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This chapter describes how to load and maintain system images, microcode images, and configuration files.
The instructions in this chapter describe copying system images from routers to network servers (and vice versa), displaying and comparing different configuration files, and listing the Cisco IOS software version running on the router.
This chapter also explains how to manually load system images from ROM monitor so that you can successfully boot the router when typical startup processes malfunction.
To benefit most from the instructions and organization of this chapter, your router must contain a minimal configuration that allows you to interact with the system software. You can create a basic configuration file using the setup command facility. See the user guide for your hardware platform for more information on using setup at first-time startup. See the "Using Setup for Configuration Changes" chapter in this publication for information on using setup after first-time startup.
For a complete description of the commands mentioned in this chapter, refer to the "Image and Configuration File Load Commands" chapter in the Configuration Fundamentals Command Reference.
| Old Command | New Command |
|---|---|
configure network | copy rcp running-config (for an rcp server) copy tftp running-config (for a TFTP server) |
configure overwrite-network | copy rcp startup-config (for an rcp server) copy tftp startup-config (for a TFTP server) |
copy erase flash | erase flash |
copy verify or copy verify flash | verify flash (on all systems except Cisco 7200 and Cisco 7500) verify (on Cisco 7000, Cisco 7200, and Cisco 7500) |
copy verify bootflash | verify bootflash |
show configuration | show startup-config |
tftp-server system | tftp-server |
write erase | erase startup-config |
write memory | copy running-config startup-config |
write network | copy running-config rcp (for an rcp server) copy running-config tftp (for a TFTP server) |
write terminal | show running-config |
To load and maintain system images, microcode images, and configuration files needed for startup, complete the tasks in the following sections.
The tasks in the first three sections are typical tasks for all routers. Perform the tasks in the remaining sections as needed for your particular routing environment.
If you have a minimal configuration that allows you to interact with the system software, you can retrieve other system images and configuration files from a network server and modify them for use in your particular routing environment. This section describes tasks related to retrieving system images and configuration files for modification.
When retrieving system images and configuration files, perform the following tasks. The first two tasks are required.
You can copy system images from a TFTP, rcp, or MOP server. The following sections describe these tasks:
Refer to the "Cisco's Implementation of Environment Variables" section for an explanation of the Flash memory card that can be used on a Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series.
To copy a system image from a Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) server to Flash memory, complete the following tasks:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1. Make a backup copy of the current system software image. | See the instructions in the section "Copy System Images from Flash Memory to a Network Server." |
Step 2. Copy a system image to Flash memory. |
copy tftp file-id (Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series only) |
Step 3. When prompted, enter the IP address or domain name of the server. | ip-address or name |
Step 4. If prompted, enter the filename of the server system image. | filename |
Step 5. If prompted, enter the Flash memory device that is to receive the copy of the system image. | device |
The server system image copied to the Flash memories for Cisco 3000, Cisco 4000, and Cisco 7000 series, must be at least Software Version 9.1 or later. For Cisco 2500 series, the server system image must be at least Software Version 9.21 or later.
When you issue the copy tftp flash command, the system prompts you for the IP address or domain name of the TFTP server. This server can be another router serving ROM or Flash system software images. The system then prompts you for the filename of the software image to copy.
For the copy tftp flash and copy tftp file-id commands, the router gives you the option of erasing the existing Flash memory before writing to it when there is space available to do so. If there is no free Flash memory available, or if the Flash memory has never been written to, the erase routine is required before new files can be copied. The system will inform you of these conditions and prompt you for a response. Note that on the Cisco 7000 series, the Flash memory is erased at the factory before shipment.
The file-id argument of the copy tftp file-id command specifies a device and filename as the destination of the copy operation. You can omit the device, entering only copy tftp filename. When you omit the device, the system uses the default device specified by the cd command. On the Cisco 7000 series, you can choose flash: or slot0: as the Flash memory device. On the Cisco 7200 series and Cisco 7500 series, you can choose bootflash:, slot0:, or slot1: as the Flash memory device.
If you attempt to copy a file into Flash memory that is already there, a prompt informs you that a file with the same name already exists. This file is "deleted" when you copy the new file into Flash. The first copy of the file still resides within Flash memory, but it is rendered unusable in favor of the newest version, and is listed with the "deleted" tag when you use the show flash command. If you terminate the copy process, the newer file is marked "deleted" because the entire file was not copied and is not valid. In this case, the original file in Flash memory is valid and available to the system.
env-chassis# copy tftp flash
IP address or name of remote host [255.255.255.255]? dirt
Translating "DIRT"...domain server (255.255.255.255) [OK]
Name of file to copy? gs7-k
Copy gs7-k from 172.16.13.111 into flash memory? [confirm]
Flash is filled to capacity.
Erasure is needed before flash may be written.
Erase flash before writing? [confirm]
Erasing flash EPROMs bank 0
Zeroing bank...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Verify zeroed...vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
Erasing bank...eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Erasing flash EPROMs bank 1
Zeroing bank...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Verify zeroed...vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
Erasing bank...eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Erasing flash EPROMs bank 2
Zeroing bank...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Verify zeroed...vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
Erasing bank...eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Erasing flash EPROMs bank 3
Zeroing bank...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Verify zeroed...vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
Erasing bank...eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Loading from 172.16.1.111:!!!!...
[OK - 1906676/4194240 bytes]
Verifying via checksum...
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
Flash verification successful. Length = 1906676, checksum = 0x12AD
The exclamation point (!) indicates that the copy process is taking place. Each exclamation point (!) indicates that ten packets have been transferred successfully. A series of "V" characters indicates that a checksum verification of the image is occurring after the image is written to Flash memory.
env-chassis# copy tftp flash
IP address or name of remote host [172.16.13.111]?
Name of file to copy? gs7-k
File gs7-k already exists; it will be invalidated!
Copy gs7-k from 172.16.13.111 into flash memory? [confirm]
2287500 bytes available for writing without erasure.
Erase flash before writing? [confirm]n
Loading from 172.16.1.111:!!!!...
[OK - 1906676/2287500 bytes]
Verifying via checksum...
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
Flash verification successful. Length = 1902192, checksum = 0x12AD
The exclamation point (!) indicates that the copy process is taking place. Each exclamation point (!) indicates that ten packets have been transferred successfully. A series of "V" characters indicates that a checksum verification of the image is occurring after the image is written to Flash memory.
Router# copy tftp flash
Flash: embedded flash security jumper(12V)
must be strapped to modify flash memory
Router# copy tftp:router-config slot0:new-config
You can copy normal or compressed images to Flash memory. You can produce a compressed system image on any UNIX platform using the compress command. Refer to your UNIX platform's documentation for the exact usage of the compress command.
Router# copy tftp flash
IP address or name of remote host [255.255.255.255]? server1
Name of tftp filename to copy into flash []? IJ09140Z
copy IJ09140Z from 172.31.101.101 into flash memory? [confirm] <Return>
xxxxxxxx bytes available for writing without erasure.
erase flash before writing? [confirm] <Return>
Clearing and initializing flash memory (please wait)####...
Loading from 172.31.13.110:!!!!...
[OK - 324572/524212 bytes]
Verifying checksum...
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV...
Flash verification successful. Length = 1204637, checksum = 0x95D9
The series of pound signs (#) indicates that each Flash device is being cleared and initialized—one per device. Different platforms use different ways of indicating that Flash is being cleared. The exclamation point (!) indicates that the copy process is taking place. Each exclamation point (!) indicates that ten packets have been transferred successfully. The series of "V" characters indicates that a checksum is being calculated. An "O" indicates an out-of-order packet. A period (.) indicates a timeout. The last line in the sample configuration indicates that the copy is successful.
To copy a system image from an rcp server to Flash memory, complete the following tasks:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1. Make a backup copy of the current system software image. | See the instructions in the section "Copy System Images from Flash Memory to a Network Server." |
Step 2. Enter configuration mode from the terminal. This step is required only if you override the default remote username (see Step 3). | configure terminal |
Step 3. Specify the remote username. This step is optional, but recommended. | ip rcmd remote-username username |
Step 4. Exit configuration mode. | ^Z |
Step 5. Copy the system image from an rcp server to Flash memory. |
copy rcp file-id (Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series only) |
Step 6. When prompted, enter the IP address or domain name of the network server. | ip-address or name |
Step 7. When prompted, enter the filename of the server system image to be copied. | filename |
The copy command automatically displays the Flash memory directory, including the amount of free space. On Cisco 2500, Cisco 3000, and Cisco 4000 systems, if the file being downloaded to Flash memory is an uncompressed system image, the copy command automatically determines the size of the file being downloaded and validates it with the space available in Flash memory.
The server system image copied to the Flash memories must be Cisco Internetwork Operating System (Cisco IOS) Release 10.2 or later.
When you issue the copy rcp flash or copy rcp file-id command, the system prompts you for the IP address or domain name of the server. This server can be another router serving Flash system software images. The system then prompts you for the filename of the software image to copy. With the copy rcp flash command, the system also prompts you to name the system image file that will reside in Flash memory once the copy is complete. You can use the filename of the source file, or you can choose another name.
When free space is available in Flash memory, you are given the option of erasing the existing Flash memory before writing onto it. If no free Flash memory space is available, or if the Flash memory has never been written to, the erase routine is required before new files can be copied. The system informs you of these conditions and prompts you for a response. If you accept the erasure, the system prompts you again to confirm before erasing. Note that the Flash memory is erased at the factory before shipment.
If you attempt to copy a file into Flash memory that is already there, a prompt informs you that a file with the same name already exists. The older file is "deleted" when you copy the new file into Flash. The first copy of the file still resides within Flash memory, but it is rendered unusable in favor of the newest version, and is listed with the "deleted" tag when you use the show flash command. If you terminate the copy process, the newer file is marked "deleted" because the entire file was not copied. In this case, the original file in Flash memory is valid and available to the system.
Router1# configure terminal
Router1(config)# ip rcmd remote-username netadmin1
^Z
Router# copy rcp flash
System flash directory:
File name/status
1 mysysim1
[2076072 bytes used, 21080 bytes available]
Address or name of remote host[UNKNOWN]? 172.16.101.101
Name of file to copy? mysysim1
Copy mysysim1 from SERVER1.CISCO.COM?[confirm]
Checking for file `mysysim1' on SERVER1.CISCO.COM...[OK]
Erase Flash device before writing?[confirm]
Are you sure?[confirm]
Erasing device...ezeeze...erased.
Connected to 172.16.101.101
Loading 2076007 byte file mysysim1:!!!!...
[OK]
Verifying checksum... (0x87FD)...[OK]
Router#
The exclamation point (!) indicates that the copy process is taking place. Each exclamation point (!) indicates that ten packets have been transferred successfully.
Router1# configure terminal
Router1(config)# ip rcmd remote-username netadmin1
^Z
Router1# copy rcp slot0:router-image
You can copy normal or compressed images to Flash memory. You can produce a compressed system image on any UNIX platform using the compress command. Refer to your UNIX platform's documentation for the exact usage of the compress command.
Standard Cisco IOS images can not be downloaded from a MOP server. However, you may have access to specially modified Cisco IOS images which contain a special MOP-specific header. In these cases you can copy a system image from a MOP server to Flash memory. To do so, perform the following task in EXEC mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Copy a specialized boot image using MOP. |
This command is not supported on the Cisco 7200 series or the Cisco 7500 series.
The following example shows a sample output from the copy mop flash command. In this example, the system image mopimage, which already exists in Flash memory, is copied to Flash memory, and there is enough memory to copy the file without erasing any existing files.
Router# copy mop flash
System flash directory:
File Length Name/status
1 984 router image[deleted]
2 984 router image
[2096 bytes used, 8386512 available, 8388608 total]
Source file name? mopimage
Destination file name [mopimage]?
Erase flash device before writing? [confirm]
Flash contains files. Are you sure you want to erase? [confirm]
Copy 'mopimage' from server
as 'mopimage' into Flash WITH erase? [yes/no]yes
Erasing device... eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee ...erased
Loading mopimage from 1234.5678.9abc via Ethernet0: !
[OK - 984/8388608 bytes]
Verifying checksum... OK (0x14B3)
Flash copy took 0:00:01 [hh:mm:ss]
You can also copy configuration files from a TFTP server or an rcp server to the router. You might use this process to restore a configuration file to the router if you have backed up the file to a server. If you replace a router and want to use the configuration file that you created for the original, you can restore that file instead of recreating it. You can also use this process to copy a different configuration to the router that is stored on a network server.
The following sections describe these tasks:
You can copy a configuration file from a TFTP server to the running configuration or to the startup configuration. When you copy a configuration file to the running configuration, you copy to and run the file from RAM.
On all platforms except the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series, when you copy a configuration file to the startup configuration, you copy it to the nonvolatile random-access memory (NVRAM). On the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series, when you copy a file to the startup configuration, you copy the file to a location specified by the CONFIG_FILE environment variable.
To copy a configuration file from a TFTP server to the router, complete the following tasks from EXEC mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1. Copy a file from a TFTP server to the router. |
or copy tftp startup-config |
Step 2. When prompted, enter the IP address or domain name of the server. | ip-address or name |
Step 3. If prompted, enter the filename of the server system image. | filename |
You can copy a configuration file from an rcp server to the local router. As with TFTP, you can copy the configuration file to the running configuration or to the startup configuration. When you copy a configuration file to the running configuration, you copy to and run the file from RAM.
On all platforms except the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series, when you copy a configuration file to the startup configuration, you copy it to NVRAM. On the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series, when you copy a file to the startup configuration, you copy the file to a location specified by the CONFIG_FILE environment variable.
The rcp protocol requires that a client send the remote username on each rcp request to a network server. When you issue a request to copy a configuration file from an rcp network server, the Cisco IOS software sends a default remote username unless you override the default by configuring a remote username. As the default value of the remote username, the software sends the remote username associated with the current TTY process, if that name is valid. If the TTY username is invalid, the software uses the host name as the both the remote and local usernames. You can also specify the path of an existing directory along with the remote username.
For the rcp copy request to execute successfully, an account must be defined on the network server for the remote username. If you copy the configuration file from a personal computer used as a file server, the remote host computer must support the remote shell protocol.
You can copy a configuration file from an rcp server to the running configuration.
To copy a configuration file from an rcp server to the running configuration, perform the following tasks:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1. Enter configuration mode from the terminal. This step is required only if you override the default remote username (see Step 2). | configure terminal |
Step 2. Specify the remote username. This step is optional, but recommended. | ip rcmd remote-username username |
Step 3. Exit configuration mode. | ^Z |
Step 4. Using rcp, copy the configuration file from a network server to running memory. | |
Step 5. When prompted, enter the IP address of the server. | ip-address |
Step 6. When prompted, enter the name of the configuration file. | filename |
Router# configure terminal
Router(config)# ip rcmd remote-username netadmin1
^Z
Router# copy rcp running-config
Host or network configuration file [host]?
Address of remote host [255.255.255.255]? 172.16.101.101
Name of configuration file [Router-confg]? host1-confg
Configure using host1-confg from 172.16.101.101? [confirm]
Connected to 172.16.101.101
Loading 1112 byte file host1-confg:![OK]
Router#
%SYS-5-CONFIG: Configured from host1-config by rcp from 172.16.101.101
A host configuration file contains commands that apply to one network server in particular. A network configuration file contains commands that apply to all network servers on a network.
To copy a configuration file from an rcp server to the startup configuration, perform the following tasks:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1. Enter configuration mode from the terminal. This step is required only if you override the default remote username (see Step 2). | configure terminal |
Step 2. Specify the remote username. This step is optional, but recommended. | ip rcmd remote-username username |
Step 3. Exit configuration mode. | ^Z |
Step 4. Using rcp, copy the configuration file from a network server to the startup configuration. | |
Step 5. When prompted, enter the IP address of the network server. | ip-address |
Step 6. When prompted, enter the name of the configuration file. | filename |
On the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series, the copy rcp startup-config command copies the configuration file from the network server to the configuration file pointed to by the CONFIG_FILE environment variable. If you want to write the configuration file from the server to NVRAM on the router, be sure to set the CONFIG_FILE environment variable to NVRAM. Refer to the "Download the CONFIG_FILE Environment Variable Configuration on Cisco 7000 Series, Cisco 7200 Series, and Cisco 7500 Series" section for instructions on setting the CONFIG_FILE environment variable with the boot config command.
