Network Convergence System 5000 Series Routers


Note

This software release has reached end-of-life status. For more information, see the End-of-Life and End-of-Sale Notices.


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Release Package

What's New in Cisco IOS XR Release

Cisco is continuously enhancing the product with every release and this section covers a brief description of key features and enhancements. It also includes links to detailed documentation, where available.

Software Introduced and Enhanced

To learn about features introduced in other Cisco IOS XR releases, select the release from the What’s new page.

Feature Description

System Error Messages

System Error Messages

An intuitive interface to view, search, compare, and download Cisco IOS XR Error Messages.

Programmability

Achieving Operational Simplicity Using Automation Scripts

This feature lets you host and execute your automation scripts directly on a router running IOS XR software, instead of managing them on external controllers. The scripts available on-box can now leverage Python libraries, access the underlying router information to execute CLI commands, and monitor router configurations continuously. This results in setting up a seamless automation workflow by improving connectivity, access to resources, and speed of script execution.

The following categories of on-box scripts are used to achieve operational simplicity:

Contextual Script Infrastructure

When you create and run Python scripts on the router, this feature enables a contextual interaction between the scripts, the IOS XR software, and the external servers. This context, programmed in the script, uses Cisco IOS XR Python packages, modules, and libraries to:

  • obtain operational data from the router

  • set configurations and conditions

  • detect events in the network and trigger an appropriate action

Enhancements to oc-platform YANG data model

The openconfig-platform YANG data model provides a structure for querying hardware and software router components via the NETCONF protocol. This release delivers an enhanced openconfig-platform YANG data model to provide information about:

  • software version

  • golden ISO (GISO) label

  • committed IOS XR packages

You can access this data model from the Github repository.

Manage Automation Scripts Using YANG RPCs

This feature enables you to use remote procedure calls (RPCs) on YANG data models to perform the same automated operations as CLIs, such as edit configurations or retrieve router information.

Model-driven CLI to Display Running Configuration in XML and JSON Formats

This feature enables you to display the configuration data for Cisco IOS XR platforms in both JSON and XML formats.

This feature introduces the show run | [xml | json] command.

Model-driven CLI to Show YANG Operational Data

This feature enables you to use a traditional CLI command to display YANG data model structures on the router console and also obtain operational data from the router in JSON or XML formats. The functionality helps you transition smoothly between CLI and YANG models, easing data retrieval from your router and network.

This feature introduces the show yang operational command.

IP Addresses and Services

Monitor LPTS host path drops via YANG data model

This feature allows you to use the Cisco-IOS-XR-lpts-pre-ifib-oper.yang data model to monitor the policer action for Local Packet Transport Services (LPTS) flow type for all IOS XR platforms.

To access this data model, see the Github repository.

L2VPN and Ethernet Services

GTP Load Balancing

In addition to the source IP address, destination IP address, and port number, this functionality enables using the unique tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID) to compute load balancing (or hashing) of traffic in tunnels between ports. Using the TEID ensures that load balancing occurs even if the other parameters don’t have unique values, thus enabling efficient use of bandwidth and providing a reliable network.

This functionality introduces the hw-module loadbalancing gtp enable command.

MPLS

Encapsulation: RSVP-TE: Backoff Timer Enhancement

When an LSP path error occurs on a head-end router, you can guide the incoming traffic for the LSP in these ways - Update the initial and total time duration for which the head-end router retries sending traffic over the LSP, or instruct MPLS-TE to send traffic over a different LSP, without a waiting period.

The feature provides flexibility to choose different actions when an LSP path error occurs.

New commands:

  • mpls traffic-eng timers backoff-timer

System Security

SSH Port Forwarding

With this feature enabled, the SSH client on a local host forwards the traffic coming on a given port to the specified host and port on a remote server, through an encrypted SSH channel. Legacy applications that do not otherwise support data encryption can leverage this functionality to ensure network security and confidentiality to the traffic that is sent to remote application servers.

This feature introduces the ssh server port-forwarding local command.

Caveats

These caveats are applicable for Cisco IOS XR Software:

Bug ID

Headline

CSCvy13197

Telemetry Syslog events are not received by telemetry client

CSCvz48418

L2VPN VPLS forwarding breaks when FRR is triggered

Other Important Notes

Upgrading Cisco IOS XR Software

Cisco IOS XR Software is installed and activated from modular packages, allowing specific features or software patches to be installed, upgraded, or downgraded without affecting unrelated processes. Software packages can be upgraded or downgraded on all supported card types, or on a single card (node).

Before starting the software upgrade, use the show install health command in the admin mode. This command validates if the statuses of all relevant parameters of the system are ready for the software upgrade without interrupting the system.


Note

  • If you use a TAR package to upgrade from a Cisco IOS XR release prior to 7.x, the output of the show install health command in admin mode displays the following error messages: 

sysadmin-vm:0_RSP0# show install health
. . .
ERROR /install_repo/gl/xr -rw-r--r--. 1 8413 floppy 3230320 Mar 14 05:45 <platform>-isis-2.2.0.0-r702.x86_64
ERROR /install_repo/gl/xr -rwxr-x---. 1 8413 165 1485781 Mar 14 06:02 <platform>-k9sec-3.1.0.0-r702.x86_64
ERROR /install_repo/gl/xr -rw-r--r--. 1 8413 floppy 345144 Mar 14 05:45 <platform>-li-1.0.0.0-r702.x86_64

You can ignore these messages and proceed with the installation operation.

Production Software Maintenance Updates (SMUs)

A production SMU is a SMU that is formally requested, developed, tested, and released. Production SMUs are intended for use in a live network environment and are formally supported by the Cisco TAC and the relevant development teams. Software bugs identified through software recommendations or Bug Search Tools are not a basis for production SMU requests.

For information on production SMU types, refer the Production SMU Types section of the IOS XR Software Maintenance Updates (SMUs) guide.

Cisco IOS XR Error messages

To view, search, compare, and download Cisco IOS XR Error Messages, refer to the Cisco IOS XR Error messages tool.

Cisco IOS XR MIBs

To determine the MIBs supported by platform and release, refer to the Cisco IOS XR MIBs tool.