Release Notes for Cisco IOS XRv 9000 Router, IOS XR Release 24.2.1
Cisco IOS XRv 9000 Router is a cloud-based router that is deployed on a virtual machine (VM) instance on x86 server hardware running 64 bit IOS XR software. Cisco IOS XRv 9000 Router provides traditional Provider Edge (PE) services in a virtualized form factor, as well as virtual Route Reflector (vRR) capabilities.
Cisco IOS XRv 9000 Router Overview
The Cisco IOS XRv 9000 Router is based on Cisco IOS XR software, so it inherits and shares the wide breadth of routing functionality available on other IOS XR platforms. The IOS XR features available on the Cisco IOS XRv 9000 Router are discussed in Supported Cisco IOS XR Technologies section.
When the Cisco IOS XRv 9000 Router virtual IOS XR software is deployed as a VM, the Cisco IOS XR software functions just as if it were deployed on a traditional Cisco IOS XR hardware platform. The Cisco IOS XRv 9000 Router combines Route Processor, Line Card, and virtualized forwarding capabilities into a single, centralized forwarding instance. The Cisco IOS XRv 9000 Router has a fully featured, high speed virtual x86 data plane.
Cisco IOS XRv 9000 Router supports the same look and feel as Cisco ASR 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers and North-bound APIs. Cisco IOS XRv 9000 Router does not support hardware specific configurations. The configuration commands for control plane and data plane features follow the same syntax as the Cisco ASR 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers. See Cisco ASR 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers command references for more information on configuration commands.
What's New in Cisco IOS XR Release 24.2.1
For more details on the Cisco IOS XR release model and associated support, see Software Lifecycle Support Statement - IOS XR.
Software Features Enhanced and Introduced
Feature | Description |
---|---|
BGP |
|
BGP Optimal Release Route Reflector (ORR) Add-Path Policy |
This feature allows you to assign an independent routing policy to an individual Optimal Route Reflector (ORR) group. The virtual route reflector (vRR) calculates the additional paths for that ORR group based on the assigned policy. This results in having a different best and backup path for each ORR group which is the optimal path from the client point of view. This feature introduces these changes: CLI: The route-policy keyword is introduced in the route-policy command. YANG Data Model:
(see GitHub, YANG Data Models Navigator) |
Modular QoS |
|
Enhanced Running Configuration Display for Policy Maps and Class Maps |
Now, you can view each class map or policy map running configuration instance on a separate line using the show run formal running configuration command. |
System Management |
|
TCP Dump File Converter |
From the Command Line Interface (CLI), you can convert tcp dump packet traces in binary files into other readable formats, such as text and pcap. This feature makes binary file conversion easier and creates files that support other tools, such as Wireshark, to perform network troubleshooting. This feature introduces the tcp dump-file convert command. |
YANG Data Models Introduced and Enhanced
This release introduces or enhances the following data models. For detailed information about the supported and unsupported sensor paths of all the data models, see the Github repository. To get a comprehensive list of the data models supported in a release, navigate to the Available-Content.md file for the release in the Github repository. The unsupported sensor paths are documented as deviations. For example, openconfig-acl.yang provides details about the supported sensor paths, whereas cisco-xr-openconfig-acl-deviations.yang provides the unsupported sensor paths for openconfig-acl.yang on Cisco IOS XR routers.
You can also view the data model definitions using the YANG Data Models Navigator tool. This GUI-based and easy-to-use tool helps you explore the nuances of the data model and view the dependencies between various containers in the model. You can view the list of models supported across Cisco IOS XR releases and platforms, locate a specific model, view the containers and their respective lists, leaves, and leaf lists presentedvisually in a tree structure.