Rtr2# configure terminal
Rtr2(config)# ip rcmd remote-username netadmin1
^Z
Rtr2# copy rcp startup-config
Address of remote host [255.255.255.255]? 172.16.101.101
Name of configuration file[rtr2-confg]? host2-confg
Configure using rtr2-confg from 172.16.101.101?[confirm]
Connected to 172.16.101.101
Loading 1112 byte file rtr2-confg:![OK]
[OK]
Rtr2#
%SYS-5-CONFIG_NV:Non-volatile store configured from rtr2-config by rcp from
172.16.101.101
The buffer that holds the configuration commands is generally the size of NVRAM. Complex configurations might need a larger configuration file buffer size. To change the buffer size, complete the following tasks:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1. Enter configuration mode from the terminal. | configure terminal |
Step 2. Change the buffer size to use for booting a host or network configuration file from a network server. | boot buffersize bytes |
Step 3. Exit configuration mode. | ^Z |
Step 4. Save the configuration file to your startup configuration. On most platforms, this step saves the configuration to NVRAM. On the Cisco 7000 series and Cisco 7500 series, this step saves the configuration to the location specified by the CONFIG_FILE environment variable. |
In the following example, the buffer size is set to 50000 bytes:
Router1# configure terminal
Router1(config)# boot buffersize 50000
^Z
Router1# copy running-config startup-config
| Task | Command |
Step 1. Verify that your system's ROMs support file compression. If not, you can install new ROMs that support file compression. | Refer to the appropriate hardware installation and maintenance publication. |
Step 2. Specify that the configuration file is to be compressed. | |
Step 3. Enter the privileged EXEC mode. | |
Step 4. Enter the new configuration. | Use TFTP or rcp to copy the new configuration. If you try to load a configuration that is more than three times larger than the NVRAM size, the following error message is displayed: "[buffer overflow - file-size/buffer-size bytes]." or configure terminal |
Step 5. Save the new configuration. | copy running-config startup-config |
| 1This command is documented in the "User Interface Commands" chapter of the Configuration Fundamentals Command Reference. |
Installing new ROMs is a one-time operation and is necessary only if you do not already have Cisco IOS Release 10 in ROM. Before you can load a configuration file that is larger than the size of NVRAM, you must issue the service compress-config command. The service compress-config command works only if you have Release 10 boot ROMs or later.
Before booting from Flash memory, verify that the checksum of the image in Flash memory matches the checksum listed in the README file that was distributed with the system software image. The checksum of the image in Flash memory is displayed at the bottom of the screen when you issue the copy tftp flash, copy rcp flash, or copy rcp bootflash commands. The README file was copied to the network server automatically when you installed the system software image on the server.
 | Caution If the checksum value does not match the value in the README file, do not reboot the router. Instead, issue the copy command and compare the checksums again. If the checksum is repeatedly wrong, copy the original system software image back into Flash memory before you reboot the router from Flash memory. If you have a corrupted image in Flash memory and try to boot from Flash, the router will start the system image contained in ROM (assuming that booting from a network server is not configured). If ROM does not contain a fully functional system image, the router will not function and must be reconfigured through a direct console port connection. |
Perform the following tasks in EXEC mode to display information about system software, system image files, and configuration files:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
List the contents of the BOOT environment variable, the name of the configuration file pointed to by the CONFIG_FILE environment variable, and the contents of the BOOTLDR environment variable. | show boot (Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series only) |
List the names of the Flash devices currently supported on the router. | show flash devices (Cisco 7200 series and Cisco 7500 series only) |
List the configuration information stored in a specified file. | show file device:filename (Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series only) |
List information about Flash memory, including system image filenames and amounts of memory used and remaining. | |
List information about Flash memory, including system image filenames, amounts of memory used and remaining, and Flash partitions. | show flash [all | chips | detailed | err | partition number [all | chips | detailed | err] | summary] show flash [all | chips | filesys] [device:] (Cisco 7000 series PCMCIA slot, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series only) |
View the console output generated during the Flash load helper operation. | |
List the configuration information in running memory. | |
List the startup configuration information. On all platforms except the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series, the startup configuration is usually NVRAM. On the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series, the CONFIG_FILE environment variable points to the startup configuration. | |
List the system software release version, configuration register setting, and so on. |
Refer to the Configuration Fundamentals Command Reference for examples of these commands.
You can also use the o command in ROM monitor mode to list the configuration register settings on some models.
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Recompute and verify the image checksum after the image is copied into Flash memory. On the Cisco 7000 series, you can verify the checksum of the image in internal Flash memory only with this command. |
When you enter this command, the screen prompts you for the filename to verify. By default, it prompts for the last (most recent) file in Flash. Press Return to recompute the default file checksum, or enter the filename of a different file at the prompt. Note that the checksum for microcode images is always 0x0000.
The following example illustrates how to use this command:
Router# verify flash
Name of file to verify [gsxx]?
Verifying via checksum...
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
Flash verification successful. Length = 1923712, checksum = 0xA0C1
Router#
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Verify the checksum of a file on a specific Flash memory device. |
router#verify slot0:gsxx
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
File slot0:gsxx verified OK
On all platforms except the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series, you can reexecute the configuration commands stored in NVRAM. On the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series, the same command allows you to reexecute the configuration specified by the CONFIG_FILE environment variable.
To reexecute the commands located in the startup configuration, complete the following task in privileged EXEC mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Reexecute the configuration commands located in NVRAM. or On the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series, configure the router to reexecute the configuration specified by the CONFIG_FILE environment variable. |
To clear the contents of your startup configuration, perform the following task in EXEC mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Clear the contents of your startup configuration. On most platforms, this command erases the contents of NVRAM. On the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series, this command erases the configuration specified by the CONFIG_FILE environment variable. |
On the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series, when you use the erase startup-config command, the router erases or deletes the configuration pointed to by CONFIG_FILE environment variable. If this variable points to NVRAM, the router erases NVRAM. If the CONFIG_FILE environment variable specifies a Flash memory device and configuration filename, the router deletes the configuration file. That is, the router marks the file as "deleted," rather than erasing it. This feature allows you to recover a "deleted" file. Refer to the "Manage Flash Files" section for more information on recovering deleted files.
To erase a saved configuration from a specific Flash device on a Cisco 7000 series and Cisco 7200 series, complete the following task in EXEC mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Erase or delete a specified configuration file on a specified Flash device. | erase [device:]filename or |
As with the erase startup-config command, when you erase or delete a specific file, the system marks the file as deleted, allowing you to later recover a "deleted" file. If you omit the device name, the Cisco IOS software uses the default device specified by the cd command.
If you attempt to erase or delete the configuration file specified by the CONFIG_FILE or BOOTLDR environment variable, the system prompts you to confirm the deletion. Also, if you attempt to erase or delete the last valid system image specified in the BOOT environment variable, the system prompts you to confirm the deletion.
The following example erases the myconfig file from a Flash memory card inserted in slot 0:
Router# erase slot0:myconfig
The following example deletes the myconfig file from a Flash memory card inserted in slot 0:
Router# delete slot0:myconfig
When modifying your routing environment, you perform some general startup tasks. For example, to modify a configuration file, you enter configuration mode. You also modify the configuration register boot field to tell the router if and how to load a system image upon startup. Also, instead of using the default system image and configuration file to start up, you can specify a particular system image and configuration file that the router uses to start up. Although not a startup task, this section also describes how to schedule a reload of the system image to occur at a later time.
General startup tasks include the following:
To enter configuration mode, enter the configure command at the privileged EXEC prompt. The Cisco IOS software responds with the following prompt asking you to specify the terminal or memory, or a file stored on a network server (network) as the source of configuration commands:
Configuring from terminal, memory, or network [terminal]?
Each of these three methods is described in the following three sections:
The Cisco IOS software accepts one configuration command per line. You can enter as many configuration commands as you want.
You can add comments to a configuration file describing the commands you have entered. Precede a comment with an exclamation point (!). Because comments are not stored in NVRAM or in the active copy of the configuration file, comments do not appear when you list the active configuration with the show running-config EXEC command. Also, when the startup configuration is NVRAM, comments do not show up when you list the startup configuration with the show startup-config EXEC command. Comments are stripped out of the configuration file when it is loaded onto the router. However, you can list the comments in configuration files stored on a TFTP, rcp, or MOP server.
When you configure the software from the terminal, the software executes the commands you enter at the system prompts. To configure the software from the terminal, complete the following tasks:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1. Enter configuration mode and select the terminal option. | |
Step 2. Enter the necessary configuration commands. | See the appropriate chapter for specific configuration commands. |
Step 3. Quit configuration mode. | ^Z |
Step 4. Save the configuration file to your startup configuration. On most platforms, this step saves the configuration to NVRAM. On the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series, this step saves the configuration to the location specified by the CONFIG_FILE environment variable. | copy running-config startup-config |
Router1# configure terminal
Router1(config)# !The following command provides the router host name.
Router1(config)# hostname router2
^Z
Router2# copy running-config startup-config
When the startup configuration is NVRAM, it stores the current configuration information in text format as configuration commands, recording only nondefault settings. The memory is checksummed to guard against corrupted data.
On all platforms except the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series, the startup software always checks for configuration information in NVRAM. If NVRAM holds valid configuration commands, the Cisco IOS software executes the commands automatically at startup. If the software detects a problem with NVRAM or the configuration it contains, it enters setup mode and prompts for configuration. Problems can include a bad checksum for the information in NVRAM or the absence of critical configuration information. See the publication Troubleshooting Internetworking Systems for troubleshooting procedures. See the "Using Setup for Configuration Changes" chapter in this publication for details on the setup command facility.
On the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series, the router startup software uses the configuration pointed to by the CONFIG_FILE environment variable to start up. When the CONFIG_FILE environment variable does not exist or is null (such as at first-time startup), the router uses NVRAM as the default startup device. When the router uses NVRAM to start up and the system detects a problem with NVRAM or the configuration it contains, the router enters setup mode. Refer to the "Using Setup for Configuration Changes" chapter in this publication for more information on the setup command facility. For more information on environment variables, refer to the "Cisco's Implementation of Environment Variables" section.
On all platforms except the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series, you can configure the software to execute the commands located in NVRAM. On the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series, the same command configures the software to execute the configuration specified by the CONFIG_FILE environment variable.
To configure the software to execute the commands located in NVRAM or to execute the configuration specified by the CONFIG_FILE environment variable, complete the following task in privileged EXEC mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Configure the software to execute the commands located in NVRAM. or On the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series, configure the router to execute the configuration specified by the CONFIG_FILE environment variable. |
You can configure the software by retrieving and modifying a configuration file stored on one of your network servers. To do so, complete the following tasks:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1. Enter configuration mode with the network option. |
or |
Step 2. At the system prompt, select a network or host configuration file. The network configuration file contains commands that apply to all network servers and terminal servers on the network. The host configuration file contains commands that apply to one network server in particular. | host or network |
Step 3. At the system prompt, enter the optional IP address of the remote host from which you are retrieving the configuration file. | ip-address |
Step 4. At the system prompt, enter the name of the configuration file or accept the default name. | filename |
Step 5. Confirm the configuration filename that the system supplies. | y |
In the following example, the software is configured from the file tokyo-config at IP address 172.16.2.155:
Router1# copy tftp running-config
Host or network configuration file [host]?
IP address of remote host [255.255.255.255]? 172.16.2.155
Name of configuration file [tokyo-confg]?
Configure using tokyo-confg from 172.16.2.155? [confirm] y
Booting tokyo-confg from 172.16.2.155:!!! [OK - 874/16000 bytes]
You can copy a configuration file directly to your startup configuration without affecting the running configuration. On all platforms except the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series, this task loads a configuration file directly into NVRAM without affecting the running configuration.
On the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series, this task loads a configuration file directly into the location specified by the CONFIG_FILE environment variable without affecting the running configuration. If the CONFIG_FILE environment variable specifies NVRAM, the command functions as on all other platforms.
To copy a configuration file directly to the startup configuration, perform the following task in EXEC mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Load a configuration file directly into NVRAM or directly into the location specified by the CONFIG_FILE environment variable. |
or |
The configuration register boot field determines whether the router loads an operating system image, and if so, where it obtains this system image. The following sections describe the process for using the configuration register boot field, your process for setting this field, and the tasks you must perform to modify the configuration register boot field.
The lowest four bits of the 16-bit configuration register (bits 3, 2, 1, and 0) form the boot field. The following boot field values determine if the router loads an operating system and where it obtains the system image:
When loading a default system image from a network server, the router uses the configuration register settings to determine the default system image filename for booting from a network server. The router forms the default boot filename by starting with the word cisco and then appending the octal equivalent of the boot field number in the configuration register, followed by a hyphen (-) and the processor type name (cisconn-cpu). See the appropriate hardware installation guide for details on the configuration register and default filename.
You must correctly set the configuration register boot field to ensure that your router loads the operating system image as you intend. To set the boot field, follow this general procedure:
Step 2 Modify the current configuration register setting to reflect the way in which you want to load a system image. To do so, change the least significant hexadecimal digit to one of the following:
For example, if the current configuration register setting is 0x101 and you want to load a system image from boot system commands in the startup configuration file, you would change the configuration register setting to 0x102.
Step 3 Reboot the router to make your changes to the configuration register take effect.
You modify the boot field from either the hardware configuration register or the software configuration register, depending on the platform.
Use the hardware configuration register to modify the boot field of a Cisco 7000 series that contains boot ROMs earlier than Cisco IOS Release 10.
The hardware configuration register can be changed only on the processor card or with dual in-line package (DIP) switches located at the back of the router. For information on modifying the hardware configuration register, refer to the appropriate hardware installation guide.
Use the software configuration register to modify the boot field of a
To modify the software configuration register boot field, complete the following tasks:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1. Obtain the current configuration register setting. | show version |
Step 2. Enter configuration mode, selecting the terminal option. | configure terminal |
Step 3. Modify the existing configuration register setting to reflect the way in which you want to load a system image. | config-register value |
Step 4. Exit configuration mode. | ^Z |
Step 5. Reboot the router to make your changes take effect. |
Use the show version EXEC command to display the current configuration register setting. In ROM monitor mode, use the o command to list the value of the configuration register boot field.
In the following example, the show version command indicates that the current configuration register is set so that the router does not automatically load an operating system image. Instead, it enters ROM monitor mode and waits for user-entered ROM monitor commands. The new setting instructs the router to a load a system image from commands in the startup configuration file or from a default system image stored on a network server.
Router1# show version
GS Software, Version 9.0(1)
Copyright (c) 1986-1992 by cisco Systems, Inc.
Compiled Fri 14-Feb-92 12:37
System Bootstrap, Version 4.3
Router1 uptime is 2 days, 10 hours, 0 minutes
System restarted by reload
System image file is unknown, booted via tftp from 172.16.13.111
Host configuration file is "thor-boots", booted via tftp from 172.16.13.111
Network configuration file is "network-confg", booted via tftp from
172.16.13.111
CSC3 (68020) processor with 4096K bytes of memory.
X.25 software.
Bridging software.
1 MCI controller (2 Ethernet, 2 Serial).
2 Ethernet/IEEE 802.3 interface.
2 Serial network interface.
32K bytes of non-volatile configuration memory.
Configuration register is 0x0
Router1# configure terminal
Router1(config)# config-register 0xF
^Z
Router1# reload
You can enter multiple boot commands in the startup configuration file or in the BOOT environment variable to provide backup methods for loading a system image onto the router. There are three ways to load a system image:
You can enter the different types of boot commands in any order in the startup configuration file or in the BOOT environment variable. If you enter multiple boot commands, the Cisco IOS software tries them in the order they are entered.
Use the following sections to configure your Cisco 2500 series, Cisco 3000 series, Cisco 4000 series, Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, Cisco 7500 series, and AccessPro PC card to boot from Flash memory. With a CSC-MC+ Flash memory card and CSC-MCI controller and appropriate cables, system software images can be written to Flash memory for booting. Depending on the hardware platform, Flash memory might be available as EPROMs, single in-line memory modules (SIMMs), or Flash memory cards. Check the appropriate hardware installation and maintenance guide for information about types of Flash memory available on a specific platform.
In the Cisco 7000 series, Flash memory is located on the RP card or a Flash memory card inserted in the PCMCIA slot. In the Cisco 7200 series, Flash memory is located on the I/O card or on a Flash memory card inserted in PCMCIA slot 1 of the NPE card. In the Cisco 7500 series, Flash memory is located on the RSP card or on a Flash memory card inserted in one of the PCMCIA slots (slot 0 or slot 1) of the RSP card. You can store or boot software images in Flash memory as necessary. Flash memory can reduce the effects of network failure by reducing dependency on files that can only be accessed over the network.
Flash memory allows you to do the following:
Flash memory features include the following:
Take the following precautions when loading from Flash memory:
Step 2 On the Cisco 2500, Cisco 3000, and AccessPro, if you ran the image from boot ROMs, reload the system image.
Step 3 Copy a system image to Flash memory using TFTP or rcp. See the "Copy System Images from a Network Server to Flash Memory" section for more information on performing this step.
Step 4 Configure the system to automatically boot from the desired file in Flash memory. You might need to change the configuration register value. See the "Modify the Configuration Register Boot Field" section for more information on the modifying configuration register.
Step 5 Save your configurations.
Step 6 Power-cycle and reboot your system to ensure that all is working as expected.
To configure your Cisco 4500 router to boot from Flash memory using a bootstrap image, follow this general procedure:
Step 2 Configure your system to automatically boot from Flash memory. You might need to change the configuration register value. See the "Modify the Configuration Register Boot Field" section for more information on modifying the configuration register.
Step 3 Save your configurations.
Step 4 Reboot your system to ensure that all is working as expected.
