Configuring Zero Touch Provisioning

Zero Touch Provisioning (ZTP) works as a Third Party App (TPA) in Route-Switch Processor (RSP) and Route Processor (RP). ZTP was designed to perform two different operations:

  • Download and apply an initial configuration.

  • Download and execute a shell script.

If the downloaded file content starts with !! IOS XR it is considered as a configuration file, and ZTP performs apply_config action on the configuration file.

If the downloaded file content starts with #! /bin/bash, #! /bin/sh or #!/usr/bin/python it is considered as a script file, and ZTP executes the script.

ZTP works as following:

  1. XR scripts that run on boot, invoke DHCP request.


    Note


    Starting with Cisco IOS XR Release 7.0.1, ZTP follows a default sequential flow as defined in the ztp.ini file. ZTP first sends IPv4 DHCP request on all the management ports. In case there is a failure, then ZTP sends IPv6 DHCP request on all the management ports. Similarly, the same order is followed on all the data ports.


  2. DHCP server returns either a user script or configuration file.

  3. Download the user script or configuration file.

  4. Execute the downloaded user script or apply the downloaded configuration.

Prior to Cisco IOS XR Release 6.3.1, ZTP was executed within the default network namespace and could not access the data interfaces directly. Starting with Cisco IOS XR Release 6.3.1, ZTP is executed inside the global Virtual Routing and Forwarding (VRF) network namespace with full access to all the data interfaces.

When ZTP process encounters any error, or when ZTP quits or terminates, it revert to the initial configuration that exists before starting of ZTP process.


Note


  • When initiated, ZTP checks if the system start-up configuration is applied. If startup configuration is not applied, ZTP waits for 10 minutes before proceeding.

  • To boot an image through ZTP, configure the ROMMON reboot mode option to 3.


ZTP Process Flow Sequence

Before Cisco IOS XR Release 7.0.1, during the fresh boot of a router, auto ZTP process is initiated from the management port and in case of failure switches to data port.

Starting with Cisco IOS XR Release 7.0.1, the ZTP process follows a default sequential flow defined in ztp.ini file during fresh boot of a router. The following is the default sequence:

  1. ZTP sends IPv4 DHCP request first on all the management port. In case there is a failure, then ZTP sends IPv6 DHCP request on all the management port.

  2. ZTP sends IPv4 DHCP request first on all the data port. In case there is a failure, then ZTP sends IPv6 DHCP request on all the data port.


Note


You can modify the sequence using the ztp.ini file.


Manual ZTP Invocation

Manual Zero Touch Provisioning (ZTP) can be invoked manually via CLI commands. This manual way helps you to provision the router in stages. Ideal for testing out ZTP configuration without a reboot. If you would like to invoke a ZTP on an interfaces(data ports or management port), you don't have to bring up and configure the interface first. You can execute the ztp initiate command, even if the interface is down, ZTP script will bring it up and invoke dhclient. So ZTP could run over all interfaces no matter it is up or down.

Use the ztp initiate , ztp breakout , ztp terminate , ztp enable, ztp disable, and ztp clean commands to force ZTP to run over more interfaces.

  • ztp initiate — Invokes a new ZTP session. Logs can be found in /var/log/ztp.log.

  • ztp terminate —Terminates any ZTP session in progress.

  • ztp breakout —Will peform 4x10 breakout detection.

  • ztp enable —Enables the ZTP at boot.

  • ztp disable —Disables the ZTP at boot.

  • ztp clean —Removes only the ZTP state files.

    From release 6.2.3, the log file ztp.log is saved in /var/log folder, and a copy of log file is available at /disk0:/ztp/ztp.log location using a soft link. However, executing ztp clean clears files saved on disk and not on /var/log folder where current ZTP logs are saved. In order to have a log from current ZTP run, you must manually clear the ZTP log file from /var/log/ folder.

For more information of the commands, see the ZTP command chapter in the .

This task shows the most common use case of manual ZTP invocation: invoke 4x10 breakout discovery and ZTP.

SUMMARY STEPS

  1. ztp breakout
  2. ztp initiate dataport

DETAILED STEPS

  Command or Action Purpose

Step 1

ztp breakout

Example:


RP/0/RP0/CPU0:router# ztp breakout

Tries the 4x10 breakout on 100 GE interfaces that supports breakout and are operationally down after no-shut. If the 10x10 breakout configure brings any 10GE interface operationally up, the breakout configuration is retained; if not, the breakout configuration is reverted.