Feature | Description |
---|---|
Programmability |
|
Cisco-IOS-XR-ipv4-bgp-cfg.yang |
The latest update to the Cisco-IOS-XR-ipv4-bgp-cfg.yang includes the BGP ORR add-path policy which allows you to assign an independent routing policy to an individual ORR group. |
Cisco-IOS-XR-um-router-bgp-cfg.yang |
The latest update to the Cisco-IOS-XR-um-router-bgp-cfg.yang includes the BGP ORR add-path policy which allows you to assign an independent routing policy to an individual ORR group. |
Cisco-IOS-XR-ipv4-ospf-oper.yang |
This native data model is enhanced with new leaves sr-capable, ri-capabilities-tlv, te-capable, gr-capable, grh-capable, and host-name in the OSPF-SH-NEIGHBOR-DETAIL and OSPF-SH-NEIGHBOR groupings to display neighbor router capabilities in OSPF networks. |
System Requirements
Appliance Model
Cisco IOS XRv 9000 Appliance is the pre-installed Cisco IOS XRv 9000 Router software that is sent from the factory on a bare metal UCS server hardware. It supports hyper scalability as it can scale to 70 Million route prefixes when run as a Virtual Route Reflector. Therefore, the extra layer of software (hypervisor) is not required.
The Appliance also supports Zero Touch Provisioning (ZTP) which allows easier insertion into existing networks. Current offering is based on UCS M5 Servers, comes with 2 Intel X710 quad-port 10G SFP+ NICs.
Hypervisors
A hypervisor enables multiple operating systems to share a single hardware host machine. While each operating system appears to have the dedicated use of the host's processor, memory, and other resources; the hypervisor controls and allocates only needed resources to each operating system and ensures that the operating systems (VMs) do not disrupt each other.
Installation of the Cisco IOS XRv 9000 Router is supported on selected Type 1 (native, bare metal) hypervisors. Installation is not supported on Type 2 (hosted) hypervisors, such as VMware Fusion, VMware Player, or Virtual Box. The following table lists release specific supported hypervisor versions.
Cisco IOS XR Version |
VMWare ESXi |
Kernel Based Virtual Machine (KVM) |
---|---|---|
Release 24.2.1 |
version 6.5, 6.7,7.0 |
Linux KVM based on
|
Virtual Machines
Cisco IOS XRv 9000 Router virtual machines must meet the following requirements:
Parameters |
Supported |
||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
VMware ESXi |
Version 6.5, 6.7, 7.0 |
||||
Virtual CPU cores |
1 socket with a minimum of 2 cores
|
||||
Virtual Machine memory size |
12GB minimum, 19GB recommended for 10G interfaces |
||||
Virtual Machine hard disk size |
64GB minimum for vPE and vRR image variants |
||||
Virtual Interfaces |
|
||||
Physical NICs |
For pass-through:
SR-IOV supported for:
|
||||
Number of interfaces |
Maximum of 11 NICs where:
|
||||
Default video, SCSI controller set |
Required SCSI controller not required for IDE disk. |
||||
Virtual CD/DVD drive installed |
Virtual CD/DVD is required when installing the Cisco IOS XRv 9000 Router on the VM using ISO template. |
||||
IDE hard disk |
Single IDE hard disk
|
Note |
The maximum traffic performance with pass-through NIC interfaces in ESXi is lower than the performance that can be achieved in KVM environments. This is because it is not possible to configure 1G huge-pages in the ESXi hypervisor (as of VMware ESXi 6.0). |
Parameters |
Supported |
||
---|---|---|---|
KVM versions |
|
||
Virtual CPU cores |
1 socket with minimum of 2 cores.