For the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series, the configuration process is similar to the previous two processes, except you can specify the Flash device that contains the rxboot image. When you receive your Cisco 7000 series router from the factory, ROM contains the rxboot image. When you receive your the Cisco 7200 series or Cisco 7500 series router, bootflash contains the rxboot image. You can change the location of this image to a Flash memory card inserted in a PCMCIA slot. To specify the rxboot image Flash device, you set the BOOTLDR environment variable.
The Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series configuration process is as follows:
Step 2 Optionally, use rcp or TFTP to update the system image that resides in internal Flash memory (bootflash on the Cisco 7200 series and Cisco 7500 series) or on one of the Flash memory cards inserted in a PCMCIA slot. Performing this step allows you to update a degraded system image with one that is not degraded.
Step 3 Configure your system to automatically boot from the desired file in Flash memory. You might need to change the configuration register value. See the "Modify the Configuration Register Boot Field" section for more information on modifying the configuration register.
Step 4 Save your configurations.
Step 5 Power-cycle and reboot your system to ensure that all is working as expected.
Flash memory configuration tasks discussed in this section include the following:
To set the BOOTLDR environment variable on your Cisco 7000, Cisco 7200 series, or Cisco 7500 series router, perform the following tasks, beginning in privileged EXEC mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1. Verify that internal Flash or bootflash contains the rxboot image. | dir [/all | /deleted] [/long] [device:][filename] |
Step 2. Enter the configuration mode from the terminal. | configure terminal |
Step 3. Set the BOOTLDR environment variable to specify the Flash device and filename of the rxboot image. This step modifies the runtime BOOTLDR environment variable. | boot bootldr device:filename |
Step 4. Exit configuration mode. | ^Z |
Step 5. Save this runtime BOOTLDR environment variable to your startup configuration. | copy running-config startup-config |
Step 6. Optionally, verify the contents of the BOOTLDR environment variable. |
Router# dir bootflash:
-#- -length- -----date/time------ name
1 620 May 04 1995 26:22:04 rsp-boot-m
2 620 May 24 1995 21:38:14 config2
7993896 bytes available (1496 bytes used)
Router# configure terminal
Router (config)# boot bootldr slot0:rsp-boot-m
^Z
Router# copy running-config startup-config
[ok]
Router# show boot
BOOT variable = slot0:rsp-boot-m
CONFIG_FILE variable = nvram:
Current CONFIG_FILE variable = slot0:router-config
Configuration register is 0x0
Router#
To configure a router (including Cisco 3000 series, Cisco 4000 series, Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series) to automatically boot from an image in Flash memory, perform the following tasks:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1. Enter configuration mode from the terminal. | configure terminal |
Step 2. Enter the filename of an image stored in Flash memory. | boot system flash [filename] boot system flash flash:[filename] boot system flash slot0:[filename] (Cisco 7000 series only) boot system flash bootflash:[filename] boot system flash slot0:[filename] boot system flash slot1:[filename] (Cisco 7200 series and Cisco 7500 series only) |
Step 3. Set the configuration register to enable loading of the system image from Flash memory. | config-register value1 |
Step 4. Exit configuration mode. | ^Z |
Step 5. Save the configuration file to your startup configuration. On most platforms, this step saves the configuration to NVRAM. On the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series, this step saves the configuration to the location specified by the CONFIG_FILE environment variable. | copy running-config startup-config |
Step 6. Optionally, verify the contents of the startup configuration. | |
Step 7. Power-cycle and reboot the system to ensure that all works as expected. |
| 1Refer to the "Modify the Configuration Register Boot Field" section for more information on systems that can use this command to modify the software configuration register. |
If you enter more than one image filename, the router tries them in the order entered.
If a filename already appears in the configuration file and you want to specify a new filename, remove the existing filename with the no boot system flash filename command.
Router# configure terminal
Router (config)# boot system flash gsnew-image
Router (config)# config-register 0x010F
^Z
Router# copy running-config startup-config
[ok]
Router# reload
[confirm]
%SYS-5-RELOAD: Reload requested
System Bootstrap, Version 4.6(0.16), BETA SOFTWARE
Copyright (c) 1986-1995 by cisco Systems
RP1 processor with 16384 Kbytes of memory
F3: 1871404+45476+167028 at 0x1000
Booting gsnew-image from flash memory RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR [OK - 1916912/13767448 bytes]
F3: 1871404+45476+167028 at 0x1000
Restricted Rights Legend
Use, duplication, or disclosure by the Government is
subject to restrictions as set forth in subparagraph
(c) of the Commercial Computer Software - Restricted
Rights clause at FAR sec. 52.227-19 and subparagraph
(c) (1) (ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer
Software clause at DFARS sec. 252.227-7013.
cisco Systems, Inc.
170 West Tasman Drive
San Jose, California 95134
GS Software (GS7), Version 10.2,
Copyright (c) 1986-1995 by cisco Systems, Inc.
Compiled Thu 05-Nov-94 14:16 by mlw
Once you have successfully configured Flash memory, you might want to configure the system with the no boot system flash command to revert to booting from ROM or, on a Cisco 7200 series and Cisco 7500 series, from bootflash. You might want to revert to booting from ROM or bootflash if you do not yet need this functionality, if you choose to boot from a network server, or if you do not have the proper image in Flash memory.
You can configure the Cisco IOS software to load a system image file from a network server using TFTP, rcp, or MOP.
To do so, you must set the configuration register boot field to the correct value. See the "Modify the Configuration Register Boot Field" section.
If you do not boot from a network server using MOP and you do not specify either TFTP or rcp, by default the system image that you specify is booted from a network server via TFTP.
For increased performance and reliability, use rcp to boot a system image from a network server. The rcp implementation uses the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), which ensures reliable delivery of data.
You cannot explicitly specify a remote username when you issue the boot command. Instead, the host name of the router is used. If the remote server has a directory structure, as do UNIX systems, and you boot the router from a network server using rcp, the Cisco IOS software searches for the system image on the server relative to the directory of the remote username.
If there is not enough room in memory to boot a regular image from a network server, you can produce a compressed software image on any UNIX platform using the compress command. Refer to your UNIX platform's documentation for the exact usage of the compress command.
To specify the loading of a system image from a network server, complete the following tasks:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1. Enter configuration mode from the terminal. | configure terminal |
Step 2. Specify the system image file to be booted from a network server using rcp, TFTP, or MOP. | boot system [rcp | tftp] filename [ip-address] or boot system mop filename [mac-address] [interface] |
Step 3. Set the configuration register to enable loading of the system image from a network server. | config-register value1 |
Step 4. Exit configuration mode. | ^Z |
Step 5. Save the configuration file to your startup configuration. On most platforms, this step saves the configuration to NVRAM. On the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series, this step saves the configuration to the location specified by the CONFIG_FILE environment variable. | copy running-config startup-config |
| 1Refer to the "Modify the Configuration Register Boot Field" section for more information on systems that can use this command to modify the software configuration register. |
In the following example, a router uses rcp to boot from the testme5.tester system image file on a network server at IP address 172.16.0.1:
Router1# configure terminal
Router1(config)# boot system rcp testme5.tester 172.16.0.1
Router (config)# config-register 0x010F
^Z
Router1# copy running-config startup-config
To specify the use of the ROM system image as a backup to other boot instructions in the configuration file, complete the following tasks:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1. Enter configuration mode from the terminal. | configure terminal |
Step 2. Specify use of the ROM system image as a backup image. | |
Step 3. Set the configuration register to enable loading of the system image from ROM. | config-register value1 |
Step 4. Exit configuration mode. | ^Z |
Step 5. Save the configuration file to your startup configuration. On most platforms, this step saves the configuration to NVRAM. On the Cisco 7000 series, this step saves the configuration to the location specified by the CONFIG_FILE environment variable. | copy running-config startup-config |
| 1Refer to the "Modify the Configuration Register Boot Field" section for more information on systems that can use this command to modify the software configuration register. |
In the following example, a router is configured to boot from ROM:
Router1# configure terminal
Router1(config)# boot system rom
Router (config)# config-register 0x0101
^Z
Router1# copy running-config startup-config
Occasionally network failures make booting from a network server impossible. To lessen the effects of network failure, consider the following booting strategy. After Flash is installed and configured, you might want to configure the router to boot in the following order:
1. Boot an image from Flash.
2. Boot an image from a system file on a network server.
3. Boot from ROM image.
This boot order provides the most fault-tolerant booting strategy. Perform the following tasks to allow the router to boot first from Flash, then from a system file from a network server, and finally from ROM:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1. Enter configuration mode from the terminal | configure terminal |
Step 2. Configure the router to boot from Flash memory. | boot system flash [filename] boot system flash flash:[filename] boot system flash slot0:[filename] (Cisco 7000 series only) boot system flash bootflash:[filename] boot system flash slot0:[filename] boot system flash slot1:[filename] (Cisco 7200 series and Cisco 7500 series only) |
Step 3. Configure the router to boot from a network server. | |
Step 4. Configure the router to boot from ROM. | |
Step 5. Set the configuration register to enable loading of the system image from a network server or Flash. | config-register value 1 |
Step 6. Exit configuration mode. | ^Z |
Step 7. Save the configuration file to your startup configuration. On most platforms, this step saves the configuration to NVRAM. On the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series, this step saves the configuration to the location specified by the CONFIG_FILE environment variable. | copy running-config startup-config |
| 1Refer to the "Modify the Configuration Register Boot Field" section for more information on systems that can use this command to modify the software configuration register. |
The following example illustrates the order of the commands needed to implement this strategy. In the example, a router is configured to first boot an internal Flash image called gsxx. Should that image fail, the router will boot the configuration file gsxx from a network server. If that method should fail, then the system will boot from ROM.
Router# configure terminal
Router(config)# boot system flash gsxx
Router(config)# boot system gsxx 172.16.101.101
Router(config)# boot system rom
Router(config)# config-register 0x010F
^Z
Router# copy running-config startup-config
[ok]
Using this strategy, a router has three alternative sources from which to boot. These alternative sources help lessen the negative effects of a failure on network or file server from which the system image is copied.
Configuration files can be stored on network servers. You can configure the router to automatically request and receive two configuration files from the network server at startup:
The first file the server attempts to load is the network configuration file. This file contains information that is shared among several routers. For example, it can be used to provide mapping between IP addresses and host names.
The second file the server attempts to load is the host configuration file. This file contains commands that apply to one router in particular. Both the network and host configuration files must reside on a network server reachable via TFTP, rcp, or MOP, and must be readable.
You can specify an ordered list of network configuration and host configuration filenames. The Cisco IOS software scans this list until it successfully loads the appropriate network or host configuration file.
In addition to storing configuration files on network servers, with the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series you can store configuration files in NVRAM and on Flash memory cards. The CONFIG_FILE environment variable specifies the device and filename of the configuration file to use during initialization. For more information on environment variables, refer to the "Cisco's Implementation of Environment Variables" section.
You can set the CONFIG_FILE environment variable to specify the startup configuration on a Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, or Cisco 7500 series.
To specify a startup configuration file, perform either the first two tasks or the third task:
To configure the Cisco IOS software to download a network configuration file from a server at startup, complete the following tasks:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1. Enter configuration mode from the terminal. | configure terminal |
Step 2. Enter the network configuration filename to download a file using TFTP, rcp, or MOP. | boot network mop filename [mac-address] [interface] |
Step 3. Enable the router to automatically load the network file upon restart. | |
Step 4. Exit configuration mode. | ^Z |
Step 5. Save the configuration file to your startup configuration. On most platforms, this step saves the configuration to NVRAM. On the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series, this step saves the configuration to the location specified by the CONFIG_FILE environment variable. | copy running-config startup-config |
For Step 2, if you do not specify a network configuration filename, the Cisco IOS software uses the default filename network-confg. If you omit both the tftp and the rcp keywords, the software assumes that the you are using TFTP to transfer the file and that the server whose IP address you specify supports TFTP.
If you configure the software to download the network configuration file from a network server using rcp and the server has a directory structure as do UNIX systems, the software searches for the system image on the server relative to the directory of the remote username. The router host name is used as the remote username.
You can specify more than one network configuration file. The software tries them in order until it loads one successfully. This procedure can be useful for keeping files with different configuration information loaded on a network server.
To configure the Cisco IOS software to download a host configuration file from a server at startup, complete the following tasks. Step 2 is optional. If you do not specify a host configuration filename, the router uses its own name to form a host configuration filename by converting the name to all lowercase letters, removing all domain information, and appending -confg. If no host name information is available, the software uses the default host configuration filename router-confg.
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1. Enter configuration mode from the terminal. | configure terminal |
Step 2. Optionally, enter the host configuration filename to be download using MOP, rcp, or TFTP. | boot host mop filename [mac-address] [interface] boot host [tftp | rcp] filename [ip-address] |
Step 3. Enable the device to automatically load the host file upon restart. | |
Step 4. Exit configuration mode. | ^Z |
Step 5. Save the configuration file to your startup configuration. On most platforms, this step saves the configuration to NVRAM. On the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series, this step saves the configuration to the location specified by the CONFIG_FILE environment variable. | copy running-config startup-config |
Step 6. Reset the router with the new configuration information. |
You can specify more than one host configuration file. The Cisco IOS software tries them in order until it loads one successfully. This procedure can be useful for keeping files with different configuration information loaded on a network server.
In the following example, a router is configured to boot from the host configuration file hostfile1 and from the network configuration file networkfile1:
Router1# configure terminal
Router1(config)# boot host hostfile1
Router1(config)# boot network networkfile1
Router1(config)# service config
^Z
Router1# copy running-config startup-config
Booting host-confg... [timed out]
Refer to the Troubleshooting Internetworking Systems publication for troubleshooting procedures. If there are any problems with the startup configuration file, or if the configuration register is set to ignore NVRAM, the router enters the setup command facility. See the "Using Setup for Configuration Changes" chapter in this publication for details on the setup command.
In addition to loading startup configuration files from a server, on the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series using Cisco IOS Release 11.0 or later you can configure the Cisco IOS software to load a startup configuration file specified by the CONFIG_FILE environment variable. To do so, complete the following tasks, beginning in EXEC mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1. Copy the configuration file to the device from which the router will load the file upon restart. | |
Step 2. Enter configuration mode from the terminal. | configure terminal |
Step 3. Set the CONFIG_FILE environment variable. This step modifies the runtime CONFIG_FILE environment variable. | boot config device:filename |
Step 4. Exit configuration mode. | ^Z |
Step 5. Save this runtime CONFIG_FILE environment variable to your startup configuration. | copy running-config startup-config |
Step 6. Optionally, verify the contents of the CONFIG_FILE environment variable. |
When saving the runtime CONFIG_FILE environment variable to the startup configuration, the router saves a complete version of the configuration file to the location specified by the CONFIG_FILE environment variable and a distilled version to NVRAM. A distilled version is one that does not contain access list information. If NVRAM contains a complete configuration file, the router prompts you to confirm your overwrite of the complete version with the distilled version. If NVRAM contains a distilled configuration, the router does not prompt you for confirmation and proceeds with overwriting the existing distilled configuration file in NVRAM.
Router# copy running-config slot0:config2
Router# configure terminal
Router (config)# boot config slot0:config2
^Z
Router# copy running-config startup-config
[ok]
Router# show boot
BOOT variable = slot0:rsp-boot-m
CONFIG_FILE variable = nvram:
Current CONFIG_FILE variable = slot0:config2
Configuration register is 0x010F
Router#
To configure the router to reload the Cisco IOS software at a later time, perform one of the following tasks in privileged EXEC command mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Schedule a reload of the software to take effect in the specified minutes or hours and minutes. | reload in [hh:]mm [text] |
Schedule a reload of the software to take place at the specified time (using a 24-hour clock). | reload at hh:mm [month day | day month] [text] |
If you specify the month and day, the reload is scheduled to take place at the specified time and date. If you do not specify the month and day, the reload takes place at the specified time on the current day (if the specified time is later than the current time), or on the next day (if the specified time is earlier than the current time). Specifying 00:00 schedules the reload for midnight.
To display information about a previously scheduled reload or to determine if a reload has been scheduled on the router, perform the following task in EXEC command mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Display reload information including the time the reload is scheduled to occur, and the reason for the reload if it was specified when the reload was scheduled. |
To cancel a previously scheduled reload, perform the following task in privileged EXEC command mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Cancel a previously scheduled reload of the software. | reload cancel |
The following example illustrates how to use the reload command to reload the software on the router on the current day at 7:30 p.m.:
router#reload at 19:30
Reload scheduled for 19:30:00 UTC Wed Jun 5 1996 (in 2 hours and 25 minutes)
Proceed with reload? [confirm]
router#
The following example illustrates how to use the reload command to reload the software on the router at a future time:
router#reload at 02:00 jun 20
Reload scheduled for 02:00:00 UTC Thu Jun 20 1996 (in 344 hours and 53 minutes)
Proceed with reload? [confirm]
router#
The following example illustrates how to use the reload cancel command to stop a scheduled reload:
router #reload cancel
router#
***
*** --- SHUTDOWN ABORTED ---
***
After modifying and saving your routing environment's unique configurations, you might want to store them on a network server. You can use these network server copies of system images and configuration files as backup copies.