Step 2

ztp initiate dataport

Example:


RP/0/RP0/CPU0:router# ztp initiate dataport

Wed Apr 22 10:52:24.417 UTC
Invoke ZTP? (this may change your configuration) [confirm] [y/n] :y
ZTP will now run in the background.
ZTP might bring up the interfaces if they are in shutdown state.
Please use "show logging" or look at /disk0:/ztp/ztp.log to check progress.

Invokes DHCP sessions on all data ports that are either up or could be brought up. ZTP runs in the background.

Authentication on Data Ports

On fresh boot, ZTP process is initiated from management ports and may switch to data ports. To validate the connection with DHCP server, authentication is performed on data ports through DHCP option 43 for IPv4 and option 17 for IPv6. These DHCP options are defined in option space and are included within dhcpd.conf and dhcpd6.conf configuration files. You must provide following parameters for authentication while defining option space:

  • Authentication code—The authentication code is either 0 or 1; where 0 indicates that authentication is not required, and 1 indicates that MD5 checksum is required.

  • Client identifier—The client identifier must be 'exr-config'.

  • MD5 checksum—This is chassis serial number. It can be obtained using echo -n $SERIALNUMBER | md5sum | awk '{print $1}' .

Here is the sample dhcpd.conf configuration. In the example below, the option space called VendorInfo is defined with three parameters for authentication:
class "vendor-classes" {
   match option vendor-class-identifier;
}

option space VendorInfo;
option VendorInfo.clientId code 1 = string;
option VendorInfo.authCode code 2 = unsigned integer 8;
option VendorInfo.md5sum code 3 = string
option vendor-specific code 43 = encapsulate VendorInfo;
subnet 10.65.2.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
  option subnet-mask 255.255.255.0;
  option routers 10.65.2.1;
  range 10.65.2.1 10.65.2.200;
}
host xrv9k-1-mgmt {
   hardware ethernet 00:50:60:45:67:01;
   fixed-address 10.65.2.39;
   vendor-option-space VendorInfo;
   option VendorInfo.clientId "exr-config";
   option VendorInfo.authCode 1;
   option VendorInfo.md5sum "aedf5c457c36390c664f5942ac1ae3829";
   option bootfile-name "http://10.65.2.1:8800/admin-cmd.sh";
}

Here is the sample dhcpd6.conf configuration file. In the example below, the option space called VendorInfo is defined that has code width 2 and length width 2 (as per dhcp standard for IPv6) with three parameters for authentication:


log-facility local7;
option dhcp6.name-servers 2001:1451:c632:1::1;
option dhcp6.domain-search "cisco.com";
dhcpv6-lease-file-name "/var/lib/dhcpd/dhcpd6.leases";
option dhcp6.info-refresh-time 21600;
option dhcp6.bootfile-url code 59 = string;
option dhcp6.user-class code 15 = string;
option space CISCO-EXR-CONFIG code width 2 length width 2;
option CISCO-EXR-CONFIG.client-identifier code 1 = string;
option CISCO-EXR-CONFIG.authCode code 2 = integer 8;
option CISCO-EXR-CONFIG.md5sum code 3 = string;
option vsio.CISCO-EXR-CONFIG code 9 = encapsulate CISCO-EXR-CONFIG;
subnet6 2001:1451:c632:1::/64{
 range6 2001:1451:c632:1::2 2001:1451:c632:1::9;        
 #host NCS5501-2 {
      #host-identifier option dhcp6.client-id 00:02:00:00:00:09:46:4f:43:32:30:35:31:52:30:57:34:00;
       option CISCO-EXR-CONFIG.client-identifier "exr-config";
       option CISCO-EXR-CONFIG.authCode 1;
       #invalid md5
       #option CISCO-EXR-CONFIG.md5sum "90fd845ac82c77f834d57a034658d0f1";
       #valid md5
       option CISCO-EXR-CONFIG.md5sum "90fd845ac82c77f834d57a034658d0f0";
       if option dhcp6.user-class = 00:04:69:50:58:45 {
       option dhcp6.bootfile-url "http://[2001:1851:c632:1::1]/NCS5501-2/image.iso";
       }
       else {
        #option dhcp6.bootfile-url "http://[2001:1851:c632:1::1]/NCS5501-2/ncs5500-mini-x.iso.sh";
        option dhcp6.bootfile-url "http://[2001:1851:c632:1::1]/NCS5501-2/ztp.cfg";
       }
 #}
}

ZTP Bootscript

If you want to hard code a script to be executed every boot, configure the following.


conf t
    ztp bootscript /disk0:/myscript
commit

The above configuration will wait for the first data-plane interface to be configured and then wait an additional minute for the management interface to be configured with an IP address, to ensure that we have connectivity in the third party namespace for applications to use. If the delay is not desired, use:


conf t
    ztp bootscript preip /disk0:/myscript
commit

Note


When the above command is first configured, you will be prompted if you wish to invoke it now. The prompt helps with testing.


