• Download the install the CSR 1000v 17.2 image. For more information, see CSR1000v Installation Overview.

• If you want to deploy the CSR 1000v instance in the controller mode, generate the bootstrap config file from vManage.

• Starting from Cisco IOS XE Release 17.2, ucmk9 image is not published.

• If you use the PayG licensing model, you cannot perform a mode switch as controller mode does not support the PayG licensing model.

• Only the autonomous mode supports Dual-IOSd.

• Images without payload encryption and NO-LI images are not supported in the controller mode.

• After onboarding and determining the mode of operation, if you switch from the controller mode to the autonomous mode or the reverse, results in loss of configuration.

• When you switch from the autonomous mode to the controller mode or vice versa, your Smart Licensing registration does not work. You must reregister for your Smart Licenses to work.

On a device that already runs a Cisco IOS XE non-SDWAN image, after you install the Cisco IOS XE

17.2 image, when you launch the CSR 1000v instance for the first time, in the absence of bootstrap configuration the instance always comes up in the autonomous mode. If you provide any user-data or custom-data or bootstrap configuration to the instance depending on the cloud environment, the data is used for the bootstrap configuration. To know more about the Day0 or bootstrap configuration for each service provider, see Day0 and Custom Data Configuration in this feature document.

On a new, out of box device, if you want to boot up the device in the autonomous mode, you need not provide the bootstrap configuration. In this scenario, by default, the instance always boots up in the autonomous mode. If you want to provide bootstrap related configurations, upload the iosxe_config.txt file or the ovf-env.xml file.

Note	In the case of public clouds, the filename does not matter as the instance fetches the latest user data or the custom data from metadata. However, in the case of private clouds, if you upload the .iso file, the filename is important.

On a new, out of box device, if you want to boot up the device in the controller mode, make sure that all the four parameters (OTP, UUID, VBOND, ORG) is present in the ciscosdwan.cfg/ciscosdwan_cloud_init.cfg file for a fresh deployment on Cisco CSR1000v or Cisco ISRv devices. After the device boots up in the controller mode, the configuration present in the configuration file is applied.

Based on the cloud in which you are deploying the CSR 1000v instance, see the following to perform the bootstrap and/or the day 0 configuration:

• Deploying the OVA to the VM

• Manually creating the Cisco CSR 1000v VM using the .iso file (Citrix XenServer)

• Creating a CSR 1000v VM using the self installing .run package

• Manually creating the VM using the .iso file (Microsoft Hyper-V)

• Booting the CSR 1000v Instance

• Deploying a CSR 1000v VM Using Custom Data

• Deploying a CSR 1000v VM on Microsoft Azure

Note

For a CSR 1000v instance running on Cisco CSP-5000 hypervisor, when you enter the settings in the Day Zero Config screen, ensure that you maintain the format mentioned here: Source File Name: Enter the value for this field in the format: day0_filename cisco_sdwan.cfg. Destination File Name: Enter the value for this field in the format: day0-dest-filename /openstack/content/cisco_sdwan.cfg.

To verify whether you’ve deployed or upgraded to the IOS XE 17.2 release successfully, run the show version command. The operating device-mode parameter displays whether the CSR 1000v instance is running in the autonomous or the controller mode.

Device# show version | inc operating
Router operating mode: Autonomous
Device# show platform software device-mode
Operating device-mode: Autonomous
Device-mode bootup status:
-------------------------------------
Device# show platform software chasfs r0 brief | inc device_managed_mode
/tmp/chassis/local/rp/chasfs/etc/device_managed_mode : [autonomous]
/tmp/fp/chasfs/etc/device_managed_mode : [autonomous]
Device# show version | inc Last reload
Last reload reason: Enabling autonomous-mode

Device# show version | inc operating
Router operating mode: Controller-Managed
Device# show platform software device-mode
Operating device-mode: Controller
Device-mode bootup status:
-------------------------------------
Success
Device# show platform software chasfs r0 brief | inc device_managed_mode
/tmp/chassis/local/rp/chasfs/etc/device_managed_mode : [controller]
/tmp/fp/chasfs/etc/device_managed_mode : [controller]
Device# show version | inc Last reload
Last reload reason: Enabling controller-mode

Downgrading to a fresh install of old image versions brings the device to Day 0 configuration. For example, if you have never installed Cisco IOS XE 16.12 on your device and attempt to downgrade from Cisco IOS XE Release or later releases to Cisco IOS XE 1612, the following warning displays:

Warning

You are trying to activate an old image which will remove all device configuration and bring the device back to day-0 state. To proceed, use the clean option at activation.

For all the downgrade scenarios, see Downgrade from Cisco IOS XE 17.2 and Later section in the Cisco SD-WAN Getting Started Guide.

To determine the current mode of your device, run the show version | inc operating command. The following table lists the commands and the configuration files needed for switching between the two modes:

cisco#controller-mode enable
Enabling controller mode will erase the nvram filesystem, remove all configuration files, and reload the box!
Ensure the BOOT variable points to a valid image
Continue? [confirm]

cisco#controller-mode disable
Disabling controller mode will erase the nvram filesystem, remove all configuration files, and reload the box!
Ensure the BOOT variable points to a valid image
Continue? [confirm]

Note

After you execute these commands, the device reloads before the mode change takes effect. If you want to perform a mode switch and you have a bootstrap configuration file for your configuration, ensure that you copy the file to the bootflash. If you're using a Cisco CSR1000V 17.3.x instance, upload the ciscosdwan_cloud_init.cfg bootstrap file with the aaa authorization exec default local command to the router. This command configures the AAA authorization, checks the local database, and allows you to run an EXEC shell. To know more about uploading the bootstrap file in controller mode, see https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/routers/sdwan/configuration/sdwan-xe-gs-book/hardware-and-software-installation.html#c_On_Site_Bootstrap_Process_for_SD_WAN_Devices_12488.xml2. In the case of public clouds, to provide access to the Cisco CSR 1000V instance in either modes, the instance comes up with bare minimum bootstrap configuration. You can use an SSH to log in to the instance during the initial bootup stage or after performing the mode switch operation.