To store system images and configuration files, perform the following tasks:
You can copy system images from Flash memory to a TFTP server or to an rcp server. You can use this server copy of the system image as a backup copy, or you can use it to verify that the copy in Flash is the same as the original file on disk. The following sections describe these tasks:
You can copy a system image to a TFTP network server. In some implementations of TFTP, you must first create a "dummy" file on the TFTP server and give it read, write, and execute permissions before copying a file over it. Refer to your TFTP documentation for more information.
To copy a system image to a TFTP network server, perform the following task in EXEC mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1. (Optional) If you do not already know it, learn the exact spelling of the system image filename in Flash memory. On the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series, you can learn the spelling of the system image filename on a specified Flash memory device. | show flash all show flash [device:] (Cisco 7000 series PCMCIA slot, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series only) |
Step 2. Copy the system image from Flash memory to a TFTP server. On the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series, you can copy the system image from a specified Flash memory device to a TFTP server. |
or copy file-id tftp (Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series only) |
Step 3. When prompted, enter the IP address or domain name of the TFTP server. | ip-address or name |
Step 4. When prompted, enter the filename of the system image in Flash memory. | filename |
Router# show flash all
2048K bytes of flash memory on embedded flash (in XX).
ROM socket code bytes name
0 U42 89BD 0x40000 INTEL 28F020
1 U44 89BD 0x40000 INTEL 28F020
2 U46 89BD 0x40000 INTEL 28F020
3 U48 89BD 0x40000 INTEL 28F020
4 U41 89BD 0x40000 INTEL 28F020
5 U43 89BD 0x40000 INTEL 28F020
6 U45 89BD 0x40000 INTEL 28F020
7 U47 89BD 0x40000 INTEL 28F020
security jumper(12V) is installed,
flash memory is programmable.
file offset length name
0 0x40 1204637 xk09140z
[903848/2097152 bytes free]
Router# copy flash tftp
IP address of remote host [255.255.255.255]? 172.16.13.110
filename to write on tftp host? xk09140z
writing xk09140z !!!!...
successful tftp write.
Router#
The exclamation point (!) indicates that the copy process is taking place. Each exclamation point (!) indicates that ten packets have been transferred successfully. To stop the copy process, press Ctrl-^. Refer to the Troubleshooting Internetworking Systems publication for procedures on how to resolve Flash memory problems.
Router#show flash slot1:
-#- ED --type-- --crc--- -seek-- nlen -length- -----date/time------ name
1 .. 1 46A11866 2036C 4 746 May 16 1995 16:24:37 test
Router#copy slot1:test tftp
IP address of remote host [255.255.255.255]? 172.16.13.110
filename to write on tftp host? [test]y
writing test!!!!...
successful tftp write.
Router#
The exclamation point (!) indicates that the copy process is taking place. Each exclamation point (!) indicates that ten packets have been transferred successfully.
Once you have configured Flash memory, you might want to configure the system (using the configure terminal command) with the no boot system flash configuration command to revert to booting from ROM. For example, you might want to revert to booting from ROM if you do not yet need this functionality, if you choose to boot from a network server, or if you do not have the proper image in Flash memory. After you enter the no boot system flash command, use the copy running-config startup-config command to save the new configuration command to the startup configuration.
This procedure on the Cisco 7000 series also requires changing the processor's configuration register. Refer to the "Modify the Configuration Register Boot Field" section for instructions.
You can also copy a system image from Flash memory to an rcp network server.
The rcp protocol requires that a client send the remote username on each rcp request to the server. When you copy an image from Flash memory to a network server using rcp, the Cisco IOS software sends the remote username associated with the current TTY (terminal) process, if that name is valid. If the TTY remote username is invalid, the software uses the router host name as both the remote and local usernames.
You can configure a different remote username to be sent to the server. If the network server has a directory structure, as do UNIX systems, the rcp protocol implementation writes the system image relative to the directory associated with the remote username on the network server.
For the rcp command to execute properly, an account must be defined on the destination server for the remote username.
The rcp server must be properly configured to accept the rcp write request from the user on the router. For UNIX systems, you must add an entry to the .rhosts file for the remote user on the rcp server. For example, if the router contains the following configuration lines:
hostname Rtr1
ip rcmd remote-username User0
and the router's IP address translates to Router1.company.com, then the .rhosts file for User0 on the rcp server should contain the following line:
Router1.company.com Rtr1
Refer to the documentation for your rcp server for more details.
To stop the copy process, press Ctrl-^. Refer to the Troubleshooting Internetworking Systems publication for procedures on how to resolve Flash memory problems.
If you copy the system image to a personal computer used as a file server, the computer must support the rcp protocol.
To copy the system image from Flash memory to a network server, perform the following tasks:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1. (Optional) If you do not already know it, learn the exact spelling of the system image filename in Flash memory. On the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series, you can learn the spelling of the system image filename on a specified Flash memory device. | show flash all show flash [device:] (Cisco 7000 series PCMCIA slot, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series only) |
Step 2. Enter configuration mode from the terminal. This step is required only if you are going to override the default remote username (see Step 3). | configure terminal |
Step 3. Specify the remote username. This step is optional, but recommended. | ip rcmd remote-username username |
Step 4. Exit configuration mode. | ^Z |
Step 5. Using rcp, copy the system image in Flash memory to a network server. |
copy file-id rcp (Cisco 7200 series and Cisco 7500 series only) |
Step 6. When prompted, enter the IP address or domain name of the rcp server. | ip-address or name |
Step 7. When prompted, enter the filename of the system image in Flash memory. | filename |
The following example copies the system image gsxx to a network server using rcp:
Router# configure terminal
Router(config)# ip rcmd remote-username netadmin1
^Z
Router# copy flash rcp
System flash directory:
File name/status
1 gsxx
[2076072 bytes used, 21080 bytes available]
Name of file to copy? gsxx
Address or name of remote host [UNKNOWN]? 172.16.1.111
File name to write to? gsxx
Verifying checksum for `gsxx' (file # 1)...[OK]
Writing gsxx -
Router#
Router# configure terminal
Router(config)# ip rcmd remote-username netadmin1
^Z
Router# copy slot1:test rcp
System flash directory:
File name/status
1 test
[2076072 bytes used, 21080 bytes available]
Name of file to copy? [test] y
Address or name of remote host [UNKNOWN]? 172.16.1.111
File name to write to? test
Verifying checksum for `test' (file # 1)...[OK]
Writing test!!!!...
Router#
The exclamation point (!) indicates that the copy process is taking place. Each exclamation point (!) indicates that ten packets have been transferred successfully.
You can copy configuration files from the router to a TFTP server or rcp server. You might do this task to back up a current configuration file to a server before changing its contents, thereby allowing you to later restore the original configuration file from the server. The following sections describe these tasks:
Usually, the configuration file that you copy to must already exist on the TFTP server and be globally writable before the TFTP server allows you to write to it.
To store configuration information on a TFTP network server, complete the following tasks in the EXEC mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1. Specify that the running or startup configuration file be stored on a network server. |
or |
Step 2. Enter the IP address of the network server. | ip-address |
Step 3. Enter the name of the configuration file to store on the server. | filename |
Step 4. Confirm the entry. | y |
The command prompts you for the destination host's address and a filename, as the following example illustrates.
The following example copies a configuration file from a router to a TFTP server:
Tokyo# copy running-config tftp
Remote host [172.16.2.155]?
Name of configuration file to write [tokyo-confg]?
Write file tokyo-confg on host 172.16.2.155? [confirm] y
#
Writing tokyo-confg!!! [OK]
The rcp protocol requires a client to send the remote username on each rcp request to a server. When you issue a command to copy a configuration file from the router to a server using rcp, the Cisco IOS software sends a default remote username unless you override the default by configuring a remote username. The default value of the remote username is the remote username associated with the current TTY (terminal) process, if that name is valid.
If the TTY remote username is invalid, the software uses the router host name as both the remote and local usernames. If the server has a directory structure, as do UNIX systems, the rcp protocol implementation writes the configuration file to relative to the directory associated with the remote username on the server.
For the rcp copy request to execute successfully, an account must be defined on the network server for the remote username.
The rcp server must be properly configured to accept the rcp write request from the user on the router. For UNIX systems, you must add an entry to the .rhosts file for the remote user on the rcp server. For example, if the router contains the following configuration lines:
hostname Rtr1
ip rcmd remote-username User0
and the router's IP address translates to Router1.company.com, then the .rhosts file for User0 on the rcp server should contain the following line:
Router1.company.com Rtr1
Refer to the documentation for your rcp server for more details.
If you copy the configuration file to a personal computer used as a file server, the computer must support rcp.
To copy a startup configuration file or a running configuration file from the router to an rcp server, use one of following tasks:
You can copy the running configuration file to an rcp server. The copied file can serve as a backup configuration file.
To store a running configuration file on a server, complete the following tasks:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1. Enter configuration mode from the terminal. This step is required only if you override the default remote username (see Step 2). | configure terminal |
Step 2. Specify the remote username. This step is optional, but recommended. | ip rcmd remote-username username |
Step 3. Specify that the router's running configuration file be stored on a network server. | |
Step 4. Enter the IP address of the network server. | ip-address |
Step 5. Enter the name of the configuration file to store on the server. | filename |
Step 6. Confirm the entry. | y |
Rtr#2 configure terminal
Rtr2(config)# ip rcmd remote-username netadmin1
^Z
Rtr2# copy running-config rcp
Remote host[]? 172.16.101.101
Name of configuration file to write [Rtr2-confg]?
Write file rtr2-confg on host 172.16.101.101?[confirm]
Building configuration...[OK]
Connected to 172.16.101.101
Rtr2#
You can copy the contents of the startup configuration file to an rcp server. The copied file can serve as a backup configuration file.
To copy a startup configuration file to a network server using rcp, complete the following tasks:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1. Enter configuration mode from the terminal. This step is required only if you override the default remote username (see Step 2). | configure terminal |
Step 2. Specify the remote username. This step is optional, but recommended. | ip rcmd remote-username username |
Step 3. Specify that the startup configuration file be copied to an rcp server. On most platforms, this step copies the configuration from NVRAM to the rcp server. On the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series, this step copies the configuration file specified by the CONFIG_FILE environment variable to an rcp server. | |
Step 4. Enter the IP address of the network server. | ip-address |
Step 5. Enter the name of the configuration file to store on the server. | filename |
Step 6. Confirm the entry. | y |
Rtr2# configure terminal
Rtr2(config)# ip rcmd remote-username netadmin2
^Z
Rtr2# copy startup-config rcp
Remote host[]? 172.16.101.101
Name of configuration file to write [rtr2-confg]?
Write file rtr2-confg on host 172.16.101.101?[confirm]
![OK]
It is too costly and inefficient to have a dedicated server on every network segment. However, when you do not have a server on every segment, your network operations can incur enormous time delays across network segments. You can configure a router as a RARP or TFTP server to reduce costs and time delays in your network.
Typically, a router that is configured as a server provides other routers with operating system images from its Flash memory. You can also configure the router to respond to other types of service requests, such as Reverse Address Resolution Protocol (RARP) requests.
To configure the router as a server, perform any of the following tasks. The tasks are not mutually exclusive.
As a TFTP server host, the router responds to TFTP Read Request messages by sending a copy of the system image contained in ROM or one of the system images contained in Flash memory to the requesting host. The TFTP Read Request message must use one of the filenames that are specified in the configuration.
To specify TFTP server operation, complete the following tasks:
| Task | Command |
Step 1. Enter configuration mode from the terminal. | configure terminal |
Step 2. Specify TFTP server operation. | tftp-server flash [partition-number:]filename1 [alias filename2] [access-list-number] tftp-server rom alias filename1 [access-list-number] tftp-server flash device:filename (Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, or Cisco 7500 series only) |
Step 3. Exit configuration mode. | ^Z |
Step 4. Save the configuration file to your startup configuration. On most platforms, this step saves the configuration to NVRAM. On the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series, this step saves the configuration to the location specified by the CONFIG_FILE environment variable. | copy running-config startup-config |
The TFTP session can sometimes fail. TFTP generates the following special characters to help you determine why a TFTP session fails:
The transfer session might still succeed even if TFTP generates these characters, but the output is useful for diagnosing the transfer failure. For troubleshooting procedures, refer to the Troubleshooting Internetworking Systems publication.
In the following example, the system uses TFTP to send a copy of the Flash memory file version-10.3 in response to a TFTP Read Request for that file. The requesting host is checked against access list 22.
tftp-server flash version-10.3 22
tftp-server rom alias gs3-k.101
Flash memory can be used as a TFTP file server for other routers on the network. This feature allows you to boot a remote router with an image that resides in the Flash server memory.
With Cisco IOS Release 11.0, the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series allow you to specify one of the different Flash memory devices as the TFTP server. On the Cisco 7000 series, you can specify internal Flash (flash:) or the PCMCIA slot (slot0:) as the TFTP server. On the Cisco 7200 series and Cisco 7500 series, you can specify its internal Flash (bootflash:) or one of the two PCMCIA slots (slot0:, slot1:) as the TFTP server.
In the description that follows, one Cisco 7000 router is referred to as the Flash server, and all other routers are referred to as client routers. Example configurations for the Flash server and client routers include commands as necessary.
To configure Flash memory as a TFTP server, perform the following tasks:
The Flash server and client router must be able to reach each other before the TFTP function can be implemented. Verify this connection by pinging between the Flash server and client router (in either direction) with the ping command.
An example use of the ping command is as follows:
Router# ping 172.16.101.101
In this example, the Internet Protocol (IP) address of 172.16.101.101 belongs to the client router. Connectivity is indicated by a series of exclamation points (!), while a series of periods (.) plus [timed out] or [failed] indicates no connection. If the connection fails, reconfigure the interface, check the physical connection between the Flash server and client router, and ping again.
After you verify the connection, ensure that a TFTP-bootable image is present in Flash memory. This is the system software image the client router will boot. Note the name of this software image so you can verify it after the first client boot.
| Caution For full functionality, the software residing in the Flash memory must be the same type as the ROM software installed on the client router. For example, if the server has X.25 software, and the client does not have X.25 software in ROM, the client will not have X.25 capabilities after booting from the server's Flash memory. |
Perform the following task to configure the Flash server:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1. Enter configuration mode from the terminal. | configure terminal |
Step 2. Specify the TFTP server operation for the router. | tftp-server flash [partition-number:]filename1 [alias filename2] [access-list-number] or tftp-server flash device:filename (Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, or Cisco 7500 series only) |
Server# configure terminal
Enter configuration commands, one per line.
Edit with DELETE, CRTL/W, and CRTL/U; end with CTRL/Z
Server(config)# tftp-server flash gs7-k.9.17 1
Server(config)# access-list 1 permit 172.16.101.0 0.0.0.255
^Z
Server# copy running-config startup-config <Return>
[ok]
Server#
Configure the client router to first load a system image from the Flash server. As a backup, configure the client router to then load its own ROM image if the load from a Flash server fails.
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1. Enter configuration mode from the terminal. | configure terminal |
Step 2. Remove all previous boot system statements from the configuration file. | |
Step 3. Specify that the client router load a system image from the Flash server. | boot system [rcp | tftp] filename [ip-address] |
Step 4. As a backup, specify that the client router loads its own ROM image. | |
Step 5. Set the configuration register to enable the client router to load a system image from a network server. | config-register value1 |
Step 6. Exit configuration mode. | ^Z |
Step 7. Save the configuration file to your startup configuration. On most platforms, this step saves the configuration to NVRAM. On the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series, this step saves the configuration to the location specified by the CONFIG_FILE environment variable. | copy running-config startup-config |
Step 8. Reload the router to make your changes take effect. |
| 1Refer to the "Modify the Configuration Register Boot Field" section for more information on systems that can use this command to modify the software configuration register. |
| Caution Using the no boot system command, as in the following example, will invalidate all other boot system commands currently in the client router system configuration. Before proceeding, determine whether the system configuration stored in the client router should first be saved (uploaded) to a TFTP file server so you have a backup copy. |
The following example shows how to use these commands:
Client# configure terminal
Enter configuration commands, one per line.
Edit with DELETE, CRTL/W, and CRTL/U; end with CTRL/Z
Client(config)# no boot system
Client(config)# boot system gs7-k.9.17 172.31.111.111
Client(config)# boot system rom
Client(config)# config-register 0x010F
^Z
Client# copy running-config startup-config
[ok]
Server# reload
In this example, the no boot system command invalidates all other boot system commands currently in the configuration memory, and any boot system commands entered after this command will be executed first. The second command, boot system filename address, tells the client router to look for the file gs7-k.9.17 in the (Flash) server with an IP address of 172.31.111.111. Failing this, the client router will boot from its system ROM in response to the boot system rom command, which is included as a backup in case of a network problem. The copy running-config startup-config command copies the configuration to NVRAM or, on the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series, to the location specified by the CONFIG_FILE environment variable, and the reload command boots the system.
| Caution The system software (gs7-k.9.17 in the example) to be booted from the Flash server (172.31.111.111 in the example) must reside in Flash memory on the server. If it is not in Flash memory, the client router will boot the Flash server's system ROM. |
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Verify that the software image booted from the Flash server is the image present in Flash memory of the client router. | show version |
Following is sample output of the show version command:
env-chassis> show version
GS Software (GS7), Version 9.1.17
Copyright (c) 1986-1992 by cisco Systems, Inc.
