7700-s3-epld.8.3.1.img 

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Note For EPLDs available for Cisco NX-OS Release 8.3(1), see EPLDs Available for Releases 8.x section.

- There are no updates in Nexus 7000 Sup2 EPLD images. Hence n7000-s2-epld.8.3.1.img is not posted to https://www.cisco.com.

- If you decide to upgrade EPLD anyway, or it is determined necessary in your environment, then the following guidelines should be followed.

- For Cisco NX-OS Release 6.2(10) and later releases it is recommended to perform EPLD upgrade with the current image before upgrading to Cisco NX-OS Release 8.3(1).

- For releases prior to Cisco NX-OS Release 6.2(10), you need to first upgrade to Cisco NX-OS Release 6.2(10) or later releases and perform EPLD upgrade with the current image before upgrading to Cisco NX-OS Release 8.3(1).

- The above guidelines and limitations do not apply to the Nexus 7700 series switches, and their EPLD can be upgraded through the standard process if needed.

Please see CSCvk35999 for more details.

Cisco NX-OS Release 8.2(1):

– n7000-s2-epld.8.2.1.img

– n7700-s2-epld.8.2.1.img

Cisco NX-OS Release 8.1(1):

– n7000-s2-epld.8.1.1.img

– n7700-s2-epld.8.1.1.img

Cisco NX-OS Release 8.0(1):

– n7000-s2-epld.8.0.1.img

– n7700-s2-epld.8.0.1.img

• 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 upgrade all modules in parallel.

• You can update the images for one or all modules whether the switch is online or offline as follows:

– If the modules are on line, only the EPLD images with version numbers that differ from the new EPLD images are upgraded.

– If the modules are offline, all of the EPLD images are upgraded.

• The install all epld <epld_image> parallel command is used to upgrade all EPLDs at the same time.
• On a system 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 7000 Series 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 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.

Preparing the EPLD Images for Installation

Before you can update the EPLD images for each of your switch modules, you must determine the Cisco NX-OS version that your switch is using, make sure that there is space for the new EPLD images, and download the images.

To prepare the EPLD images for installation, follow these steps:

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Step 1 Log in to the switch through the console port, an SSH session, or a Telnet session.

Step 2 Verify that the switch is using the expected version of the Cisco NX-OS operating system. The kickstart and system lines indicate the Cisco NX-OS version. This step determines the versions of EPLD images that you must download.

Step 3 Verify that you have 140 MB of free space on the active or standby supervisor memory devices for the EPLD images that you will be downloading by using the dir bootflash: or dir slot0: commands.

By default, these commands display the used and free memory for the active supervisor. If your switch has an additional supervisor (a standby supervisor), use the show module command to find the module number for the other supervisor, use the attach module command to attach to the module number, and then use the dir bootflash: or dir slot0: command to determine the amount of used and free memory. See Example 2 to determine the amount of available bootflash memory, and see Example 3 to determine the amount of available slot0 memory.

Example 2 Determining the Amount of Available Bootflash Memory

Example 3 Determining the Amount of Available Slot0 Memory

Step 4 If there is not at least 140 MB of memory free for the EPLD files, delete some unneeded files, such as earlier images, so there is enough free memory.

Step 5 Copy the EPLD image file from the FTP or management server to the bootflash or slot0 memory in the active supervisor module. The following example shows how to copy from the FTP server to the bootflash memory:

 

Step 6 Copy the EPLD image to the standby supervisor.

 

You are ready to upgrade the EPLD images (see the “Manual Upgrading of EPLD Images” section).

Manual Upgrading of EPLD Images

You can manually upgrade the EPLD images for either all of the modules installed in your switch or specific modules installed in your switch. When you request an upgrade, the Cisco NX-OS software lists the current and new versions for each EPLD image with the following results:

• If a module is installed and online, the software lists the installed and new versions for each EPLD. Where there is a difference in versions, the software indicates an upgrade or downgrade to occur when you confirm the process.
• If a module is installed and offline, the software cannot list its current EPLD versions so all EPLDs will be updated when you confirm the upgrade.
• If a module is not installed, the software displays an error message and does not upgrade the EPLDs.

If you need to know which modules can be updated and which upgrades are disruptive to switch operations, see the “Determining Whether to Upgrade EPLD Images” section.