|
||
Virtual Machine memory size |
12GB Minimum, 19GB recommended for 10G interfaces |
||
Virtual Machine hard disk size |
64GB minimum |
||
Virtual Interfaces |
E1000, VirtIO and VMXNET3 for traffic interfaces only |
||
Physical NICs |
For pass-through:
|
||
Number of interfaces |
Minimum of 4 NICs where:
Maximum of 11 NICs where:
|
||
Virtual CD/DVD drive installed |
Virtual CD/DVD drive is required for ISO installation |
Note |
In the Cisco IOS XRv 9000 Router, some CPU cores are dedicated to the control plane while others are dedicated to the data plane. Each data plane's core runs a single thread that performs packet forwarding. To achieve maximum performance, these threads constantly look for data packets to process. As a result, the OS records that these cores run at 100% utilization. This is expected behavior and not an indication that packet forwarding has reached its threshold limit. |
10G Optic Support
Product |
Product Code |
Supplier Part Number |
||
---|---|---|---|---|
Cisco 10GBASE SFP+, Short Range |
Cisco SFP-10G-SR |
Cisco SFP-10G-SR
|
||
Cisco 10GBASE SFP+, Long Range |
Cisco SFP-10G-LR |
Cisco SFP-10G-LR
|
||
Intel Ethernet SFP SR Optics Dual Rate 10GBASE-SR/1000BASE-SX |
E10GSFPSR |
FTLX8571D3BCVIT1 or AFBR-709DMZ-IN2 |
Server
The server must support:
-
Intel Westmere or later CPU versions with clock frequency of 2.0GHz for instances with Gigabit or paravirtualized interfaces
-
Intel Ivy Bridge or later CPU versions for instances with 10Gb or higher interfaces
-
Intel CPU must support the sse4_2 capability flag. This can be checked in KVM by looking for the sse4_2 flag in the flags section of /proc/cpuinfo. For example:
cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep sse4_2 flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss syscall nx pdpe1gb rdtscp lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon nopl xtopology tsc_reliable nonstop_tsc aperfmperf pni pclmulqdq vmx ssse3 fma cx16 pcid sse4_1 sse4_2 x2apic movbe popcnt aes xsave avx f16c rdrand hypervisor lahf_lm ida arat epb pln pts dtherm tpr_shadow vnmi ept vpid fsgsbase smep
Note |
To use passthrough interfaces in KVM, you must set the option intel_iommu=on command in the grub configuration. |
Licensing
Starting with Cisco IOS XR Release 24.1.1, Smart Licensing Using Policy (SLP) is the default Licensing model. When you upgrade to the Cisco IOS XR Release 24.1.1 release or later, the Smart Licensing Using Policy is enabled by default.
You can migrate your devices to Smart Licensing with Policy model, see Migrating from Smart Licensing to Smart Licensing Using Policy, Smart Licensing Using Policy on Cisco IOS XR Routers.
We recommend that you update to the latest version of SSM On-Prem or Cisco Smart Licensing Utility.
Note |
SSM On-Prem and CSSM both support SLP devices and SL devices. SLP devices and SL devices can coexist in a network. The Smart Licensing (SL) model is available in releases Cisco IOS XR Release 7.11.1 and earlier. |
Cisco IOS XRv 9000 Router Licensing Model
The Cisco IOS XRv 9000 Router supports activation using Cisco Smart Licensing. By default the Cisco IOS XRv 9000 Router (without license) is rate limited to 200 Kbps.
For more information on licensing model supported on Cisco IOS XRv 9000 Router, see the Cisco IOS XRv 9000 Router Smart Licensing chapter in the Cisco IOS XRv 9000 Router Installation and Configuration Guide.
See Cisco Smart Software Licensing Overview for more information on Cisco Smart Licensing.
License Ordering Information
The Cisco IOS XRv 9000 Router offers a flexible licensing scheme, with multiple tiers to choose from, such as Scale, and Throughput. This table lists details of Cisco IOS XRv 9000 Router's pool of software licenses or entitlements, arranged according to licensing PIDs.