Compiled Wed 21-Oct-92 22:49
System Bootstrap, Version 4.6(0.15)
Current date and time is Thu 10-22-1992 13:15:03
Boot date and time is Thu 10-22-1992 13:06:55
env-chassis uptime is 9 minutes
System restarted by power-on
System image file is "gs7-k.9.17", booted via tftp from 172.31.111.111
RP1 (68040) processor with 16384K bytes of memory.
X.25 software.
Bridging software.
1 Switch Processor.
1 EIP controller (6 Ethernet).
6 Ethernet/IEEE 802.3 interface.
128K bytes of non-volatile configuration memory.
4096K bytes of flash memory on embedded flash (in RP1).
Configuration register is 0x010F
The important information in this example is contained in the first line "GS Software..." and in the line that begins "System image file...." The "GS Software..." line shows the version of the operating system in the client router's RAM. The "System image file...." line show the filename of the system image loaded from the Flash server.
Verify that the software shown in the first line of the show version output is the software residing in the Flash server memory.
You can configure the router as a RARP server. This feature enables the Cisco IOS software to answer RARP requests, making diskless booting of various systems possible (for example, Sun workstations or PCs on networks where the client and server are on separate subnets).
To configure the router as a RARP server, perform the following task in interface configuration mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Configure the router as a RARP server. | ip rarp-server ip-address |
Figure 6 illustrates a network configuration in which a router is configured to act as a RARP server. Figure 7 illustrates a similar configuration with an access server.
Router A's configuration
! Allow the router to forward broadcast portmapper requests
ip forward-protocol udp 111
! Provide the router with the IP address of the diskless sun
arp 172.30.2.5 0800.2002.ff5b arpa
interface ethernet 0
! Configure the router to act as a RARP server, using the Sun Server's IP
! address in the RARP response packet.
ip rarp-server 172.30.3.100
! Portmapper broadcasts from this interface are sent to the Sun Server.
ip helper-address 172.30.3.100
The Sun client and server's IP addresses must use the same major network number because of a limitation with the current SunOS rpc.bootparamd daemon.
In the following example, the access server is configured to act as a RARP server. Figure 7 illustrates the network configuration.
! Allow the access server to forward broadcast portmapper requests
ip forward-protocol udp 111
! Provide the access server with the IP address of the diskless sun
arp 172.30.2.5 0800.2002.ff5b arpa
interface ethernet 0
! Configure the access server to act as a RARP server, using the Sun Server's
! IP address in the RARP response packet.
ip rarp-server 172.30.3.100
! Portmapper broadcasts from this interface are sent to the Sun Server.
ip helper-address 172.30.3.100
The Sun client and server's IP addresses must use the same major network number because of a limitation with the current SunOS rpc.bootparamd daemon.
You can configure the Cisco IOS software to work with various types of servers. Specifically, you configure the software to forward different types of service requests.
You can configure the Cisco IOS software to forward extended BOOTP requests over asynchronous interfaces and MOP server boot requests. The following sections describe these tasks. The tasks are not mutually exclusive.
The Boot Protocol (BOOTP) server for asynchronous interfaces supports the extended BOOTP requests specified in RFC 1084. The following command is useful in conjunction with using the auxiliary port as an asynchronous interface.
To configure extended BOOTP requests for asynchronous interfaces, perform the following task in global configuration mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Configure extended BOOTP requests for asynchronous interfaces. | async-bootp tag [:hostname] data |
You can display the extended BOOTP requests by performing the following task in EXEC mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Show parameters for BOOTP requests. |
To change the Cisco IOS software parameters for retransmitting boot requests to a MOP server, complete the following tasks, starting in privileged EXEC mode:
| Task | Command |
Step 1. Enter configuration mode from the terminal. | configure terminal |
Step 2. Change MOP server parameters. | mop device-code {cisco | ds200} mop retransmit-timer seconds mop retries count |
Step 3. Exit configuration mode. | ^Z |
Step 4. Save the configuration file to your startup configuration. On most platforms, this step saves the configuration to NVRAM. On the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series, this step saves the configuration to the location specified by the CONFIG_FILE environment variable. | copy running-config startup-config |
By default, when the software transmits a request that requires a response from a MOP boot server and the server does not respond, the message will be retransmitted after 4 seconds. If the MOP boot server and router are separated by a slow serial link, it may take longer than 4 seconds for the router to receive a response to its message. Therefore, you might want to configure the software to wait longer than 4 seconds before retransmitting the message if you are using such a link.
Router# configure terminal
Router (config)# mop retransmit-timer 10
^Z
Router# copy running-config startup-config
The startup tasks in this section apply only to the Cisco 2500, 3000, 4000, 4500, AS5100 series, and AccessPro. The tasks in this section are optional.
You can perform the following optional startup tasks for your Cisco 2500, 3000, 4000, 4500 series, or AccessPro router or access server:
Dual Flash bank allows you to partition banks of Flash memory into separate, logical devices so that the router can hold and maintain two different software images. No downtime is required: you can write software into Flash memory while running software in another bank of Flash memory.
To use dual Flash bank, you must have at least two banks of Flash memory; a bank is a set of 4 chips. The minimum partition size is the size of a bank.
Dual Flash bank is supported on low-end systems that have at least two banks of Flash memory, including systems that support a single SIMM that has two banks of Flash memory (the AccessPro card and the Cisco 4500). Systems that support dual Flash bank include the AccessPro PC card, Cisco 1003, Cisco 2500 series, Cisco 3000 series, and Cisco 4000 series. CiscoFlash MIB variables support dual Flash bank. Refer to the Cisco Management Information Base (MIB) User Quick Reference for more information on these variables.
Partitioning Flash memory provides the following benefits:
You might use Flash load helper rather than dual Flash bank for one of the following reasons:
See the "Use Flash Load Helper to Upgrade Software on Run-from-Flash Systems (Cisco 2500 series and Cisco 3000 series only)" section for information about using Flash load helper.
Because partitioning requires that run-from-Flash images be loaded into different Flash memory banks at different physical addresses, images must be relocatable. A relocatable image is an image that contains special relocation information that allows the following:
With Flash partitioning, the run-from-Flash images will not work unless they are loaded into the first device as the first file. This requirement defeats the purpose of partitioning. However, relocatable images can be loaded into any Flash partition (and not necessarily as the first file within the partition) and executed in place.
Note that unless the image is downloaded as the first file in the first partition, this download must be performed by an image that recognizes relocatable images.
In contrast, a nonrelocatable image is an image that does not recognize relocatable images. The following are nonrelocatable images:
You can identify a relocatable image by its name. The naming convention for images that are stored on a UNIX system is as follows:
platform-capabilities-typeThe letter "l" in the type field indicates a relocatable image. Examples of some relocatable image names are
Only images with the "igs" prefix used by the Cisco 3000 series and Cisco 2500 series are available as relocatable images. Images distributed on floppy diskettes might have different naming conventions.
For backward compatibility, the relocatable images have been linked to execute as the first file in the first Flash memory bank. This makes the images similar to previous Flash memory images. Thus, if you download a relocatable image into a nonrelocatable image system, the image runs correctly from Flash memory.
To use dual Flash memory bank, perform the tasks in one or more of the following sections:
See the "Load System Images on Systems with Dual-Bank Flash Memory (Cisco 4500 series and AccessPro only)" section for information about booting systems that have two banks of Flash memory.
See the "Display System Image and Configuration Information" section for information about monitoring dual Flash bank.
To upgrade your software, you must erase Flash memory when you are prompted during the download. This is to ensure that the image is downloaded as the first file in Flash memory.
To partition Flash memory, perform the following task in global configuration mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Partition Flash memory. | partition flash partitions [size1 size2] |
This task will succeed only if the system has at least two banks of Flash and the partitioning does not cause an existing file in Flash memory to be split across the two partitions.
To download a file into a Flash partition, perform one of the following tasks in EXEC mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Download a file from a TFTP server into a Flash partition. | |
Download a file from a MOP server into a Flash partition. | |
Download a file from an rcp server into a Flash partition. |
The prompts displayed after you execute these tasks indicate the method by which the file can downloaded into each partition. The possible methods are as follows:
If the image download can be done into more than one partition, you are prompted for the partition number. Enter any of the following at the partition number prompt to obtain help:
To manually boot the router from Flash memory, perform one of the following tasks in ROM monitor mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Boot the first bootable file found in any partition. |
or |
Boot the first bootable file from the specified partition. | boot flash partition-number: or boot flash flash:partition-number: |
Boot the specified file from the first partition. | boot flash filename or boot flash flash:filename |
Boot the specified file from the specified partition. | boot flash partition-number:filename or boot flash flash:partition-number:filename |
The result of booting a relocatable image from Flash memory depends on where and how the image was downloaded into Flash memory. Table 4 describes the various ways an image might be downloaded and the corresponding results of booting from Flash memory.
| Method of Downloading | Result of Booting from Flash |
|---|---|
The image was downloaded as the first file by a nonrelocatable image. | The image will execute in place from Flash memory, like a run-from-Flash image. |
The image was downloaded not as the first file by a nonrelocatable image. | The nonrelocatable image will not relocate the image before storage in Flash memory. This image will not be booted. |
The image was downloaded as the first file by a relocatable image. | The image will execute in place from Flash memory, like a run-from-Flash image. |
The image was downloaded not as the first file by a relocatable image (including download into the second partition). | The relocatable image relocates the image before storage in Flash memory. Hence, the image will execute in place from Flash memory, like any other run-from-Flash image. |
To configure the router to boot automatically from Flash memory, perform one of the following tasks in global configuration mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Boot the first bootable file found in any partition. |
or boot system flash: |
Boot the first bootable file from the specified partition. | boot system flash partition-number: or boot system flash flash:partition-number: |
Boot the specified file from the first partition. | boot system flash filename or boot system flash flash:filename |
Boot the specified file from the specified partition. | boot system flash partition-number:filename or boot system flash flash:partition-number:filename |
The result of booting a relocatable image from Flash memory depends on where and how the image was downloaded into Flash memory. Table 4 described the various ways an image might be downloaded and the corresponding results of booting from Flash memory.
To configure a Flash partition as a TFTP server, perform one of the following tasks in global configuration mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Specify a file. | tftp-server flash filename1 |
Specify a file in the first partition of Flash. | tftp-server flash filename1 |
Specify a file in the specified partition of Flash. | tftp-server flash partition-number:filename1 |
Once you have specified TFTP server operation, exit configuration mode and save the configuration information to your startup configuration.
Flash load helper is a software option that enables you to upgrade system software on run-from-Flash systems that have a single bank of Flash memory. It is a lower-cost software upgrade solution than dual-bank Flash, which requires two banks of Flash memory on one SIMM.
The Flash load helper software upgrade process is simple and does not require additional hardware; however, it does require some brief network downtime. A system image running from Flash can use Flash load helper only if the boot ROMs support Flash load helper. Otherwise, you must perform the Flash upgrade manually. See the "Manually Boot from Flash Memory" section.
Flash load helper is an automated procedure that reloads the ROM-based image, downloads the software to Flash memory, and reboots to the system image in Flash memory. Flash load helper performs checks and validations to maximize the success of a Flash upgrade and minimize the chance of leaving Flash memory either in an erased state or with a file that cannot boot.
In run-from-Flash systems, the software image is stored in and executed from the Flash EPROM rather than from RAM. This method reduces memory cost. A run-from-Flash system requires enough Flash EPROM to hold the image and enough main system RAM to hold the routing tables and data structures. The system does not need the same amount of main system RAM as a run-from-RAM system because the full image does not reside in RAM. Run-from-Flash systems include the Cisco 2500 series and some Cisco 3000 series.
Flash load helper includes the following features:
Flash load helper can also be used on systems with multiple banks of Flash memory that support Flash memory partitioning. Flash load helper enables you to download a new file into the same partition from which the system is executing an image.
For information about how to partition multiple banks of Flash memory so your system can hold two different images, see the "Partition Flash Memory Using Dual Flash Bank" section.
Perform the tasks in the following sections to use and monitor Flash load helper:
To download a new file to Flash memory using Flash load helper, check to make sure that your boot ROMs support Flash load helper and then perform the following task in privileged EXEC mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Download a new file to Flash memory. |
or |
The following error message displays if you are in a Telnet session and the system is set for manual booting (the boot bits in the configuration register are zero):
ERR: Config register boot bits set for manual booting
In case of any catastrophic failure in the Flash memory upgrade, this error message helps to minimize the chance of the system going down to ROM monitor mode and being taken out of the remote Telnet user's control.
The system tries to bring up at least the boot ROM image if it cannot boot an image from Flash memory. Before reinitiating the copy tftp flash command, you must set the configuration register boot field to a nonzero value, using the config-register global configuration command.
The copy tftp flash command initiates a series of prompts to which you must provide responses. The dialog is similar to the following:
Router# copy tftp flash
*************************** NOTICE *******************************
Flash load helper v1.0
This process will accept the TFTP copy options and then terminate
the current system image to use the ROM based image for the copy.
Router functionality will not be available during that time. If
you are logged in via telnet, this connection will terminate. Users
with console access can see the results of the copy operation.
******************************************************************
If terminals other than the one on which this command is being executed are active, the following message appears:
There are active users logged into the system.
Proceed? [confirm] y
System flash directory:
File Length Name/status
1 2251320 abc/igs-kf.914
[2251384 bytes used, 1942920 available, 4194304 total]
Enter the IP address or the name of the remote host you are copying from:
Address or name of remote host [255.255.255.255]? 172.16.1.111
Enter the name of the file you want to copy:
Source file name? abc/igs-kf.914
Enter the name of the destination file:
Destination file name [default = source name]? <Return>
Accessing file `abc/igs-kf.914' on 172.16.1.111....
Loading from 172.16.13.111:
Erase flash device before writing? [confirm] <Return>
If you choose to erase Flash memory, the dialog continues as follows. The copy tftp flash operation verifies the request from the running image by trying to copy a single block from the remote TFTP server. Then the Flash load helper is executed, causing the system to reload to the ROM-based system image.
Erase flash device before writing? [confirm] y
Flash contains files. Are you sure? [confirm] y
If the file does not seem to be a valid image for the system, a warning is displayed and a separate confirmation is sought from you.
Copy `abc/igs-kf.914' from TFTP server
as `abc/igs-kf.914' into Flash WITH erase? y
%SYS-5-RELOAD: Reload requested
%FLH: rxboot/igs-kf.914r from 172.16.1.111 to flash...
If you choose not to erase Flash memory and there is no file duplication, the dialog continues as follows:
Erase flash device before writing? [confirm] n
Copy `abc/igs-kf.914' from TFTP server
as `abc/igs-kf.914' into Flash WITHOUT erase? y
If you choose not to erase Flash memory, and there was file duplication, the dialog continues as follows:
Erase flash device before writing? [confirm] n
File `abc/igs-kf.914' already exists; it will be invalidated!
Invalidate existing copy of `abc/igs-kf' in flash memory? [confirm] y
Copy `abc/igs-kf.914' from TFTP server
as `abc/igs-kf.914' into Flash WITHOUT erase? y
If the configuration has been modified but not yet saved, you are prompted to save the configuration:
System configuration has been modified. Save? [confirm]
If you confirm to save the configuration, you might also receive this message:
Warning: Attempting to overwrite an NVRAM configuration previously
written by a different version of the system image. Overwrite the
previous NVRAM configuration? [confirm]
Users with open Telnet connections are notified of the system reload, as follows:
**System going down for Flash upgrade**
To view the system console output generated during the Flash load helper operation, use the image that has been booted up after the Flash memory upgrade. Perform the following task in privileged EXEC mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
View the console output generated during the Flash load helper operation. |
If you are a remote Telnet user performing the Flash upgrade without a console connection, this task allows you to retrieve console output when your Telnet connection has terminated due to the switch to the ROM image. The output indicates what happened during the download, and is particularly useful if the download fails.
The following sections describe additional Cisco 3000 series and Cisco 4000 series features:
On the Cisco 3000 and 4000, the following automatic booting features are implemented on systems that do not run from Flash memory:
On the Cisco 4000 series systems and Cisco 3000 series routers that do not run from Flash memory, the upgrade feature of checks and validations are performed to maximize the success of a Flash upgrade and minimize the chances of leaving Flash memory in either an erased state or with a nonbootable file. The software performs the following checks:
The AccessPro card and the Cisco 4500 have two banks of Flash memory on one SIMM, referred to as dual-bank Flash memory. The dual-bank Flash SIMM is used for storing system images.