This is the example content of /disk0:/myscript:

#!/bin/bash
exec &> /dev/console # send logs to console 
source /pkg/bin/ztp_helper.sh
 
# If we want to only run one time: 
xrcmd "show running" | grep -q myhostname
if [[ $? -eq 0 ]]; then
    echo Already configured
fi
 
# Set the hostname
cat >/tmp/config <<%%
!! XR config example
hostname myhostname
%%
xrapply /tmp/config
 
#
# Force an invoke of ZTP again. If there was a username normally it would not run. This forces it.
# Kill off ztp if it is running already and suppress errors to the console when ztp runs below and
# cleans up xrcmd that invokes it. ztp will continue to run however.
#
xrcmd "ztp terminate noprompt" 2>/dev/null
xrcmd "ztp initiate noprompt" 2>/dev/null

ZTP Utilities

ZTP includes a set of shell utilities that can be sourced within the user script. ztp_helper.sh is a shell script that can be sourced by the user script. ztp_helper.sh provides simple utilities to access some XR functionalities. Following are the bash functions that can be invoked:

  • xrcmd—Used to run a single XR exec command:
    xrcmd “show running”
  • xrapply—Applies the block of configuration, specified in a file:
    
    cat >/tmp/config <<%%
    !! XR config example
    hostname node1-mgmt-via-xrapply
    %%
    xrapply /tmp/config
  • xrapply_with_reason—Used to apply a block of XR configuration along with a reason for logging purpose:
    
    cat >/tmp/config <<%%
    !! XR config example
    hostname node1-mgmt-via-xrapply
    %%
    xrapply_with_reason "this is a system upgrade" /tmp/config
  • xrapply_string—Used to apply a block of XR configuration in one line:
    
    xrapply_string "hostname foo\ninterface GigabitEthernet0/0/0/0\nipv4 address 1.2.3.44 255.255.255.0\n"
  • xrapply_string_with_reason—Used to apply a block of XR configuration in one line along with a reason for logging purposes:
    
    xrapply_string_with_reason ”system renamed again" "hostname venus\n interface TenGigE0/0/0/0\n ipv4 address 172.30.0.144/24\n”
  • xrreplace—Used to apply XR configuration replace in XR namespace via a file.

    
    cat rtr.cfg <<%%
    !! XR config example
    hostname node1-mgmt-via-xrreplace
    %%
    xrreplace rtr.cfg
  • admincmd—Used to run an admin CLI command in XR namespace. Logs can be found in /disk0:/ztp/ztp_admincmd.log

    
    admincmd running [show platform]
    
    ztp-user connected from 192.0168.0.1 using console on host
    sysadmin-vm:0_RP0# show platform | nomore
    Tue Jan 30 23:12:30.757 UTC
    Location Card Type HW State SW State Config State 
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    0/RP0 NCS-5501 OPERATIONAL OPERATIONAL NSHUT 
    0/FT0 NCS-1RU-FAN-FW OPERATIONAL N/A NSHUT 
    0/FT1 NCS-1RU-FAN-FW OPERATIONAL N/A NSHUT 
    0/PM0 NCS-1100W-ACFW OPERATIONAL N/A NSHUT 
    0/PM1 NCS-1100W-ACFW OPERATIONAL N/A NSHUT 
    
    
  • xrapply_with_extra_auth—Used to apply XR configuration that requires authentication, in XR namespace via a file. The xrapply_with_extra_auth API is used when configurations that require additional authentication to be applied such as alias, flex groups.

    
    cat >/tmp/config <<%%
    !! XR config example
    alias exec alarms show alarms brief system active
    alias exec version run cat /etc/show_version.txt
    %%
    xrapply_with_extra_auth >/tmp/config 
    
    
  • xrreplace_with_extra_auth—Used to apply XR configuration replace in XR namespace via a file The xrreplace_with_extra_auth API is used when configurations that require additional authentication to be applied such as alias, flex groups

    
    cat >/tmp/config <<%%
    !! XR config example
    alias exec alarms show alarms brief system active
    alias exec version run cat /etc/show_version.txt
    %%
    xrreplace_with_extra_auth >/tmp/config 

Customize the ZTP Configurable Options

Starting with Cisco IOS XR Release 7.0.1, you can customize the following ZTP configurable options in the ztp.ini file:

  • ZTP: You can enable or disable ZTP at boot using CLI or by editing the ztp.ini file.