To upgrade the EPLD images for a Cisco Nexus 7000 Series switch, you use one of the install commands listed in Table 6 . These commands enable you to upgrade the EPLD images for all of the modules on the switch, multiple modules of one or two types, or single modules. When specifying a slot_number, use one number. When specifying slot_numbers, you can specify all for all slots, multiple slots separated by commas ( x, y, z) or a range of slot numbers ( x - y).

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Note The EPLD upgrade operation is a disruptive operation. You should execute this operation only at a programmed maintenance time. The system/kickstart ISSU upgrade is a non disruptive upgrade.

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

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Note For details on EPLD upgrade for M1 modules in releases prior to Cisco NX-OS Release 8.0(1), refer to Cisco Nexus 7000 Series FPGA/EPLD Upgrade Release Notes 7.x.

When you upgrade both supervisor modules in a switch, Cisco NX-OS upgrades the EPLD images for the standby supervisor module and then upgrades the active supervisor module. This action enables the upgrade of supervisor modules to be nondisruptive to switch operations.

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Note When upgrading EPLD images for Supervisor 2 or Supervisor 2E modules in a dual-supervisor switch, the standby supervisor will reset twice towards the end of that upgrade but the upgrade continues to completion and the console displays the upgrade status.

When you upgrade supervisor module in a single-supervisor switch, the operation is disruptive to switch operations if the switch is active.

To start the installation of all new EPLD images for all modules in a switch, use the install all epld command as shown in Example 4 (switches with Supervisor 2 or Supervisor 2E modules).

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Note When upgrading EPLD images for F3 Series I/O modules, you must upgrade them in parallel by including the parallel keyword with the install command. For example, if you are updating the images for the F3 Series I/O module in slot 2, you use the following command:

switch# install all epld epld_image parallel module 2

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Note EPLD and software images for a chassis with Supervisor 2 and Supervisor 2E have “s2” in the image name.

Example 4 Installing EPLD Images in Parallel for Switches with Supervisor 2 or Supervisor 2E Modules

 

To confirm the EPLD upgrades, see the Verifying the EPLD Upgrades and Downgrades section.

Automatic Upgrading of EPLD Images

You can enable, disable, and verify automatic upgrading of EPLD images for I/O modules installed in the Cisco Nexus 7000 series switches. Also, if the upgrade is canceled because it exceeds a maximum number of programmed attempts, you can reset the process to enable the upgrades.

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Note You can set automatic upgrading of EPLD images for only I/O modules, not for other modules such as the supervisor modules, fabric modules, or fan trays.

This section includes the following topics:

• Enabling or Disabling Automatic Upgrades of EPLD Images
• Verifying Automatic Upgrades of EPLD Images
• Resetting Automatic Upgrades of EPLD Images

Verifying the EPLD Upgrades and Downgrades

You can verify the EPLD upgrades and downgrades for each slot in the switch by using the commands listed in Table 8 .

This example shows how to verify the EPLD images for the Cisco Nexus 7018 supervisor module in slot 9:

This example shows how to verify the EPLD images for the fan-tray module in fan-tray module slot 2:

This example shows how to verify the EPLD images for the fabric module in fabric module slot 4:

Displaying the Available EPLD Versions

To view the available EPLD versions in an EPLD image file, use the show version epld url command as shown in Example 5.

Example 5 Displaying the Available EPLD Versions

Displaying the Status of EPLD Upgrades

To display the status of EPLD upgrades on the switch, use the show install epld status command as shown in Example 6.

Example 6 Displaying EPLD Upgrades

 

Limitations

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

• If you interrupt an upgrade, you must upgrade the module again.
• You can execute an upgrade or downgrade only from the active supervisor module. On switches with two supervisors, upgrade the standby supervisor and then switch the standby supervisor to active to place the previously active supervisor module in standby mode. Upgrade the EPLDs on the standby supervisor. On switches that have only one supervisor, you must upgrade or downgrade the EPLDs on the active supervisor, which will interfere with data traffic during the upgrade.

Related Documentation

Cisco Nexus 7000 Series documentation is available at the following URL : http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/switches/nexus-7000-series-switches/tsd-products-support-series-home.html

Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request

For information on obtaining documentation, submitting a service request, and gathering additional information, see the monthly What’s New in Cisco Product Documentation, which also lists all new and revised Cisco technical documentation, at:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/general/whatsnew/whatsnew.html