Dual-bank Flash provides partitioning support on systems that can accommodate only one Flash SIMM device. See the "Partition Flash Memory Using Dual Flash Bank" section for information about how to partition Flash memory.
To load system images on systems with dual-bank Flash memory, perform the following tasks:
You can copy a boot image from an rcp, TFTP, or MOP server to boot Flash memory. You can also copy the boot image from the boot Flash memory to an rcp or TFTP server.
To copy a boot image from a TFTP or rcp server to boot Flash memory, perform the following task in EXEC mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Copy a boot image from an TFTP or rcp server to boot Flash memory. |
or |
To copy a boot image from a MOP server to boot Flash memory, perform the following task in EXEC mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Copy a boot image from a MOP server to boot Flash memory. |
To copy a boot image from boot Flash memory to an rcp or TFTP server, perform the following task in EXEC mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Copy a boot image from boot Flash memory to an rcp or TFTP server. |
To verify the checksum of a boot image in boot Flash memory, perform the following task in EXEC mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Verify the checksum of a boot image. |
To erase the contents of boot Flash memory, perform the following task at the EXEC prompt:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Erase boot Flash memory. | erase bootflash |
For the Cisco 4500 router, you can copy a bootstrap image stored on a TFTP or rcp network server to Flash memory.
The rcp protocol requires that a client send the remote username on each rcp request. When you copy a bootstrap image from a network server using rcp, the Cisco IOS software sends the remote username associated with the current TTY (terminal) process, if that name is valid. If the TTY username is invalid, the software uses the router host name as the both the remote and local usernames.
You can configure a different remote username to be sent to the server. If the remote server has a directory structure, as do UNIX systems, the rcp protocol implementation searches for the bootstrap image to copy from the remote server relative to the directory of the remote username.
For the rcp command to execute properly, an account must be defined on the destination server for the remote username.
When you request the bootstrap image to copy using rcp, the Cisco IOS software prompts you for the name or address of the server and the name of the file to be copied. It provides an option to erase existing Flash memory before writing onto it, and allows you to confirm the erasure. The entire copying process takes several minutes and differs from network to network.
To copy a bootstrap image from a TFTP or rcp server to Flash memory on a Cisco 4500 router, complete the following tasks
| Tasks | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1. Make a backup copy of the current system or bootstrap software image. | See the instructions in the section "Copy System Images from Flash Memory to a Network Server." |
Step 2. Enter configuration mode from the terminal. This step is required if you are going to override the default remote username (see Step 3). | configure terminal |
Step 3. If the copy is performed via rcp, specify the remote username. This step is optional, but recommended. | ip rcmd remote-username username |
Step 4. Exit configuration mode. | ^Z |
Step 5. Copy the bootstrap image from the TFTP or rcp network server to Flash memory. |
or |
Step 6. When prompted, enter the IP address or domain name of the server. | ip-address or name |
Step 7. When prompted, enter the filename of the bootstrap image to be copied from the server. | filename |
Before booting the router from Flash memory, verify that the checksum of the bootstrap image in Flash memory matches the checksum listed in the README file that was distributed with the system software image. The checksum of the bootstrap image in Flash memory is displayed at the bottom of the display output when you issue the copy request. The README file was copied to the server automatically when you installed the system software.
If you use rcp to copy the bootstrap image from a personal computer used as a file server, the computer must support rsh. If you use TFTP to copy the bootstrap image from a personal computer used as a file server, the computer must be configured as a TFTP server.
The following example shows how to copy a bootstrap image from the server to Flash memory:
Router1# configure terminal
Router1(config)# ip rcmd remote-username netadmin1
^Z
Router1# copy rcp bootflash
System flash directory:
File name/status
1 btxx
[2076072 bytes used, 21080 bytes available]
Address or name of remote host[UNKNOWN]? 172.16.1.111
Name of file to copy? btxx
Copy btxx from UTOPIA.CISCO.COM?[confirm]
Checking for file `btxx' on UTOPIA.CISCO.COM...[OK]
Erase flash device before writing?[confirm]
Are you sure?[confirm]
Erasing device...ezeeze...erased.
Connected to 172.16.1.111
Loading 2076007 byte file btxx:!!!!...
[OK]
Verifying checksum... (0x87FD)...[OK]
Router1#
The exclamation point (!) indicates that the copy process is taking place. Each exclamation point (!) indicates that ten packets have been transferred successfully.
This section describes Cisco's implementation of environment variables on the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series. Additionally, the section discusses startup tasks pertaining to these high-end routers.
With Cisco IOS Release 11.0, you can use Flash memory cards in the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) Flash memory card slots on your Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series. The Cisco 7000 series Route Processor (RP) card contains one PCMCIA slot, the Cisco 7200 series Network Processing Engine (NPE) contains two PCMCIA slots, and the Cisco 7500 series Route Switch Processor (RSP) card contains two PCMCIA slots.
These Flash memory cards can store executable images and configuration files. The router can now boot images and load configuration files from Flash memory cards as well as from internal flash (or "bootflash" on the Cisco 7200 series and Cisco 7500 series), NVRAM, and the network.
Because the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series can boot images and load configuration files from several locations, these systems use special ROM monitor environment variables to specify the location and filename of images and configuration files that the router is to use for various functions. These special environment variables are as follows:
The BOOT environment variable specifies a list of bootable images on various devices. For the Cisco 7000 series, valid devices are internal flash (flash:), the PCMCIA slot (slot0:), mop, rom, tftp, and rcp. For the Cisco 7200 series and Cisco 7500 series, valid devices are internal flash (bootflash:), the first PCMCIA slot (slot0:), the second PCMCIA slot (slot1:), and tftp. After you save the BOOT environment variable to your startup configuration, the router checks the variable upon startup to determine the device and filename of the image to boot.
The router tries to boot the first image in the BOOT environment variable list. If the router is unsuccessful at booting that image, it tries to boot the next image specified in the list. The router tries each image in the list until it successfully boots. If the router cannot boot any image in the BOOT environment variable list, then the router attempts to boot the ROM image (if the router is a Cisco 7000 series) or the rxboot image (if the router is a Cisco 7200 series or Cisco 7500 series).
If an entry in the BOOT environment variable list does not specify a device, the router assumes the device is tftp. If an entry in the BOOT environment variable list specifies an invalid device, the router skips that entry.
The BOOTLDR environment specifies the flash device and filename containing the rxboot image that the ROM monitor uses. For the Cisco 7000 series, valid devices are flash: and slot0:. For the Cisco 7200 series and Cisco 7500 series, valid devices are bootflash:, slot0:, and slot1:.
This environment variable allows you to have several rxboot images. Moreover, you can instruct the ROM monitor to use a specific rxboot image without having to switch out ROMs. Once you save the BOOTLDR environment variable to your startup configuration, the router checks the variable upon startup to determine which rxboot image to use.
The CONFIG_FILE environment variable specifies the device and filename of the configuration file to use for initialization (startup). For the Cisco 7000 series, valid devices are flash:, nvram:, and slot0:. For the Cisco 7200 series and Cisco 7500 series, valid devices are bootflash:, nvram:, slot0:, and slot1:. Once you save the CONFIG_FILE environment variable to your startup configuration, the router checks the variable upon startup to determine the location and filename of the configuration file to use for initialization.
The router uses the NVRAM configuration during initialization when the CONFIG_FILE environment variable does not exist or when it is null (such as at first-time startup). If the router detects a problem with NVRAM or the configuration it contains, the router enters setup mode. Refer to the "Using Setup for Configuration Changes" chapter in this publication for more information on the setup command facility.
Although the ROM monitor controls environment variables, you can create, modify, or view them with certain system image commands. To create or modify the BOOT, BOOTLDR, and CONFIG_FILE environment variables, use the boot system, boot bootldr, and boot config system image commands, respectively. Always use these three commands to change the variable.
You can view the contents of the BOOT, BOOTLDR, and the CONFIG_FILE environment variables by issuing the show boot command. This command displays the settings for these variables as they exist in the startup configuration as well as in the running configuration if a running configuration setting differs from a startup configuration setting.
Use the show startup-config command to display the contents of the configuration file pointed to by the CONFIG_FILE environment variable.
For complete information on the commands presented in this section, refer to the Configuration Fundamentals Command Reference.
Perform the following Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series startup tasks. The first task is required if you are using a new PCMCIA Flash memory card. All other tasks are optional.
On the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series, you must format a new Flash memory card before using it in a PCMCIA slot. On the Cisco 7200 series and Cisco 7500 series, you can also format internal Flash memory (bootflash).
Flash memory cards have sectors that can fail. You can reserve certain Flash memory sectors as "spares" for use when other sectors fail. Use the format command to specify between 0 and 16 sectors as spares. If you reserve a small number of spare sectors for emergencies, you do not waste space because you can use most of the Flash memory card. If you specify zero spare sectors and some sectors fail, you must reformat the Flash memory card and thereby erase all existing data.
The system requires a monlib file for the format operation. The monlib file is the ROM monitor library. The ROM monitor uses the monlib file to access files in the Flash file system. The Cisco IOS Release 11.0 system software contains the monlib file.
| Caution The following formatting procedure erases all information in Flash memory. To prevent the loss of important data, proceed carefully. |
Use the following procedure to format Flash memory. If you are formatting bootflash, you can skip the first step. If you are formatting a Flash memory card, complete both steps.
Step 2 Format Flash memory.
To format Flash memory, complete the following task in EXEC mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Format Flash memory. | format [spare spare-number] device1: [[device2:][monlib-filename]] |
The following example shows the format command that formats a Flash memory card inserted in slot 0.
Router# format slot0:
Running config file on this device, proceed? [confirm]y
All sectors will be erased, proceed? [confirm]y
Enter volume id (up to 31 characters): <Return>
Formatting sector 1 (erasing)
Format device slot0 completed
When the router returns you to the EXEC prompt, the new Flash memory card is successfully formatted and ready for use.
| Caution You can read from or write to Flash memory cards formatted for Cisco 7000 series Route Processor (RP) cards in your Cisco 7200 series or Cisco 7500 series, but you cannot boot the Cisco 7200 series or Cisco 7500 series from a Flash memory card that is formatted for the Cisco 7000 series. Similarly, you can read from or write to Flash memory cards formatted for the Cisco 7200 series or Cisco 7500 series in your Cisco 7000 series, but you cannot boot the Cisco 7000 series from a Flash memory card that is formatted for the Cisco 7200 series or Cisco 7500 series. |
You also format a Flash memory card to recover from locked blocks. A locked block of Flash memory occurs when power is lost or a Flash memory card is unplugged during a write or erase operation. When a block of Flash memory is locked, it cannot be written to or erased, and the operation will consistently fail at a particular block location. The only way to recover from locked blocks is by reformatting the Flash memory card with the format command.
| Caution Formatting a Flash memory card to recover from locked blocks will cause existing data to be lost. |
High system availability (HSA) refers to how quickly your router returns to an operational status after a failure occurs. On the Cisco 7507 and Cisco 7513, you can install two RSP cards in a single router to improve system availability.
Two RSP cards in a router provide the most basic level of increased system availability through a "cold restart" feature. A "cold restart" means that when one RSP card fails, the other RSP card reboots the router. In this way, your router is never in a failed state for very long, thereby increasing system availability.
When one RSP card takes over operation from another, system operation is interrupted. This change is similar to issuing the reload command. The following events occur when one RSP card fails and the other takes over:
A router configured for HSA operation has one RSP card that is the master and one that is the slave. The master RSP card functions as if it were a single processor, controlling all functions of the router. The slave RSP card does nothing but actively monitor the master for failure.
A system crash can cause the master RSP to fail or go into a nonfunctional state. When the slave RSP detects a nonfunctional master, the slave resets itself and takes part in master-slave arbitration. Master-slave arbitration is a ROM monitor process that determines which RSP card is the master and which is the slave upon startup (or reboot).
If a system crash causes the master RSP to fail, the slave RSP becomes the new master RSP and uses its own system image and configuration file to reboot the router. The failed RSP card now becomes the slave. The failure state of the slave (formerly the master) can be accessed from the console via the show stacks command.
With HSA operation, the following items are important to note:
There are two common ways to use HSA. You can use HSA for:
You can also use HSA for advanced implementations. For example, you can configure the RSP cards with
To configure HSA operation, you must have a Cisco 7507 or Cisco 7513 containing two RSP processor cards and Cisco IOS Release 11.1 or later.
When configuring HSA operation, complete the following tasks. The first task is required. Depending on the outcome of the first task, either the second or third task is also required. The fourth and fifth tasks are optional.
Before you can configure HSA operation, you must first decide how you want to use HSA in your internetwork. Do you want to use HSA for simple hardware backup or for software error protection? If you are using new or experimental Cisco IOS software, consider using the software error protection method; otherwise, use the simple hardware backup method.
Once you have decided which method to use, proceed to either the "Configure HSA for Simple Hardware Backup" section or the "Configure HSA for Software Error Protection" section.
With the simple hardware backup method, you configure both RSP cards with the same software image and configuration information. To configure HSA for simple hardware backup, perform the following tasks. The first task is optional.
Step 2 Ensure That Both RSP Cards Contain the Same Images
Step 3 Ensure That Both RSP Cards Contain the Same Configuration File
Because your view of the environment is always from the master RSP perspective, you define a default slave RSP. The router uses the default slave information when booting:
To define the default slave RSP, perform the following task, beginning in global configuration mode:
| Tasks | Command |
Step 1. Enter the configuration mode from the terminal. | configure terminal |
Step 2. Define the default slave RSP. | |
Step 3. Exit configuration mode. | ^Z |
Step 4. Save this information to your startup configuration. | copy running-config startup-config |
Upon the next system reboot, the above changes take effect (if both RSP cards are operational). Thus, the specified default slave becomes the slave RSP card. The other RSP card takes over mastership of the system and controls all functions of the router.
If you do not specifically define the default slave RSP, the RSP card located in the higher number processor slot is the default slave. On the Cisco 7507, processor slot 3 contains the default slave RSP. On the Cisco 7513, processor slot 7 contains the default slave RSP.
The following example sets the default slave RSP to processor slot 2 on a Cisco 7507:
Router# configure terminal
Router (config)# slave default-slot 2
^Z
Router# copy running-config startup-config
To ensure that both RSP cards have the same system image, perform the following tasks in EXEC mode:
| Tasks | Command |
Step 1. Display the contents of the BOOT environment variable to learn the current booting parameters for the master and slave RSP. | |
Step 2. Verify the location and version of the master RSP software image. | dir [/all | /deleted] [/long] {bootflash | slot0 | slot1} [filename] |
Step 3. Determine if the slave RSP contains the same software image in the same location. | dir [/all | /deleted] [/long] {slavebootflash | slaveslot0 | slaveslot1} [filename] |
Step 4. If the slave RSP does not contain the same system image in the same location, copy the master's system image to the appropriate slave location. | copy file-id {slavebootflash | slaveslot0 | slaveslot1} Note that you might also have to use the delete and/or squeeze command in conjunction with the copy command to accomplish this step. Refer to the "Manage Flash Files" section for more information on these commands. |
The following example ensures that both RSP cards have the same system image. Note that because no environment variables are set, the default environment variables are in effect for both the master and slave RSP.
Router# show boot
BOOT variable =
CONFIG_FILE variable =
Current CONFIG_FILE variable =
BOOTLDR variable does not exist
Configuration register is 0x0
current slave is in slot 7
BOOT variable =
CONFIG_FILE variable =
BOOTLDR variable does not exist
Configuration register is 0x0
Router# dir slot0:
-#- -length- -----date/time------ name
1 3482498 May 4 1993 21:38:04 rsp-k-mz11.2
7993896 bytes available (1496 bytes used)
Router# dir slaveslot0:
-#- -length- -----date/time------ name
1 3482498 May 4 1993 21:38:04 rsp-k-mz11.1
7993896 bytes available (1496 bytes used)
Router# delete slaveslot0:rsp-k-mz11.1
Router# copy slot0:rsp-k-mz11.2 slaveslot0:rsp-k-mz11.2
To ensure that both RSP cards have the same microcode images, perform the following tasks beginning in privileged EXEC mode:
| Tasks | Command |
Step 1. Determine the microcode images used on the interface processors. If all interface processors are running from the bundled system microcode, no further action is required. | show controller cbus1 |
Step 2. If any interface processors are running from the flash file system, verify the location and version of the master RSP's supplementary microcode. | dir [/all | /deleted] [/long] {bootflash | slot0 | slot1} [filename] |
Step 3. Determine if the slave RSP contains the same microcode image in the same location. | dir [/all | /deleted] [/long] {slavebootflash | slaveslot0 | slaveslot1} [filename] |
Step 4. If the slave RSP does not contain the same microcode image in the same location, copy the master's microcode image to the appropriate slave location. | copy file-id {slavebootflash | slaveslot0 | slaveslot1} Note that you might also have to use the delete and/or squeeze command in conjunction with the copy command to accomplish this step. Refer to the "Manage Flash Files" section for more information on these commands. |
| 1This command is documented in the "Interface Commands" chapter of the Configuration Fundamentals Command Reference. |
The following example ensures that both RSP cards have the same microcode image. Notice that slots 0, 1, 4, 9, and 10 load microcode from the bundled software, as noted by the statement software loaded from system. Slot 11, the (Fast Serial Interface Processor) FSIP processor, does not use the microcode bundled with the system. Instead, it loads the microcode from slot0:pond/bath/rsp_fsip20-1. Thus, you must ensure that the slave RSP has a copy of the same FSIP microcode in the same location.