  • Retry: Set the ZTP DHCP retry mechanism: The available values are infinite and once.

  • Fetcher Priority: Fetcher defines which port ZTP should use to get the provisioning details. By default, each port has a fetcher priority defined in the ztp.ini file. You can modify the default priority of the fetcher. Allowed range is from 0 to 9.


    Note


    Lower the number higher the priority. The value 0 has the highest priority and 9 has the lowest priority.

    By default, the USB port has the higher priority.


    In the following example, the Mgmt4 port has the highest priority:

    
    [Fetcher Priority]
    Mgmt4: 0
    Mgmt6: 1
    DPort4: 2
    DPort6: 3
    
  • progress_bar: Enable progress bar on the console. By default, the progress bar is disabled. To enable the progress bar, add the following entry in the ztp.ini file.

    [Options]
    progress_bar: True

The following example shows the sample of the ztp.ini file:

[Startup]
start: True
retry_forever: True

[Fetcher Priority]
Mgmt4: 0
Mgmt6: 1
DPort4: 2
DPort6: 3

Enable ZTP Using CLI

If you want to enable ZTP using CLI, use the ztp enable command.

Configuration example

Router#ztp enable
Fri Jul 12 16:09:02.154 UTC
Enable ZTP? [confirm] [y/n] :y
ZTP Enabled.

Disable ZTP Using CLI

If you want to disable ZTP using CLI, use the ztp disable command.

Configuration example

Router#ztp disable
Fri Jul 12 16:07:18.491 UTC
Disable ZTP? [confirm] [y/n] :y
ZTP Disabled.
Run ZTP enable to run ZTP again.

Examples

ZTP logs its operation on the flash file system in the directory /disk0:/ztp/. ZTP logs all the transaction with the DHCP server and all the state transition. Prior executions of ZTP are also logged in /disk0:/ztp/old_logs/.

The following example displays the execution of a simple configuration script downloaded from a data interface using the command ztp initiate interface Ten 0/0/0/0 verbose , this script will unshut all the interfaces of the system and configure a load interval of 30 seconds on all of them.


#!/bin/bash
#############################################################################
# *** Be careful this is powerful and can potentially destroy your system ***
#                *** !!! Use at your own risk !!! ***
#
# Script file should be saved on the backend HTTP server
#############################################################################

source ztp_helper.sh
config_file="/tmp/config.txt"
interfaces=$(xrcmd "show interfaces brief")

function activate_all_if(){
  arInt=($(echo $interfaces | grep -oE '(Te|Fo|Hu)[0-9]*/[0-9]*/[0-9]*/[0-9]*'))
  for int in ${arInt[*]}; do
    echo -ne "interface $int\n no shutdown\n load-interval 30\n" >> $config_file
  done
  xrapply_with_reason "Initial ZTP configuration" $config_file
}

### Script entry point
if [ -f $config_file ]; then
  /bin/rm -f $config_file
else
  /bin/touch $config_file
fi
activate_all_if;
exit 0

The following example displays the ZTP logging output:


Oct 11 11:05:38 172.30.0.54 ztp-script: Hello from ncs-5001-c !!!
Oct 11 11:05:40 172.30.0.54 ztp-script: current=6.1.1, desired=6.1.1
Oct 11 11:05:40 172.30.0.54 ztp-script: Version match, proceeding to configuration
Oct 11 11:05:41 172.30.0.54 ztp-script: Starting autoprovision process...
Oct 11 11:05:42 172.30.0.54 ztp-script: ### XR K9SEC INSTALL ###
Oct 11 11:05:44 172.30.0.54 ztp-script: ### Downloading complete ###
Oct 11 11:05:55 172.30.0.54 ztp-script: Waiting for k9sec package to be activated
Oct 11 11:06:01 172.30.0.54 ztp-script: ### XR K9SEC INSTALL COMPLETE ###
Oct 11 11:06:03 172.30.0.54 ztp-script: ### Installing midnight commander ###
Oct 11 11:06:04 172.30.0.54 ztp-script: ### Downloading system configuration ###
Oct 11 11:06:05 172.30.0.54 ztp-script: ### Downloading system configuration complete ###
Oct 11 11:06:06 172.30.0.54 ztp-script: ### Applying initial system configuration ###
Oct 11 11:06:11 172.30.0.54 ztp-script: !!! Checking for errors !!!
Oct 11 11:06:14 172.30.0.54 ztp-script: ### Applying system configuration complete ###
Oct 11 11:06:15 172.30.0.54 ztp-script: Autoprovision complete...