Note |
The XRv9000 router only consumes and reports VPE licenses. VRR licenses are not consumed or reported. |
PIDs |
Description |
---|---|
R-IOSXRV-SUBSCRIP |
Bundle PID for IOS XRV SBP |
R-VROUTER-SUB |
Subscription license for Cisco IOS XRv 9000 Software |
R-IOSXRV-SUB-IMG |
ATO for XRv SUB |
S-XRV-SUB-RR-1M |
Subscription license for virtual Route Reflector (vRR) functionality with 1 million routes |
S-XRV-SUB-RTU |
IOS XRv 9000 license for one virtual router instantiation |
S-XRV-SUB-RR-4M |
Subscription license for virtual Route Reflector (vRR) scale upgrade from 4 million routes |
S-XRV-SUB-RR-10M |
Subscription license for virtual Route Reflector (vRR) scale upgrade from 4 to 10 million routes |
S-XRV-SUB-RR-20M |
Subscription license for virtual Route Reflector (vRR) scale upgrade from 10 to 20 million routes |
S-XRV-SUB-XTC |
Billing PID for SBP XRV9K -SR-PCE (XTC) RTU |
S-XRV-B-SUB-1G |
IOS XRv 9000 1G throughput license for IP MPLS base package |
S-XRV-P-SUB-1G |
IOS XRv 9000 1G throughput license for IP MPLS premium package |
S-XRV-L3-B-SUB-1G |
IOS XRv 9000 1G throughput license for IP MPLS L3VPN base package |
S-XRV-L3-P-SUB-1G |
IOS XRv 9000 1G throughput license for IP MPLS L3VPN premium package |
S-XRV-LI-SUB-RTU |
IOS XRv 9000 Advance software license for Lawful Intercept |
S-XRV-HQOS-SUB-1G |
IOS XRv 9000 1G Advance software license for HQoS |
SVS-XRV-SUPT-BA |
XRV Support - Basic |
Supported Cisco IOS XR Technologies
Cisco IOS XRv 9000 Router supports selected Cisco IOS XR technologies.
This table lists the major Cisco IOS XR technologies Cisco IOS XRv 9000 supports. Not all features in a given technology may be supported. To verify support for specific features, use Cisco Feature Navigator.
Feature |
See the Following Documentation |
Introduced in Release |
---|---|---|
|
Release 6.1.2 |
|
|
Release 6.1.2 |
|
|
Release 5.4.0 |
|
|
Release 6.2.1 |
|
|
Release 6.0.1 |
|
|
Release 6.3.1 |
|
|
Release 6.4.1 |
|
Customize Installation using Golden ISO |
Release 7.3.1 | |
Cisco IOS XRv 9000 Router Deployment on AWS |
Release 6.3.1 |
|
Create User Profiles and Assign Privileges |
System Setup and Software Installation Guide for Cisco ASR 9000 Series Routers |
Release 7.1.1 |
|
Release 5.4.0 |
|
|
Release 6.3.1 |
|
|
Release 6.2.1 |
|
|
Release 6.0.1 |
|
|
Release 5.4.0 |
|
|
Release 6.0.0 |
|
|
Release 5.4.0 |
|
|
Release 5.4.0 |
|
L2VPN VPWS |
Release 6.4.1 |
|
|
Release 6.1.2 |
|
|
Release 5.4.0 |
|
|
Release 5.4.0 |
|
|
Release 5.4.0 |
|
Multicast features:
|
Release 6.4.1 |
|
|
Release 5.4.0 |
|
|
Release 5.4.0 |
|
|
Release 6.1.2 |
|
|
Release 6.2.1 |
|
|
Release 6.2.1 |
|
|
Release 6.6.1 |
|
|
Release 6.0.0 |
|
|
Release 6.0.1 |
|
|
Release 6.3.1 |
|
|
Release 6.3.1 |
|
|
Release 7.3.2 |
|
gNMI Bundling of Telemetry Updates |
Cisco IOS XRv 9000 Router Installation and Configuration Guide |
Release 7.8.1 |
Auto-Save and Copy Router Configuration Using Public Key Authentication |
Release 7.10.1 |
|
Smart Licensing Using Policy |
Release 24.1.1 |
|
Multi-Factor Authentication for SSH |
System Security Configuration Guide for Cisco ASR 9000 Series Routers |
Release 24.1.1 |
Caveats
There are no caveats in this release.
There are no caveats in this release.
Other Important Information
-
For the XRv 9000 platform, minimum transmission period supported for the Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) is 200 milliseconds.
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).
Note |
The FPD related commands are not supported on IOS XRv 9000 Appliance. That includes fpd auto-upgrade command. |
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.
Related Documentation
The most current Cisco XRv 9000 router documentation is located at the following URL:
https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/iosxr/ios-xrv-9000-router.html