Router# show controller cbus
MEMD at 40000000, 2097152 bytes (unused 416, recarves 3, lost 0)
RawQ 48000100, ReturnQ 48000108, EventQ 48000110
BufhdrQ 48000128 (2948 items), LovltrQ 48000140 (5 items, 1632 bytes)
IpcbufQ 48000148 (16 items, 4096 bytes)
3571 buffer headers (48002000 - 4800FF20)
pool0: 28 buffers, 256 bytes, queue 48000130
pool1: 237 buffers, 1536 bytes, queue 48000138
pool2: 333 buffers, 4544 bytes, queue 48000150
pool3: 4 buffers, 4576 bytes, queue 48000158
slot0: EIP, hw 1.5, sw 20.00, ccb 5800FF30, cmdq 48000080, vps 4096
software loaded from system
Ethernet0/0, addr 0000.0ca3.cc00 (bia 0000.0ca3.cc00)
gfreeq 48000138, lfreeq 48000160 (1536 bytes), throttled 0
rxlo 4, rxhi 42, rxcurr 0, maxrxcurr 2
txq 48000168, txacc 48000082 (value 27), txlimit 27
.........
slot1: FIP, hw 2.9, sw 20.02, ccb 5800FF40, cmdq 48000088, vps 4096
software loaded from system
Fddi1/0, addr 0000.0ca3.cc20 (bia 0000.0ca3.cc20)
gfreeq 48000150, lfreeq 480001C0 (4544 bytes), throttled 0
rxlo 4, rxhi 165, rxcurr 0, maxrxcurr 0
txq 480001C8, txacc 480000B2 (value 0), txlimit 95
slot4: AIP, hw 1.3, sw 20.02, ccb 5800FF70, cmdq 480000A0, vps 8192
software loaded from system
ATM4/0, applique is SONET (155Mbps)
gfreeq 48000150, lfreeq 480001D0 (4544 bytes), throttled 0
rxlo 4, rxhi 165, rxcurr 0, maxrxcurr 0
txq 480001D8, txacc 480000BA (value 0), txlimit 95
slot9: MIP, hw 1.0, sw 20.02, ccb 5800FFC0, cmdq 480000C8, vps 8192
software loaded from system
T1 9/0, applique is Channelized T1
gfreeq 48000138, lfreeq 480001E0 (1536 bytes), throttled 0
rxlo 4, rxhi 42, rxcurr 0, maxrxcurr 0
txq 480001E8, txacc 480000C2 (value 27), txlimit 27
.......
slot10: TRIP, hw 1.1, sw 20.00, ccb 5800FFD0, cmdq 480000D0, vps 4096
software loaded from system
TokenRing10/0, addr 0000.0ca3.cd40 (bia 0000.0ca3.cd40)
gfreeq 48000150, lfreeq 48000200 (4544 bytes), throttled 0
rxlo 4, rxhi 165, rxcurr 1, maxrxcurr 1
txq 48000208, txacc 480000D2 (value 95), txlimit 95
.........
slot11: FSIP, hw 1.1, sw 20.01, ccb 5800FFE0, cmdq 480000D8, vps 8192
software loaded from flash slot0:pond/bath/rsp_fsip20-1
Serial11/0, applique is Universal (cable unattached)
gfreeq 48000138, lfreeq 48000240 (1536 bytes), throttled 0
rxlo 4, rxhi 42, rxcurr 0, maxrxcurr 0
txq 48000248, txacc 480000F2 (value 5), txlimit 27
...........
Router# dir slot0:pond/bath/rsp_fsip20-1
-#- -length- -----date/time------ name
3 10242 Jan 01 1995 03:46:31 pond/bath/rsp_fsip20-1
Router# dir slaveslot0:pond/bath/rsp_fsip20-1
No such file
4079832 bytes available (3915560 bytes used)
Router# copy slot0:pond/bath/rsp_fsip20-1 slaveslot0:
4079704 bytes available on device slaveslot0, proceed? [confirm]
Router# dir slaveslot0:pond/bath/rsp_fsip20-1
-#- -length- -----date/time------ name
3 10242 Mar 01 1993 02:35:04 pond/bath/rsp_fsip20-1
4069460 bytes available (3925932 bytes used)
Router#
With both the simple hardware backup and software error protection implementation methods, you always want your master and slave configuration files to match. To ensure that they match, turn on automatic synchronization. In automatic synchronization mode, the master copies its startup configuration to the slave's startup configuration when you issue a copy command that specifies the master's startup configuration (startup-config) as the target.
Automatic synchronization mode is on by default; however, to turn it on manually, perform the following tasks, beginning in global configuration mode:
| Tasks | Command |
Step 1. Enter the configuration mode from the terminal. | configure terminal |
Step 2. Turn on automatic synchronization mode. | |
Step 3. Exit configuration mode. | ^Z |
Step 4. Save this information to your startup configuration and copy the configuration to the slave's startup configuration. | copy running-config startup-config |
The following example turns on automatic configuration file synchronization:
Router# configure terminal
Router (config)# slave auto-sync config
^Z
Router# copy running-config startup-config
With the software error protection method, you configure the RSP cards with different software images, but with the same configuration information. To configure HSA for software error protection, perform the following tasks. The first task is optional.
Step 2 Ensure That Both RSP Cards Contain the Same Configuration File. (Refer to this task in the previous section "Configure HSA for Simple Hardware Backup.")
Step 3 Specify Different Startup Images for the Master and Slave RSP.
When the factory sends you a new Cisco 7507 or Cisco 7513 with two RSPs, you receive the same system image on both RSP cards. For the software error protection method, you need two different software images on the RSP cards. Thus, you copy a desired image to the master RSP card and modify the boot system commands to reflect booting two different system images. Each RSP card uses its own image to boot the router when it becomes the master.
To specify different startup images for the master and slave RSP, perform the following tasks, beginning in EXEC mode:
| Tasks | Command |
Step 1. Verify the location and version of the master RSP software image. | dir [/all | /deleted] [/long] {bootflash | slot0 | slot1} [filename] |
Step 2. Determine if the slave RSP contains the same software image in the same location. | dir [/all | /deleted] [/long] {slavebootflash | slaveslot0 | slaveslot1} [filename] |
Step 3. Copy a different system image to the master RSP. | copy file-id {bootflash | slot0 | slot1} copy flash {bootflash | slot0 | slot1} |
Step 4. Enter configuration mode from the terminal. | configure terminal |
Step 5. From global configuration mode, configure the master RSP to boot the new image from the appropriate location. | boot system flash bootflash:[filename] boot system flash slot0:[filename] boot system flash slot1:[filename] |
Step 6. Also, add a boot system command that specifies the slave's boot image and location. This is the boot image that the slave uses when it becomes the master RSP and boots the system. Note that the because the slave will boot this image when the slave is actually the new master RSP, the command syntax does not use a "slave" prefix. | boot system flash bootflash:[filename] boot system flash slot0:[filename] boot system flash slot1:[filename] |
Step 7. Configure the master RSP to boot from a network server. | |
Step 8. Set the configuration register to enable the system to load the system image from a network server or from Flash. | config-register value 1 |
Step 9. Exit configuration mode. | ^Z |
Step 10. Save the configuration file to the master's startup configuration. Because automatic synchronization is turned on, this step saves the boot system commands to the master and slave startup configuration. | copy running-config startup-config |
Step 11. Reset the router with the new configuration information. | reload |
| 1Refer to the "Modify the Configuration Register Boot Field" section for more information on systems that can use this command to modify the software configuration register. |
In the following example, assume that:
Figure 8 illustrates the software error protection configuration for this example. The configuration commands for this configuration follow the figure.
Because you always view the environment from the master RSP perspective, in the following command you view the master's slot 0 to verify the location and version of the master's software image:
Router# dir slot0:
-#- -length- -----date/time------ name
1 3482496 May 4 1993 21:38:04 rsp-k-mz11.1
7993896 bytes available (1496 bytes used)
Now view the slave's software image location and version:
Router# dir slaveslot0:
-#- -length- -----date/time------ name
1 3482496 May 4 1993 21:38:04 rsp-k-mz11.1
7993896 bytes available (1496 bytes used)
Because you want to run the Release 11.2 system image on one RSP card and the Release 11.1 system image on the other RSP card, copy the Release 11.2 system image to the master's slot 0:
Router# copy tftp slot0:rsp-k-mz11.2
Enter global configuration mode and configure the system to boot first from a Release 11.2 system image and then from a Release 11.1 system image.
Router# configure terminal
Router (config)# boot system flash slot0:rsp-k-mz11.2
Router (config)# boot system flash slot0:rsp-k-mz11.1
With this configuration, when the slot 6 RSP card is master, it looks first in its PCMCIA slot 0 for the system image file rsp-k-mz11.2 to boot. Finding this file, the router boots from that system image. When the slot 7 RSP card is master, it also looks first in its slot 0 for the system image file rsp-k-mz11.2 to boot. Because that image does not exist in that location, the slot 7 RSP card looks for the system image file rsp-k-mz11.1 in slot 0 to boot. Finding this file in its PCMCIA slot 0, the router boots from that system image. In this way, each RSP card can reboot the system using its own system image when it becomes the master RSP card.
Configure the system further with a fault-tolerant booting strategy:
Router (config)# boot system tftp rsp-k-mz11.1 192.168.1.25
Set the configuration register to enable loading of the system image from a network server or from Flash and save the changes to the master and slave startup configuration file:
Router (config)# config-register 0x010F
^Z
Router# copy running-config startup-config
Reload the system so that the master RSP uses the new Release 11.2 system image:
Router# reload
In the following example scenario, assume that
In this scenario, you begin with the configuration shown in Figure 9.
Next, you copy the rsp-k-mz11.1 image to the master and slave RSP card, as shown in Figure 10.
Lastly, you delete the rsp-k-mz11.2 image from the slave RSP card:
The following commands configure software error protection for this example scenario.
View the master and slave slot 0 to verify the location and version of their software images:
Router# dir slot0:
-#- -length- -----date/time------ name
1 3482498 May 4 1993 21:38:04 rsp-k-mz11.2
7993896 bytes available (1496 bytes used)
Router# dir slaveslot0:
-#- -length- -----date/time------ name
1 3482498 May 4 1993 21:38:04 rsp-k-mz11.2
7993896 bytes available (1496 bytes used)
Copy the Release 11.1 system image to the master and slave slot 0:
Router# copy tftp slot0:rsp-k-mz11.1
Router# copy tftp slaveslot0:rsp-k-mz11.1
Delete the rsp-k-mz11.2 image from the slave RSP card:
Router# delete slaveslot0:rsp-k-mz11.2
Configure the system to boot first from a Release 11.2 system image and then from a Release 11.1 system image.
Router# configure terminal
Router (config)# boot system flash slot0:rsp-k-mz11.2
Router (config)# boot system flash slot0:rsp-k-mz11.1
Configure the system further with a fault-tolerant booting strategy:
Router (config)# boot system tftp rsp-k-mz11.1 192.168.1.25
Set the configuration register to enable loading of the system image from a network server or from Flash and save the changes to the master and slave startup configuration file:
Router (config)# config-register 0x010F
^Z
Router# copy running-config startup-config
You can optionally set environment variables on both RSP cards in a Cisco 7507 and Cisco 7513. For more information on environment variables, refer to the "Cisco's Implementation of Environment Variables" section.
You set environment variables on the master RSP just as you would if it were the only RSP card in the system. Refer to the following sections for more information on these steps:
You can set the same environment variables on the slave RSP card, manually or automatically. The following sections describe these two methods:
Once you set the master's environment variables, you can manually set the same environment variables on the slave RSP card using the slave sync config command.
To manually set environment variables on the slave RSP, perform the following steps beginning in global configuration mode:
| Tasks | Command |
Step 1. Set the master's environment variables as described in the "Controlling Environment Variables," "Set the BOOTLDR Environment Variable," and "Download the CONFIG_FILE Environment Variable Configuration on Cisco 7000 Series, Cisco 7200 Series, and Cisco 7500 Series" sections. | boot system boot bootldr boot config |
Step 2. Save the settings to the startup configuration. This also puts the information under that RSP card's ROM monitor control. | copy running-config startup-config |
Step 3. Save the same environment variables to the slave RSP by manually synchronizing their configuration files. | |
Step 4. Verify the environment variable settings. | show boot |
With automatic synchronization turned on, the system automatically saves the same environment variables to the slave's startup configuration when you set the master's environment variables and save them.
To set environment variables on the slave RSP when automatic synchronization is on, perform the following steps beginning in global configuration mode:
| Tasks | Command |
Step 1. Set the master's environment variables as described in the "Controlling Environment Variables," "Set the BOOTLDR Environment Variable," and "Download the CONFIG_FILE Environment Variable Configuration on Cisco 7000 Series, Cisco 7200 Series, and Cisco 7500 Series" sections. | boot system boot bootldr boot config |
Step 2. Save the settings to the startup configuration. This also puts the information under that RSP card's ROM monitor control. | copy running-config startup-config |
Step 3. Verify the environment variable settings. | show boot |
To monitor and maintain HSA operation, complete the following tasks:
You can override the slave image that is bundled with the master image. To do so, perform the following task in global configuration mode:
| Tasks | Command |
Specify which image the slave runs. |
| Tasks | Command |
Manually synchronize master and slave configuration files. |
| Caution When you install a second RSP card for the first time, you must immediately configure it using the slave sync config command. This ensures that the new slave is configured consistently with the master. Failure to do so can result in an unconfigured slave RSP card taking over mastership of the router when the master fails, rendering the network inoperable. |
The slave sync config command is also a useful tool for more advanced implementation methods not discussed in this chapter.
When a new master RSP card takes over mastership of the router, it automatically reboots the failed RSP card as the slave RSP card. You can access the state of the failed RSP card in the form of a stack trace from the master console using the show stacks command.
| Tasks | Command |
Reload the inactive slave RSP card. |
| Tasks | Command |
Display the environment variable settings and configuration register settings for both the master and slave RSP cards. | |
Show a list of flash devices currently supported on the router. | |
Display the software version running on the master and slave RSP card. | |
Display the stack trace and version information of the master and slave RSP cards. | show stacks 1 |
Enable slave error message logging. | service slave-log2 |
The slave console does not have enable password protection. Thus, an individual connected to the slave console port can enter privileged EXEC mode and view or erase the configuration of the router. Use the no slave terminal command to disable slave console access and prevent security problems. When the slave console is disabled, users cannot enter commands.
If slave console access is disabled, the following message appears periodically on the slave console:
%%Slave terminal access is disabled. Use "slave terminal" command in master RSP
configuration mode to enable it.
With the Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7200 series, and Cisco 7500 series, you must manage files on as many as three different Flash memory devices. To help you manage your Flash files, you can
You can specify the Flash device that the system uses as the default device. Setting the default Flash device allows you to omit an optional device: argument from related commands. For all EXEC commands that have an optional device: argument, the system uses the device specified by the cd command when you omit the optional device: argument. For example, the dir command contains an optional device: argument and displays a list of files on a Flash memory device.
To specify a default Flash device, complete the following task from EXEC mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Set a default Flash memory device. | cd device: |
The following example sets the default device to the Flash memory card inserted in slot 0:
cd slot0:
You might want to show the current setting of the cd command to see which device is the current default Flash device. To display the current default Flash device specified by the cd command, complete the following task from EXEC mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Display the current Flash memory device. |
The following example shows that the present working device specified by the cd command is slot 0:
Router> pwd
slot0
Router>
The following example uses the cd command on the Cisco 7500 series to change the present working device to bootflash and then uses the pwd command to display that present working device:
Router> cd bootflash:
Router> pwd
bootflash
Router>
You might want to view a list of the contents of a Flash memory device before manipulating its contents. For example, before copying a new configuration file to a Flash device, you may want to verify that the device does not already contain a configuration file with the same name. Similarly, before copying a Flash configuration file to another location, you may want to verify its filename for use in another command. You can check the contents a Flash device with the dir EXEC command.
To show a list of files on a specified Flash device, complete the following task from EXEC mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Display a list of files on a Flash memory device. | dir [/all | /deleted] [/long] [device:][filename] |
Router# dir
-#- -length- -----date/time------ name
1 620 May 4 1993 21:38:04 config1
2 620 May 4 1993 21:38:14 config2
7993896 bytes available (1496 bytes used)
The following example displays the long version of the same device:
Router# dir /long
-#- ED --type-- --crc--- -seek-- nlen -length- -----date/time------ name
1 ... 1 37CEC52E 202EC 7 620 May 4 1993 21:38:04 config1
2 ... 1 37CEC52E 205D8 7 620 May 4 1993 21:38:14 config2
7993896 bytes available (1496 bytes used)
When you no longer need a file on a Flash memory device, you can delete it.
To delete a file from a specified Flash device, complete the following task from EXEC mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Delete a file from a Flash memory device. | delete [device:]filename or |
If you omit the device, the router uses the default device specified by the cd command.
If you attempt to delete the configuration file specified by the CONFIG_FILE or BOOTLDR environment variable, the system prompts you to confirm the deletion. Also, if you attempt to delete the last valid system image specified in the BOOT environment variable, the system prompts you to confirm the deletion. When you delete a file, the router simply marks the file as deleted, but does not erase the file. This feature allows you to recover a "deleted" file, as discussed in the following section.
The following example deletes the myconfig file from a Flash memory card inserted in slot 0:
delete slot0:myconfig
The following example erases the myconfig file from a Flash memory card inserted in slot 0:
erase slot0:myconfig
You can undelete a deleted file. For example, you may want to revert to a previous configuration file because the current one is corrupt.
To undelete a deleted file on a Flash memory device, complete the following task from EXEC mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Undelete a deleted file on a Flash memory device. | undelete index [device:] |
You must undelete a file by its index because you can have multiple deleted files with the same name. For example, the "deleted" list could contain multiple configuration files with the name router-config. You undelete by index to indicate which of the many router-config files from the list to undelete. Use the dir command to learn the index number of the file you want to undelete.
You cannot undelete a file if a valid (undeleted) one with the same name exists. Instead, you first delete the existing file and then undelete the file you want. For example, if you had an undeleted version of the router-config file and you wanted to use a previous, deleted version instead, you cannot simply undelete the previous version by index. You must first delete the existing router-config file and then undelete the previous router-config file by index. You can undelete a file as long as the file has not been permanently erased via the squeeze command. You can delete and undelete a file up to 15 times.
undelete slot0: 1
When a Flash memory device is full, you may need to rearrange the files so that the space used by the "deleted" files can be reclaimed. To determine whether a Flash memory device is full, use the show flash command.
To permanently delete files on a Flash memory device, complete the following task from privileged EXCE mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Permanently delete all deleted file on a Flash memory card. | squeeze device: |
When you issue the squeeze command, the router copies all valid files to the beginning of Flash memory and erases all files marked "deleted." At this point, you cannot recover "deleted" files, and you can now write to the reclaimed Flash memory space.
On the Cisco 7000 series and Cisco 7500 series, you can also load and display microcode images, as described in the following sections:
Cisco 7000 interface processors and the switch processor (SP) each have a writable control store (WCS). The WCS stores microcode. You can load updated microcode onto the WCS from the onboard ROM or from Flash memory on the Route Processor (RP) card. On the Cisco 7500 series, you can load updated microcode onto the WCS from bootflash or a Flash memory card inserted in one of the PCMCIA slots of the RSP card.
With this feature, you can update microcode without having physical access to the router, and you can load new microcode without rebooting the system.
To load microcode from Flash, complete the following tasks:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1. Copy microcode files into Flash. |
or copy tftp file-id (Cisco 7000 series and Cisco 7500 series only) See the section "Copy System Images from a Network Server to Flash Memory" for more information about how to copy TFTP images to Flash memory. |
Step 2. Load microcode from Flash memory into the WCS. | microcode interface [flash filename [slot] | rom [slot] | system [slot]] microcode interface [flash file-id [slot] | system [slot]] (Cisco 7500 series only) |
Step 3. Exit configuration mode. | ^Z |
Step 4. Retain new configuration information when the system is rebooted. | copy running-config startup-config |
If an error occurs when you are attempting to download microcode, the system loads the default system microcode image. For releases after Software Release 9.17 (6.2), the default microcode image is bundled with the system software.
These configuration commands are implemented following one of three events:
After you have entered a microcode configuration command and one of these events has taken place, all cards are reset, loaded with microcode from the appropriate sources, tested, and enabled for operation.
To signal to the system that all microcode configuration commands have been entered and the processor cards should be reloaded, complete the following task in global configuration mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Notify the system that all microcode configuration commands have been entered and the processor cards should be reloaded. |
If Flash memory is busy because a card is being removed or inserted, or a microcode reload command is executed while Flash is locked, the files will not be available and the onboard ROM microcode will be loaded. Issue another microcode reload command when Flash memory is available, and the proper microcode will be loaded. The show flash command will show if another user or process has locked Flash memory.
The microcode reload command should not be used while Flash is in use. For example, do not use this command when a copy tftp flash or show flash command is active.
The microcode reload command is automatically added to your running configuration when you issue a microcode command that changes the system's default behavior of loading all processors from ROM.
To display microcode information, perform the following task in EXEC mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Display microcode information. |
You can optionally configure Cisco IOS software for rsh and rcp functions. This feature allows you to execute commands on remote routers and to remotely copy system images and configuration files to and from a network server or a router.
One of the first attempts to use the network as a resource in the UNIX community resulted in the design and implementation of the remote shell protocol, which included the remote shell (rsh) and remote copy (rcp) functions. Rsh and rcp give users the ability to execute commands remotely and copy files to and from a file system residing on a remote host or server on the network. Cisco's implementation of rsh and rcp interoperates with standard implementations.
From the router, you can use rsh to execute commands on remote systems to which you have access. When you issue the rsh command, a shell is started on the remote system. The shell allows you to execute commands on the remote system without having to log in to the target host.
You do not need to connect to the system, router, or access server and then disconnect after you execute a command if you use rsh. For example, you can use rsh to remotely look at the status of other devices without connecting to the target device, executing the command, and then disconnecting. This capability is useful for looking at statistics on many different routers.
To gain access to a remote system running rsh, such as a UNIX host, an entry must exist in the system's .rhosts file or its equivalent identifying you as a user who is authorized to execute commands remotely on the system. On UNIX systems, the .rhosts file identifies users who can remotely execute commands on the system.
You can enable rsh support on a Cisco router to allow users on remote systems to execute commands. However, our implementation of rsh does not support an .rhosts file. Instead, you must configure a local authentication database to control access to the router by users attempting to execute commands remotely using rsh. A local authentication database is similar to a UNIX .rhosts file. Each entry that you configure in the authentication database identifies the local user, the remote host, and the remote user.
The rcp copy commands rely on the rsh server (or daemon) on the remote system. To copy files using rcp, you do not need to create a server for file distribution, as you do with TFTP. You need only to have access to a server that supports the remote shell (rsh). (Most UNIX systems support rsh.) Because you are copying a file from one place to another, you must have read permission on the source file and write permission on the destination file. If the destination file does not exist, rcp creates it for you.
Although our rcp implementation emulates the functions of the UNIX rcp implementation—copying files among systems on the network—our command syntax differs from the UNIX rcp command syntax. Our rcp support offers a set of copy commands that use rcp as the transport mechanism. These rcp copy commands are similar in style to our TFTP copy commands, but they offer an alternative that provides faster performance and reliable delivery of data. These improvements are possible because the rcp transport mechanism is built on and uses the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) stack, which is connection-oriented. You can use rcp commands to copy system images and configuration files from the router to a network server and vice versa.
You can also enable rcp support to allow users on remote systems to copy files to and from the router.
To configure the Cisco IOS software for rsh and rcp, perform the following tasks:
You configure a local authentication database to control access to the router by remote users. To allow remote users to execute rcp or rsh commands, configure entries for those users in the router's authentication database.
Each entry configured in the authentication database identifies the local user, the remote host, and the remote user. You can specify the router host name as the local username. To be allowed to remotely execute commands on the router, the remote user must specify all three values—the local username, the remote host name, and the remote username—and therefore must be able to identify the local username. For rsh users, you can also grant a user permission to execute privileged EXEC commands remotely.
To make the local username available to remote users, you must communicate the username to the network administrator or the remote user. To allow a remote user to execute a command on the router, our rcp implementation requires that the local username sent by the remote user match the local username configured in the database entry.
Note that if no DNS servers are configured, then the software cannot authenticate the host in this manner. In this case, the software sends a broadcast request to attempt to gain access to DNS services on another server. If DNS services are not available, you must use the no ip domain-lookup command to disable the router's attempt to gain access to a DNS server by sending a broadcast request.
If DNS services are not available and, therefore, you bypass the DNS security check, the software accepts the request to remotely execute a command only if all three values sent with the request match exactly the values configured for an entry in the local authentication file.
If DNS is enabled but you do not want to use DNS for rcmd queries, use the no ip rcmd domain-lookup command.
To ensure security, the Cisco IOS software is not enabled to support rcp requests from remote users by default. When the software is not enabled to support rcp, the authorization database has no effect.
To configure the Cisco IOS software to allow users on remote systems to copy files to and from the router and execute commands on the router, perform the tasks in one of the first sections and, if desired, the task in the third section:
To configure the Cisco IOS software to support incoming rcp requests, complete the following tasks:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1. Enter configuration mode from the terminal. | configure terminal |
Step 2. Create an entry in the local authentication database for each remote user who is allowed to execute rcp commands. | ip rcmd remote-host local-username {ip-address | host} remote-username [enable [level]] |
Step 3. Enable the software to support incoming rcp requests. |
To disable the software from supporting incoming rcp requests, use the no ip rcmd rcp-enable command.
configure terminal
ip rcmd remote-host Router1 172.16.15.55 netadmin1
ip rcmd remote-host Router1 172.16.101.101 netadmin3
ip rcmd rcp-enable
To configure the router as an rsh server, complete the following tasks:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1. Enter configuration mode from the terminal. | configure terminal |
Step 2. Create an entry in the local authentication database for each remote user who is allowed to execute rsh commands. | ip rcmd remote-host local-username {ip-address | host} remote-username [enable [level]] |
Step 3. Enable the software to support incoming rsh commands. |
To disable the software from supporting incoming rsh commands, use the no ip rcmd rsh-enable command.
configure terminal
ip rcmd remote-host Router1 172.16.101.101 rmtnetad1
ip rcmd remote-host Router1 172.16.101.101 netadmin4 enable
ip rcmd rsh-enable
To bypass the DNS security check when DNS services are configured but not available, perform the following task in global configuration mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Bypass the DNS security check. |
The Cisco IOS software accepts the request to remotely execute a command only if all three values sent with the request match exactly the values configured for an entry in the local authentication file.
From the router, you can use rcp to remotely copy files to and from network servers and hosts if those systems support rcp. You do not need to configure the Cisco IOS software to issue remote copy requests from the router using rcp. However, to prepare to use rcp from the router for remote copying, you can perform an optional configuration process to specify the remote username to be sent on each rcp request.
The rcp protocol requires that a client send the remote username on an rcp request. By default, the Cisco IOS software sends the remote username associated with the current TTY (terminal) process, if that name is valid, for rcp commands.
If the username for the current TTY process is not valid, the software sends the host name as the remote username. For boot commands using rcp, the software sends the router host name by default. You cannot explicitly configure the remote username.
If the remote server has a directory structure, as do UNIX systems, rcp performs its copy operations along the following lines:
To override the default remote username sent on rcp requests, complete the following tasks starting in privileged EXEC mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1. Enter configuration mode from the terminal | configure terminal |
Step 2. Specify the remote username. | ip rcmd remote-username username |
To remove the remote username and return to the default value, use the no ip rcmd remote-username command.
If you are copying from the router to the server, the rcp server must be properly configured to accept the rcp write request from the user on the router. For UNIX systems, you must add an entry to the .rhosts file for the remote user on the rcp server. For example, if the router contains the following configuration lines:
hostname Rtr1
ip rcmd remote-username User0
and the router's IP address translates to Router1.company.com, then the .rhosts file for User0 on the rcp server should contain the following line:
Router1.company.com Rtr1
Refer to the documentation for your rcp server for more details.
You can use rsh to execute commands remotely on network servers that support the remote shell protocol. To use this command, the .rhosts files on the network server must include an entry that permits you to remotely execute commands on that host.
If the remote server has a directory structure, as do UNIX systems, the rsh command that you issue is remotely executed from the directory of the account for the remote user that you specify through the /user username keyword and argument pair.
If you do not specify the /user keyword and argument, the Cisco IOS software sends a default remote username. As the default value of the remote username, the software sends the remote username associated with the current TTY process, if that name is valid. If the TTY remote username is invalid, the software uses the router host name as the both the remote and local usernames.
To execute a command remotely on a network server using rsh, perform the following tasks in privileged EXEC mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1. Enter privileged EXEC mode. | |
Step 2. Enter the rsh command to be executed remotely. | rsh {ip-address | host} [/user username] remote-command |
| 1This command is documented in the "User Interface Commands" chapter of the Configuration Fundamentals Command Reference. |
The following example shows how to execute a command remotely using rsh:
Router# enable
Router1# rsh mysys.cisco.com /u sharon ls -a
.
..
.alias
.cshrc
.emacs
.exrc
.history
.login
.mailrc
.newsrc
.oldnewsrc
.rhosts
.twmrc
.xsession
jazz
Router1#
If your router does not find a valid system image, or if its configuration file is corrupted at startup, and the configuration register is set to enter ROM monitor mode, the system enters ROM monitor mode. From this mode, you can manually load a system image from Flash memory, from a network server file, or from ROM.
You can also enter ROM monitor mode by restarting the router and then pressing the Break key during the first 60 seconds of startup.
| Task | Command |
Step 1. Restart the router. | |
Step 2. Press the Break key during the first 60 seconds while the system is starting up. | Break1 |
| 1This key will not work on the Cisco 7000 unless it has Cisco IOS Release 10 boot ROMs. |
To manually boot from Flash memory, complete the following tasks:
| Task | Command |
Step 1. Restart the router. | |
Step 2. Press the Break key during the first 60 seconds while the system is starting up. | Break1 |
Step 3. Manually boot the router from Flash. | boot flash [filename] boot flash [device:] partition-number:[filename] boot flash [device:filename] (Cisco 7000 series only) boot device:[filename] (Cisco 7200 series and Cisco 7500 series only) |
| 1This key will not work on the Cisco 7000 unless it has Cisco IOS Release 10 boot ROMs. |
> boot flash
F3: 1858656+45204+166896 at 0x1000
Booting gs7-k from flash memory RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR [OK -
1903912/13765276 bytes]
F3: 1858676+45204+166896 at 0x1000
Restricted Rights Legend
Use, duplication, or disclosure by the Government is
subject to restrictions as set forth in subparagraph
(c) of the Commercial Computer Software - Restricted
In the following example, the boot flash command is used with the filename gs7-k—the name of the file that is loaded:
> boot flash gs7-k
F3: 1858656+45204+166896 at 0x1000
Booting gs7-k from flash memory RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRRRRR [OK - 1903912/13765276 bytes]
F3: 1858676+45204+166896 at 0x1000
Restricted Rights Legend
Use, duplication, or disclosure by the Government is
subject to restrictions as set forth in subparagraph
(c) of the Commercial Computer Software - Restricted
System Bootstrap, Version 4.6(1012) [mlw 99], INTERIM SOFTWARE
Copyright (c) 1986-1992 by cisco Systems
RP1 processor with 16384 Kbytes of memory
To manually boot from a network file, complete the following tasks in EXEC mode:
| Task | Command |
Step 1. Restart the router. | |
Step 2. Press the Break key during the first 60 seconds while the system is starting up. | Break1 |
Step 3. Manually boot the router from a network file. | boot filename [ip-address] |
| 1This key will not work on the Cisco 7000 unless it has Cisco IOS Release 10 boot ROMs. |
In the following example, a router is manually booted from the network file network1:
>boot network1
To manually boot the router from ROM, complete the following steps in EXEC mode:
| Task | Command |
Step 1. Restart the router. | |
Step 2. Press the Break key during the first 60 seconds while the system is starting up. | Break1 |
Step 3. Manually boot the router from ROM. |
| 1This key will not work on the Cisco 7000 unless it has Cisco IOS Release 10 boot ROMs. |
On the Cisco 7200 series and Cisco 7500 series, the boot command loads the first bootable image located in bootflash.
In the following example, a router is manually booted from ROM:
>boot
You can interactively boot system software using MOP. Typically, you do this to verify that system software has been properly installed on the MOP boot server before configuring the router to automatically boot the system software image.
To manually boot the router using MOP, perform the following tasks in EXEC mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1. Restart the router. | |
Step 2. Press the Break key during the first 60 seconds while the system is starting up. | Break1 |
Step 3. Manually boot the router using MOP. | boot mop filename [mac-address] [interface] |
| 1This key will not work on the Cisco 7000 unless it has Cisco IOS Release 10 boot ROMs. |
The Cisco 7200 series and Cisco 7500 series do not support the boot mop command.
In the following example, a router is manually booted from a MOP server:
>boot mop network1
To return to EXEC mode from the ROM monitor to use the system image instead of reloading, perform the following task in ROM monitor mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Return to EXEC mode to use the system image. |
Posted: Mon Jan 8 12:01:27 PST 2001
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